Cover | zm [ON HOLD]

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

Sitting in Zayn's car on the way back to my place is as quiet as an abandoned amusement park. I sit in the passenger seat, fiddling with the hem of Zayn's shirt that I still have on my body. My body is tilting slightly away from him, my head resting against the window as we continue the quite drive.

I hear him shift and see his arm reach to turn the radio on. It's The Weekend by SZA that fills the silence of the vehicle. He turns it down so it's just a nice hum. I'm fine with that. At least it's help make it a little less awkward.

The sudden sound of my phone ringing jumps me out of my thoughts and I fumble to pull it from the deep pockets of Zayn's gym shorts. When I see who it is that's calling, a smile takes over my lips and I answer, quickly setting the phone against my ear. "Hi." I notice Zayn glance my way, more than likely curious of who I'm talking to at the moment.

"Hey, Riya. How's it going down there? Any one else threaten you?" My skin crawls at the memory of that man back at the party and I shake my head, relieved that I hadn't had to deal with any other encounters like that for a while now.

"Nah. All's well down here. Zayn's a great babysitter, by the way." I hear Kyle chuckle on his line.  "How are you, Kyle?"

At the mention of his name, Zayn grips the steering wheel a little tighter, his jaw now set. The tension in the car only thickens and I roll my eyes softly.

I was going to find out what happened between the two of them.

"Thankfully, no. Not in a while. I still get eerie feelings here and there but Zayn keeps me pretty much at arms length." I explain, now more thankful to have Zayn by my side than when this first started.

Kyle sighs. "I'll thank him later. I was just calling to see how it's been going with you," the sound of some guys shouting in the background could be heard, "I gotta go soon, babe."

As I spoke to him, my thoughts suddenly drifted back to what Zayn and I had just done no more than an hour or so ago. I bit my lip. I wasn't going to make myself feel guilty about it. I'm not in a real relationship. I was supposed to stop all things physical and emotional with Kyle back when he'd showed up at my house unannounced and my mother was there.

I hate myself.

After some time, we hung up after saying our goodbyes. Zayn hasn't said a word still and I'm not surprised.

We pull into my driveway at 10:15pm exactly. My mom would be house in twenty minutes.

Turning to look at Zayn, I reached over and gave his shoulder a firm but gentle squeeze. "Thanks." I say quietly, retracting my hand to rest it in my lap.

He looks over at me with a raised eyebrow, the light from the moon shadowing his face in all the right places. His lip pericing glistens in the moonlight and I have to refrain from reaching out and touching the sliver ring.

"For?"

I chuckle softly, leaning back against the seat. "For keeping me company today. It was nice of you.." His eyes lit up slightly and he nodded, sending me a shrug.

"No problem." He said coolly, hands now relaxed against the steering wheel.

Going to grab for the handle, I feel like my appreciation isn't going to mean much when it's just words from my mouth.

Turning back around, I lean over the middle console and give Zayn a kiss at the corner of his lips. It takes him by surprise, I can tell but it covers it up quickly. "Goodnight Zayn." I send him a wide grin before exiting the car and jogging up the steps to my front door.

Unlocking it, I turn back to give Zayn a wave before he pulls off and I'm safely in my home, sooo closed and locked. My cat comes prancing from the living room and nudges my legs softly. Grabbing him up, I make my way up the stairs to turn in for the night.

After I'd finished with everything I had to do for the night, I laid down in the comfort of my bed, quietly staring up at the ceiling as Chewy cuddled into my side.

The sound of the front door opening and closing catches my attention. I hear the stairs creak and footsteps get closer to my room.

When the door opens, I'm happy to see my mom standing there instead of some murder.

"Why are you still up?" She enters my room slowly, sending my that smile I love. I smile back, shrugging.

"Wanted to make sure you got in safe." I tell her. It wasn't a lie, truly. Since I couldn't sleep, I figured why not wait up for her?

My mom smiles brighter, walking over to me. She leans down and gives me a motherly kiss on the forehead, ramming a hand through my thick curls. "Get some sleep, baby." She said softly, giving my another kiss to the forehead before turning to make her exit.

Just before she closes the door, I shout, "I love you," out to her and she pauses, chuckling at me.

"I love you more, Riyanna. Goodnight babygirl." And with that, she shuts the door and I'm engulfed in darkness, nothing but the shine of the moon escaping through the slits in my curtains to provide some type of light.

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*a/n

Updateeeeeeeeee!!!'n

Lol hi guys

How long has it been since the last update? Maybe two weeks I think? Anyways, it hasn't been THAT long, thank god.

I got the inspiration to write or whatever so here's a chapter for this week.

Hope you enjoy! 👋🏽

🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥 ➖I like this emoji lol