Gives You Hell [ON HOLD]

Chapter 16

*Zayn's POV*

I left my room, quietly creeping into the living room. I saw Emma asleep on the couch. The makeup from earlier was long gone and all her bruises and cuts were evident. I picked her up bridal style and carried her to my room. As I set her down on the bed, she stirred and woke up.

"Zayn?" She asked in confusion.

"Sorry, love. I didn't mean to wake you up." I said.

"It's fine." She mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "Why'd you bring me in here? I could've slept on the couch."

"No, you couldn't have." I shook my head in disagreement. "It's pretty late. You can go back to bed. I'm about to take a shower."

"Okay." She mumbled, pulling the duvet over her body.

***

"She's asleep. So she doesn't know you're all here." I told the group of people in my living room. It was Mum, Dad, Safaa, Waliyha, Doniya, and Jake. My family had come to visit me during my break. Emma must have forgotten that her younger brother, Jake, was coming to stay a week with her.

"I'm so glad you two finally got together!" Doniya grinned. "I love Emma. She's perfect for you."

Yes, I told them that Emma and I were dating. I was desperate for an excuse. My family and her family don't know about her getting beat up by Josh. I don't know if she wants to tell them or not. So I had to come up with a lie on the spot. And now we're 'dating'.

"I knew you two would eventually get together. She was heart broken when you forgot about her during the X-Factor. Not a good idea, Zayn." Mum scolded me.

"I know." I put my hands up in defense. It really was a dumb move. Why did I forget the most important person in my life? Because I'm an idiot.

"If you hurt her, I'll hurt you." Sixteen year old Jake threatened me.

"I have no intentions of hurting her, Jake. You know that." I nudged him.

"Yeah, I know." He nodded. "But I have to put on the protective brother act since you're her first boyfriend in like ever."

"Well, you're doing a good job." I laughed. "I'm gonna go wake her up." I told them and went into my room. "Em?" I slightly shook her.

"Go away. I'm tired." She mumbled and rolled over.

"Well, I'll just have to tell Jake, my parents, and my sisters that you're still asleep." I sighed.

"What?" She instantly shot up. "They're here?! Damn, I forgot!" She scrambled out of bed.

"Hey, calm down. I need to tell you something." I said. "They asked why you were living with me. I didn't know if you wanted to tell them about Josh and all, so I told them that we're dating."

"Oh my gosh. Really?" She huffed.

"I didn't know what else to do!" I threw my hands up in defense.

"I know." She sighed. "Can you give me some clothes to change into?" She asked me. I found a shirt that's a bit small on me and some sweatpants. "I'm be out in like ten minutes. Go entertain them." She said, shooing me away as she went into the bathroom.

***

We sat at the booth, catching up. We went out to eat for lunch. The booth was bigger than usual, so we weren't squished. On my side was me, Emma, Jake, and Safaa. I had my arm around Emma's waist, trying to pull off the fake boyfriend act.

"So how did you two get together?" Waliyha asked us. Emma shot me a nervous glance.

"Well," I began nervously, "I just found her in New York City. A little while later, we got back together."

"Aw, how romantic." She said sarcastically, holding back laughter.

"Do you have a job, Emma?" Mum asked her.

"I work at a little coffee shop." She nodded. I could tell she didn't like talking about that place. I decided to change the subject.

"So how long are you all staying for?" I asked them.

"We'll be here for four days." Dad replied.

"I'm here for the weekend. I leave Monday morning." Jake explained.

"So what was the rumor we heard about you beating some guy up and carrying a girl out of a store?" Waliyha questioned.

"I heard about that." I lied skillfully. "It wasn't me. There are supposedly several Zayn lookalikes. I guess they saw one of them."

"Oh, good. We don't need you beating people up." Doniya said back. "Did you finish school, Emma?"

"Uhm, no." Emma shook her head, looking down. "I dropped out a little while after Zayn did." Jake gave her a small smile. He must know something I don't.

"Why hasn't it been Twitter confirmed that you two are dating?" Mum inquired. "Oh, I'll do it now!"