SAFE :: ZAYN

[07]

-

Zayn still said no.

And Yemi knew it wasn't because he didn't want help -- because he sure as hell did, anybody could see it in his eyes -- he just didn't want to feel like a burden of any sort to anyone. He didn't want to leave his son, someone who had been with him through everything. His whole life.

Speaking of them, Zayn and Jahdai were gone.

Like, gone gone.

Yemi didn't know what happened but she woke up and both boys were nowhere in sight. Nothing was missing besides them two and Zayn's bag was still in the bed.

They'd been gone for a few days now and Yemi tried to preoccupy herself because it was too much for her. She didn't know what to do and for the first day, she was out in the cold looking for them.

So now she was editing a video for her YouTube channel. It was an update on bundle maintainence, for most of her viewers. She often did makeup tutorials and vlogs also.

"Shit," she groaned quietly, pushing her glasses up and watching herself on the laptop screen, "is that a pimple? Fuck no."

Yemi couldn't concentrate any longer, saving her work and shutting her laptop. She stayed put on the couch and bit her nail, her knees to her chest as she stared at the door, as if they would walk through any minute.

Her phone rang and she picked it up, answering on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Yeah, you okay?" Nadiely asked in concern, "have you seen--"

"No," Yemi shook her head as if Nadiely could see, "I don't know what happened--"

"You think he want back to where--"

"I wouldn't think so...unless it was for drugs or something. But he said he quit a few months ago--"

"You have to see it for yourself. I'm not even being negative I'm just being real. He was obviously going through withdrawals in the hospital and now nothing's stopping him--"

"I'm so scared, Nadi," Yemi got up and paced around the dining room table, "like, who knows how cold it is to them and if they've eaten or whether they're alive? That man who assaulted Zayn was out to kill and it was so freaking terrifying."

"Yemi, do you need me to come over?"

"No, I'm just gonna try to sleep," she sighed into the phone, muttering a few goodbyes to Nadiely and hanging up. She looked around the dining room and the kitchen, thinking of where hey could have gone and if they were okay--

She worried a lot.

Yemi groaned and locked the doors, heading to her room upstairs and shutting that door also. She took off all of her makeup and put a bonnet over her head. The clothes she had worn today were put in the hamper and replaced with shorts and a t-shirt.

She lied in the bed, thinking, thinking, thinking. Where the hell could they be?

-

The next morning, Yemi Khan had no appointments, and no appointments meant no work today. She was the main manager after all.

She was cooking herself breakfast when she heard a knock on the door. Not thinking anything of it, she walked over and opened it, only to see the two boys she stayed up most of the night worrying over.

"Oh my God," she put a hand over her mouth and let Zayn and Jahdai through, "where have you been? I was worried about you two all this time."

"Just went out," Zayn muttered quietly, wiping his nose and setting his son down on the ground.

"Daddy needed medicine," Jahdai said quietly, "he still doesn't feel good."

"Really?" Yemi eyed Zayn but he didn't even look at her, just sniffed and went into the room he was staying in, "are you guys, okay?"

"Mhm," Jahdai smiled up at her and looked towards the kitchen, "what's to eat?"

"I have some eggs and pancakes and hotdogs," she replied, following him to the kitchen and helping him on the stool, "hungry?"

"Yes, ma'am," he swung his feet and watched her finish cooking, "were you really worried about us?"

"Yes, I was," she replied sincerely, "like, I didn't sleep much and I even went out looking for you two."

"I was worried about us too," Jahdai said in a whisper, "I don't like daddy's friends sometimes. He lives in a bad house and the people are mean."

"Did they hurt you?" her attention was on him now, she bit her lip and stared at Jahdai intently.

"Yeah, the first one hurt and daddy beat him up. But the second time it really hurt but he doesn't know. Please don't tell him."

"Jah--"

"No!" he whisper shouted and almost cried, "please don't he'll be mad at me."

"Why would he be mad? That's your dad he has to know."

"Because...because when he gets his medicine he acts crazy. He always thinks someone is following us and he doesn't even pay attention to me sometimes. He's so weird and cranky so I don't want him mad."

Yemi looked at Jahdai one more time before turning back to the food. "I won't tell unless you tell me where he hit you."

"My tummy."

"And?"

"My arm."

"Fine," Yemi wiped her wet eyes and cut the stove off. She put some of his food on a plate and gave him a fork along with it.

"Why are you crying, Yemi?"

"No reason. I'm going to use the restroom, okay?"

"Okay," Jahdai muttered, biting into his food and smiling at how hot it still was.

Yemi walked out of the kitchen and down the hallway to the guest room. She heard Zayn sniffle in the bathroom and knocked.

"Yeah?"

"Open the door, please."

She heard a click and the door opened, showing a disheveled Zayn wiping his bloody nose. His eyes pricked with tears and Yemi felt terrible all of a sudden.

"I thought you stopped--"

"Yeah, I thought so, too," he sneezed into the tissue and more blood came out. She flinched. "I just...needed it."

"The last thing you need to do is this, Zayn," Yemi whispered, "and you're endangering your child--"

"It's been two years," his eye started twitching like always and his pupils were dilated to where his eyes were almost all the way black, "I can't...stop."

"You need to get into a program--"

"I said I can't," he glared at the ground, "I can't and I won't."

-

y'all...Zayn is on drugs like omg why did I do this?

I am not up for this heartbreak