Vulnerable (Zayn Malik AU)

Chapter 40

"Daisy...what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Why is your shirt off?"

"Daisy! How goes it?" Julia stepped forward and sort of bumped Zayn to the side.

"Depends. My boyfriend spends more time with other girls than with me, and doesn't really seem to care anymore."

"That sounds pretty shitty, actually." Her eyebrows scrunched, and she nudged Zayn with her elbow.

"You could say that."

"She said..." Julia mumbled something to Zayn, but I couldn't hear her whole statement.

"So what.." Zayn poorly semi-whispered back.

"That means something."

"No it does-"

"Hate to interrupt, but...can you stop mumbling? I need to talk to him." I pointed to Zayn.

"Oh! Sure, come on in! And, for gods sake," she turned to Zayn, "put your damn shirt on."

"That's not exactly what I meant..." I tried to tell her that I would rather speak to him outside (alone), but everyone else walked in before I could finish.

Stepping inside, her apartment was less than quaint. The couch was old, red, and worn out. I could only tell by the arms of it though. The rest of the couch was covered by a large, tribal-looking blanket. There was a huge, marbled, glass bottle on her coffee table that was definitely used for drugs (the term 'table' is used loosely because it looked like a plank of wood, on top of two boxes covered by a checkered cloth). She had a TV, and although it was a bit of a step up from Franky's box TV in the garage, it still wasn't modern. The rest of the living room was full of nice seating options for guests - metal folding chairs.

"Nice uh...nice place you got here." I'd never felt so judgemental. But, it was hard not to judge someone that was harboring your boyfriend from you like he was a fugitive.

"You don't have to lie." Julia laughed and took a seat on the couch. As did Zayn - a cushion away. At least he'd put his shirt back on. "It's a dump. But, I can't afford any better. Have a seat where you feel the least disgusting." I wanted to hate her, but she was so cool. I dropped my bag next to one of the metal chairs and sat, like everyone else. Franky sat on the metal chair adjacent to mine, and Zayn looked a little annoyed.

"What's going on?" The girl that was with Zayn and Julia at the ice cream parlor emerged from what looked like a bedroom.

"We're having an intervention. Join us." Julia patted the seat on the couch next to her, allowing the girl to join our dysfunctional circle.

"Hi, I'm Kai by the way." She stretched across the 'table' and shook my hand. I completely forgot that Zayn's mom told me her name was Kai. When Franky said the name outside, I was hoping Kai was Julia's boyfriend. But, all hope was surely gone. "What sort of intervention?" She asked.

"Hell if I know." Zayn growled.

"The kind where we get to hear both sides." Julia smiled at me. "So let's hear it, Daisy. What's your story?"

"Which one?"

"What do you mean?" She leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees.

"Well everyone lives multiple stories, don't you think?" I felt like an idiot.

"Alright, I'm curious. Explain."

"Well, there's the childhood nursery rhyme type stories where it's all giggles and gumdrops." She nodded, waiting for me to continue. "Then, you grow up into a 'pre-teen' that's self-conscious about anything and everything, so your story becomes that of tears and mistakes. And then, your story matures into the teenage years where you begin to hate things for absolutely no reason, and everything is dramatic. That story isn't much different from pre-teen, but it comes with much more regret. Then, there's the story I guess I'm living now: almost adulthood. And, I'm not gonna lie, I think this story has been the worst of them all." Everyone was looking at me like they'd never been more confused in their lives. But, Julia on the other hand, she looked like she understood every word that left my mouth.