Run Forest Run (A Zayn Malik Fan Fiction)

Chapter Four - New Sister and Charlotte

            “Forest,” Lottie started, resting her head on my shoulder as I held a magazine I’d found on the street in my hand, my eyes on the glossy cover, “are you ok?” I nodded, a small jerk of my chin that barely counted as movement. “You promise?” she asked, and I wanted to reply with a yes, but I couldn’t. It’d been one week since Lottie informed me of her brother and his connections, and every second I was becoming more aware of the situation I’d been thrown into. That moment, with the magazine, was the moment when everything came together.

            “You’re beautiful Lot,” I muttered, my eyes glued on the picture of Lottie Tomlinson, a girl who had tons of a friends, a great boyfriend, and a loving family. Her eyes were a bright blue, and she was caught in the picture mid laugh. Her clothes were nice and not tattered, and her arm was caught around the face I’d grown to know as her brothers.

            “Thank you,” the Lottie I knew said softly, taking her head off my shoulder. I didn’t need to look over at her to know what she looked like now. She had all those friends, and that boyfriend, and that loving family, but out here she was a different Lottie. Her eyes still were very, very, blue, but they’d lost that sparkle the picture captured. Her hair was still blond, but it was thin and frail now. She was still Lottie Tomlinson, but she wasn’t.

            “You look so happy,” I breathed out, and Lottie bit her lip, pulling away from me.

            “I was there … I am here … but in that time in between I was ready to run away … so I did,” she replied, and she’d reminded of me the reason countless times. Her friends were still her friends, but new girls who’d never taken interest in her suddenly did. Her family was still her family, but it was thrust into the spotlight suddenly, privacy suddenly a luxury. “I’m not going back Forest,” she announced, and I gulped.

            “I know that … I just hate that you’re willingly choosing this life,” I replied, and I felt her shrug against my shoulder.

            “I had to.”      

            “No, you didn’t. You had a family, you had a life … you had a boyfriend. Do you miss him … Martin?” I asked, and I turned my face to see hers. She was young, so it was odd to think she had a boyfriend.

            “Forest … have you ever been in love?” she asked, biting her lip cautiously. I shook my head almost immediately. “Then … then you wouldn’t understand,” she added, and I wanted to stop her right there. She was fourteen and she couldn’t be in love. Y’s impossible unless you’re Juliette or a mental patient, which in my book were the same thing. “I … I told him that I was leaving, and he knew it was best for me,” she explained, and I froze.

            “You told him?” I asked slowly, and she nodded. “Did you tell him where you were going?” I asked once more, and she gulped.

            “Yes,” she muttered weakly. In that moment I felt a tug on my heart at the young girl’s expression, but I couldn’t help but lash out at her.

            “You told him,” I repeated for verification, looking down at the concrete ground in the alley and taking a deep breath. “You told him where you were, and you’re in love with him and he’s in love with you,” I repeated, a question more than a statement. “You told the person who will definitely want to get you back,” I added, unable to unlace the bitterness in my voice. “Lottie, he’s going to crack and tell someone eventually,” I finished, looking up at the blond who looked like a mentally unstable Juliette.