Do you love me? (A 1D fanfic)

Ch. 26

Zayn's p.o.v.

Her eyes slowly closed, and I kissed her forehead. "I love you too," she whispered before falling asleep. I stared at her face for one moment, and remembered the day I decided to cheat on her. When she had found out, I was afraid she would never speak to me again. She didn't respond to my calls, didn't eat, and she cut her arms. That part struck me like an arrow. "I'm sorry," My voice was shaky as I pulled the covers up over her. Her lip was quivering. Crawling in next to her, I turned out the lights. Five minutes later, her scream pierced the air. I felt her clutch my hand. "Lex!" I flipped on the lights, and turned to see her crying and breathing heavy. "You okay?" I whispered, and she continued to sob, as I pulled her into my lap. "Babe....What's the matter?" I was starting to get worried. Was she okay? "I-I thought you...you...." She was stumbling over her own words. "I thought you died," when those words escaped her lips, I held her closer to me. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise." My shaking fingers brushed her hair back. "Okay," she whispered, and I saw the pain in her brown eyes. She was sad. "Lexi. I'm not going anywhere. You need to trust me," I felt her hand on my knee. "I do, but I just need-" I cut her off with a kiss. "Zayn," she was begging me. But for what? "Babe, you're not telling me everything." I looked into her eyes, and she sighed. "I'm being abused. By Jason. Again." She stared at her lap, and I saw dry blood on her neck, bruises on her jawline and under her eyes. "How could have I missed this?!" I shouted, and she looked up at me. "Makeup," her voice was quiet. "I didn't want to tell you Because..I-" she was distracted when I traced her nose with my index finger.

"Ouch-" she whimpered, and I began to trail kisses up her neck. "I love you,"

I watched as Lexi self-consciously pulled away from me. Chuckling, I took her hair and began to straighten it. "So this is a 'girls only' sleepover, huh?" I smiled as she nodded. "I feel neglected," I pouted, turning her swivel chair around. I carefully applied concealer, blush and cover-up to her skin, and she chose pink sparkly eyeshadow. "You're good at this," she grinned as I applied mascara and eyeliner. "Have fun," I kissed her, and she threw her arms around me. All of her bruises were invisible, her cuts hidden under her leather jacket.

The kiss was passionate, and I pulled away, taking her by surprise. "I love you," I whispered in her ear.

If only I had known she wasn't coming back that night.

"Zayn!" Harry was at my apartment door. "What is it?" I got up from the television. "Jason found her." He had Lexi in his arms, and she was passed out, blood trickling out of her chin. I stared at her limp body for a few minutes, and then saw that Harry was crying. "Harry. She's going to be fine. And we're going to kick Jason's ass." I smirked. Harry laid Lexi down on the couch, and I sighed. She was groaning. "You look beautiful." I kissed her forehead and went to get some water. "Lex, I love you so much. I can't believe anybody would want to do this. You're my world. I need you. So if you did tonight, I go with you," Harry. He was sobbing, leaning over Lexi. "Harry?" Lexi whispered back to him. "I'm here," he took her hand. I wasn't about to stop him. I'm not that kind of guy. "Thank you. But Harry, if this keeps up, I'm not gonna be around much longer." He nuzzled her neck. "I love you. And I know it's not right to be in love with you. I'm Zayns friend." Harry kissed her hand, and I just stood there, watching him. It was so sad, to think that they could never be together. But I knew Lexi and I were madly in love. Once he pulled away from her, I came back, handing the glass of water to Lexi. Her hands were shaking so much that I had to help her hold the glass. "What happened?" I asked, massaging her shoulders. "I don't know," she replied, and I knew she was lying. But I wasn't about to rip it out of her.

Harry had fallen into a deep sleep on my leather chair, and Lexi had whispered goodnight before I carried her to the guest bedroom. Her room. I had wiped away all the makeup, and her nose was turning purple, her split lip continued to bleed, so I held a wet washcloth up to it. There were dark circles under her eyes. I pulled her close to me, and felt her trembling like a chihuahua. "I'll always watch over you from now on." I told her, and she nodded. When she got beat up, she tired her hardest not to cry, but if she thought I died, in her dream, she went crazy. The lights were still on, because I had planned on leaving after she fell asleep. I couldn't, though. She was too...too Lexi. Beautiful. She always talked to me about how ugly she was, and I only replied with, 'You're beautiful,'.

"Zayn..." She was whispering my name in her sleep. "Babe," I shook her awake, and her eyes shot open. "You can't keep worrying about me. I'm fine!" She ignored me, and pressed her warm lips against mine. My hand reached up to touch her cheek, and she pulled away, hugging me. "I love you," I kissed the top of her head. Lexi was staring past me, and I heard her scream, pushing me back. I felt something hit my arm. A bullet. I looked up groggily, and saw Lexi slumped across the bed, and a man standing in the doorway. "Zayn Malik, Lexi Fernandez? You have the right to remain silent,"