ESCAPE

Chapter 58

ZAYN

'Are you sure you're okay?', asked Harry as he examined my face and I looked away.

'Leave him be', said Niall and he finally gave up and went to his usual seat which was the front of the plane.

'You do realize we have to tell someone', said Niall in a low voice and I sighed.

'It's not our story to tell', I said finally.

'That's bullshit. Who else is going to speak for her?', he asked with a frown.

My head hurt a bit towards the side and I winced.

'You need some ice?', he asked and I nodded.

Domenico had threw a punch at me once Valentina had ripped me off of him and I was too slow to avoid it. A red bruise adorned my forehead now and I had told everyone else that I had fallen off the bed and hit my bed on the table.

Louis had a good laugh at that but Harry clearly knew that something was wrong and with Val reclining away from everyone, he was dead set on finding out.

Speaking of Val, she hadn't stopped crying since last night, the only time she would pause was when she was in front of everyone else other than Niall and me.

Right now she sat a seat behind the one facing me, with her head rested against the window and from time to time she would dab at her eyes.

I had to talk to her, I wouldn't get another chance or I would have to wait a week, so I made my way towards her and cleared my throat.

She quickly sat straight and wiped her cheeks.

'I honestly don't know what to say', I said and she looked at her hands.

It was true, ever since Nova's fake funeral, people would tell me that they were sorry. I mean what were you sorry for? You never even knew her. Everyone would keep telling me that things would get better.

Yeah, would get better. They would mention the future being all full of light and hope, yeah it is true but I didn't want to hear about how I would feel in the future. Even though she was alive, all I wanted was someone to tell me what would happen now.

I wanted someone to tell me that I had a right to grieve and that I could take as long as I wanted to so that I could get back on my feet. I wanted someone to tell me that my feelings mattered and that right now I didn't have to care about anything or anyone else.

Instead they say that they're sorry and that things will be alright.

Well here's the hard truth, things will never be alright, things will change and we'll have to learn to adapt. Is that what they define as everything being alright?

Which was why I decided to put an arm around her instead and let her rest her head on my chest.

'I don't even know half of your pain, Val but I do know what losing someone feels like. Like how it feels not to see them every day or just hear their voice even if it's through an old payphone', I said and she sniffed. 'You don't even remember your family, yet I understand that you loved them'.

She nodded and then began to write in her journal.

'I would have these flashbacks back there. My grandmother braiding my hair, with my mother and my father would call me his 'principessa' . I couldn't make out their faces, but I could hear them and it would help me get through the night. It was like I had this tiny flame of hope, even though it seemed like a dream, it was all I needed to survive'

She let out a faint sob and I quickly held her tight.

'Valentina, if there is anything that I know about you, it is that you are strong and that you are brave. You're so strong that you remind me of Nova. I think you were stronger than her though, you survived in that hell, you held on to hope when all you could see was darkness. You took your chances and you fought for your freedom', I said.

Valentina shook in my arms and she covered her mouth with her hand so she wouldn't cry out and I felt my heart ache for her. She was trying so hard to keep herself together when her world was falling around her and yet she refused to let her emotions out.

'You have every right to cry and scream, love. You have every right to feel whatever you want just please promise me that you'll keep fighting', I said.

'I don't even know what I'm fighting for'

'You are fighting for yourself. You are fighting to prove that you will not be crushed that easily. You have a legacy, fight for your family', I said and she looked at me.

'Your family meant something in your land, people look up to you Val. I'm not asking you to give into the pressure, but you asked me for something to fight for and I'm telling you to take back what was yours', I said gently and she sniffed.

'You don't have to immediately, it's just something for you to hold on to, just like you did with your family back there', I said and she nodded.

'Look, when you get off of this plane, Harry is going to take you home. Go easy on him, tell him everything. He deserves to know, he cares for you so much Val and I know that he'll do anything to protect you. He might look harmless, but believe me he is the scariest when it comes to defending something that he values greatly', I said and she nodded slowly.

'Don't you ever think for a single second that you are alone, okay? Domenico may have been your childhood buddy but you have to know that you can trust us and that you're like family to us', I said and she smiled.

'I wish Nova could have met you. She would have loved your spirits, she would have taken you home by herself if she wasn't in coma', I said with a sigh and this time, she put her hand over mine and gave it a light squeeze.

'I'm rooting for you both'

I smiled at her words and sighed as I gave her one last hug.

'Oh, music has always helped me when I needed to forget things', I said as I got up and handed her my iPod.

Valentina looked uncertain as she took it, 'It's okay, you can have it. It has a couple of our songs oh and also some that we have yet to release so don't lose it', I said and she grinned.

As soon as I had made my way to my seat, I was pulled up front by Harry.

'Spill', he said with a dead serious tone and I swear I saw his eyes change a shade darker.