DISTANT

Chapter 16

She woke up to a bright light shining on her face. Zayna had tried three times just to get her eyes open.

She looked around her surroundings and saw that she was in her bedroom.

Wanting to get up, a sharp pain shot through her abdomen. Wanting to inspect the cause of the pain, she tried to remove the duvet but something was keeping it down.

Looking down, she saw a sleeping Nate laying on her thighs, with his arm wrapped around her legs.

Just as she was about to shift her position, a soft knock came from the door.

"Come in, Mom." She whispered trying not to wake Nate up.

Her mom entered the room, taking a seat at her office chair.

"He came here and stayed with you, everyday after school just to take care of you. Do you remember what happened, Sweetheart?" Asked her mom.

"It's kind of blurred, but I just know that he was there before I passed out." Said Zayna, trying to get some memory of what happened.

"Zayna. Honey." Her mom said, walking towards her daughter, "A man tried to......  to rape you." Tears feel down from her mom's face.

"Nate saved you before he could finish." Cried her mom.

At this point tears fell from Zayna's eyes as the flashbacks came back into her brain.

Her mom reached over and hugged her daughter. Together they cried in each other's arms.

Shortly after her mom left the room to go and prepare dinner.

Zayna looked down at her best friend's sleeping form. She softly stroked his dark brown hair, whispering, "What did I do to deserve a friend like you?"

Her hand ran down from his hair to his arms. She enjoyed the feel of his biceps under her hand.

This guy beat up a guy just to save her. Everything she tried to do to get over him was all for nothing. After this day, her feelings increased rapidly.

Nate stirred and Zayna pulled her hand back quickly, laying back down pretending to be asleep. She felt him sit up as his hand rubbed her thigh up and down.

He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Please be okay."

He gave her a long, sweet kiss on her cheek before getting up to go to the bathroom.

When she heard the door click shut, she opened her eyes and sat up straight again. She placed her hand on the cheek. The feel of his warm lips lingered on her soft skin.

Before she knew it, he emerged from the bathroom.

"Youre awake." He breathed out, looking one her body inspecting for any more injuries.

She just stared at him and held out her arms, "Come here, you idiot."

Without any hesitation, he ran into her arms, holding her close to him.

"I'm so happy that you're awake, Zay. Your body feels okay right?" He asked pulling away from her.

She looked at him with so much adoration in her eyes, "I'm fine, Nate."

He pulled her back into his arms, holding her as if she'll slip out any moment.

"How long was I knocked out?" She asked leaning against the headboard.

"For four days. Your mom said that you lost quite an amount of blood and that the anxiety really got to you."

"Where you going?" She asked when she saw him walking towards her bedroom door.

Chuckling, he walked back towards her, "I'm just going to go change my clothes. Don't worry I'll be back soon."

He leaned down, giving her a lingering kiss on her forehead.

"Will you stay with me still I feel better?" She asked in a soft voice.
"Always mi amore. Always." With that he turned around and left her room.

Always mi amore. Always. His words were playing in her head like a broken record. She closed eyes, falling back asleep with a smile on her face.