Chains

Chapter 43

Never in my life had I expected to be set up on a blind date, much less actually going to one. It was the type of thing that I would watch on a reality tv show and as such, I expected it to go exactly as I saw on tv : the girl would end up hiding away in the safety of the female bathroom as she plans her escape. And I, Louisa Mebarak, was on the verge of doing the same. The only problem was that my getaway driver was more than peeved with the whole situation. My whole time at the restaurant consisted of me texting Zayn and avoiding my 'date' which ultimately made Zayn a bit mad.

Zayn accused me of being superficial for wanting the escape the date because I thought the guy was too nice and his and his feelings for me at the moment were portrayed in the middle finger and poop emoji he ended our conversation with.

"You're not having a good time, are you?"

I looked up at the footballer who was on the brink of retirement as a slight tinge of sadness graced his eyes. Truthfully, it was the first time I truly looked at the guy in all the thirty-two minutes and forty-five seconds we've been on the date.

When we first met, I only took a small glance at him and I had concluded instantly that he wasn't my type of guy. As the date went on, all his overly-nice gestures were enough to assure me that my belief was right. But. as I studied his features, I came to realize that he wasn't all that bad looking. In fact, he was kind of cute in his own way, an acquired taste.

"Louisa?"

I snapped out of my thoughts as he called for my attention once more.

"Oh! Uh , yes?" I questioned, acting as if I had forgotten his previous question. To my surprise, Ricardo sighed and placed his napkin on the table and stood from his seat.

"I'll take you home," he said softly. I watched as he pulled out his wallet and paid for our food, food that I  had barely even touched. Before I could somewhat disagree as the guilt began to build inside me, he pulled my chair out for me and waited for me to stand.

No words could describe how I felt as we drove silently to my apartment. To make things worse, his acts of chivalry and kindness never faltered despite how much of ass I was this entire time. He made sure to open my door and gave me a short yet meaningful hug before we said our goodbyes. I wanted to apologize for the way I had acted but the words never came.

What did come was very harsh scolding from Zayn later that night.

"Really Lou. He was too nice. Do you know how delusional you sound? Thats why you acted like a bitch the entire time?"

"I didn't act like a bitch," I said, frowning as I heated up the leftover food from the restaurant.

"Oh. That's why you were on your phone the entire time, huh. That's why you were ignoring him for the whole time? Frequent bathroom trips, eye rolling, barely touching your food? And did Ricardo complain even once because of your attitude? I bet he didn't, huh. He's too nice for that yet you treated him like shit. Then you wonder why your past relationships went the way they did.What, does being an asshole and a cheat a requirement for the guy you wanna date?"

I would be a fool if I said his words didn't hurt. It was as if they had re-opened old wounds I tried my hardest to heal.

"I told you I didn't wanna go," I said to him softly as the microwave timer went off. But suddenly, I wasn't hungry anymore.

"Then don't fucking go. You had a choice. I didn't hold a gun to your head and force you to go on the date. You've been rejecting the idea all morning then suddenly it was a 'yes' after the whole Maluma situation earlier."

I stayed silent as I watch him make his way to my door. He turned as if he was about to start his lecture again but stopped once there was a knock on the door.

He opened the door and to his disgust, the stood Maluma, who I had decided to speak to after all. Zayn shot me look that made me wince internally before directing his attention to Maluma.

"What are you doing here?" his tone laced with annoyance and hint of anger.

"She, invited me over" Maluma said plainly, obviously not fazed by the pissed off Zayn.

Zayn let out a humourless chuckle and nodded his head as he looked at me.

"I am done helping you," he said bitterly before exiting. Once he was gone, Maluma rushed over to me as my sniffs became louder.

His concerns were drowned out by the thoughts filling my head. Thoughts of losing my only true friend.