Bashful - A Skephalo Story ❤️

Part 9

Zak walked down the street, his bag trailing behind him. He felt as if he had been wandering for hours, trying to find a place to stay. 'Why are all the hotels full?' He sulked, 'There's not even anything interesting to visit in this town...' Exhausted and not wanting to walk any further, he sat down in a closed shop's doorway, curling into a protective ball around his belongings. He lay there shivering, uncomfortable and scared, screwing his eyes shut until he eventually escaped into a restless sleep.

Darryl was frantic with worry. Zak still hadn't come home, and it was really late at night. He had never seen a clock move so painfully slowly in his life as when he was pacing the living room, waiting for Zak to come back. Frustrated, he let out a yell and punched the wall by the front door. With a loud tinkle, something fell to the ground. Darryl impatiently scooped it up, ready to put back on the hook it fell from, but stopped half way.

In his hand were his car keys. 'I'm such and idiot,' he cursed himself, 'by now, Zak could be-' No. He couldn't go there, it was too horrifying. He ran out of the door to his car, driving off immediately and starting to sweep the streets, looking frantically for any signs of Zak.

[TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCE]

Zak woke to the sound of deep voices, freezing cold and in pain all over.

"Hello, sweetheart," said a dark figure, looming over him, "what brings you to this part of town?"

"N-nothing. L-leave me alone!" Zak stuttered, "Or..." He trailed off, curling up into a ball.

"Or what, sugar?" The man sniggered, as two other figures advanced behind him. Soon Zak was trapped, unable to move at all, they were so close.

The first man laughed manically, then pounced on Zak, ripping his bag from his hands.

"NO!" Zak screamed, lunging for him, but the man just stepped back, signalling for his two goons to grab him.

"Sugar-buns over here is no use to me anymore, do with him what you will," the first man said gleefully as he walked away, whistling.

Zak was left all alone with the two brutes, who grinned menacingly at him in a way that made his skin crawl. He had never felt so vulnerable and afraid in all of his life.

Darryl turned down a back alley, and when he re-emerged it was in the dangerous part of town. He wished as hard as he could that Zak didn't come here, but he wasn't anywhere else and he was running out of places to look. He started sweeping the streets, searching every shadow, winding his way through the residential area towards the shops further on.

The thugs pushed Zak back against the wall, slamming his head against the bricks until blood ran down the shop front. One pinned his arms to his back, covering his mouth to muffle his frantic screams, the other ripping off his clothes and tearing them to shreds.

The thugs drew bats and took it in turns to beat Zak with them, making him scream in agony and shake uncontrollably. When they got bored of this sick game, they simply shoved Zak hard and ran off laughing. Dizzy from loss of blood and pain, he couldn't keep his balance and fell to the pavement; his head smashed into the concrete, and the whole world went dark.

By the time Darryl made it to the short stretch of shops at the edge of town, he was beginning to lose hope. Half-heartedly checking the street, he got to the end and turned around, ready to go and retrace his steps - when something caught his eye. Blood, and lots of it, on one of the shop walls. His heart dropped as he saw a figure lying beneath the blood, stripped of clothes and beaten beyond measure.

He got out of the car, concerned, and choked out a sob. He would recognise that hair anywhere, although the body was unrecognisable. "Zak! ZAK!! Can you hear me, Zak? Please..." He pleaded, kneeling over him. He didn't respond, and Darryl's body rocked with violent sobbing. Zak's breathing was shallow and he whimpered every so often, broken and freezing.

'He's still breathing,' Darryl told himself, 'he's not...' Trying his best to pull himself together, Darryl gently lifted Zak and lay him on the back seats of his car, covering him in a spare shirt and picnic blanket to try and keep him warm. He drove back as quickly as he could, although he was barely able to see the road through tears, and took Zak inside. Darryl lay him on their bed, took a steadying breath, then ran to get the first aid kit.

As gently as he could, he applied disinfectant and bandages to Zak's wounds to stop him losing any more blood. Then Darryl laid the duvets from both beds over Zak, plus all the blankets he could find in the house. He couldn't do anymore now; he would just have to wait whilst Zak rested. He vowed to stay at his side, just like he had done for him...

In the early morning, when Zak started shivering, Darryl folded his half of their duvet up and placed it on the pile of blankets, reaching for a jumper. If he died of hypothermia, he honestly wouldn't care in that moment, as long as Zak was okay.

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Hi, Nadia here! ❤️

First of all, thank you for reading Part 9 of Bashful - Skeppy x BadBoyHalo!

Second of all, if you have any suggestions or constructive criticism, comment down below.

See you in the next part 😊

Instagram: mind_of_nadia
Come for a chat in my DMs :)

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I knew what was going to happen and I was still scared... (ಠ益ಠ)