Stealing Hearts (Zayn Malik Fanfiction)

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

NOTE: I struggled a lot with this chapter, but I’m happy to present it to you as a present for my own birthday today! Yay! Enjoy :-)

‘Evelyn. Are you okay?’ Suddenly a voice startles me out of nowhere. I didn’t even hear someone coming in until I felt his hand pulling my arm. ‘Come on, let me help you up.’ He tells me softly. I don’t know how long I have been laying on the floor, but when the stranger pulls me up I’m sure it’s a while, because I suddenly feel every bone in my body ache.

It’s only when I look up that I realize it’s not a stranger who is helping me sit down on the bed.

‘Niall?’ My voice exclaims in confusion.

‘Yes. Hey there. You alright?’ He smiles when he kneels in front of me so our eyes are on the same height. ‘I can’t stay for too long. I’m just here to bring you something to eat.’ He mumbles apologetically, more to himself than to me and in the corner of my eye I notice the bottle of water and some slices of bread. At least they care for me to eat… That’s new.

‘Did he hurt you, Evelyn?’ He continues.

That question makes me frown.

‘You care about that?’ I ask him, not failing to miss the incredible odd situation we’re in.

‘What do you mean? Of course I care?’

‘Then why are you helping him?’ I spit. ‘You come here acting all heroic but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m stuck here and he’s ready to kill Zayn with you watching him do it.’

His jaw drops for just a second before he gathers himself again. ‘I will never let him kill anyone.’

‘He could’ve killed me just a second ago!’ I whisper at him loudly.

‘I knew he wouldn’t do that.’ He answers with furrowed brows because of my rant. And before I can continue, he interrupts me already. ‘Okay stop. Just listen to me for a second before you’re going to do stupid things. Zayn knows I’m here. Zayn is on his way and he will be here much sooner than Stefan will expect him to be. I told him. For the past few weeks I earned Stefan’s trust enough by telling him everything I know about you and Zayn. Not to betray you, but because I knew that Stefan would find out anyway. He did with me and my brother! So that’s why I figured it was better to earn his trust and go with his plan, so at least one of us was able to keep you safe. I didn’t want history repeating itself with Zayn, he already lost too much.’

‘But Zayn can’t come here!’ My panicked voice startles him. ‘He can’t come. It’s going to be the end of him. Please tell him not to come, I don’t want him to.’ Tears are prickling in my eyes and I suddenly feel more scared than I ever did before.

Niall raises his brow at me. ‘You seriously believe that I can prevent him from coming here? Thought you knew him better, Evelyn.’ A weak smile appears on his face. His smile tells me he probably tried talking Zayn out of it before, but didn’t succeed. ‘Don’t worry. He knows what he’s doing. He knows Stefan better than all of us.’

‘That doesn’t comfort me, Niall.’ I mumble softly.

‘Yeah, me neither.’ He shakes his head.

Oh great, even Niall isn’t sure how this thing will work out.

But although he looks just as worried as I am about this situation, it still feels good to see him, definitely because he is on our side apparently. And suddenly I have the urge to hug him, because right now he’s the only person who’s able to keep me together. So I wrap my arms around him and bury my face into his shoulder.

‘Evelyn, wha-…’

‘Thank you for being here.’ I whisper into his neck and a couple seconds later his startled body relaxes and I feel his hand rub my back softly.

‘I really think you should keep your thank you’s for when we all get out alive, Evelyn. Which I hope we do.’

His words make me look up at him. ‘Are our chances so little?’

He shrugs sadly. ‘I don’t know. There are at least seven people here, me and Stefan not counting. There is a little chance that Zayn and Louis will get through them. They are good in what they do, but even then… Even if I reveal my true intentions it’s still three against eight.’

‘Four against eight.’ I correct him.  

Niall immediately starts shaking his head when he hears my words.

‘No way. You can’t be part of it. Zayn specifically ordered me not to include you into anything dangerous.’

‘And this is not dangerous?’ I throw my hands in the air pointing to everything around me. ‘If it doesn’t work out with the three of you, I’m dead anyways. My chances are not very high sitting here, Niall.’

He stares at me for a while without saying anything. I see the doubt in his eyes and it feels like he’s torn between the reality and Zayn’s orders.

Eventually he decides to speak again. ‘What’s your plan then?’

Score.

I only need five seconds to make up my mind and tell him what I need.

‘Give me your gun.’

Silence.

His eyes stare bewildered at me.

‘My gun?’

‘Yes. Your gun.’

His mouth falls open and this time he doesn’t take the effort to gather himself. ‘You cannot work with a gun.’

‘No, I can’t but you can teach me.’

‘You are crazy.’ Niall shakes his head in astonishment while standing up. And I follow his lead. ‘You definitely are crazy. There is no way I can teach you how to fire a gun without you shooting at least five times.’

‘Then we’ll have to go with the flow.’ I shrug.

But that idea doesn’t please him.

‘You can’t have my gun. I’m not going to comfort you when you kill Zayn instead of Stefan.’

Ouch. That was a very painful but rather realistic argument.

‘I’m not going to kill anyone… Not even Stefan.’ I say to him. ‘I just want something to defend myself with.’ I keep trying, because I know that Niall will give in sooner or later. He’s too much of a doubter and a sensitive person. I feel bad for playing it out on him, but I know that this is probably the only way we can do it.

‘You are not going to fire it?’ He frowns deeply.

‘Nowp.’ Making a popping sound at the end.

‘Just to defend yourself?’

And I nod believably.

‘You are going to be the end of me, you know that? Zayn’s going to kill me for sure.’ He mutters, while walking to the door again. ‘I’m coming to get you when the time is there. Then I’ll give you a gun. You are not coming out of here on your own terms because you’ll be dead in no time. Understood?’

This is probably the best I can get… At least I am included now and that makes it better already. So I nod in agreement.

‘Eat something. You’re going to need it.’ He moves his eyes to the plate he brought in, before he meets mine again.

‘Thank you, Niall.’ I smile a small smile at him.

He quietly sends one back to me and it somehow makes me believe that this whole thing isn’t as lost as we think it is. Eventually he turns around without saying another word and makes me the only person in the room again.

And so the waiting game begins…