My Hope (Louis Tomlinson FanFic) *Completed*

Chapter 18

A/N: I'm updating sooner than normal cuz a friend of mine who reads this book gave me some cotton candy today and I wanna thank her XD. Enjoy!

*Zayn's POV*

       "Okay, so, stay close to me, don't wander off, tell me or Paul if you need to go somewhere, okay?" I said to Kayla. She nodded her head, sending me a small smile. I've started calling them 'Kayla Smiles.' It's where she will smile the smallest smile I've ever seen, but you can tell that she means a lot by them.

       I turned to the door of the van opening it up and letting the afternoon sun fill our eyes. I jumped out of the van and turned around, offering my hand to help Kayla out of the van. She took it in her smaller hand, stepping out of the van herself. I smiled at her, dropping her hand in case I get noticed. I didn't want any assumptions made today.

       Not many people were at the mall today, seeing as it was around noon on a Wednesday, and most teenagers were at school right now.  Kayla and I walked into the mall, side by side with Paul behind us. I had on a black beanie and sunglasses to attempt to disguise myself. Of course, it never really works, so it doesn't really matter.

       "So, where would you like to look first?" I asked her. She shrugged her shoulders as she looked around the array of stores before her. I scratched the back of my neck. "Well...where do you usually get your clothes?" I asked.

       Kayla turned and looked at me, raising an eyebrow. I thought through what I had said, realizing my mistake. I smacked my hand to my face, dragging it down past my neck.

       "I'm an idiot. Okay, well, do you want to...just walk around all the stores and see what we find?" I asked her. She shrugged her shoulders again, nodding a bit. I took that as confirmation, starting to walk towards Forever 21.

       We walked into the fairly empty store, only a few women were here. A couple of them had their little kids with them, making a smile grace my face.

       "Hmm...you look to be about a size...four? two?" I said, looking at Kayla. She pulled a bit at the sleeves of her sweater, looking down at her pair of sweats. I think they were Niall's or Louis'. "Oh well, we'll figure it out," I shrugged.

       We walked over to the racks of clothes, looking through the various articles of clothing. I pulled out a pair of plain skinny jeans, holding them out in front of me. I held them up in front of Kayla. They looked to be about the right size. They were a size 2. I grabbed a couple more pairs of the jeans in different colors and styles.

       "Let's have you try these on, okay?" I asked. She nodded her head and followed me into the dressing room area, where a old woman stood behind a small counter holding all the little clips for the dressing room doors. "She needs a room to try these on?" I asked. The lady nodded and counted the six pairs of pants, handing me the clip with a big number 6 on it. "Thanks."

       Kayla walked over to one of the rooms, taking the jeans from my arm. She went inside and I clipped the number on the door, taking a seat on one of the chairs outside her room, pulling out my phone. I waited a few more minutes and Kayla still hadn't come out.

       "Kayla, love?" I said. "Are you done?"

       The door slowly opened and Kayla stepped out, a pair of white jeans hanging off her hips. She held them up with her hands, looking down at the ground.

         I knew her father starved her, and I knew she didn't weigh much, but I thought a size two would fit her at least. Apparently I was wrong.

       "Ma'am?" I called. The lady from the counter came over and asked if she could help me. "These are twos and they don't fit her. Do you have a size smaller than this?" I asked. She nodded her head and came back with another pile of jeans over her arm. Size zero.

       They fit her perfectly, thank goodness. I took them to the counter and bought them quickly, as me and Kayla left the store and headed to the next store.

*3 Hours Later*

       Kayla and I walked out of the last store we had visited. Out arms were lined with bags from all the stores we had been in. We ended up getting her a whole ton of clothes. She has 12 pairs of pants, 14 shirts, 5 pairs of shoes, and some...other clothes that she went into stores by herself to get.

       We were walking out of the mall as Kayla suddenly stopped walking. She was standing still as a statue as she looked over in another direction. I followed her line of sight, finding a man walking into a pub on the other side of the street.

       A few girls squeals were heard behind us, and so before I could think anything more about the man at the moment, I had to get Kayla and I out of here before the fans started questioning things.

       I grabbed Kayla's arm, minding her healing cuts and scratches on her arms, before pulling her towards the van. We got in quickly before closing the doors again and driving away. I turned to look at Kayla.

       "What happened in there?" I asked her. She was shaking as she pulled out her notepad.

       'I saw my father.'