Hypersonic | Zayn Malik | AU

77 | the one with a flurry of activities

But it's so much more than that. The few people we interacted with since we've been here were super fucking nice, the views are gorgeous, the food has been delicious, and I've felt an awful sense of relief ever since we landed.

I hope Zayn has felt it too.

"We should probably head back, babe."

He's right—if we're too late, we'll miss the ATV ride and zip lining experiences we have planned this afternoon. However, it's hard to kayak back when it's so peaceful and relaxing out here.

He quickly paddles around me and I follow suit, pulling up beside him.

"I don't mean to ruin the mood, but I have to ask—" I take a controlled breath, glancing off at the lake in front of us as we continue to paddle across it. "Do you think you guys put Ezra away for good?"

By the time I peer over at him, it's obvious that he's visibly tensed from the sound of my inquiry, but he hides it quickly. "We had audio tape of him talking about paying off judges, of him chatting about setting you up falsely for a crime. We had evidence of his drug smuggling racket, names, locations—all that shit. I trust Hayes when he says we're good." He stops as he speaks, the conversation intense, as he pulls his kayak to the side of mine.

It's weird how full circle this shit has come. When I first introduced Hayes to Zayn's life, he fucking hated the guy. Hate isn't even a strong enough word to describe it, because eventually he hated him at the same level he hates Ezra at.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that they're not only getting along, but that they trust one another and are low key friends. It's definitely something to get used to.

Is he wrong to trust Hayes? I know that Hayes explained everything away with proof, but can he really, truly be trusted? Maybe I'm just reading into things too much, but it's hard for me to fully put that sort of faith in someone who's burned me. Don't get me wrong, I believe everything he told me and he pulled through on what he said he was going to do, but there's still that tiny part of me that isn't sure.

However, it's possible that's just Ezra's doing. He makes me distrust nearly every single person in my life. The only people I know are solid are Zayn and Chase.

I relate it like this: when it comes to a court case and people on the jury, they say that for someone to be convicted, you need to be absolutely sure that there's no reasonable doubt. If someone says something, states some sort of fact, provides some sort of evidence—and you pause—then that's reasonable doubt. That pause is the moment where you think that there's a chance of something—either guilt or innocence.

When it comes to Zayn and Chase, there isn't a pause. There isn't a single fibre in my being that believes they'd ever intentionally wrong me.

Every other person, there's potential for a pause.

It's become the norm for me and I'm acutely aware of the fact that isn't the norm for everyone else. I honestly think it's become a part of Zayn's life as well now, especially after working for Ezra. It's something I wish I was able to remove from our lives—like taking a vacuum to a clump of dark fur on a light-coloured rug, I desperately desire to be able to suck up and effectively rid of that dirt.

I still haven't mustered up the courage to ask Zayn more in depth about his days alongside Langley. It's inevitable that I'll find out everything he experienced, but I'm just unsure of how well—if at all—I'll be able to handle the gory details. I'm positive he did some dark shit. He's hiding it well, but I'm aware of the demons he spoke of.