Small Hands (Zerrie Short Story)

Chapter 4 / The End

Meanwhile across the street, Perrie was running like a wild-woman to her car. Inside she pulled out her phone and realized that she was at 5 percent. There was no way she could call 911, wait for an operator, and then explain what was happening before her battery would die. So instead she reached into her glove compartment and retrieved the phone number for the New Hope Police Station. Her fingers fumbled as she typed in the number, remembering the wild look in her friend's eyes as he pushed her towards the fence.

The phone rang for a ridiculously long until finally a young woman answered.

"New Hope Police Station."
"My friend's in trouble. His house got broken in too and he's still in there," Perrie said, putting the phone on speaker and pulling out of the street.

"Slow down. Are you in any danger right now?" The women asked patiently.

"No, I got out fine. But he's still there and they know it too."

"What's the address?"
"5782 Rosaline Ave."

"Okay, backup is on the way. Just stay where you are and don't go back into the house."
"Okay, thank you."
"Goodbye."

The line went dead as she pulled into the park nearby his house. Zayn and Perrie loved this park because it was the only playground they had ever been at with a silent swing set. As she sat on the swings she began to think of all the fun times she's had with with Zayn... and of all the memories they made in such a short amount of time. She began to worry about how he was doing... A thousand questions flew through her mind.

Is he disappointed in me for running away, even though that's what he said I should do?
Did they hurt him in some way?
Did he say something stupid to get himself in trouble?

The last one she was pretty sure on. And they were all big and bulky men, whilst Zayn is tall and skinny, not even a challenge for them. She began to think about when they met, how nervous and shy he was and how it took them ages just to be able to hug when saying hello or goodbye. She thought of how protective he was over her and how he kept insisting that she could do better than Driver, even though he knew she would get mad at him for it. She thought of all the times he made her feel like a princess and all the kind things he did. How he treated her unlike any other girl in his life. She thought of what he said back on the blanket before they were interrupted.

She sat on the swingset and closed her eyes. She saw Zayn, sitting up on the blanket and looking down at her, his jet black hair just reaching his hazel eyes. His expression was one she couldn't exactly read, but it was the first time his gaze had ever made her stop in her tracks. The stars above twinkled around his head, and she felt butterflies in her stomach.

It was in that moment above the picnic blanket, underneath the stars that things started to click. His aftershave in the shed and his arms around her. The reluctance to leave. The fear of what would happen if she wasn't there to protect him, even though she sucked in a crisis. The sound of sirens broke her from her trance, they were getting closer.

Zayn.

A crow flew through the night and landed on a stack of newspapers underneath a bench. She didn't pay it much mind at first until she saw something that caught her attention. She bent down to look at the newspaper and read the article under the faces of two people she knew very well.

Clearwater Daily

by Jennifer Myers

New Hope couple, Yaser and Trisha Malik have just won the Mega Lottery, winning $2.5 million. The couple has not made an announcement about their win, but a friend of theirs said that they never participate in lotteries, but Trisha had a special feeling about the numbers she chose, making them the most wealthy couple in their town.