Our Cheeky, Movie Star Romance (Zouis Talik)

Chapter 15

"Zayn, it's Louis."

The tone of his voice was flat, not like someone who was talking to their boyfriend, but like someone who was talking to their coworker. Zayn sucked in a pained breath.

"I saw that you were in London. At first, I thought it wasnt true, but it is. I had to find out from Twitter instead of you. I guess that's what made me finally leave a message that you probably won't even listen to.

"I wanted to talk to you in person. Still do, I guess. What I'm calling to say is that... Well, people make stuff up in magazines all the time, use fake insiders, use old pictures. And I know what your little silent treatment is about, because as soon as those rumors came around about me and Devin, you stopped talking to me."

He was sounding angry now, and with every word Zayn heard the anger grow.

"And just- You are so selfish for doing that. You didn't even let me explain. You didn't even let me tell you my side of the story. You just ignored me, acting like you were the only wronged party-"

He heard Louis pause and take a slow, deep breath, something Zayn knew he did to calm himself down. When he next spoke, the words weren't full of the same angry, radical emotion as they had been. This time they were quiet, almost pained.

"I never cheated on you Zayn. Ever. But you never gave me the chance to explain that. I'm hurting too, but I'm not apologizing for anything. You're the one who shut me out, when all I've ever tried to do was get to you."

There was a pause, and now Zayn's throat was closing up with a cry that threatened to spill from his lips. He couldn't let it go, though. There was still something left to the message, something that was bound to hurt by the tone in Louis's voice.

"Maybe we could try saving... whatever it is that we have now. But I don't know if I'm ready. You hurt me, and... I just need some time to get over it."

There was a short pause in which Zayn could here Louis's slow intake of air, followed by a shuddering exhalation. There were only two words after that.

"Bye, Zayn."

And then the automated voice was back, but Zayn couldn't hear it through the numbness and the punding in his own head. He ended the call and dropped his phone, causing it to plop down onto the floor. He couldn't even bring himself to pick it up and see if the screen was totally shattered, because he knew that he had worse damage on his heart.

And finally, after weeks of hopeless anxiety, after days of telling himself that he would be okay, and after only hours of being in his new home, Zayn put his head in his hands and allowed himself to cry.

-+-

It was his fault, he knew. He had been selfish, only caring about his own feelings. His own worries and fears caught up in a whirling storm in his mind, when what he had feared hadn't even been real in the first place.

Old pictures.

So selfish.

Never cheated on you, Zayn.

You hurt me.

Bye, Zayn.

The words kept playing over and over again in his mind, mocking him sickly with phrases that struck his heart like needles. He was lying on his side, barely aware of the cream colored comforter that draped over his shirtless figure as he stared blankly at the wall in front of him.

He couldn't sleep with all the taunting feeling in his chest. It roiled up in thunderous waves and crashed down, causing a sick feeling in his stomach and making his heart feel empty. He tossed and turned most nights, trying to rid his thoughts of images of the one person he couldn't have.