Laced

Laced - Chapter 50 (Sorrows and Regrets)

Disclaimer: This was written over 10 years ago, and the author no longer agrees with many of the concepts found in this story. Some of the content will be cringey and/or problematic. Please remember this is entirely fictional and does not represent the author's beliefs.

Twitter: dazzleizzy

Copyright © 2012-2023

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Abby's POV

They say that behind every beautiful thing, there's been some kind of pain. I guess that can work vice versa too, because behind the pain that Zayn was, he was beautiful behind it all, on the inside. This man, whose gentle arms held me comfortably against his chest as we lay in his childhood bed, has so much kindness, bravery, and compassion beneath the exterior that has been hardened by the harshness of his reality.

Much like skin callouses after repeated injury, this beautifully cruel man has been hardened to the extent where it seemed almost nothing bothered him anymore - not until he brought me here, and opened up his past to me, willingly.

And I realized that the child inside him is still there somewhere - lost, broken, exhausted, and angry.

But who could blame him? A child forced to become a man well before his time and care for another child is bound to push that child to his limits.

It was rare when I had the chance to appreciate this exquisite, flawless, yet very flawed man, without him embarrassing or teasing me. With the tip of my finger, I lightly traced the edges of his slightly chapped and parted lips, shallow breaths escaping them in a calming rhythm.

My fingers wandered from his lips to his jaw, where evidence of a missed shaving sprinkled his hard set jaw.

An overwhelming emotion overcame me, leaving me almost breathless. I didn't even know how to describe it. I could try to explain it as a concoction of pure adoration, compassion, and maybe even awe for him - but these words wouldn't be enough. It was unexplainable; it was better than words.

As much as I wanted to stay there, cocooned in his protective embrace, I wanted to do something for him - even as simple as making breakfast.

I slowly and cautiously disentangled myself from his arms, and made my way to the bathroom to freshen up. Once I'd used the bathroom, I pulled out my toothbrush from the toiletries bag I'd packed earlier yesterday and brushed my teeth.

Once I'd rinsed my mouth, I turned off the faucet of the sink and headed to the kitchen to make some food.

We hadn't purchased a lot at the Wal-Mart yesterday, but I made sure to get a few kitchen essentials like eggs and bread so that I could cook up a decent breakfast. There wasn't much to work with, but I came up with enough ingredients to make a pretty mean omelette. After checking if the bright red toaster still functioned, I popped in a few slices of bread and pulled out an old tea kettle to brew up some of the hot liquid.

I quickly rinsed the tea kettle before I used it - who knew how long ago the last time it was used, and it had managed to gather a fine layer of dust in the cabinet.

There was a small, round dining table for four which immediately took to setting up for the two of us.

"Abby?"

I turn at the voice, surprised that he'd woken up. When I left the bed, I was sure he was in a deep sleep, leaving me a good amount of time to make breakfast - but I guess that time had been cut short.

"In the kitchen!" I called out, and attended to the omelette in the skillet to keep it from burning.

"What are you - oh." He pauses, looking down at the table that was half set up. When he looks up at me, my insides burst and melt all at the same time.