Impeccable (Zayn Malik AU)

xxvii. Fix You

♚ Zayn's POV ♚

I was silent as I stared at the battered and bruised girl in her bed, the only signs of life coming from her being the steady breaths she took from under the covers.

Her dark hair and pale face normally would've given off a confident, vixen-like aura. But now, it was different. The paleness of her face worried me, it made the dark bruising more prominent. She seemed fragile now, and it pained me to think that the one person she would want to be by her side was fragile too, stuck in a hospital bed and unable to wake up.

Her face had bruised substantially, and upon returning to the Manor, the royal medic had diagnosed her with a few broken ribs and an almost broken nose. It didn't sound like much, but looking at Ivy now, it looked like she had been hit by a truck.

The doctor had ordered strict bed rest for a few days, and then depending on how she felt treatment would be decided upon. I sighed before leaving Ivy alone to rest, deciding on checking how the other important girl in my life was holding up.

This morning had been the first morning I woke up alone. Odette had slept in her room for the first time since the beach house. When I had knocked on her door, Falene had alerted me that she had locked herself in her room, refusing to eat or drink or leave. I had no idea what brought on this strange behavior, no one had spoken to her all day other than Falene, and even she said that Odette's only words were: "Tell everyone to leave me alone."

I walked down the hallway with my hands jammed into my jean pockets, sighing when I saw the untouched food trays I had ordered the servants to leave outside her door. She hadn't eaten anything all day. I feared for her health, she was already pretty skinny, but God knows what kind of anorexic diets she had been taught to survive on her whole life. Girls wanted to be skinny to get a husband, and they would often resort to eating disorders. I hoped that wasn't what she was planning.

I stared painfully at the stack of pancakes and glass of orange juice on one plate and the grilled cheese sandwich with some tomato basil soup on the other. I sighed painfully. She hadn't touched a thing, the food still intact and picture perfect.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked softly on her door. I didn't hear anything on the other side of the door, and my hands reached for the set of universal Manor door keys in my pocket.

No, I told myself. Let her decide whether or not you come in.

So I waited. After about five minutes of nothing, I tried knocking again.

"Odette, baby, please let me in." I cooed through the wooden door, my response a small sound from the other side. I pressed my ear to it to try and hear it better, and when I did finally make it out, my heart had nearly shattered in broken pieces of glass.

Sobs were interrupted by small gasping sounds as Odette wept, refusing to answer me. She was crying hard, her sobs growing louder as time went on. I felt myself break into pieces as I listened, my forehead resting against the hard wood.

The girl I adored was shutting me out, and the one I needed in order to be a good king was unconscious in her bedroom. This was definitely not one of my better days.

"Little swan, what's wrong?" I tried again, my heart unsure if I could hear the terrible crying sound again. "Please tell me, I want to make you happy again."

A smashing sound hit the door a few seconds later, a shrill voice screaming afterwards.

"Leave me alone!" Odette screamed through the door, her voice cracking halfway through from not drinking anything all day. I heard her cough and gasp for breath afterwards.