I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm myself but it was of no use. If my heart wasn't already beating fast enough, the car swerving to the right and missing a large tree by barely an inch was enough to do the trick.
"Zayn, who are these people?" I whispered and cast him a wary glance when he didn't respond.
Zayn's dark eyebrows were knitted in a deep frown as he kept his eyes focused on the winding pathway ahead and the dark jeep that had gotten closer.
I sat up straighter and focused on the rear view mirror. The jeep was so close, much to close for comfort.
My body jerked forward violently and thankfully the seat belt pulled me back or I would have smashed into the windshield. I gasped for air and clutched the seat I was in tightly. The jeep had hit us and suddenly the person who had been shouting from the boot fell silent.
"You, okay?" Zayn asked.
I gritted my teeth and shook my head. How could anyone be 'okay' in a situation like this?
The car jerked again, this time more violently. They were pushing us further away from the centre of the road and closer to the trees. My heart leapt to my throat when I saw a huge concrete wall about a yard away. We were going to crash into it if we carried on like this.
And then it dawned on me like a cold bucket of water thrown over already freezing skin. They were going to kill us.
My body shook fervently and I looked around for any possible route of escape. The jeep was next to us now, stirring us towards our deaths. I could see Zayn fighting to keep us on the road but we had already swerved and getting back to the centre was impossible with the jeep in our way.
My eyes were as wide as saucers as I scanned the trees looking for a clearance wide enough. There wasn't any that would fit a car but a few people, definitely.
I remained silent, wary of vampire heightened senses. If I spoke out loud there was a possibility whoever was in the jeep would hear us.
Instead I pulled Zayn's sleeve and made him face me for a moment.
He was struggling to keep the car from hurtling off into the trees and I had to shake him hard to make him concentrate on me. He cast me a deep frown which I ignored easily. I gestured to the small clearing just a few feet in front of the concrete wall we were heading towards and pointed at myself, him and whoever it was in the boot. Zayn looked confused for a moment and then his eyes widened in understanding.
He nodded towards the wheel, gesturing for me to hold it and I wrapped my hands around it tightly.
What happened next felt like a lifetime wrapped in a few seconds of eternity. It was obvious I was much weaker than Zayn. Once he let go of the wheel the jeep drove into us easily and the car hurtled towards the concrete wall.
It felt like my life flashed in front of me as a sea of grey flooded my vision. The wall was so close I knew in that moment we were never going to make it.
When I saw Zayn return with a body over his shoulder, I pushed the door open, feeling a gust of wind hit me with the reality that we were out of time. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact.
The sound of metal screeching against cold hard cement grated my ears and I clenched my teeth expecting to be broken into pieces. The noise amplified into an explosion but the pain never came.
I opened my eyes in disbelief. Was I dead already? My body jerked forwards and then backwards and it felt like I was flying as cold wind hit my face.
I closed my eyes in pain and held on to whatever was holding me. When we finally stopped and I was placed down onto solid ground, my head was spinning and I wanted to vomit.
I sucked in a breath and focused on the blurry image before me. After blinking a few times I could make out Zayn dumping a long body onto the ground and kicking it lightly.
"Get up," He grumbled and then he leaned forward and panted heavily.
The body shifted slightly and my breath caught in my throat. There was no mistaking that long torso, those tattoos peeking out from under that signature white shirt and that brown hair, that was now cut short.
Harry.
I rushed towards him and turned him over.
Harry was still unconscious but he was breathing.
I glared at Zayn. "What did you do to him?"
He seemed surprised at my reaction and then his expression darkened. "I saved his life. If I didn't take him he would be dead by now or kidnapped by the council to be used to blackmail us. Trust me I wouldn't have bothered but I know how protective you are of him. If he died I wouldn't hear the end of it."
He was right about the last part. I bit my lip, trying to make sense of his words.
The council? What was that? And who were these people trying to kill us?
"What is this council you keep talking about? And why do they want us dead? Haven't I been tortured enough by you? Now I have to add a whole battalion of other crazy vampires to the list of people out to get me."
I frowned when I caught him smiling at me. "Did you find that funny?"
"No, it isn't. It's just," He paused looking unsure of himself. "I've missed you."
I swallowed hard as my heart started running a marathon in my chest. Unable to endure the intensity in Zayn's eyes, I focused on Harry who stared to stir.
"Wha," He blinked a few times and I shook him impatiently. After a few seconds he bolted upright and his eyes widened when he took in my dishevelled appearance and then he looked at Zayn.
"You see him too?" I asked just to be sure.
He remained silent, only nodding slightly to confirm my doubts.
A flood of emotions ran through me all at once. I was right all along. I wasn't crazy. Everything I felt with Zayn was real and most importantly I wasn't a murderer.
"How are you alive?" I asked finally. "I thought you were dead."
"I was supposed to be," Zayn ran a hand through his hair. "It's a long story but we need to go somewhere safe. We may have lost them for a few minutes but if we remain here they will find us soon."
After seeing Charlie and that jeep nearly drive us into a wall, I didn't need to be told twice especially now that I know I haven't been hallucinating this whole time.
I followed Zayn to one of the cars in the parking lot we were in and got into one of the unlocked ones.
Zayn expertly hot wired the car and the engine roared to life.
"Why can't you just carry us and run with your vampire speed? It's so much faster," I asked.
"They have sensors that can detect that easily. Which is why were not safe here. There are too many cars on the highway, it would be easier to lose them like that," He explained.
Harry got in soon after and leaned forward from the back seat, perching his head between us.
Zayn looked mildly irritated by this but he said nothing as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road.
"Umm Rosalie, may I know why we're following this lunatic who has been harassing you for the past few months?" Harry asked me and I watched Zayn scowl.
"You want to get out, be my guest," Zayn said but he made no attempt to slow down or pull over. "But Rosalie is staying with me. It's the only way I can be sure she's safe."
"How can she be safe with you?! You've bitten her, harmed her, driven her mad. You even framed her for murder. If it weren't for you she wouldn't be here in the first place," Harry protested angrily.
Zayn's knuckles turned white and I saw a muscle tick as he clenched his jaw.
My blood boiled with anger as these two argued further about my safety, completely ignoring me in the process.
"Would you two just cut it out! Last I checked I too had a brain about the size of yours, maybe bigger, so I'm pretty sure I can make a decision for myself," I snapped and they both fell silent. "I'm following Zayn until I know what's going on and who we are dealing with. Harry, if you're unhappy with my decision, too bad. You're stuck with us because I'm not letting anything happen to you if I can help it."
The long drive was silent after my outburst until we finally reached what looked like an abandoned house.
After Zayn scouted the premises we walked inside and I headed straight for the bathroom. When I saw my reflection in the mirror I froze in place, paralyzed with fear.
My hair was matted and stuck to my forehead, my skin was ghostly white and dried blood stained my chin and neck. It was Dr Logan's blood. An image of his shrivelled carcass and bulging black veins haunted my vision and I rushed to the sink to get him off me.
I rubbed my skin furiously with water and tears sprung in my eyes when I saw my red stained skin. Why wasn't it going away? I stifled a cry and rubbed harder and when it didn't come off I started scratching at it.
"Go away, Go away," I pleaded as fresh tears ran down my face.
I felt the door shut behind and before I knew it Zayn was standing in front of me.
"Rosalie, what are you doing?" His eyes widened in alarm. "You're hurting yourself." He grabbed my arms and leaned in to look at my neck.
"It's not going away," I choked.
"There's nothing there." He looked at me in confusion and then his face filled with remorse. He pulled me towards him and wrapped his arms around me protectively.
"His blood, I still feel it. I can't get rid of it," I cried into his chest as my body shook violently. I felt sick and dizzy. I wanted to peel my skin off to rid myself of the memory.
"I'll get rid of it," Zayn whispered calmly whilst stroking my hair. He placed me in the bath tub and turned on the shower. Warm water cascaded down my head and onto my shoulders.
He leaned in front of me and scrubbed my chin and neck gently with a bar of soap he had found. Once he had washed it off he stroked my skin gently and squeezed my shoulders.
"Do you feel better?" He asked.
I stared at him blankly, watching the water drench his dark hair and flow down his smooth skin, all the way to his neck.
He looked at me helplessly and then he leaned in and kissed my chin. He then kissed my neck gently, dragging his lips over my skin, it felt like he was painting me with them.
Once he was done he looked up at me cautiously. "It's gone, Rosalie. I've taken it away. You have nothing to worry about. I'm here and I promise nothing will happen to you. I'll make sure of it."
We sat under the shower, staring at each other. Neither of us wanted to look away. My chest ached with a forbidden longing that could only ever be elicited by him and my lips parted slightly.
He held my shaking form firmly and leaned in and I closed my eyes unable to resist anymore but we both jumped slightly when we heard someone bang on the door.
"Rosalie, what's taking you so long? Are you alright?" Harry's voice echoed from the other side.
Okay, Harry wit long hair or Harry with short hair? I personally like the short hair. Tell me what you thoughts below and if you enjoyed the chapter :) Goodnight Inzaynies