Chapter Eight:
I woke up with a smile on my face the next morning due to the dream I had about Zayn and I. It was the most amazing dream that I had ever had and I was hoping that one day it would be my reality.
We were walking around the park holding hands and as always he was smoking a cigarette. The two of us had big smiles on our faces and we were laughing at everything. All of the things that I was frustrated about suddenly just went away and all that mattered was the man walking by my side. He was telling me about some more drawings that he had done that he wanted me to look at. The sparkle in his eyes as he talked about his art just made me melt. I knew that he was finally going to live out his dream as an artist and I was the one that would be next to him the whole way through. I couldn't help but stare at him as he spoke about the future and what he thought it would entail.
He noticed me staring and smiled, "What? Is there something on my face or something?"
I smiled back and slowly shook my head, "No."
"Then why are you staring?"
I shrugged, "You're just so beautiful that I don't want to take my eyes off of you for even a second."
"Very funny Hazza."
I stopped walking and stopped in front of him to look into his eyes, "I'm not kidding Zayn. You are the most beautiful thing that I have ever laid my eyes on. I couldn't be any happier than I am right now. I've wanted to be with you for so long and now that it's actually happened I never want to let you go. You're perfect."
Even though he wanted to hide it I could see the blush creeping onto his cheeks, "I'll never be as perfect as you darling." He leaned down and connected our lips. The feeling of us kissing was the best thing in the whole world. It felt like magic and I hoped that I could kiss him for the rest of my life.
I was still smiling at that dream even though it was a few days ago. Today was now Tuesday, I had that dream almost a week ago and I still couldn't get it out of my mind. I was disappointed when Zayn hadn't showed up to school on Thursday or Friday but I thought maybe he was just sick or something. I was going to text him to ask if he was alright but decided against it. I didn't want him to think that I was being clingy or anything, especially since we weren't dating. But now it was Tuesday and he wasn't at school Monday or today. I was starting to get worried about him so I took it upon myself to gather all of his homework from his teachers and visit him. I was currently in my car (my mom surprised me on Saturday telling me that the car was now mine) driving to Zayn's house with a long list of homework assignments and text books on the passenger seat. I was singing along to A Team by Ed Sheeran and I couldn't help but think of Zayn. His voice sounded so beautiful when he was singing along to it and I wished that he could sing for me all of the time. By the time the song was over I was pulling into the Malik driveway and turning off the engine. I grabbed my keys and shoved them into the pocket of my coat before picking up Zayn's stuff and closing the car door.
I walked up the front steps and knocked on the front door. After waiting a few moments I knocked again but again there was no answer. I heard a noise coming from the inside so I knew someone was in there. I knocked once more only this time I made sure that it was loud enough for someone to hear. Not too long after the door creaked open and an angry looking man stood in the doorway.
He looked me up and down with a disgusted face and grumbled, "Who the hell are you?"
I stuttered, "H-hello sir. I-I'm Harry St-styles."
"I don't want any of whatever you're selling. Get the fuck off of my porch."
No wonder Zayn slept under that bridge. I wouldn't want to come home to this every day. I assumed that his was his dad but he didn't seem like the loving father that a kid should have. He had such an angry look on his face and he smelled like he showered himself in alcohol. I could smell some smoke coming from the house and I heard someone yelling from the TV.
I held the books and paper in front of me, "I just came to give this to Zayn. It's his school work. Do you mind if I give it to him?"
"Zayn doesn't have any friends! He's a worthless piece of shit!" I clenched my fist and tried my best not to lash out at him for saying those things about Zayn. "Now get off of my property before I call the police!"
I nodded and walked back to my car. I watched as he spit on the ground and slammed the door shut. There was no way that I was going to leave Zayn there without anyone to help him. He must've been scared out of his mind living in that place. I had to get him out of there so he could feel safe. I drove down the street and parked my car in what looked like an abandoned store's parking lot. I left the books there knowing that there was really no point in bringing them with me. I sprinted towards his house and once I reached his yard I carefully made my way up to the side of the home (if you could even consider it a home.).
Staying close to the brick walls I saw a window and I peered through it. It seemed to be the living room but it looked gloomy and unkempt. There were empty bottles of alcohol spread throughout the room and there was an ash tray that looked to never be dumped out. I saw his dad sitting on the couch in front of the TV with a bottle of something in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He looked like he was about ready to fall asleep and I was hoping that he would actually do so. It would be much easier to get Zayn out if his father was passed out. I didn't see him in the living room though so I quickly made my way to a window that was all the way on the other side of the wall. I slowly moved to look through it and saw Zayn sitting on the floor.
He had a pencil in his hand and he was leaning over with his back to me. I couldn't see what he was doing but I assumed that he was drawing something for his portfolio. I watched him for a little while before gently tapping on his window. He looked up from the floor but didn't turn around. I supposed that he thought that he was hearing things. I tapped on it once more a little harder and he immediately turned around. It took all of my strength to keep my jaw from dropping at the sight of him. He had a huge bruise on his face that was much bigger and more colorful than the last one I had seen him with. His lip was cut open and he just looked absolutely miserable. His hair wasn't done up and he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. It was so hard not to just cry right on the spot. I felt the tears prick at my eyes and I blinked them away before they could start flowing down my cheeks. He got up off of the floor and quickly made his way over to the window.
He slid it open and whispered, "What are you doing here?"
He looked back at his door before looking back to me. "I-I just came to deliver your homework for you because I realized you haven't been in school or anything for a few days and I was worried then your dad answered the door and he didn't let me give it to you so I wanted to come find you to make sure that you were alright and...what happened Zayn..." I noticed that what I just said was just one giant ramble but I knew he understood everything.
"You have to leave Harry."
I shook my head, "Not without you. I'm not going to just leave you here. You're hurt."
"I don't want your help. I've already told you that."
"Please Zayn...I just want you to be safe. Everything makes sense now."
He looked like he was getting angry now, "Don't even act like you think you know everything. Because you don't. You just need to leave before something bad happens."
"No."
"Styles, this is not the time to argue with me. Just get the hell out of here."
I put my hand on his cheek and he flinched, "If you're getting hurt here then I can't let you stay. Please come with me. You can stay at my house for as long as you'd like."
He clenched his jaw and said through gritted teeth, "I'm fine. Leave."
"Zayn I'm not lea-" I was cut off by the window slamming shut. He sat back down where he was before I had bothered him.
"Zayn! Please!" He turned and gave me a glare before standing back up and shutting his blinds. I sighed in defeat and said, "I'm going to get you out of there if it's the last thing I do! I won't let you suffer through this! You don't deserve to be hurt!"
I stood there for a while longer hoping that he would open his window back up and say that he had changed his mind. I so badly wanted him to be out of there and come with me where I knew he would be alright. I started fiddling with the hem of my shirt when I heard the window open back up.
He looked up at me with sad eyes, "If you tell anyone about this I will never trust you again." I didn't even have the chance to say anything to him before the window was shut and the blinds were closed once again.
I put my hand up to the window and whispered, "I promise I won't tell a soul."
I slowly made my way back to my car and for an hour or so I just sat in the driver's seat crying. Even though I wanted to tell someone about Zayn I knew I couldn't because his trust means everything to me. I knew that what he had said was true. He would never trust me again if I told someone and I just couldn't handle that. I had to get him out of there but I had to do it alone and hopefully I could do that before he got hurt even worse. For all I knew his whole body could be covered in cuts and bruises but it's not like he would ever openly tell me if it was. There had to be a way that I could get him to trust me enough to tell me everything that he was dealing with. I needed to know why he wouldn't let me help him. Why would he just let someone hurt him every single day? Why wouldn't he run away or try to tell someone about what is happening to him? I know he didn't tell me directly that his father was doing this to him but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was the one causing damage to Zayn. I turned my car on and started to drive home. I went from sadness to rage in only a matter of seconds and I slammed my fist against the steering wheel.
"I promise I'll save you Zayn. Even if I have to kill that sick bastard to do it."