Stockholm Syndrome - A One Direction Story

Chapter Twelve

Amelia's POV
Three weeks later...

I walked out of my apartment building as I zipped up my winter jacket. It was lightly snowing as I stood & waited at the edge of the sidewalk. The first day of February.
I had only waited a couple of minutes before Justice pulled up in his car. I got in.
"Good morning" he started as I closed the door & put on my seatbelt.
"Morning." I say back. "Ready to go to Target?"
He looked at me & sighed. "Amelia, I know you mean well, but Harry said he didn't want anything for his birthday this year."
"Oh, he's just saying that." I insisted as Justice drove down the road.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. Now let's go."
Justice didn't bother fighting with me anymore & drove to the nearest Target. We both went inside & picked out a birthday card & a $25 iTunes gift card. Then we went to the bakery section & picked out a cake & got them to write "Happy Birthday Haz!!" It was Harry's 22nd birthday today. He had told me he didn't want anything special, especially since Oakley wasn't here. He said it felt weird. I told him I wouldn't, but I still wanted to, so I did. Harry wouldn't be mad anyways. That's just not like him.
When we were finished Justice & I went back to the car. We had parked in the back of the parking lot, despite the fact that it was only nine in the morning on a Thursday & the parking lot was still relatively empty. We put everything we had bought on the back seat & got in the car. We sat there for a minute.
"This should be fun. Harry's birthday is always the best." I said. Both of us knowing it was true. Harry's personality was one in a million & he always had the best outlook on life. I swear, not one negative thought ever ran through his head... even now he still tries... he struggles, but he still tries.
"Can I tell you something Harry told me that he didn't tell you?" Justice asked.
"Please, there is nothing in this world harry would tell you that he hasn't already told to me." I said as I took a pen out from the glove box, getting ready to sign the card.
"But there is. & I know this because he specifically told me not to tell you."
I looked at Justice. "Seriously?"
"Seriously..."
"Okay, what is it?" Already knowing that even though he said Harry told him not to tell me, he was going to anyways.
"He says he doesn't want to celebrate his birthday this year because he's scared that Oakley won't come home & he can't imagine celebrating his birthday without the girl that he said he had started to fall in love with."
I stopped in my tracks & dropped the pen. "He really said that?"
"Which part are you more surprised about?" Justice asked me.
"A little bit of both, but mainly from him sounding like he's given up. I'm also surprised he told you that & not me & then told you not to tell me."
"I'm sorry Meels . I just didn't want you to walk in there & have him be upset with you."
"Meels?" I questioned, as he had never called me that before.
"What? That's your name, isn't it?"
"Well yeah, but you've never called me Meels before. You've always called me Amelia."
"Don't you think we're kind of past that stage?" He asked?
"What do you mean?"
"Come on Meels, can we stop pretending that this isn't happening? Because it is... look, I know it sucks that your best friend isn't here right now, & I know that you don't want to do anything that means anything without her, but life goes on... you have to let it. It's been hard without her, no doubt. But I won't let my life go by without you just because she's not here. Meels, I love you. I think you already knew that, & I'm sure you even knew it before Oakley went missing. We've been sitting on this back burner for months. Sometimes I wish that I told you how I felt earlier... while she was still here. But we can't just wait for her to come back. You know she wouldn't want us to."
"I say back for a moment, knowing that he was right about everything he had just said. But most importantly that Oak wouldn't want us to stop living our lives because she wasn't there.
I smiled at Justice & he leaned in & kissed me.
After a minute or two he gently pulled away.
"Okay?" He asked. I nodded. "So... no cake then?"
& then I remembered the beginning of what justice had said to me. "No cake." & that's all I said. Hearing what Harry had said & the fact that he didn't even tell me upset me a little because not only did he not feel like he could tell me, but it also sounded like he was giving up on her. But I didn't want Justice to know that I was upset. So 'no cake' is the only thing I said.
We arrived at the diner at around 10:30. There were barely any customers as it was between breakfast & lunch hours. Harry was standing behind the counter.
"Morning." He said. I didn't answer as I walked around the counter & grabbed him by the arm & pulled him intro he kitchen so that customers couldn't see us. I heard Justice's footsteps behind us as he followed.
"What's up Meels?" He asked, as if nothing was wrong.
"Don't Meels me." I said in a frustrated tone.
"What do you mean?" He asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"How could you?"
"How could I What?"
"Meels, come on, let it go." Justice said from behind us.
"No. I won't let it go."
"You won't let what go?" Harry asked.
"How could you just give up on her like that?"
"What are you taking about?"
"Stop pretending like you don't know what I'm talking about. Justice told me everything. That you didn't want to celebrate your birthday without Oak & that you thought she wouldn't come back!"
"Thanks Justice." Harry said in a sarcastic tone.
"Sorry man, but I had to tell her."
"How could you give up on her?" I asked as tears streamed down my face. "She would never do that to you!"
"Amelia" he started.
"No. I don't wanna hear it Harry! She's still out there & if she knew that you out of all people were giving up on her, she would give up on herself. It wouldn't be worth fighting anymore for her."
"It's just easier."
"What's easier Haz? Giving up on her? Letting the past year of your life mean nothing? Or do you just not want her to come home?"
"Of course I want her to come home! I hope that she does. But living every day just wondering? I can't live like that anymore. It's just easier to-"
"To what? Hope for the best & expect the worst?"
Harry just went silent after that, trying to avoid eye contact.
I shook my head at him, feeling like there was no getting through to him at this point. I started to walk away. I didn't want to see him anymore for the day. But as I reached the door of the kitchen I turned back. "& for the record... she loved you too." I said before opening the door & walking out.

***

Oakley's POV

Zayn had been acting kind of strange for the past few weeks. Some days he would just come down to bring me something to eat & that was it. Other days he would stay with me the whole day, but just lay on the couch & barely day a word.
This morning he had brought me breakfast & when I was done he took my dishes back upstairs & came right back down. He had been laying on the couch for a while now.
"Zayn... is everything okay?" I asked
He looked over at me. "Nothing." He said.
"Zayn, are you sure?" I asked again. "Because you haven't touched me in like four days." The longest Zayn had gone without intimate contact was was maybe 48 hours.
"I'm just not feeling well I guess." He replied.
I walked over to him & sat right beside him. "Oh come on?" I rubbed his shoulder. "They say that sometimes sex can be the best medicine." I said before kissing him. But this time he refused to linger, pulling away after only a couple of seconds.
"Zayn..." I said, a bit surprised. "What's wrong?"
He hesitated at first before speaking again. "Do you think that your family & your friends are still looking for you?" He asked.
"Who knows." I sighed. "It's been so long now that I wouldn't be surprised if they've given up."
"How would you feel if you knew for sure that they had stopped looking for you?"
"I guess it would hurt a bit... but I could be in a worse situation."
"How?" He asked.
"Zayn, I know I'm an idiot for walking in the forest alone so early in the morning & late at night. You wouldn't believe how many times everyone told me not to do it, but did anyways. I always thought it wouldn't happen to me. Those are the kinds of things you hear on the news about a girl in the next town over. But it would never happen to me. I honestly believed that until it did happen to me. But it could have been worse. Anyone could have taken me. I'm so small, I always have been. I couldn't put up a fight even if I tried. I could have been taken by literally anyone else. & maybe they would have just used me once & then dumped my body in somewhere no one would think to look. At least here I'm still alive... & fed. It's a cruel world, & I learned that the hard way. But I'm still alive & that's all that matters... I used to think you were going to kill me-"
"I would never." He interrupted.
"I know that now. I trust that you won't. & if I'm stuck here for the rest of my life, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing. I miss everyone that I loved back home. But all things considered, I'm okay."
"Are you sure? You don't want to leave?"
"I don't think it's ever gonna happen, so I might as well stop dwelling on it. We can have a normal life anyways, can't we?" I asked.
"Maybe..." he said. Then he kissed me briefly before he left the room. I didn't see Zayn again for the rest of the day or that night, but I knew as soon as he left he was thinking of something.