HIGH

Chapter 50. Work

            I had just barely made it to the bed when Zayn came barging into the bedroom. His face was turning a flush red color and the familiar vein in his neck was showing.

“You think you can talk to me like that?” He moved swiftly across the room. He was inches away from my face in a matter of seconds. His palm firmly pushed me backwards on the bed. I made a point to sit on the very edge of the bed, having no desire to go farther.

 “You think I’d just let you talk to me like that? Disrespect me that way? Let’s not forgot who’s in charge here, babe.” He sneered. Zayn kneeled down in front of me. He placed a hand on my knee, steadying himself and keeping us level with one another. His fingertips squeezed deep into my skin causing me to squirm in discomfort.

“I owe you nothing. I’ve told you that since the beginning. I owe you no explanations, nothing. If you just kept your fucking mouth shut and did what I told you to do then we wouldn’t be having this discussion.”

I had to refrain from rolling my eyes at him. Every single time he got mad at me I was told the same thing over and over. His ridiculous accent and over played words were etched into my head. At first, these words mixed with his temper had made me fearful but now he was just a huge headache.

I sat up straighter and squared my shoulders.

“Go on then. Hit me.” I told him boldly. “I disrespected you, so hit me. That’s my punishment right, babe?”

A moment of shock crossed Zayn’s features but was soon overtaken by anger. His eyes remained locked on mine in an icy glare. If looks could kill, I had already died nine times.

But he wouldn’t hit me.

“Fuck.” Zayn growled. He got up off the floor and stalked over to the door. His fist suddenly rammed against the wood. He let out an agitated hiss once he realized the dent he had left.

I watched him in complete silence while he continued with his little temper tantrum.

***ZAYN’S POV***

            I was angry at myself for even thinking I wanted to keep her around. I was angry that I even considered risking my life just to keep her under my fucking sheets. She’s soirritating. There’s no getting anywhere with her! Either I’m too nice (in which case I came on too strong but that’s beside the point) or I’m a douche. Frankly, it’s easier to just be a douche and have her hate me. If I did have itmy way, without the burden of the plan, she would hate me. Hell, she wouldn’t even be here if I had my way.

The plan. Stick with the plan.

We were a couple, Ava and I. In the eyes of George we were an item. Behind closed doors or literally anywhere that wasn’t in George’s sight we were two people who couldn’t stand each other. But for the sake of getting the plan over with at a quicker rate I was willing to make some adjustments. If being nice to her somehow meant getting rid of her faster, so be it. Fuck what I felt before- there’s no point in it. She was just simply a body, something that I would have no trouble replacing.

I took a deep breath and knelt down in front of her once more. With all the strength I could muster, I tried to give her a sincere look.

“I’m not going to hit you.” I told her carefully. “I’ve decided that doesn’t work so well.”

Ava suddenly broke into a fit of laughter. It took me a moment to realize that she was in fact mocking me.

“Oh really? That’s the conclusion you’ve come to? Please, Zayn, tell me more. What else have you discovered? Minus the abuse, of course.” Her snarky tone made my hands clench into fists again. I bit back a sour response.

“Arguing with you constantly doesn’t make things better.” I felt like a child, like Ava was scolding me.

“Hmm, yeah and maybe the fact that you treat me like an object? Or that you don’t talk to me at all and when you do you’re being a condescending asshole. Or maybe you’ve finally realized how childish you are when it comes to telling the truth.”

“I haven’t lied to you!” I snapped. I haven’t lied to her about the deal yet. I haven’t lied once to her.

“Well you certainly haven’t been honest. I’m clearly not here because you want me to be. Do you think I’m stupid, Zayn? I’m smart enough to know when someone doesn’t want me around. And not only do you not want me around- you hate me. You really, really hate me.”  Ava’s voice was cold and calm. She made a point of staring me down.

“I don’t hate you.” I mumbled. That wasn’t entirely true but I honestly didn’t know how else to respond to her.

“That’s bullshit and you know it. Look, just face it. You hate me and I hate you.” Ava abruptly stood up nearly knocking me over. “Now that we’ve settled that, I should be able to leave.”

The anger I was trying so hard to suppress suddenly came boiling back up. There was absolutely no point in trying to reason with her or discuss anything! Listening to her bitch and complain was starting to hurt my ears.

I lightly rested my hand on her shoulder.

“Sit down.” I told her softly. She glared at me through narrowed eyes as soon as my hand came into contact with her. Defiance was clear in the way she stood with her arms crossed over her chest.

“For Christ’s sake just sit on the fucking bed, Ava. You aren’t leaving.”

Ava sat back down on the bed with a huff. She crossed her legs and kept her arms folded. The glare on her face was still very much there as well.

I sat down next to her, making sure there was a comfortable distance between us.

There was no other option with her. I knew what I had to do in order to make the plan work.