The List » Zarry (M-Preg) ✔

30: Abstract Concepts

"ZAYN!" He heard a few minutes later.

That sound came from down the hallway, so he knew Louis was in the bathroom. So he came out of the room and collected both his clothes from the foyer and underwear from the hallway before throwing them in the washing machine.

Zayn's oven timer went off about fifteen minutes later, so he took his dish out of the oven and sat it on top of the stove.

"That looks good."

Zayn jumped and put a hand on his chest.

"Fuck, Louis. You scared me. I'm not used to people being here."

"What about Harry?"

Zayn observed his robe. Louis had it tied up tight around his waist.

"Are you going to tell me what you're doing here at nine o'clock at night?"

"Yes."

He reached in the pocket of the robe and took out a cell phone.

"I finally know who has been stealing those winter coats."

Zayn gasped.

"Really?"

"Who?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I can't just outright tell you who. I had to do a lot to get this information."

"Okay..."

"So I want to tell you the entire story."

He sighed."Fine. Have you eaten?"

"No, actually."

"Would you like a helping of baked Ziti?"

"Sure. That sounds good."

It was Zayn who fixed their plates and poured glasses of water. Then they both went into the living room to eat. This was the way Zayn preferred to eat his meals. The only time he ate in the dining room at home was when he had special company or when Benjamin was here because he had to watch him and make sure he was eating safely.

"So... your story about how you figured it out."

"Oh right. Yes. So first of all, I have to apologize."

"Apologize for what?"

"Well... I told you I would get to the bottom of what was happening to the coats. But the truth is when you broke up with me, I was so mad at you that I stopped trying to find out who did it."

"Oh."

"But then you were talking to me this past Wednesday about how dedicated I am and you offered me that job at your new location and I felt guilty. I wasn't keeping my word. So that's when I decided to finish what I've started. The next day, I brought in an old winter coat of mine that had been in my closet since high school. I needed to use it as bait. Because now that's it not cold anymore no one is really bringing them in anymore."

"You were willing to do that?"

"To catch a thief? Of course. And it's not a big deal. It's a bright green coat that I still have no clue why my father bought. But other than that, I couldn't do anything during the week because I had to work till closing. So every day I checked the schedule to see who was working and periodically during the day, I checked to make sure the coat was still there. Friday when I left, it was still there. And I saw two people from our list of three on the schedule to work Saturday. Which is today."

"One of them has to be Gabriel Hudson since he's the only other manager who closes the store. But who else?"

"I'm getting there. So I decided to spend all day today staking out the place. From morning to evening. And in case you were wondering, I staked out behind the building because I had a feeling that's were they were bringing the coats. I was in the back seat so no one could see me. And wouldn't you know it, around seven o'clock, I see Lan Zhao coming out with my green coat in plastic."