One last time/Zauren

/3.

L:
I woke up in a queen sized bed with Depp laying beside me. The arguement from last night was fresh in my mind. "Let me use the bathroom and then we'll go for a walk." I rubbed Depp's stomach and got out of bed. It was ten in the morning and it was a beautiful day out.

I took a look at myself in the bathroom mirror and rubbed at my eyes that were puffy from crying. Angry cries are the worse because it's like you don't want to cry but you're just so heated that it's the only sane reaction your body comes up with.

I hooked Depp up to the leash and walked past Zayn. I could smell the alcohol on him from the hallway, it was that bad. There was broken glass on the floor along with mints and a picture frame. That must've been the crash I heard last night. Zayn was curled up hugging a pillow on the sofa.

I stared at him for a while trying to figure out how the hell we ended up fighting this much when all we ever knew was an outpour of love.

I just wanted to clear my head and my legs didn't want to stop moving so the walk was two hours long. When I got back to the apartment, our neighbor Jenna walked out. She was a thirty year old soccer mom with a bad dye job.

"Lauren, hey. Hi, Depp," she patted Depp's head. "You're just the person I wanted to see.." she ran her fingers through her almost platinum blonde hair. "I didn't want to go to the landlord because I figured we could hash this out together.." I raised an eyebrow unsure of what she was going to say. "These walls could be so sound proof at 1 in the morning when all you're surrounded with is silence... with that being said I can you hear you and Zayn arguing all the time lately and I'm not going to ask why because I don't enjoy being in peoples personal lives, but you woke Emily up last night and she was scared."

"Oh.. wow, I am so so sorry. I didn't know we were that loud.. I'm sorry, I really am. If you want to file a noise complaint I completely understand. I take responsibility."

"No noise complaints here, just find peace," she gave me a half smile and walked back inside.

I rolled my eyes and unlocked my door. Zayn wasn't on the couch anymore but the glass was still on the floor. I picked Depp up in my arms and grunted. "Zayn?" I called out, making my way toward the bedroom. He was slipping on a shirt, no longer reeking of a dirty bar but smelling pleasently like the cologne I bought him last Christmas. "There is glass on the floor. Depp could have stepped in it."

"But did he?" I rolled my eyes and placed Depp on the bed.

"That is not the point.. and just so you know Jenna from across the hall just talked to me about how loud we are. Our arguing scared her daughter out of her sleep. We're this close to getting a noise complaint, and you know Ernesto doesn't like us ever since he stepped in Depp's shit."

"You want me to clean the glass? I'll clean the glass. Geesh," he headed out the door and I stood there for a moment as I heard the glass being swept up.

"You're not getting any of the points I'm trying to make here Zayn. We need to stop fighting," I said. I glanced at the broken picture frame of us and felt my breath catch in my throat.

"You're right.. we do need to stop fighting," he said. "Do you have any suggestions?"

I looked down at my engagement ring and twisted it around on my finger.

Z:
"I can't do this anymore," Lauren exhaled slipping the diamond ring off of her left finger and placing it onto the table. "WE can't do this anymore, Zayn." It was almost as if her words were knives because almost instantly I felt this sharp pain in my chest.

I picked the ring up and held it out toward her. "Put the ring back on. You don't mean that."

"I do mean that.. I've been trying to fix things and you haven't. I called you last night to talk things over but you decided to keep drinking and then drive home to get pissed off that I was pissed off because you were drunk driving."

"Lauren," my voice cracked.

"I can't keep fighting all the time and as much as I want to be with you and marry you.. we aren't getting anywhere."

Lauren grabbed her car keys and made her way to the front door. "Please Lauren, don't do this." I placed my hand on hers that was on the doorknob. "You're not being-" my voice cracked again. "You're not being fair Lauren."

Lauren wiped away her tears with the palm of her hand and she couldn't even look me in the eyes as she said, "Bye Zayn."

I stayed up til four in the morning trying to get in contact with Lauren. I called all of her friends, her brother and sister but no one would answer me or they'd say they hadn't seen her. I twirled the ring around in my hand and started pacing around, trying to figure out how everything just turned out wrong.

L:
"I can't tell my parents... they'd be so disappointed in us. My dad would say I knew I shouldn't have agreed to sending my first born off so young to marry," I rubbed at my eyes.

"Wait, so are you guys calling off the engagement or your whole relationship?" Dinah asked.

I was staying with Camila and Dinah at my old apartment. I lived here for two and a half years. It was my first apartment with one of my best friends before I took an even bigger step and moved into my own place with Zayn and we got a dog, and now here I am.. I might go a step further and go back to square one. My parents house where I lived since I was born.

"I don't know! I don't know anything anymore.." I sniffled throwing my hands up.

"Wait... will we get a refund ln those dresses then....?" Dinah mumbled. Camila made a face and nudged her. "Really Dinah? At a time like this?"

"I'm sorry... those dresses were just hella expensive.."

"Dinah."

"Okay.. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. My lips are sealed."

"Anywaysss.." Camila rolled her eyes. "Your parents aren't going to be disappointed in you. I've known them all my life and they are your biggest cheerleaders. Things like this happen Lauren."

"It wasn't supposed to happen to us.. this was supposed to be fun, you know? Him and I feeling like we're taking on the world. We weren't supposed to fall out of love." I wiped at my wet eyes with the sleeve of my shirt.

"You guys did not fall out of love," Dinah said.

"Yeah, I was just with you guys the other day and even though the tension was unreal, he still looked at you like you were the stars in his sky," Camila stated.

"Really?" I snorted. "I'd kill to see him look at me like that again."

"He does. Look, you can stay with Dinah and I until things get resolved if you'd like?" Camila said.

"I'll stay tonight but I think tomorrow I'm gonna head home.. after I get some things from the apartment while Zayn's at work. Can you guys help me then?"

"Of course we can, you don't even have to ask," Dinah said.

"Thank you guys."

Things got quiet and I started to stare at my bare finger where for six momths there was a stunning diamond. I wiggled my finger. "I just feel like I pressured Zayn into marrying me and he now regrets it."

"Lauren, don't you ever feel like that. That boy loves you so much," Dinah said.

"Yeah, well I'm not feeling a whole lot of love right now," I shivered.

"How do you think he's feeling? You gave him the ring back. Now, now, I'm not saying anyones right or wrong here but maybe you two need to take the time you feel is needed to see the immense amount of love that is right there front of you."