The Run and Go // ziall au

01: The Fight

A/N: This chapter will contain domestic violence. I will put another author's note before it happens so that you can skip that part if it will trigger you. This is the first and only time domestic abuse will appear in this book.

Liam

He always does this. He always comes home hours after his shift ends. He doesn't answer my calls or texts, he doesn't let me know where he's going or what he's doing. I just sit in our apartment and worry until he stumbles in drunk off his ass.

I've tried to talk to him, to get him to stop his drinking, but he refuses to listen. Zayn used to treat me like a prince, he spoiled me every chance he got, but now I can't remember the last time he brought me home flowers or surprised me with a date night. I wish we could go back to the way we were when we were still in high school, before we moved to a new city together. Lord knows I've tried everything I can think of, so far nothing has worked.

I glance at the clock; 12:24 AM. His shift at the factory ended at eight.

Suddenly, I hear fumbling coming from the door. After a couple minutes of keys jingling and muffled swearing, the door slams open and Zayn emerges from the corridor. He reaks of whiskey and cigarettes. Of course he was at the fucking bar again, I don't know why I ever think otherwise. 

"Ah, you're home. Glad to know you're not dead in a ditch or in a bathtub full of ice with only one kidney." I spoke in the most sarcastic tone I could muster. He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Please don't start Liam, I have a terrible headache and I just want to go to bed." Is he mad? Does he honestly expect to waltz in this late, smelling of booze, and for me to just sit idly by without even questioning where he's been for the past four and a half hours? Not this time.

"You always say that Zayn. I'm so sick of having this conversation. Maybe if you'd pick up your damn phone we wouldn't need to fight about this every night."

"As if me telling you where I am is going to prevent you from blowing it out of proportion? Please, all you ever want to do is fight."

"We wouldn't need to fight if you would just talk to me! Why is that so hard for you to understand?!" He pushed past me and went into our bedroom, like putting a wall between us is going to fix our problems.

"Drop it Liam, I won't let it happen again. Just please leave me alone and let me sleep. I have to be up in five hours." At least he wasn't yelling this time, but I can't just drop this. I love him too much to have him throw his life away like this. He should be in uni with me, he's the smartest man I know, but he chooses to waste away in some stuffy factory with his drunkard co-workers and shit pay.

"God dammit Zayn, I can't just leave you alone. Why won't you talk to me? What did I do? Am I the reason you drink? Please, let me help you!" I'm so desperate to fix us, I'll never love someone else the way I love him.

"For fucks sake, Li. I drink because I'm stressed. I work in a fucking 120 degree factory for 12 hours a day, do you think that's easy?!" He spat at me. We're both standing in the middle of our living room now, our faces red from yelling.

"That's a load of shit and you know it! I'm sorry for screaming, just please open up to me. I love you so much..." I could feel the tears forming in my eyes, why do I always cry at the worst times?

"Don't cry babe, please. I love you more than anything, you know that. Can we please just talk in the morning?" He really does seem exhausted, but he always does this. He is always saying we'll talk in the morning, and when morning comes he pretends the night before never happened.

"No way Zayn, we're talking right now. If you go back in that bedroom, I swear I will not be here when you wake up tomorrow." That's probably an empty threat, but he doesn't know that.