Bullied By Zayn Malik.

Chapter 33: Apologies And Forgiveness.

Once we got back to the hospital (Zayn left without asking, he had to flirt his way out of trouble with the young nurse who caught us), I asked the boys if I could be alone with Zayn for a minute. They all nodded and left the room,; leaving us sitting on his bed. "Zayn... I don't know where to start. I didn't know you couldn't swim, I just thought you would get a cold or something.. I-" he cut me off by laughing, flashing me a smile. "Didn't we settle this already? I said it was okay, Louis." I just stared at him; then I lifted my hand up to his forehead. "What are you doing?" he asked slowly, raising an eyebrow. "Checking to see if you have a fever. You're being nice to me, and I just nearly killed you. Are you hallucinating?"

He smiled again, shaking his head and putting my hand down. "No, Lou. Like I said on the bridge, I had a bit of guidance while I was out." I narrowed my eyes, "What do you mean?" He took a deep breath, giving me the first serious look since he woke up. "You going to think I'm crazy, but do you know in the movies, where sometimes when the dude passes out or is in a coma, he'll wake up and be able to see and hear everything, but his body is still out?" He bit his lip as I tried to follow along. I thought about it for a moment, then it clicked. "Oh! You mean like one of those lucid dreams?" He snapped his fingers, "Yes! Well, that's what happened to me."

I froze, staring at the floor. "So you saw everything... us finding out you were.. passing, me freaking out and running towards the bridge..." he sighed, giving me a sad nod. "To be completely honest Lou, I wanted you to jump at first." I shot him a dirty look. "Well thanks!" He did a nervous chuckle, "You didn't let me finish. I wanted you to jump because I was angry. But as I was watching you run towards the bridge, this voice told me to stop you. He explained to me how guilty and sorry you felt, and it showed me the world we would live in without you. Believe it or not, Lou, it was really different." This was all very confusing, but that last part made me smile. "Really?" He giggled, nodding, "Yes, really. I didn't like it; plus I started to forgive you after seeing how miserable you were. The minute you were out of sight I was suddenly back here, only really awake this time. I knew I had to save you."

Before I knew it I was hugging him around the waist tightly, shutting my eyes. "I'm really glad you did.. Thank you Zayn." He hugged me back, then chuckled, "Wow, never thought I hear that come out of your mouth." I snorted in response. We sat there in a comfortable silence.

"Zayn?" I asked, looking at him. He looked at me, raising his eyebrows. "Do you think that voice that told you about me... do you think that voice was God?" He looked at the ground, biting his lip and thinking. After a few minutes, he finally nodded. "I think so, Lou. Seems like you got the mighty Guardian Angel there." I smiled, but he continued talking. "You know... I never believed in God before today happened." He started to fumble with his fingers nervously. I knitted my eyebrows together, "Why?" He stayed silent, biting his lip so hard I thought he would draw blood. "I didn't have the easiest life at home, Lou. That's why I used to bully you and your friends." I narrowed my eyes and cocked my head. "A little more detail, please?" He let out a sad sigh, still not looking up from the floor. I knew whatever he was hiding from me was really hurting him deep inside. "My parents beat me, Louis. They beat me until I was numb. I used to cut, but Niall stopped me just before things really got bad." he croaked, blinking away tears. "Niall basically saved me. If he wasn't there, it would have been me jumping off that bridge, not you." The words went into my ears, but weren't connecting to my brain. I hate to say it, but I didn't believe him. "Zayn.. I feel like an ass saying this... but I don't believe you."

He stared at me for a moment, making me nervous. Was he mad? But he suddenly stood up, pulling his shirt over his head. "Zayn, what are you-" I stopped when I saw his torso. It was covered in black bruises, especially around his ribs. I moved my eyes down his arms and stopped when I got to his wrists; they were covered in red, but fading scars. I could tell they were deep, too. I gulped, looking Zayn in the eyes. They were sad and full of fear. Once again I found myself jumping up and hugging him, ignoring the fact that he was shirtless. "Zayn, I'm so sorry." He shook his head as he hugged me back, but this time I could tell he was holding on because he needed someone to lean on. "I'm sorry Louis. I'm sorry I took out my anger and pain on you; it was wrong."

"Are you kidding me?!" I cried, jumping away from him. "I don't care if you bully me anymore! Kick me! Punch me! After all you go through-" His hand covered my mouth, and his smirk returned. "You talk. Way. to. Much." I smiled and licked his hand. "YUCK! THAT'S NASTY!" he yelled, wiping his hand on my hoodie. I burst out into laughter, shaking my head.

"I'm glad all of this is put behind us, Zayn." I smiled. He high fived me in agreement.