Secrets (Zayn Malik)

Chapter 71

"I don't trust that one bit. You see where I am right now because of him?"

"Yeah, not dead." He says flatly, and groans as he stands to his feet.

"I'm not going with you. I'm getting the hell out of here, away from everyone!" I back away, and limp my way through the row of boxes. He continues to call after me, but doesn't follow.

This entire place is like a maze, strategically placed for me to never figure my way out of. I'm glad the boxes are here though, because I use them all for support to stand and keep going through the agonizing pain I feel in my body. A source of light catches my eye to the left, and I look to see the door I came in through, wide open.

"Yes." I mutter, and attempt to hop a bit faster to freedom.

Suddenly, all gunfire ceases and the entire room is silent. The only sound to be heard is police sirens, and feet scattering around the floor afterwards. I step out from behind the boxes, and see many people sprawled out, dead.

"Oh god." I cover my mouth with my hand, and stand still in shock. Teenagers, people that can't be older than nineteen, lay across the pavement with bullet wounds in their chests and legs. I spot a gun lying next to a girl with sleek black hair like me, and limp over quietly to snatch it away from her. "I'm so sorry." I apologize pointlessly to the lifeless lady.

The gun is still pretty loaded, and I stick it in my back pocket for safety. I'm going to need this for the next twenty four hours.

Or the rest of my life.

There's no sign of Michael though, and I know that can't be good. There's no sign of Zayn also, but part of me doesn't know if I want that to be good or bad.

I make my way around the people lying on the floor, and limp towards the back doors, letting the cool air whip my face as soon as I step outside. The sun is still rising, but the clouds make it hard to appreciate. At this point, it's gray and overcast as usual. I push myself to create a safe distance between me and the warehouse full of police by now.

I reach the railing of the pier, and look out over the water. Bile rises up my throat, and I'm just about ready to throw everything in my body up into the stream.

"Ella!" A familiar voice shouts to me, and I turn to see him running my way. "Thank God you're safe." He sighs, and runs his hands over his face.

I whip out the gun from my back pocket, and point it directly at his chest while he stands less than five feet away. I'm sure we both look like the hell we've been through, but I could care less at this point. I watch him as he throws his hands, full of blood and covered in scratches, up in the air. His lip is bleeding again, and that's when I notice his ring is missing. The bruise across his cheek isn't healing nicely, and I can't say I feel very bad about that either.

We stare at each other, with a metal gun pointed at his chest. My eyes encasing nothing but pure anger and hurt, while his plea with me to spare him and give him a chance he'll never deserve.

"Stay, away from me. I mean that." I finally break the silence. My throat hurts, and burns from lack of hydration.

"Listen to me El-"

"I will not listen to you!" I scream loudly, finally reaching my breaking point.

I've been through hell in the last few hours and it's amazing how fast the night changes with one confession and secret being revealed. I feel as if my sanity went out the window the minute Ashley died, and left me to figure this out alone.

"I've listened to you already. I know I wasn't the best at following your orders Zayn, but I always always listened to you. I trusted your word, and went with it most of the time. There is nothing in this world that could make me listen to you now."