"It Just Hurts"|| z.m

[107]

107- Liam

Liam shifted to his side, snuggling his nose to Zayn's shoulder. Zayn's breathing was heavy, but he disregarded it as he fell back into slumber.

He woke up again when Zayn gasped loudly. Liam's eyes shot up worriedly and he sat up. Zayn was clutching the sheets with a painful expression, hair sticking to his forehead. Liam's heart dropped and he leaned forward to pull the boy in a hug.

Zayn flinched, shaking his head. "It was just a dream."

Liam didn't know if he was telling him or assuring himself. He kept his hands to himself, biting his lip nervously. "Do you want some water?"

"No," Zayn said and cleared his throat. He seemed to calm down after seeing Liam. He pushed back his clammy hair and leaned against the headboard, eyes wide.

Liam wasn't going to press him into telling him what he saw, so he scooted a little forward so they were shoulder to shoulder. "On a scale of 1-10, how bad was the dream?" he asked softly.

"Five," Zayn said quietly.

Liam slowly reached a hand out and grasped Zayn's bruised hand. He pulled the hand to his lap, running his fingers over his palm and intertwining their fingers. Zayn closed his eyes and let out a breath, relaxing. Now that he was no longer tensed up, he placed his head on Liam's shoulder. "You sure you don't mind me waking you up?"

"Nope. Why, you'd rather I leave?"

"Never," Zayn whispered and squeezed his hand back.

>>>> Zayn >>>>>

Later that day they were visited by Al, who brought the lawyer the boys had chosen. Zayn was in the kitchen eating leftover chicken wings, and Louis called him out. Zayn limped over to them, using his crutch to push a pillow away before he sat on the couch. He greeted Al and the lawyer with a faux smile, and Liam could see through how much he didn't really want to testify. He didn't want to face those guys again.

"We have a lot of evidence here, so we'll no doubt win the case," Mr. McIntyre, the lawyer, said. He lifted a file and locked eyes with Zayn. "This is your medical report when you were brought to the hospital. We wouldn't want to show this without your consent. Your management has declared that they're not stepping in the way of this case, so I wanted to ask you."

Zayn was playing with his fingers and he swallowed. He nodded slowly, lifting his elbows from where they'd rested on his knees. "Fine."

"We can charge Butch for abuse, Tom for attempted murder, and both of them for your kidnapping," Mr. McIntyre said and even though he seemed confident, Zayn looked troubled.

Liam's jaw clenched. Zayn had really lost hope that they would be rid of these people.

"Daniel Marone, the boy who was kidnapped along with you, will also be there to testify. His parents wanted to take matters to court so they agreed. He'll be testifying along with you, if he doesn't choose to video tape his testimony."

Zayn nodded, a sad look passing his face. "Is he okay?"

Al sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "He was quite shaken up, but I believe he's better now."

Zayn nodded mutely and Trisha squeezed his arm. "So we're going to court on Monday?"

The boys looked at Zayn who clenched his jaw and nodded. "We're going to court in Monday."

>>>> >>>>>

Zayn looked out over the streets as it poured. The rhythmic tapping of rain above on the roof filled his ears and he snuggled into the blanket, pulling his hood up. He watched as the snow started to melt, and people hurried along the street under their umbrellas.

The door opened slightly and Harry poked his head out on the balcony. "You coming for dinner?"

"Is it okay if I skip?" Zayn asked, looking back at him. Harry nodded and Zayn smiled half-heartedly. "Want to join me?"

Harry closed the door behind him and climbed on the other chair, scooting under the blanket. "The weather's got milder," he observed as he looked over the rain. Zayn sighed and nodded. "A good thing I suppose, though the streets will be filled with slug for a couple of days."

Harry glanced at him. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine. Sleep's still disturbed," Zayn said tiredly. Harry placed an arm around his shoulders and squeezed his arm. "I'm sure you'll calm down once those bastards are in jail."

"I hope so," Zayn said, heart clenching. "I've never been this paranoid in my life." He leaned into Harry and let out a breath. "Do you think I should visit Dr. Tee?"

Harry looked surprised. "I know you've been trying to stay in control of your emotions, but it's okay if they're in control of you. If you think Dr. Tee can help, then I won't tell you no. But I think you should wait till the court matter is done, you're too restless now."

Zayn smiled. "I'd forgotten how wise you are."

Harry wiggled his eyebrows. "I'm the wisest there is. Now, we were thinking of eating out again. Want to come?"

Zayn placed his head on Harry's shoulder. "I swear, if I didn't have you guys, my life would be so boring." Zayn moistened his lips, realizing how much his world revolved around these four idiots. They'd been through thick and thin, they were like brothers for him.

He supposed that was a good thing.

>>>>A/N<<<<
Short update, but an update nonetheless. Therefore comment for a double update!

-> Is there anything you want to see happen in this book?