As soon as Liam leaves, I head back to the door. I jump when I feel a hand touch my shoulder, and I whip around to face Niall. He has a concerned and sympathetic expression, and I stop glaring at him.
"Please, stay. Come on, let me clean you up!" Niall says, grabbing my wrist snd dragging me to the bathroom. Louis walks away to the kitchen, he's probably trying to avoid me.
Good, I don't want to be anywhere near him! Zayn, on the other hand, follows Niall and I like a lost puppy. Actually, I'm quite surprised Zayn didn't join in on the 'fun'. That's not like him at all. He's usually one of the first to have a go at using me as a punching bag, so why was today any different? I'll ask him.
Whilst in the midst of my thoughts, we reach the bathroom and it isn't until Niall tugs me inside that I realise where we are.
"Sit there." Niall demands, pointing to the counter beside the sink.
I walk - though it looks like more of a pathetic limp - over and hop on, watching as Niall finds a first aid kit inside one of the cupboards. He brings it over to me and sets it down just beside me. I keep my eyes on Niall, as he grabs a bottle filled with chemicals that stink. He pours some of the contents onto a clean cloth, before bringing it to my face.
"This might hurt, but it'll make you better!" Niall warns, pressing the cloth on one of my many cuts. I hiss, the liquid burning like hell, but allow Niall to continue. He carries on, before scrunching the cloth into a ball and tossing it to the other side of the sink.
"That's the most I can do, but there is some cream I can give you that hides the bruising, do you want that?" Niall asks, and I nod my head. Why not? It might make me look even a smidge more decent.
Smiling, Niall puts the bottle of chemicals away and picks up and small tube. He hands it to me, but I don't want to see my reflection. I know for a fact I look like some sort of monster, due to the terrible reactions from the boys, and the mess left over on the cloth previously. Niall is the only one who has kept calm about it all, and maybe Zayn. Then again, he hasn't said anything since just a little before my punishment.
I glance at him, as he stares at Niall with envy in his eyes. Wait, what? Am I going crazy? I hope not! Without even realising himself, Zayn's eyes are narrow and his jaw clenched. Niall brings me out of my thoughts again.
"Do you want to put that on, or do you want me to help?" Niall asks, his smile warm and friendly. I Iook down, embarrassed.
"Do you mind doing it?" I question in a feeble voice, feeling my face heat up. Oh great, I'm blushing. Then again, this is quite an awkward moment. I just asked one of my bullies if he would rub cream on my bruises. How ironic?
"Not at all, here, keep still." Niall says in a sofy tone, taking the tube of cream from my hands. He squirts some onto his fingers, before gently dabbing it where he can see bruising. Once done, Niall rubs the cream in. He takes a step back to look at his work, giving me a satisfied nod.
"Thanks Niall." I thank in a quiet voice, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. Niall smiles and tidies up the things he used on my face, stuffing it into the first aid kit and placing it back into the cupboard. I jump off the counter and land gracefully, following the two lads out of the bathroom. Zayn is glaring at Niall, but I don't think he's noticed he is yet. His eyes are nothing bigger than slits, and his jaw is clenched. What's his problem?
"What's up, grumpy?" I ask Zayn, nudging him. He looks down at me and his face softens. Niall is completely oblivious, wandering off to find Louis. I hear them both chatting in the living room, something about Liam coming back in a few minutes. I walk quietly with Zayn by my side.
"Oh, it's nothing." He disses, waving his hand in the air.
There is something about the way he seems so carefree that unnerves me. He looks like he's planning to do something, which I don't have a good feeling about. We head downstairs and towards the living room, but I stop and tense when Zayn places his hand on my shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, for everything. I was too self centered to realise how much I hurt you, please, how can I get you to trust me again?" Zayn says, and I stare back in shock. Hang on. It's a little late for him to apologise for what he did!
"Don't say that! It's too late to say sorry Zayn. I never did trust you anyway, so don't worry about that! Do you even know how much pain I've been through, or the lies I've made up to my parents just so I didn't get you into trouble? No, you don't!" I whisper-yell, so the boys won't come out and see us arguing.
"Look, I want to make it up to you, I'm sorry okay? You're right, I don't know what you've been through, but I'm about to find out." Zayn replies, but before I can protest, he lifts up my sleeve to my lower elbow and stares at my cuts. The majoroty are old scars from beatings, but some fresh cuts and bruises from today. There are also slash marks on my wrists, where I cut due to Harry's 'rules'. Zayn's eyes are wide and his mouth is slightly open, as he carefully traces the cuts. I wince when he touches the more recent ones, but straight away he removes his hand.
"Destiny, I-" he starts, but I cut him off. He looks into my eyes with sympathy and anger.
"No, stop. See these?" I interrupt, pointing to my cuts. "They're because of you and your little friends. Not nice, is it? Try having to live seeing this every single day, but pretend that you're fine so you don't make your own family suspicious." I finish, making Zayn look even more guilty. He shuts his mouth, but opens it again to talk.
"I'm so, so sorry..." he mutters, gently pulling my sleeve down.
"Zayn, stop it-" I begin to say, but I can't because Zayn does the same thing he did last time.
He kisses me.
I try to push him away, but he's just too strong. I do what I did last time, lean as far as I can away, and don't kiss back. Just as I doubt this moment could get any worse, I hear the front door open...
"What is going on here?!"
