Dalliance - Z.M. (An Exquisites Original Story)

40; The Good, The Bad & The Dirty

Chapter 40:

"I know what it's like to have to trade the ones that you love for the ones you hate."

(Raine's POV)

"Are you sure you don't need me to walk you up?" Apollo asks as I unlatch my seatbelt.

"I'm sure," I assure him, passing him a tight-lipped smile as I grab the bag of pills I was given to deal with some pain. Apollo had just brought me back from the doctor, insistent that I need to be checked on every day until I'm no longer in pain. Despite my protests, he takes me every morning and has been every day for the past week. My bruises have turned an ugly purple color, but they are no longer tender which is progress.

"Alright," he tells me, watching me carefully as I open the door. He also begins looking around the surroundings of the car to make sure there isn't anything out of the ordinary like he usually does. "When you get inside, let me know you're good. I'm waiting here until then."

"You don't have to," I say to him like I do every day.

"I want to," he responds like he has been every day.

Biting my lip, I force myself to look away from his saddened face and shut the car door. He and I have not been the same since the night I asked him to be professional with me. Even though we see each other every day, our only interactions are strictly business, but since I've been recovering for the past week, we haven't been speaking much. I have trained myself to be more short with him even though I feel terrible doing it, but I know it's something I have to do. Although my nights have gotten a lot lonelier, the fact that I know I'm only doing this to make both him and Zayn safer helps me sleep at night.

As I unlock my apartment door, I hear Zayn's door open. When I turn to look, I see Ana walk outside with Zayn at her tail, both of them laughing about something as they do. As Zayn goes to lock his door, his eyes fall on me. I lift my hand to wave at him which he just nods at, his smile immediately disappearing.

"How you feeling?" Ana asks when she notices me standing there. I drop my hand to the side, turning my attention back to her.

"Better," I smile. We've been bumping into each other here and there these past few days, and she has yet to be rude to me. Maybe because she's finally won Zayn over, but either way, I appreciate not having another enemy.

"Good," she nods, taking a cigarette packet out of her pocket as she brings one to her lips, handing Zayn one as well. From where I'm standing, I notice his bruises are slowly fading as well as his cuts and he's no longer limping from being so brutally beaten. We have not spoken once since he came to my place the day I got back, and even though I shouldn't be, I'm disappointed. I never expected Zayn to be the one to give up without a fight.

The air becomes awkward immediately, so I turn back to my door and open it as I hear them walk away from me. When I step inside and shut the door behind me, I take a deep breath, trying to lighten the load from my heart. This is what I wanted, so I have to deal with it.

As I set my medicine on the counter, I hear a clutter noise coming from my room. My heart starts to race and I instantly grab the knife from my kitchen, holding it up. Silently, I walk towards my bedroom, the noises getting louder with every step. As soon as I'm about to enter the room, the door opens by itself, revealing the very last person I want to see right now.