Lovin' can heal ✔️

Chapter 8

Liam's POV :)

It's been a few weeks since I've moved in with Zayn and I have to admit, that it actually felt really nice to feel so protected. Zayn actually did end up leaving his job at the College, and no matter how many times I tried to protest against it, or felt bad about it, he just kept telling me to hush and get over it. All with a grin plastered on his lips of course.

In the time that I have been in his house, we have developed a nice, comfortable routine. We would have breakfast together every morning, before we would go our separate ways for the day. Me to my classes and Zayn to one of his businesses. From what I gathered, Zayn was in charge of a lot of different businesses as well as owning half of the Club. Apparently Leather Dreams was a dream of Zayn and Harry, since they met. Both wanting a safe haven for people like them, without the judgements of the outside world.

Anyway, back to our routine. Once we are back to his place in the afternoon, we have an hour of my Submissive training, then we would both go shower, separate bathrooms, of course. After that it was dinner, then we would either relax in front of the Tv or we would meet Harry and Louis at the club.

Now you are probably wondering how Zayn is supposedly keeping me safe if we had to be apart for most of the day? Well, my protection comes in the form of a 6'7 bear called Jace. My Bodyguard. I wasn't very comfortable with him at first, but after he spoke to me a few times, I realised that he was just a really big teddy. One that was trained in various types of weapon handling as well as martial arts, but still a teddy bear. I had sat watching him train one day, and let's just say that for such a big guy, he was remarkably fast and light on his feet.

Jace took me to school every day, then he would hang around and walk me to my different classes, then take me home, always staying alert for any threat.

Louis had his own bodyguard as well, named Landon. Landon was like the complete opposite of Jace though when it came to size. He was slim, instead of muscular and he was only 5'9. But according to Louis, he was just as skilled as Jace and we were currently trying to get the two to put on a sparring match for us, to see who was better, but they refused to budge so far.

Through all of this though, I still didn't feel safe. Rodney was still out there and I could actually feel him watching me. It made my skin crawl and made me very nervous whenever I had to be in public. My biggest fear though was that he would go after Zayn, Louis or Harry. I was terrified that someone close to me would end up getting hurt because of me.

Today the feeling of being watched was almost ten times worse for some reason. It started the minute I set foot on campus and it has just gotten worse as the day went by. By the time Louis and I were heading to our last class for the day, I couldn't stop the nervous agitation from showing anymore.

Louis was walking next to me and chattering on about God know what, while I was trying to discreetly scan the hallway for any threat. My eyes passed by Jace and Landon and they both seemed to read something was off with me and stepped towards me. That's when I saw the guy standing at the end of the hallway. Rodney had a twisted smirk on his lips and he was aiming a gun straight at us. "Get down!" I screamed, turning to Louis to pull him down with me as the shot rang through the school.

It all seemed to be happening in slow motion. I saw Jace and Landon, both launch their bodies at us, and I saw the look of bewilderment on Louis' face when I screamed. We all tumbled to the ground in a heap of grunts and moans of pain, but Jace and Landon were fast to turn and draw their own guns, looking for the threat. But as I looked up, and saw he was gone, I realised that this was just a warning. Rodney was taught how to handle and shoot a gun from a very young age, by his father, and he was damn good at it. So if he really wanted to, then someone could have been dead right now.

I looked at Louis to make sure he was okay, as we all started getting up from the ground. His face was white as a sheet and he seemed to be having a hard time getting words out of his mouth. "L-Li-Liam." he finally gasped out, and that's when I realised something was very wrong. Louis seemed on the verge of tears as he looked down at his hands. They were covered in blood and I started panicking.

"It's okay Lou, we'll get you help. Just sit down for me, a-and we will g-get an ambulance. Y-You'll be okay Lou!" I cried out as I tried to help him to the floor. But he shook me off, shaking his head. I looked at him like he was losing it, and saw the tears threatening to spill over his cheeks.

"It's not mine Li, it's yours" He cried. I started to deny it, when I finally felt the burn in my side. I looked down and saw the hole in my t-shirt as well as all the blood that was starting to stain it. The burn intensified and I looked at Jace, not fully understanding what had happened.

As I was being lowered to the floor, black spots started to dance through my vision, the edges getting darker and darker. That's when it finally slammed into me. I had been shot. In that second of realisation, all I wanted was to see Zayn, for him to hold me and never let me go.

I could hear screaming and shouting going on, but couldn't make out any words, then I felt my body being lifted and placed on a stretcher, only then realising that the ambulance was there. I tried my best to stay awake, I needed to see if Zayn was okay. I had to make sure, he wasn't harmed. Rodney will go after him, and he will hurt him or kill him.

Just before they could load me into the ambulance, I heard a voice shouting, the noise getting closer, "Wait, I'm coming with you!" I heard, but it was almost like the sound was muffled so I couldn't really hear who it was. "Sir, I'm afraid that won't be possible. Only family can go with him, but you are more than welcome to follow us to St Augustine's Hospital. That's where we're taking him" the paramedic said, sounding just a bit nervous.

"Listen here, you fucking bastard, that is my boyfriend lying on that stretcher. I am going with you in that ambulance whether you like it or not. Just try to fucking stop me, I dare you." the response was growled out, making my spine tingle and making me feel warm when I realised he had called me his boyfriend. I turned my head when I felt a warm hand cupping my cheek.

 Zayn was standing there, looking like he had been to Hell and back. He had tears in his eyes and I wondered what had him so upset, almost forgetting that I had been shot.

My vision was getting darker and darker, more dark spots appearing, but I tried my best to fight it. I turned my face into Zayn's hand and gently kissed his palm, "Zee.." I couldn't finish what I wanted to say. I couldn't even remember what I wanted to say in the first place as I felt like a black hole was sucking me further and further away from him, into unconsciousness.

My last though being, that I hoped I could wake up and look into those gorgeous eyes of his again.