Dreaming. *Zayn Malik.*

Chapter Thirteen.

Third Person POV

                Erin had dropped to her knees when she got the phone call. Her cell phone fell to the living room floor and as she aimed to fall onto the couch her body racking with tears led her to the hardwood floor. The music station was playing on the TV because Erin thought maybe she would clean to house for Zayn, since she was feeling well and he had done all the house work since they were married.

                “Mrs. Malik?” The nurse at the station asked as Erin came walking in. She realized that this wasn’t like she watched in the movies, or read about in one of her books. Someone she loved had been shot, and no one was telling her what was happening in the next room, but she didn’t run into the hospital in a panic.

                In a way Erin was in shock. She was also terrified. There had been a couple reasons she had been in the hospital in her life. Once when she was five and broke her leg at school, or when she was twelve and she got really sick from headaches. (That should have been a clue for the future she thought). Then again when she was seventeen when her best friend in the world, killed himself. Then she was here when she collapsed last year, finding out she had cancer. Now the love of her life was here with a gunshot wound to his side.

                “Yes that’s me, where is he?” The nurse looked at Erin with such sympathy that part of Erin thought she would throw up all over the place. She didn’t have time to assure the women that she was okay because if she was being honest she really was okay. She wouldn’t be okay until someone told her where Zayn was.

                “Mr. Malik is in room 602, you can right back. She is awake, but he’s in a lot of pain.” Erin tapped on the nurses desk a couple times just to thank her, completely unsure of how well her voice was going to work at the moment.

                Erin turned down a couple hallways until she found the room 602. The door was closed and the lights were off which made Erin nervous. She hoped that Zayn was just resting, hell he could be sleeping for all she cared. As long as his body was in there, breathing. Erin thought to herself that Zayn wouldn’t dare die without her next to him. So maybe she shouldn’t go in the room at all.

                “Erin why are you here?” Erin’s body turned almost robotically to the left. Her eyes were blood shot and her tears were still falling. She was wearing grey sweatpants and a tight pink hoodie, she wore a scarf around her head to hide her baldness.

                When Erin turned and took in what she was seeing, Zach stood there. He wore normal light washed jeans with a long sleeved red Hollister shirt. He held hospital coffee in his hands and looked rather nervous. Erin whipped her eyes and focused on Zach.

                “Zayn he’s been hurt, erm, what are you doing here? Is Carly okay?” Erin’s brain was completely washed because if Zach was here because something with the twins went wrong she didn’t think she couldn’t make it. She wouldn’t watch her husband die, and her best friend/sister lose two children.

                “Oh no nothing happen, today is just the big day, she didn’t want to call anyone until it happened, because the doctors say it adds stress. What’s happened to Zayn?” Erin must have completely lost track of her life because it had already been nine months since Carly found out she was pregnant. Erin still found it hard to believe that Zach and Carly found their way back together. They made Erin believe in fate.

                “He-he’s been shot.” Erin and Zach had never been that close. Zach was always to close to Carly’s side for them to bond back in school. And then he was gone and Erin had never seen him. But when the world fell from Erin’s mouth and she fell to the ground Zach rushed at her, holding her and not letting her hit herself to tile.

                “Have you seen him yet?” Erin couldn’t answer she just shook her head. Zach took a deep breath and ran his hand over Erin’s head and back trying to sooth her. She convulsed in his arms and he felt himself break a little.

                Zach tried to think of how he would hurt if half of the stuff that went on between Zayn and Erin happened to Him and Carly. He died a little inside, because sure they all dealt with Matt’s death, and they were there for Erin’s wedding, and her cancer. But they were never in what was happening. Zach watched from afar for years as Erin stuck out whatever she had to deal with, and this was something he knew she wouldn’t make it threw, Zayn was her life line.

                “I’ll go in with you, come on.” Zach lifted Erin the best he could with how weak he felt. He was going to be honest with himself and let it be known he wasn’t sure how to be there for someone that wasn’t Carly.

                “Thanks Zach,” They opened the door together and Zach held onto Erin walking her over to Zayn’s bed. When Erin sat down in the chair next to Zayn Zach took the chance to look at him.

                Zayn had never looked so pale to him before. Not even before he asked Erin to marry him. Zayn hadn’t even looked that sick when he came to Zach crying because of Erin’s conditions. He wasn’t even sure why Zayn had ran to him, but he hugged him and told him that he would be there for him through anything.

                “Hey Erin, I just got a text, Carly is having the twins I have to go.” Zach actually felt really bad but he had missed the birth of Jace, he wouldn’t miss the twins’ birth. Erin just nodded and held onto Zayn’s hand and kissed his fingers.

                With Zach running full speed through the hospital going to see the birth of two of his three children Erin sat alone in a dark hospital room holding Zayn’s hand. Zayn was hooked up to a breathing machine, but the doctors had said for the most part Zayn could breathe on his own.

                “E-erin?” Erin’s entire body perked up as Zayn coughed her name out. She jumped forward and let her hand run through his black hair. Zayn’s brown eyes blinked open and looked tired as they met her blue ones.

                “You’re going to be okay baby, the doctors said you’ll be out of here in a couple days. Oh and guess who I ran into? Zach, he just left, Carly’s having the twins.” Erin could tell Zayn wasn’t interested in what she was saying, but she had to keep a conversation going to distract herself from what was happening.  

                “I’ll be fine as long as you are here.” Zayn’s tired smile made Erin feel warm inside. He was always good at making the worst possible times into times that Erin would remember happily. Though she felt bad thinking she would remember Zayn’s shooting happily.

                “Zayn who shot you?” Erin felt awkward asking the question, and part of her thought Zayn wasn’t going to answer, but she had to ask because since she heard the phone call she kept wondering who would shoot her lovely Zayn and why.

                “It was no one. We are going to have to talk Erin, but when I get home okay? For now when you are home, I need you to leave all the doors and windows locked.” Erin wasn’t going to correct Zayn and tell him that they only had one door and lived on the sixth floor of a building, but she did notice that he was worried for her safety. She was starting to worry also.

                “Alright baby, do you want anything?” Erin asked running her fingers through Zayn’s hair still. But all she got was a tired sigh and Zayn closing his eyes. The doctor had said that he would be very tired for a couple days from the pain medication, but she wasn’t going to leave his side for any of it.