Stranded

Chapter 22: Lessons (Part 1)

Zayn’s POV

Since early this morning, I looked everywhere for my cigarettes yet I couldn’t find any. It is impossible.I remember having a stash of them inside my bag. I asked everyone about them but they all claim to have no idea. The girls couldn’t look right into my eyes and they’re hands kept fidgeting things at reach. The boys, on the other hand, avoided me. I looked for someone to bribe on telling the truth and Erin seemed to be the easiest target.

She was working on fixing the electricity on deck zero. Harry was still busy taking a bath so I volunteered to accompany her.

“Erin, do you know anything about my lost cigs?” I asked her. She absentmindedly dropped the tool she was holding on her foot, making her jump in pain, biting down her lower lip not to make a sound.

Her eyes were looking sideways when she went back to work. She hasn’t answered my question yet and although I was looking at her intently, she pretended not to notice my stare.

“Erin?” I called her attention again, this time, she wasn’t holding anything nor doing anything. She has no excuse not to answer.

“I don’t know.” She said, looking away. Obviously, they were hiding something from me. They did something to my reserve and I’m hoping they only hid it somewhere in the cruise ship. Erin was transparent. I could tell she was lying.

Since I do not want to confront the poor girl, I only stared at her, knowing that an icy meaningful stare could make her tell me the truth.

She sighed, giving in. “I’m sorry, Zayn. The boys set them on fire this morning when you were still asleep.”

My jaw tightened. Not again. They’ve been trying to convince me to stop smoking for years. I can’t. Couldn’t they just understand that? I could see that Erin’s eyes were pleading me not to react negatively but I just can’t let it go.

After I thanked Erin, I rushed to Louis at once and questioned him about it, angry, but trying my best to control my emotions. It is only a small thing, I know, but I can’t last a single day without my beloved cigarettes. He told me to calm down, which I did, eventually.

But I felt really bummed. I went to look for cigarettes inside the bar and inside the storeroom but there aren’t any left. They probably burned every last piece of it. I sighed, surrendering, as I settled myself to sit on my lounger. Angel appeared from behind me, making me jolt in surprise.

“Hey.” She said, sitting on the empty lounger beside me.

“Hey.”

I wasn’t really in the mood for some friendly chitchat with a person I barely know but I figured out I need her company. After all, she’d be around no matter what. We’re partners and we have to follow those stupid rules for us not to be punished. Nobody discussed about how punishments would be like but we need to stay away from messing up.

“Sorry I lied.” She said, looking at her feet as she chewed on gum. I’ve been hearing lots of apologies from the girls lately that I’m running out of tolerance to say ‘It’s okay’ nicely. But even though that was the case, I faked a smile.

“It’s okay, Angel. I’m okay.”

“But you aren’t.” She argued like a kid. “I know you’re upset about it. I heard you cuss a lot a while back.”

Yeah, I did. I just couldn’t keep it all inside. I’m afraid, if I do, I will just hurt people more. Angel looked at me with her usual puppy-eyes, looking innocent as ever. With someone looking at you like that, I doubt if you could still dare to do or say anything wrong.