HOLLOW » Zarry ✔⚠

95

Harry has just been sitting here now. He's just been sitting here holding Zayn for 20 minutes. Which means it's been more than that amount of time and he still hasn't awakened, spoken or even moved. Harry isn't sure if he's just unconscious or if he's holding a dead body by now.

He's in the process of combing through Zayn's hair and picking at his clothes when headlights shine on him from the front. It takes him a minute to recognize the car but when he does, he's not quite sure if he's relieved or feeling regret. As the car nears, he scans the scene around and spots the knife next to him. Without hesitation, he picks it up and flings it over the bridge and into the water.

The car comes to a halt right next to them and out jumps a man. "Harry, what the heck is going on? Are you handcuffed to the bridge?!"

Now he thinks that maybe it's both relief and regret he's feeling. But definitely more relief right now. His hero is the same one who's always been his hero. "Dad, we need help! Zayn's hurt!" He shouts.

His foster dad rushes over and looks down at the boy in his arms. "I had a feeling something wasn't right when I called and texted your phone and you didn't answer."

"That's because I accidentally dropped it over into the river." He lies. "I'm sorry."

"The river? What the hell have you two gotten yourselves into?" Harry doesn't answer this time and his father's attention gravitates to his cuffed wrist. "Wait a second, are those my handcuffs or what? What are you doing with my cuffs?"

"Dad, please. You're too worried about the wrong thing right now! Can't you see that Zayn isn't okay? We need to get him to the hospital quickly!"

His foster father nods and bolts back over to the car where he opens the passenger door on the driver's side. Before Harry realizes it, his father is already back over to them and lifting Zayn off of him, carrying him to the car.

"Dad, you should take him and come back for me. I'll be alright. I don't think anyone is gonna bother me here."

"Are you kidding me?" His father says, once the door is closed with Zayn safely in the car. "You're still my responsibility. And if I can get you free right now, I will get you free. Just give me the key. Where is it?"

Harry shrugs. "I don't know where it is. Maybe you can check the backpack over there... But hurry."

He looks in the direction Harry is pointing. "But isn't that Zayn's backpack? Why would the key be there if these are my cuffs?"

"Just hurry! Please, stop interrogating me and just look for it! He's in the car and we are sitting here wasting time and asking pointless questions!"

Any other time, his father would have warned him about his tone towards him. But he understands how scared Harry is. And he knows he's truly scared because he's seen Harry in this position before. "Alright, Harry." He goes over to the backpack and he opens a really small pocket on the side. He fiddles for the key with his two fingers since that's the only thing that fits, but doesn't feel anything. However, the small pocket up front, the pocket he opens next, are where he finds keys. "There's two here. I better try them both. And I believe these are my keys too."

Harry is quiet as his father tries both, the second one ending up being the right one. When he's finally free, he looks at his wrist and kisses it when no one is looking. His father doesn't know how close to death he came tonight. And maybe now that the shock is dwindling down, Harry is just now realizing it too.

Harry grabs Zayn's backpack and broken glasses, and after telling his dad he'll leave his car there and get it later, he jumps in the backseat next to Zayn. He wishes his dad was driving his police cruiser at the present time, so that he can convince him to turn on his lights and speed them to the emergency room. But he isn't. So he settles for shaking his leg impatiently as they drive off.

Harry studies Zayn and notices that his father actually buckled him in. Of course he did. He's an officer. Why wouldn't he? But besides that, he also can't help but notice how he doesn't really see Zayn's chest rising and falling as an indication that he's breathing. Does that mean he isn't alive? Does that mean he's sitting next to a dead body?

There is a 50/50 chance both ways. But he likes to think that Zayn is alive and that allows him to slip his hand in Zayn's just so their palms touch He can't believe this boy was going to kill him. This sweet, caring, 16 year old boy. Thinking of that unsettling and somewhat distant memory, reminds him of the list Zayn was reading from earlier. That's when he sticks his hand in the large compartment of the backpack, and he removes the journal from it.

By now they've gotten to the city, meaning more traffic flow, so streetlights shine down in the cars as they travel. The journal is still opened to the page and his eyes travel down to number 7 just to confirm that it's real. It's actually there, which means Zayn wasn't lying. He had planned on killing Harry.

However, even though Zayn had supposedly shared his plan of revenge with Harry, he left out one more step of it. And it's written down at another number.

Eight... Zayn never said anything about an eight. So Harry silently reads the two words written neatly on the line.

Kill myself.

He gasps a little, but he isn't sure why he is so surprised at this. He understands this probably just means he's going to end up dying because of the poison he took. But even more than that, this tells Harry that Zayn knew. It tells him Zayn carefully thought out this plan some time ago and he knew all this would happen very soon. Zayn was aware he'd be in the state he's in now, whatever state that may be. And though it should be comforting to know Zayn wants this and has wanted this, it isn't. He's still selfish. He wants Zayn to be alright. He wants him to live and he wants them to live together, not alone.

No doubt, he wants to rip this list up and never ever see it again. He wants to hold a lighter to it and watch it burn. But while he knows Zayn is here by his side and possibly not breathing at all, he wants to enjoy this moment of unsureness that he has. He wants to bask in it and how good it feels to be next to the only person he's ever wanted; the only other person he's ever attempted to allow to have him emotionally. No one other than Zayn Malik.

So he finally closes his hand around Zayn's and squeezes it as tightly as he does his eyes. And the whole time he's just sitting there shaking, thinking, pondering and waiting; wondering if he'll ever squeeze back.