Arrest Me (Mature ZM)

Chapter 8

My feet slapped the pavement as I ran from my worst nightmare. With each footstep, I felt the cold water slam against my foot. I was in so much pain but I kept going. Sometimes I would step on rocks or stub my toe and cry out. I was sure my feet were bleeding.

My clothes had been soaked through and the coldness of it all was getting to me. My body was uncontrollably shaking as I tried to warm myself. I rubbed my hands on my arms but nothing stopped my shaking. Goosebumps covered my entire body was a gust of wind blew the soaking clothes against me. These pains felt like nothing compared to the pain I felt in my heart.

Negative thoughts started bubbling up, so I started running again. But not home. I could not go home tonight. Or the next night. I didn’t have a home. Nobody loved me. I could run in front of a car now and nobody would come to my funeral. I picked up the pace and tried to clear my mind. As I ran, no cars passed me and no lights were ahead, so I fell a few times and scraped my arms and knees up.

I really didn’t care. I just wanted to get out of the god damn town. I hated them all. I needed to leave and be somewhere warm. The only warm thing about me was the tears that were still freely flowing from my eyes. I hadn’t cried in a while, so I had a lot of tears to cry. I was crying about everything.

I couldn’t believe the things my parents had said to me. They had always been mean, but they never blamed me for their fighting. Never. They had also never been that mean. My dad had never hit me that hard or called me special. Both of my parents had called me dumb with various curse words on the end. It broke me and soon I was sitting on the edge of the road with my head between my knees. I was surely covered in mud but I didn’t care. At least I was wearing dark clothes so the mud wouldn’t be as noticeable.

I was going to have to go back home, where I would surely get screamed at some more and I might not even get dinner. I bit my lip so hard that blood started to come out. The rusty taste overpowered my mouth and I spit on the ground to get it out. I needed to get home. I stood up and started walking back home slowly. My feet ached and my vision blurred from tears as I made my way.

I walked for what seemed like an hour. I had really run a long way or maybe I was just lost. When I was almost there, I saw lights from behind me and then cop lights. The car pulled up next to me and Zayn rolled his window down. His face was full of concern.

“Ava, what are you doing?” He asked me. I broke down again and covered my face in my hands. I heard his car door open and soon I felt his jacket around me and he pulled me into his chest. “Let’s get you in my car, okay?” I nodded slowly as he led me to the car.

He helped me in and then walked around his side. “Where are we going?” I asked him weakly. My feet were curled underneath me as I tried to stay warm.

“My place,” He said quietly. I started shivering as I dripped water all over his car. His hand found mine and he looked up when he realized how cold it was. He sped up and we made it to his house a minute later.

Zayn quickly got out of the car and helped me out. Instead of making me walk, he picked me up and carried me inside. He opened the door and started carrying me upstairs to his room. He placed me down and wrapped his arms around me. He kissed my forehead and bent down to my level.

“What the hell were you doing out there?” He said to me. He didn’t sound angry, he just sounded concerned. Tears started coming out again and Zayn kissed my cheek. He walked away from me and came back with a shirt and sweatpants. “Go take a shower and warm up. I’ll make you some soup and whatever else you want, okay?”

I nodded slowly as Zayn took his jacket off of me. “I think I might have cut myself a few times on rocks.”

“We’ll clean that up after your shower, okay?” He bent down and kissed me. He led me to the bathroom and started the shower.