invasato [h.s]

35

He asks it in a manner that almost seemed hesitant. It was as if he wasn't sure if him asking that question would trigger me.

And honestly, it's a question that I wasn't adamant on answering or even exploring. Not just with him, but with anybody.

The only people who know about my triggers are Angela and Isaac.

My thoughts come to a halt when I hear the door to the empty diner chime. I flinch, my immediate instinct telling me that there was harm near. But, when I turn over my shoulder to see the door, my eyes latch on to Zayn.

Concern riddled all over his face, he sees me and Harry at our booth and rushes over.

Seeing him was relief, my best friend who I've only ever known as protection. I stand from my seat, which enables Zayn to grab me and engulf me into an embrace that was brought on by worry.

His arms wrap around me as I keep my arms around his back. His cologne fills my senses as I shut my eyes.

"Are you okay? I got here as fast as I could." he says as he hugs me.

I nod into his chest, then he pulls back and holds me by my shoulders, examining my face for any injury. He looks past me and over at Harry.

"Did she get hurt?" he asks him, but I answer before Harry can.

"I'm not hurt, Zayn."

Looking me up and down, I can tell he was skeptical. "Are you sure?"

I pull back from Zayn and sit back on edge of the red leather booth seat, my head in my hands.

"It's not my physical well being that we should be worried about." I remark.

My eyes shut behind my palms, I feel Zayn come crouch in front of me. Harry remains across the booth.

"We're gonna figure this out." Zayn tells me, but in return I just shake my head.

"What if it's too late?" I mumble into my hands, before lifting my head to look down at Zayn. "Marjorie and Derek were already targeted, what's next?"

He glances at Harry, before looking back at me and running his tongue over his bottom lip before speaking.

"If there's one thing I can promise you, it's that we'll get to the bottom of this and find whoever is doing this to you. You've got a group of trained criminals behind you..." he says, then looks to Harry once more, then me. "But, maybe it'll be better if you go back home for a while, just until it's all figured out."

I cock my head to the side, my lips parting as my brows crease together. "Back home?" my voice goes quiet, hoping Zayn didn't mean what I was thinking.

But then, he says it. He says what I was dreading him to say. That single word, it earned a reaction that I couldn't withhold.

"Denver." Zayn said. "Back home to Denver."

It was like I was hit with a wall, smacking into the hard surface that was the blunt mention of Denver. My chest began to palpitate once again, that dreaded quick paced anxiety knocking on my subconscious door. That anxiety never really left, it just hangs around, and in these moments it wants to come inside.

I look at Zayn with my lips parted and my eyes holding shock that he spoke those words. I didn't know what to do in terms of reaction. I was angry. I was devastated.

But, I can't blame Zayn. He doesn't know what happened.

"Denver?" I almost choke on the name, my voice so quiet that it could barely be heard.