Zayn Malik
It took me about five minutes to sit up on the couch, and I wished Cleo had remembered to close the goddamn curtains because the bright sunlight wasn't helping my hangover.
Yeah, I knew that I should've listened to her and stopped drinking but I was just in so much pain last night that I drank the whole bottle of scotch and then I slept like a baby.
Speaking of babies, I had to call Amber before she could get too worried about me... and I was going to let her know I was coming back. I appreciated Harry's concern and he was right. I could've died and I definitely didn't want that to happen. I had a daughter and a whole life ahead of me... a life watching her grow and keeping the promise I made to myself to make sure she wouldn't be involved with any of this shit.
The break-in, the bodies in the freezer, Gemma, Liam, the FBI... I was exhausted and I only imagined how Cleo and Harry felt. It really consume us and it seemed like life would never be the same or without any preoccupations ever again.
I couldn't live like this, and this gunshot on my abdomen was a wake-up call.
Life could end in less than a second and I honestly didn't even want to think about what would've happened if I had died. Harry would blame himself forever...
His worry was clear, otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned going back to New York. But I couldn't leave him without any help, it was already unexpected that he was willing to take things easy and be careful, I never thought this would happen.
And as much as this could be dangerous, no place was safe for them. But they couldn't stay in L.A. much longer, I knew they were only waiting for me to get better now and I hoped they'd drive to New York to meet me there.
I remembered a few things of what I said last night and I knew I was right when I mentioned their last names... even though they were being whispered around, we could get some protection. Well, I was still kind of a big deal there ever since Desmond died, and now that Tais was handling the drug business we had someone else to reach out to.
I wasn't sure how we were going to do this, but I knew Cleo wanted to kill Liam herself. They had to think of something that wouldn't compromise their lives or their situation with the FBI.
That was another reason why I wanted to call Amber, I had to check if there were any updates or if they were already searching for them here in the U.S., because if that was the case then they were fucked.
I wished Cleo would just forget about Liam, but it was impossible since he wouldn't forget about her. He wanted her dead for the same reason she wanted him dead: revenge.
It was a dangerous feeling, and I couldn't judge her because I didn't know what I'd do in her place.
Cleo and Harry were probably sick and tired of this, but I was proud of them for wanting to take things easy. It increased their chances of survival and it wasn't like they had anywhere to go.
Personally, I was glad they kinda stopped with their whole list of clients to kill thing. I knew they wanted to erase every link their families had with trafficking, but it was so fucking reckless given their situation.
Well, not that what we did in L.A. wasn't reckless, but we were a bit lucky to be in the middle of a gang war. Ray was dead, Rowley was dead, and also Ash.
The cops wouldn't suspect Cleo and Harry, it seemed like an inner conflict.
Either way, staying here was a no, and I was just glad they wouldn't stay too. Maybe they could take a break from all this shit, they deserved it.
And I meant what I said, I wanted them to meet my daughter. Harry was my best friend and Cleo was also very important to me, and I wanted to show them how proud I was of Ella.
It was funny how I missed her... even if I hadn't spent much time with her in person. I missed her a lot and I wondered if she had changed in these days I hadn't seen her.
God, I couldn't wait to go back to New York.
It would be entertaining to see Harry and Cleo interacting with a baby, though. Of course I'd be careful, but this was gonna be priceless.
I groaned under my breath when I finally stood up from the couch, my legs felt weak and I was still covered in blood. I desperately needed a shower and new bandages, some painkillers, and some water.
The sky was a clear shade of blue today, and I slowly looked around the living room as I yawned. There were bullet holes all over the place, but there were no cases anymore or blood... or bodies.
Fuck, did Cleo and Harry clean everything up already? They probably didn't sleep at all, this definitely took hours because there were a lot of bodies and blood.
I knew they had experience with it, but I had a feeling Harry did this for Gemma.
I mean, his sister had just found out her brother was a killer and that he had hidden a lot of shit from her. It was to keep her safe, but Gemma was hurt enough because of Ash already. Her girlfriend had also lied to her and kept a secret life from her, and now Harry did the same... and it was a little worse because she literally found dead bodies inside a freezer... inside a room full of weapons.
Harry probably didn't even remember about them, this was so normal to us.
But Gemma was very traumatized and in shock, I was just glad she managed to help me last night, or else I'd still have a bullet inside me.
I knew Cleo was nervous, that's why she didn't do it on her own. She didn't even notice but her own hands were shaking a bit and she was on edge and so worried about Harry.
He was probably feeling terrible and I wondered if Gemma had left already. She had to go to Colorado and pretend this never happened, it was the best choice for her.
This whole situation sucked because she just found her long lost brother and now look what happened.
I started to make my way towards the kitchen after I stretched my arms, limping just a bit because the pain wasn't as much as I expected. I took slow steps and the penthouse was too quiet.
"Hi." Cleo nearly scared the shit out of me when I walked into the kitchen, she was leaning against the counter with a mug in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
There were dark circles around her blue eyes and they seemed lighter today. Her blonde hair was tied up in a messy bun and she was wearing jeans and a simple black tank top, revealing the bruises that hadn't faded at all from around her neck.
She brought the cigarette up to her lips so she could inhale some smoke, keeping her eyes on me as I walked closer to the fridge so I could get a bottle of water.
"Good morning," I said, clearing my throat. The kitchen was very clean too and I furrowed my eyebrows before I stepped closer to her, leaning against the counter right next to where she was.
"How did you sleep?" She asked, taking a sip of her coffee now.
"Really well, actually. But my head hurts." I sighed, glancing sideways at her.
"I told you not to get drunk." She snorted. "I'm glad you're better. You should shower first, so we can change the bandages and get you some painkillers. And you should eat something too."
She was right, I had to have some food in my stomach and I was indeed a bit hungry.
"Did you sleep?" I asked her, taking a sip of my water.
"Nope." She smiled, looking into my eyes as she smoked. "Harry and I cleaned the whole place, prepared the bodies to put them in the freezer... you were sleeping like a rock, we had to cut off their limbs in the living room and you didn't even move."
"Sounds like fun couple activities." I teased and she rolled her eyes. She was right, I didn't listen to anything and their quick work was impressive. No wonder they didn't sleep.
"Harry's in the shower, he'll be downstairs soon." She sighed, placing her mug on the counter and turning to face me. "Gemma's awake too but she didn't leave the room yet... we need to talk and Harry's dreading it."
"I don't blame him." I shrugged, reaching out my hand to grab the cigarette from her fingers, bringing it to my mouth so I could inhale some smoke. "This is so fucked."
"Tell me about it." Cleo huffed, holding the edge of the counter so she could hoist herself up until she was sitting on top of it, right next to me. Her shoulder was touching mine and we both just stood there for a few minutes, sharing the cigarette while she drank her coffee and I kept overthinking about what was going to happen.
"You're coming to New York?" I asked her, looking into her eyes as she exhaled the smoke. "Have you talked to Harry?"
"Yeah... we are." She sighed, handing me the cigarette again. "It feels weird to go back there, but we need to retreat. I'm so fucking tired, Z."
"I know," I said, closing my eyes as I inhaled a bit of smoke, I rarely smoked regular cigarettes but I was anxious and I often felt the need to smoke when I was hungover.
My head was throbbing a bit but I tried to relax, knowing they would be in New York made me feel calmer.
And speaking of which, Harry walked into the kitchen with a very tired look in his eyes. He was dressed in black skinny jeans and a black button- down shirt, exposing the swallows inked on his collar bones. His hair was still wet from the shower and he seemed relieved when he saw me, walking closer to us.
He leaned against the counter, standing in between Cleo's spread legs with his back turned to her, and she rested her chin on his shoulder now.
It was so weird and cute how they acted like a normal couple sometimes, they didn't even seem like psycho killers.
"I'm happy you're awake." Harry looked at me, placing his hands on Cleo's thighs, and I noticed there was a bandage on his hand.
"So am I." I chuckled, putting out the cigarette in the sink. "I'm better than I thought, I'll take a shower and rest a bit more."
"I'll cook something," Cleo said, wrapping her arms around Harry's neck and letting her fingers play with his cross necklace while he kept his back against her chest.
He was so much taller than her that even sitting on the counter she had to look up a little if she wanted to meet his gaze.
"Thanks." I smiled. "I have to thank Gemma too, because if my life depended on Cleo..."
I clicked my tongue playfully and Harry chuckled, earning a swat on his shoulder from her.
"Ungrateful son of a bitch." Cleo glared at me.
I winked, stepping away from the counter and I was about to go to the bathroom when Gemma suddenly walked into the kitchen.
We all froze and stared at her, I was honestly expecting her to be terrified and just locked in the room the whole day, but she looked... sad.
This broke Harry because he only wanted to keep her safe, and now he had to keep her safe from himself.
"Good morning," Cleo spoke up, keeping her arms around Harry. Gemma's gaze lowered to my wound before she looked around the kitchen, letting out a deep breath before she leaned against the wall. Maybe she hoped last night had been a nightmare.
"I'm leaving." She suddenly spoke up. "But I want us to talk first."
Harry's body tensed entirely and he clenched his jaw, he probably expected this already but hearing her saying it was different. It made it real.
"Should we go?" I asked.
"No, you can stay." Gemma glanced at me and then at Cleo. "I'm really glad my brother has you in his life and that he isn't alone. But I can't deal with this... not now. I lost the love of my life and I'm very fucking sad. But I'm happy that you remember me, I feel like I reached my goal somehow. This hurts because we don't know each other and I didn't expect this, Harry. It's too much and I'm sorry that I can't handle it."
Harry stepped closer to Gemma and this time she didn't step away, but her body seemed tense. She was looking deep into his eyes and Harry probably had so many things to say that would remain unspoken.
It was pointless to explain his life to Gemma... it would traumatize her even more if she knew the whole truth. It wouldn't help her or make her feel safer.
I felt so bad for Harry, this went downhill so quickly.
"You don't have to handle it." He spoke up, running his ring clad fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry. Please don't be scared of me."
Fuck.
Cleo grimaced and she jumped off the counter, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched them. It felt like we were intruding but I knew Harry needed us.
"I was scared last night. And I'm not gonna lie, I don't know how to feel right now." Gemma whispered. "I love you, you're my little brother... this is just overwhelming and it all just hit me at the same time. I have to process this and I can't stay here. I really hope I can see you again, but I can't do it right now. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize, it's okay." Harry's voice cracked at the end. "Take all the time you need, it's the safest option."
Gemma quickly wiped her tears away, letting out a shaky breath as she tried to recompose herself.
"You're not alone, Harry." She told him, and that was enough to make him break. "I have to go. But this time you know where to find me... thank you for remembering me."
A soft sob escaped from Harry's lips and Cleo quickly walked closer to him, intertwining their hands.
"I'm sorry, Gem." He whispered.
"So am I." She whispered back.
And then Gemma turned around and just walked out of the kitchen.