Extraordinary

21

All the lights in Mallory's eyes blurred. The car honking faded into a dull ringing in her ears. Her head was spinning and her breaths were staggering, but Mallory did not stop running.

Maybe if she kept running, she could escape the pain, the betrayal, the indescribable ache in her heart. Maybe she could escape Harry.

Mallory couldn't help it as a single tear slid silently down her face and disappeared under her chin. The rest came pouring out in waterfalls, like a dysfunctional hose. She gasped for air and hiccuped for breath. Mallory squeezed her eyes shut and willed herself not to cry, but the tears stubbornly gushed out still.

Mallory couldn't even think. It was a blinding panic, a psychotic urge to put as much distance as she could between herself and those who hurt her.

He who hurt her.

Though she thought all she wanted was to be alone, she suddenly heard familiar voice.

"Mallory! Mallory, is that you?" She spotted his spiky black hair in the distance and couldn't help but run to him.

She needed to just be in somebody's embrace, to feel the warmth of someone else's breath on her neck.

Zayn wrapped her in his arms, and her body shuddered with sobs.

"Mallory, hon, Mallory what's wrong? Mal, talk to me! Are you okay? What happened?"

Mallory responded only with blubbering. She let her emotions pour out for what must've been the hundredth time that day.

Her stomach was churning, her head was aching, and she could feel her pulse in her throat. God, she could really just die right here and now.

He had killed her. He stuck his hand into her chest and ripped her heart right out, leaving her to bleed to death slowly and painfully.

"Mallory, hon, it's gonna be okay...let it out..." Zayn rubbed his hand in comforting circles on her back as Mallory slowly gained her composure.

She hiccuped, signally the end of her sob fest.

"Harry...he-"

Zayn furrowed his eyebrows. "What did he do that made you run away like that?"

Mallory swallowed, hoping her heart would sink back from her throat back to her chest, where it belonged. "Harry...he doesn't love me," she whispered.

Her eyes glasses over, threatening to spill out tears at any moment. "I saw him kissing Katrina."

"WHAT?!" Zayn gasped, his eyes wide. "You're kidding me! That asshole! When? What happened?"

Mallory sat down on a bench, reluctant to talk about it any more than she had to. "Just now. I wanted to find him and then I did...he was just in the middle of the sidewalk, making out with her." She shuddered. "I'm sorry, I just can't talk about it anymore."

Zayn nodded wordlessly and sat down next to her, wrapping her in another warm hug.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured in her ear. "You don't deserve this, Mallory. You're an amazing girl, and don't let this douchebag tear you down, okay?"

Mallory nodded, rubbing her temples with her fingers.

"No, really, Mallory. You're perfect. And you don't need this stress in your life, okay?" Mallory met his gaze and was surprised by the intensity in his brown eyes. They sparkled with genuine compassion.

"Um...thank you, Zayn," Mallory said, kind of confusedly. "That's really kind of you."

Zayn went on. "You need a guy who appreciates you when he has you. You need a guy loves you with his whole heart and doesn't need another girl on the side to keep him happy." Zayn looked at her with wide eyes.

Mallory was entirely befuddled now. "O-kay?"

He sighed in frustration. "Mallory, you're not getting what I'm saying."

Mallory let out a little laugh. "No, Zayn, I'm really not."

Zayn grabbed her hand and held it in his. "Me, Mallory. You need a guy like me."

Wait, what?

"Because, Mallory...I love you."