Chains

Chapter 19

It was no surprise that I've been doing a lot of out of character things lately but this one took the cake. Since the past week I've changed more than I have in the past two years. My ears were now pierced a second time and my light brown hair now had an ombre effect with the ends having a blonde colour. But this was just not me and the strange part was that I liked it. Not once in my life had I ever thought that I would be sitting in a tattoo parlour shirtless while my left rib was being prepped for a tattoo. A tattoo. The very thought of getting a tattoo made me once cringe due to the pain I thought I would experience.

But here I am not even feeling an ounce of fear as the needle neared my skin. In the corner of my eye I could see Zayn watching intently. Once he noticed my stare, he flashed me a toothy grin and gave me a thumbs up. I shot him a small smile which was soon replaced by a face of anguish. I watched as he took out his phone to video my displeasure, a wide smile plastered on his lips. Sadist. My original expectations of getting a tattoo were fulfilled as pain pulsed through my body. My face contorted into various shades of pain which without a doubt delighted Zayn. He had told me that a rib tattoo was going to be a bit more painful than a regular tattoo but I was too carefree to listen to take his advice. I winced in pain as he carved the words 'let it be' onto my side in cursive. The tattoo seemed to take longer than forever even though we were finished and out of the parlour within ten minutes. It was the longest ten minutes of my life.

"So do you feel badass yet?" Zayn asked, purposely poking the side where my new tattoo was. I shot him a glare which made him erupt into laughter. I mimicked his laughter which received a light shove to the shoulder.

"You know I don't sound like that" he said as his laughter faded.

"Oh so you're still in denial" I said which earned me another light shove to the shoulder. "Why so violent?" I questioned as I mimicked his actions.

"You bring out the worst in me" he replied, a small smile etched on his lips.

I was about to answer him when my phone rang, interrupting our conversation. I answered without giving the caller ID a second glimpse which I regretted instantly.

"Hello"

"We need to talk Louisa" A loud groan escaped my lips. Zayn gave me a questioning look to which I ignored.

"Why don't you go talk to Belinda and leave me alone?" My hand instantly covered my mouth as I pulled the phone away from my ear. Did I really just say that? I slowly brought the phone towards my ear but I heard nothing but a sigh.

"So that's why you're mad" Maluma finally said after what seemed like a good minute. I released a loud sigh as my bad mood fought its way back into my life.

"It's kind of stupid, really. This was the reason I told you in the first place, to prevent all this unnecessary anger and drama. So I don't see why you're doing all this" he spat out when I didn't reply. Were my ears playing tricks on me? Did I really just hear that? I couldn't even find words to reply to him but the traitorous tear that fell from my eye was enough to sum up my feelings.

Zayn noticed the change and took my phone away from me. Without hesitation he ended the call and pushed the phone into his back pocket. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me into his side.

"You just had to touch the tattoo, didn't you?" I managed to say, trying my best to sound unaffected by what I just heard. He quickly moved his hand lower so it was wrapped around my waist instead.

"Sorry about that" he said sincerely, flashing me a small smile.

We continued walking without him asking about the reason for my mood swing, for which I was thankful. Instead he tried his best to take my mind off my problems.

"How about you let me paint you?" he asked out of nowhere as we neared a fast food joint. I gasped in surprise as a came to a halt forcing him to stop as well.

"You're an artist?" I questioned in response making him blush a little. He nodded his head with pride and began walking again forcing me to follow his steps.

"That's so cool! And of course I'll let you paint me. I've always wanted to be someone's model" I said, clapping my hands like a small child. To say I was excited was the least. Art was my second passion right after cooking and baking. The only problem was that I couldn't draw or paint to save my life but that didn't stop me from loving it so much.

"Great! Then you'll have no problem doing it nude"

Wait,what?