faded

31.0 - acquaintances

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I smile at Harry as I watch him stuff his face with blueberry pancakes. We had gotten up late because the time difference was so hard to get used to. Everything seemed great when we were stuck in this little bubble together, having fun and away from all the dangerous things that plagued our lives.

As far as we both knew, everything was fine back home. Amy had informed us that Zayn was no where to be found and though that put some fear in me, I knew it was for the best. My father's businesses were taken care of by his family members and though I had never gotten the chance to interact with them too much, I knew that they'd take care of them to honor my father.

"I wanna introduce you to some of my friends today," Harry said, "it'll help to give you some normalcy if we make some friends."

I nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. I just want Amy to be here already."

Harry gave me a sympathetic smile and reached for my hand. "Once we move into the new place and shit, it'll be so much easier for her to adjust when she gets here. You know it's not safe right now."

I knew he was right, but I couldn't quite understand it. The magnitude of this problem was not as obvious to me as if was for them. Zayn was dangerous but he had lost the very things that made him that dangerous person. For now, I knew I was okay. All I could do was try to make the best out of my situation and be thankful that Harry was with me.

He noticed my hesitation and kissed my hand, "Go get dressed, I'm gonna call Amy and see if she answers. No idea what time it is right now for her."

----

H -

The car ride to Max's house was long. Anastasia had decided she didn't want to come with and I sort of forced her, so I felt bad that I did. Seeing her so upset looking out the window without talking to me made me wish I hadn't brought her, but I needed to. She couldn't just stay locked in the room with no connection outside, she needed to socialize so she could adjust. Maybe I had been wrong in bringing her, but a part of me knew that she'd thank me for it later.

"Baby, don't be mad at me."

She huffed and crossed her arms, choosing to look elsewhere.

I inched closer to her and put my arm around her, thankful that she didn't push me away. The driver smiled at me in the rearview and I gave him a look full of desperation, wishing he'd help me out somehow.

I kissed her cheek and then her temple, "Come on, you know I'm doing it for your own good."

She turned to face me and sighed in defeat, "I know... I know, I just don't know why I don't want to see anyone. I feel I've been isolated for too long and I got used to being alone."

My heart sank to my feet and I pulled her close to me, more for myself than her, because I felt so guilty. Of course she didn't feel comfortable, how could she? Still, I couldn't go back on this. I needed her to slowly socialize again and hopefully someday she'll feel safe being around other people.

I wanted to kill Zayn with my bare hands. The amount of damage he had done in such a short amount of time was unbelievable. I couldn't wrap my head around how much she had missed out on because of his selfishness. Everything she was before him - wild, outgoing, confident... that was all gone. Anastasia was struggling to find herself again and all I could do was be there for her during the process, but couldn't this have been avoided? Did she really deserve it?

"I want to help you come out of that. I want you to be happy."

She frowned. "It makes me feel bad that you have to put up with me."