Sin (BoyxBoy) (Ziam)

Hurt

I am so glad that I am back to writing. I have so much planned that I will be ready to share with you guys soon! Writing is literally my passion, and I am just endlessly thankful that you guys read my stories.

WARNING: This chapter does contain a few triggering topics. There are references to self-harm and sexual abuse. There is also alcoholism struggles-- which is something you guys will get to see more of and understand more from Zayn's POV soon. There will be warnings for the chapters containing those struggles.

I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Love you all!

Chapter 40:

Louis sat across from me at the lunch table, a concerned look on his face, and I averted my eyes. I knew what he was going to talk about. It was all anyone was talking about today. There were a few kids who lived near Liam and heard about his father getting arrested. They heard an encounter Liam had with his father as the police were taking him away. They knew his secret, and that immediately became the daily gossip.

I heard the conversations all day long. In class, in the halls, through bathroom stalls, even in the lunch room itself. People released shocked gasps, regret filling their features, or pity overtaking their twisted hearts. None of them cared for him before they knew, and I guess I was just the same. I was just as disgusting as they were.

"Do you think it's true?" Louis asked, setting down his lunch tray and his school bag. He glanced around the cafeteria once. "What everyone's saying? Do you think Liam's dad was abusive?"

I stayed silent for a while. It felt wrong to talk about his situation in a public setting. I've only ever spoken to Liam about it until I confessed it all to my aunt. Now, it was out in the open, and it felt something similar to a nightmare.

"It's true," I said with finality.

"How do you know?" Louis raised an eyebrow at me.

I glanced at him for a mere moment, shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly. "He had bruises that weren't made by my fists."

I couldn't bring myself to tell Louis everything. He may be my best friend, but there were still some things I wasn't ready to explain to him. My relationship with Liam was one of those things. I wasn't even sure where we stood.

"You noticed the bruises, but you didn't say anything?" Louis exclaimed lowly. "That's a new low, even for you, Zayn."

"You noticed one of them. Those burns on his neck."

Louis' eyes widened in realization as his mouth fell open a little. "You... you said you made those," He accused weakly.

"No, you just assumed I did, and I let you."

Louis' face fell, and he shook his head. "Wow. When you put it that way, I was kind of an ass then. But if you knew about Liam's dad, why didn't you say anything? And why would you take the blame for something you didn't do? You hate Liam."

"I don't... hate Liam. We've moved passed that. I was just being an idiot about some things," I said, trying to be as vague as possible, but Louis seemed to see right through me.

"What do you mean, Zayn?" He narrowed his eyes as they roamed my face, examining my features and looking for any sign of mu actual emotions. The thing was, I was a master at hiding the ones that were true. "There's something you're not telling me."

I immediately jumped into answering his last question, focusing intently on my tray in front of me, repeatedly stabbing my fork into the vegetables on my tray.

"I couldn't tell, Louis. Who would've believed me? Everyone would have just assumed I made the bruises anyway. You did." I heard the edge to my voice, and I could feel the change in atmosphere as soon as the pointed words left my lips.