Seven years later
The aesthetic heart shaped mahogany branches formed an arch and were varnished with looming green leaves and on a few empty spots sat flour white roses. There was no strong breeze, yet it was quite airy. The weather was different compared to the usual London climate. The sun was camouflaged in between the leaves, creating a fresh, sun-kissed atmosphere that Spring evening.
The Sandford family and friend on the left, whilst the Johnson family and friends settled on the right.
There was mindless chatter about how the bride would look like, and some conversation wishing the groom a happy, cheer-filled marriage. The groom was more involved in the wedding than the bride surprisingly! He had even thrown in a few white rose petals around the baby pink carpet that his bride would walk on. Everything was perfect. The gorgeous clearing in the woods the groom had found, making it even more elegant than it already was.
Everyone hurriedly settled in their positions, and stood up when someone rushed in to announce that the bride had arrived. The familiar instrumental of 'Hourglass' by V Bozeman had began to play, making everything seem more real every coming second. Silent smiles and un-shed tears were most people's expressions as time went by. From behind the grande fountains, there she was in her breathtaking wedding dress. She looked error-less, alluring, and aglow.
My sister.
She stalked down the isle, a veil similar to her dress covering her face, and a bouquet of baby pink roses gripped in her hand; My mother on her right side. Zac Johnson who had to resist from crying was breathless and stunned by the fact that the striking woman in front of him was about to become his wife. He gasped into his hand which had made it's way to his mouth in shock when Sacari had come into view. She strolled closer and closer to him until finally, she had stopped in front of him, my mother gave him her blessing, and he took of her veil and then the ceremony began.
* *
"I'm so over the moon for you like you wouldn't believe!" I hugged my sister tightly as I made contact with her at the wedding party. The change in scenery felt surreal, due to it being better than where they had gotten married. It was in the same forest, but in a different clearing. Fairy lights adorned the trees and lanterns hung from the branches. It had gotten to around 6pm, making the mood even more genuine than it was before. Of course, there were more flowers and designs, as well as tables and chairs for the guests to get comfortable near. Finally, there was a huge space in the middle, that was covered with some kind of hard material, so everyone would be able to dance.
Everyone had been congratulating the newly wed couple, so it had taken me a long while to finally see my sister and let her know that I was over joyed for her. When I finally caught sight of her though, I couldn't help but let a few tears lose. She was 26, she was married, and she was happy with a man who adored the hell out of her. Why wouldn't I have been happy?
"Thank you so much, love! You look beautiful by the way." She gestured to my plain light pink dress.
"I look beautiful?! You look like you've just walked out of a GQ magazine! I can't begin to describe how amazing you look Sacari." I gushed.
"Well thank you anyway. Where's your friend, I thought he came with you." She asked, looking over my shoulder.
"He did, he's just using the washroom real quick."
"Well anyway, I should get going, nan's about to make a speech." she rolled her eyes with a laugh.
I nodded and sat at my family's table again, which consisted of my mother and my grandma. Just us three and I wouldn't change it for the world. Even though I had only arrived in London four days ago, I had managed to do a few activities besides helping my sister and Zac out with the wedding. I managed to do a little sight-seeing, visit the beach, and even re-kindle with an old friend a day ago. There would be no words for me to describe the feeling of when I'd seen Kingsley Oakland looking as bored as ever in an ASDA that had been near by. As if on cue, he walked out of the washroom.
"Have I missed anything?" he asked, sitting back down next to me.
"No, but once my grandma's done making her speech we can go sneak a few cupcakes and some of that chocolate mousse." I beamed.
"Sounds like a plan."
Minutes flew by, and my grandma's speech was making my eyes wetter with each word. We were a family of four women, each of us very independent in a society, yet dependent on one another. But it was finally time for my sister to rid off her Sandford name and into Johnson, and no one really was against the idea. We loved Zac, and he was like the brother I never had.
When she had finally finished, we clapped as she sat down, taking that as the signal for Kingsley and I to go and fill our stomachs.
"So when do you leave?" Kingsley asked as he poured a bit of the sparkling water.
"Three days."
"That's cool, then we can still hang out a lot. I'm here on Spring break, so I leave in a week or so."
"That sounds fun! What are you majoring in at your uni?" I responded.
"Computer, animation, that kind of digital stuff. What about you? I never got the chance to ask. I graduate this year though." he shrugged.
"Oh, I graduated last year. I only took four years in photography. So now I work for Elle Magazine and it allows me to travel and photograph things. I just started."
"That's awesome. Where have you been so far?"
"Well the company's in New York, so Iv'e started out with California and Miami. But I'm thinking next of going to Malta or something exotic like Hawaii."
"You sound like you love your job. Congratulations." he smiled.
"Thanks. We should definitely keep in touch though. It's been seven years Kingsley. Last I saw you, I was sixteen."
"I know, and we will. This is my last year in uni and I got and I'm thinking of settling in the states, where my girlfriend is."
"Congrats to you too. Nerdy Kingsley's got him self a wife." I laughed.
"No shutup." he blushed.
The conversation flowed a little more, until we found ourselves back in our seats.
The rest of the night's timeline was:
After grandma's speech came Zac's dad's speech, then came my mum's then came his mum's and then I gave my speech. There were many more speeches, but I couldn't bother to listen to most. The couple cut their cake and danced for some time, a few more tears were shed, and by 11:32pm, I was exhausted and ready to go home.
I had been staying at a hotel nearby for the four days prior, however, Sacari had moved the day before and had offered me her place until she finally upped and sold it, since she was moving in with Zac. For this reason, I put my luggage back at her house earlier that day and quickly went to Zac's house to get her ready.
I slugged through the driveway of my old home, smiling to myself as I finally began to realise the memories of this house. I had not stayed for years, but this was still my home, and I loved every single memory I made here. I jumped out of my tiring heels and tossed the keys onto the kitchen counter and mentally thanked Sacari for leaving a little bit of refreshments still around. I grabbed a wine glass from the cupboard and poured a little of the Chardonnay I found in the wine cupboard. I also helped my self with the leftover lemon-lime cake bar I might have sneaked into my bag when I left. I let my hair down and opened the door once more and made myself comfortable on the deck chair.
The night was cool and satisfying; not a single sound, except for the faint laughing and screeching of tires from down the street. I closed my eyes, enjoying the the breeze as I sipped from the wine glass. The silence didn't last long.
The sound of metal slamming the ground loudly next to me, made me drift my eyes to a black haired girl who had walked towards the house next door until she dropped something, without a noise, grocery bags in hand. Something in her hand, most likely a phone, dropped out of her hands as well and hit the floor loudly, making her curse and lean to pick it up. In the process, the other few things in her arms had fallen down as well, making her curse even louder than before.
"Need a little help hon?" I called out to the girl, getting up from my seat. She jumped a little at the sound of my voice, startled.
"N-No, it's fine, I got it." she replied with a thick British accent.
"No, I insist. It's fine, really." I claimed, gathering a few bags that fell out of her hands.
"Thank you so much Miss." she thanked, when I was done helping her gather her fallen items.
"It's no problem. Call me Frankie, please." I replied.
"I'm Safaa." she responded with a smile. She was adorable.
"Nice to meet you Safaa. You need a little help getting those inside?"
"No it's fine. My brother just came back from university, and him and his stupid friends would probably hit on you as soon as you walk in, because you're so pretty" she rolled her eyes.
"It's fine hon, seriously, I have nothing else doing-"
"Safaa! Where's the food?" A voice called from behind me. Because my back was facing the door, I couldn't see the person at the door. But I wasn't stupid. I knew that voice all too well.
I froze in my place, goosebumps striking my neck and my arms praying I wouldn't get caught.
"Yeah. I was just talking to this nice lady, calm down." she called back to her 'brother'.
"Tell her to come inside then." he groaned impatiently.
"Do you want to come inside Frankie?" She looked up at me with hopeful cobalt eyes.
I tried to give her a discreet 'maybe another time', but the harrowing voice at the door cut me off.
"Frankie?" he whispered, more confused and surprised. I took a deep breathe and spun around to face him slowly, my heart catching in my chest.
He looked different. He now had cut his hair down shorter, and had definitely gotten more piercings. He was slightly taller and leaner, yet slightly muscular. As much as I hated to admit it, he looked very handsome.
"Zayn Malik . . . it's been a while." I replied, attempting to sound unconcerned but my voice came out more frail and upset. The atmosphere was so awkward as I tried to ignore the stabbing in my heart.
"You two know each other?" Safaa asked.
"Frankie . . . used to . . . go to my school." Zayn cleared his throat, his eyes never leaving mine.
That and I used to be your girlfriend, prick.
"That's so cool! I'm just going to put these stuff in the kitchen. I'll be back." Safaa beamed and ran inside the house I should have stupidly remembered Zayn lived. Immediately Safaa shut the door, the tension rose by a hundred, and staring into Zayn's eyes after seven years brought back very unwanted memories.
"How are you?" he croaked, nearing me.
"I'm alright, you?"
"Same." The tension grew thicker.
"You want to . . . sit down?" he motioned to the porch, and I nodded mindlessly, leading him to the stairs of my porch, sitting down quietly. Now the only sound there was soft crickets.
"You look nice." he said awkwardly.
"Thanks, you do too. You're taller . . ."
"So your sister's are back in London?" I pointed out, remembering that one time he had told me about how his parents move his sisters away from all the danger and would bring them back when it was safer.
"Yeah, they did. A few weeks after graduation." he nodded and we returned back to the uncomfortable silence. I bounced my leg up and down nervously when I knew the last time I'd spoken to him, I wrote him a letter and left it at his door.
"I feel like there's a lot I have to explain. Frankie, about that night-"
"No Zayn, it's fine. We don't need to go down memory lane, I get it. I was very young and vulnerable then and I guess you took advantage of that." I cut him off sharply, rage starting to consume my senses.
"I understand, and I also understand that you want closure. You want to know why I did what I did? I understand it was hard, and I understand that I ruined possibly one of the most best nights of girl's life right? Let me explain." he turned to me fully.
"Zayn, I'm exhausted and Iv'e had a long day. I'm not ready for this-"
"It was a bet. I'll admit. Seven years ago, a new girl had moved in next to me and I'm not lying when I say she was the most gorgeous girl I had ever laid eyes on. I checked her out, I won't lie. This went on for days; I would check her out and admire her beauty. One time, I checked her out while my friends were around and they caught me staring, so one of them made a stupid bet. Seven years ago, I made a stupid bet with my friend not knowing what I was getting myself into-"
"Zayn I don't have time for this." I began to get up, but he stopped me by grabbing my hand not too tightly.
"The bet was to bang her and ditch during prom. Seven years ago, I mad the biggest mistake of my life. I asked her out on a date to the roller rink for the first time, and something sparked inside me, but I ignored it and didn't live up to it. She was beautiful, and did everything right. She had no single flaw in my eyes; she could sing well and was amazing at art. She was perfect for me. In the beginning of our relationship, In the beginning of us, I mistakened care and concern for clinginess. I had only been interested in one girl before I met her, and it didn't end well, so I pushed her away. She had grown on me after two months, but just when I was about to see what I really had with her, I got her kidnapped. I had skeletons in my closet, wiling to hurt anyone I cared about to hurt me. Seven years ago, no words could even begin to explain the emotions that flowed through me when I saw her on the ground with bruises all over her, barely breathing."
Tears began to well up in my eyes as I thought of the awful memories.
"I visited her in the hospital a few days after, feeling a need to check on her. She fell asleep against me that night, and I knew I couldn't ignore the fluttering in my chest anymore. As the weeks went by, seven fucking years ago, I knew I was beginning to fall in love with her and for once, I didn't want the feeling to stop. I opened up to her about a lot of things after she had invited me to spend Christmas day with her and her family. But after the night she comforted me about the day I had finally met my disgrace of a biological mother, I knew I was deep involved with her. And I knew she was with me too. I just never let her know until it was too late. Seven years ago, I screamed 'Fuck the bet' at the night sky once I knew I was in love with her, she was all I wanted. I had a nightmare one night and the one person I could go to was her. I laid in bed with her and she held me in her arms and I didn't want her to let go."
He paused as his voice cracked softly at the end.
"The next day, I went to the friend I'd made the bet with and told him to call it off. He could see how deeply in love I had fallen with her and he wanted me to be happy, so he called it off. I felt free, like I could finally be myself around her and instead of be guilty of the fact that I may have been lying to her. The moment didn't last long, because the same scumbag that had captured her first had come back again, and told me that if I called of the bet, he would kill her. He would fuck her right in front of me and I would watch her scream and cry a he slit her throat." he clenched his fists.
"He wanted me to hurt her. He wanted me to break her and he didn't want me to be happy. So I did what he wanted, because I wanted her to be safe. Seven years ago, I stared into her deep brown eyes as she opened her door on prom night looking as gorgeous as ever. I couldn't believe what I was about to do especially knowing that seven years ago, the night before prom, we didn't have sex, we didn't fuck, we made love. It was just us, lost in one another,I tried to savour our final dance before I knew that I'd have to break her heart. I had to understand that I would never find another like her. I had to understand that I was about to break my soulmate. Seven years ago, I ruined the best night of her life and forced myself to look into her eyes as I did. Seven years ago, I knew there was no turning back, I had officially broke Francesca Sandford and I regret it till this day."
At that moment, I couldn't stop the tears when Zayn had finally told me everything I wanted to hear. Everything I needed to hear when we were together. He had finally explained to me what happened when he absolutely destroyed me.
When I left London, it took a lot of me to pick myself back up and accept the fact that Zayn had used me for his own benefit. I had finally learned how to be independent and not count on others. I counted on my mum for the longest time to help me and save me from my dad; I depended on Sacari to help me move on from that. I depended on my 'friends' to make me feel normal. I had learnt to trust myself and find the kind of person I was; I learned how to be single. No not romantically single either, I meant truly single. And I had finally made time to explore things I loved doing. I didn't need anybody in my life all that time I was by myself, and I was too young to go back to being a no one.
"Zayn-"
"I'm not asking you to get back together with me, because that's not even rational. All I'm asking for is for you to forgive me." he looked into my eyes and for a minute I wanted to fall right back into them.
"Zayn I forgive you okay? I'm not one to hold a grudge. I just want to let you know that I can never forget. I have to face the fact that years from now, when my kids ask me how my prom was, all I have to either lie or tell them the truth. I know the wound is not fresh, but you hurt me Zayn. You broke my heart. You broke it. I gave it to you, with whatever trust I had, and you threw it away. Okay; thank you for telling me what I needed to hear. Thank you for explaining your side of the story, I know you won't lie to me. But I hope you're not expecting me to jump back into your arms because I won't!" I breathed, to catch my breathe and calm down.
"I believe in fate okay?" I started again, more quietly.
"I believe that everything happens for a reason. If me and you are meant to happen in the future, we will be together. If we aren't, we won't; Let's not force it." I finished, removing my hands from his.
I knew he continued to stare at me, but I couldn't be bothered to look at him. I was tired, bored and all I wanted to do was sleep the night away.
"I hear you. I jut wanted to let you know that it wasn't what it was. I only wanted to protect you, that's all." he stood up.
"Alright Zayn." I stood up too. "When do you leave?" I asked.
"The end of the week." he nodded.
"Maybe if you want, we could grab a coffee tomorrow and catch up? As old friends of course." I suggested.
He looked at me for a minute before a small smile grew on his face.
"I'd like that."
A/N: Heyo. Before you start, I'm so so sorry. I thought this was already posted. But it was still on draft when I went back to check. I'm so sorry guys. But I hope you're satisfied. I want you guys to understand that they can't just jump back together, and she can't just get revenge if he was only trying to protect her. Fate will take its toll on the two of them, and they will take baby steps. I might make an alternate ending, but it's not mandatory. I loved writing this book and thank you to everyone who's stuck by me since the beginning of my bullshit writing. I'm taking time to edit, as well as get involved with 'Sins' my new book. Thank you all, and I hope you stay beautiful, every single one of you. - Some bitch. xoxo