You Saved Me ( Zayn Malik )

Chapter 21.

*Zayn's POV*

  I felt my eyelids drooping heavily as I put my key in the lock on my front door. It was only 7:30 and I felt like I hadn't slept in a week, which was partially true. I hadn't been getting a lot of sleep. Lately, I was only getting a couple hours of rest per night, due to late hours in the studio. Stress was taking a large toll on me, and I honestly felt like I could literally rip all the hair out of my head, at that point. The new album was coming along nicely, though. There were no problems, I just had a lot on my plate. Plus that one little detail in the back of my mind, just nagging away. 

  Skylar was constantly on my mind, with everything I did. Everything reminded me of her. The thought of her didn't have a negative affect on me. No, it was the thought of the choice she had made that deterred me. The thought of losing her was too much for me to handle. 

  My legs felt like a million tons as I walked into my warm flat and silently closed the door, locking it behind me. I walked to my bedroom, not bothering to take off my shoes and jacket. I let all my weight plop right onto my bed, feeling my aching muscles relax at least a little and feeling relief wash over me. My eyelids dropped shut, refusing to be lifted open. The only sound in the whole apartment being the continuous yawns making their way out of my mouth.

  What felt like two minutes, but turned out to be almost two hours, later, I heard a knock at the door. I groaned as I turned over, trying to convince myself that it was just my imagination.

My eyes snapped open once I realized the only person who would be knocking at my door this late.

Skylar.

  The words Skylar had spoken to me only a few nights before rushed through my mind as I stood up quickly from my bed, causing pain in my lower back, and dizziness. I maneuvered swiftly through my flat, as fast as humanly possible when half asleep, and dizzy, and soon came to a stop at my door.

  I swung the door open to find my theory was in fact true. "Skylar? What's wrong?" I asked, stepping towards the scared girl in front of me. She stepped back and looked at the ground, avoiding eye contact. "He got me." she whispered, barely audible above the ongoing traffic nearby. 

  Now, words can either make, or break a person. In this situation, they just happened to break me. The pang of guilt and anger inside of me was almost too much to bare. I knew I should've forced her to stay with me, but I doubted that would've stopped him. He would've just waited for her to be alone. That only angered me more. The fact that I couldn't even protect my baby, it was overwhelming. I felt useless, standing there. What was I supposed to say? I knew I couldn't do anything yet. I had to stay with Skylar. "Well, here, come inside." I said, placing my hand on the small of her back. I felt goosebumps shoot up my arm as my hand came in contact with her back. Even through clothes, she had that effect on me.

  She reluctantly stepped through the threshold of my flat before I closed, and locked, the door behind us. "C-Can I take a shower? I feel... dirty." she said, looking up into my eyes. "Sure." I said, removing my hand from her back. "And, do me a favor and burn these clothes for me?" she asked, whilst pointing to the clothes on her body. I chuckled lightly and said, "Erm, yeah. If you want I can run to your flat quickly and grab you some clothes? I'm not letting you go back. Not tomorrow, at least." 

  Unwillingly, she accepted my offer and I was soon out my door, with Skylar in my shower. I knew I had to be quick, but with Skylar, it wasn't hard to find stuff for her.

  Once at her flat, I ran up to her door and turned the knob, hoping it was unlocked. I heard a small click before the door opened slightly. I pushed harder to open it all the way and stepped into her house,  accidentally slamming the door behind me. I cringed at the loud noise, and walked through the unfamiliar house to what I remembered as Skylar's room. Opening the door, I instantly felt relieved. It didn't smell like smoke and alcohol in there, it only smelled of Skylar. One of my favorite smells.