Hello, everyone! :D I know it's been over a week and I'm sorry, but... augh! I just wrote this chapter this morning and edited it a few times, so like always, please point out any technical mistakes I missed! Anywho, I REALLY appreciate all the comments, votes, adds, etc. on this story! It's mind blowing! You guys are great readers, and I'm so pleased you're all liking it!
PS- Guys, this story is over 2,000 reads now! :O That is amazing, and I can't thank you all enough for it! This is just... wow, I'm speechless! So since i'm speechless, I guess that gives me good reason to shut up and let you all read now!
(Updates will probably continue on the schedule of: Weekly)
So here you go! Chapter five!
Zayn
“Hi Mum.”
“Hi Zayn,” a sweet voice responds from my cell phone. “I heard you were all at the hospital? Is everyone doing alright, or was that just a rumor story?” Her voice sounds calm, but I sense an underlying tone of anxiety that she obviously doesn’t want me to know about.
“Yeah, the boys and I are all fine,” I say slowly. “But we were at the hospital.”
There’s dead silence for a moment before she speaks again. “Why was that? Love, is there something you’re not telling me?”
Trust my mother to have the ultimate motherly instinct, even over the phone.
I take a deep breath, and notice only then that my hands are damp with sweat, my nerves becoming apparent, even though I’m in the privacy of my own room. I mean, what is she going to think? I practically kidnapped a girl, and she doesn’t even know it.
After another moment, I speak. In one, long explanation, I tell her everything that’s happened with Dana. How she’s from the streets, how she doesn’t remember anything… how I told her the biggest lie of her life.
When I’m finished there’s an eerie silence as my only response, leaving me with a sickening feeling. “How long do you plan on keeping this from her?” She finally responds, her voice a strangely threatening quiet.
I sigh and fall down onto my bed, staring at the creamy ceiling. There’s not a single speck of obvious dirt on it. The rest of my room looks average and neat enough, but all the real mess is in my closet where no one can see. Thinking of it reminds me about how disorganized my life really is now. I have the obvious surface appearance, average, calm, collected. But if you look further, I’m a complete mess. I’m lying to a girl about her entire life, stealing her away to live with me, and dragging everyone around me into it as well.
“I don’t know,” I finally say when I find my voice. “As long as until she remembers, I suppose.
I hear Mum sigh quietly through the phone before speaking again. “I hope you’re ready for her reaction then, Zayn,” she pauses. “Because I doubt it’ll be pleasant.”
I already know that. I’m prepared for her to hate me. Hell, I’d hate me too if I found out that everything I thought I knew was just a complete lie. That I took advantage of my condition and twisted my life around.
“It’ll be horrible Mum,” I groan, rubbing an eye with my free hand. “And I know it’ll happen. It’s inevitable.”
“Alright Zayn,” she says, her voice sounding more and more tired by the second. “Did you call me just to tell me this? Or is there something more to it?”
Okay, now this is where I get into the really tricky, horrible stuff. Getting everyone else to play along.
“I have to ask a huge favor,”
“Relating to Dana?”
“Yes,” I take a deep breath. My Mum is understanding enough not to tell anyone else, but I don’t know if she’ll be understanding enough to play along, let alone try to convince the whole family to do it too. “Dana’s going to start asking about our family soon enough. She’s probably going to want to see you all too. I told her that you’re all home in Bradford, which is why she couldn’t see you, but I can’t keep that up forever. She’s going to inevitably meet you.”
“So you’re asking me, along with the whole family, to help you lie?” Her voice has changed to something that’s got a sharp edge to it. An edge that’s about to cut my plan in half.
“Mum, I don’t like lying,” I say desperately. “I really don’t. But I’m doing this to possibly save her life. She’d be back on the streets or dead if it wasn’t for me!”
There’s another long silence and I can tell she’s thinking it over. “Love, you really think you’re doing what’s right for this girl?”
To be honest, I’m not sure. But I really hope that I am. “Yes,” I say firmly. If I’m not confident, she won’t agree to this and the whole plan will just blow up in my face.
She sighs deeply. “Zayn, I don’t like it, but I’ll talk to Yaser and the girls. If they don’t agree, then I alone will be the one to meet her, alright?”
“Thank you so much Mum,” I breathe. “I swear that-“
“I said I don’t like it Zayn,” she cuts me off. “But you’re an adult now. This is your decision. If you honestly think it’s what’s best, then I’ll help you.” She pauses. “I love you Zayn.”
“I love you Mum,” I reply with a dry throat before the line goes dead.
Slowly, I sit up and remove the phone from my ear. Nobody thinks this is a good idea. Hell, who am I trying to fool? I don’t even think this is a good idea. But Mum’s right. I’m an adult now, and I’ve already made my choice. I can’t just back out of it now, I have to see it to the end.
Deciding that I can’t just hide in my room forever, I rise from my bed and walk downstairs. I’m greeted by the sight of the boys all gathered in the living room, playing video games. Louis and Liam are furiously beating at the controls while Niall and Harry are rolling around in laughter at Louis’ swearing and random comments.
“Zayn!” Niall shouts between laughs. “You’ve got to come see this! Liam is completely kicking Louis’ arse!”
“He is not!” Louis cries indignantly.
“I think I’ve got a more pressing matter, actually.” I say, walking over to them to see two samurais fighting to the death on the screen. One, which I assume to be Louis’, is missing half an arm and is dragging a leg weakly as it struggles to reach the other one, who is laughing from a safe distance.
Liam lets loose a battle cry before finally putting Louis’ character out of his misery with a stab to the chest. He then turns to me with a grin and says, “What’s on your mind?”
“Well I talked to my Mum about Dana,” I say in a low voice, glancing upstairs to see that her door is still closed.
They all stop laughing and smiling, taking on serious expressions as they turn their focus to me.
“And how’d that go?” Harry asks.
I decide to spare them all the details of the debate and go straight to the end. “Basically, she doesn’t agree with it all, but she’ll play along.”
“Sounds like us,” Louis pipes up, raising his eyebrows pointedly at me.
“I know,” I respond with a glare, looking up towards Dana’s room again. “I’m honestly just trying to help.”
“We know you are mate,” Liam says, leaning back against the couch. “But she’s probably not going to like it when she find out that literally everyone has been lying to her.”
“I admit I’m skeptical,” Louis says again, giving me a shrug. “But it’s your choice Zayn.”
No one speaks again for a while after that, and we all just look at each other, lost in thought. “
I’m going to go check up on Dana,” I finally announce, turning and walking back upstairs to Dana’s room.
“Dana?” I knock before opening the door a crack, peering inside cautiously.
“Oh, hey Zayn,” she says, looking at me from where she sits on her bed. “You can come in.”
I slide inside and close the door behind me, noting that she’s wearing one of her new outfits and is listening to the radio station on the television. Taylor Swift’s single, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together is playing, and she’s bobbing her head to the beat as she listens.
“I like this song,” she says as she flashes me a grin.
Her hair is tied up into a messy bun and her outfit is made up of mostly greens and blues. Now that I really look at her, it’s startling how much she really could be my relative. She’s got the nose that juts out a bit more than most, and the darker, thicker eyebrows. She’s also got the light brown eyes, framed by long, dark lashes that even as a guy, I have.
I return the smile as she moves over to make room for me on the bed. “You should hear some of her other songs,” I comment as I sit down. “They’re all quite good.”
She nods and I scan her room. It’s still relatively clean and the only obvious new thing is her Memory Jar, sitting on her desk. It contains one piece of paper, and a One Direction sticker on the side.
I can’t help but smile at the sticker. “Fan of ours?” I smirk slightly, gesturing over to the container.
She follows my gaze and laughs. “Don’t get a big head now. But maybe a little bit.”
“Yeah, because the other millions of fans we have don’t do that already,” I say sarcastically with a grin, earning a playful smack on the arm from her.
“I like your song What Makes You Beautiful though,” she says after a moment. “It’s sweet."
I chuckle. “Every girl deserves to feel special. And every girl is beautiful in their own way.”
“You really are a true member of a boy band,” she chuckles, teasingly pinching my cheek.
After a pause, I finally decide to ask about her memory. “So you’ve remembered something?” I ask gently, noting the lone piece of paper sitting at the bottom of the jar.
She looks over and stares at it for a long moment before nodding. “Actually, I remembered it in the hospital,” she says slowly. “But I have no idea what it means. It’s only a fragment.” Her expression is sad for a moment as she turns back to me. “It’s been almost five days and I still only have one memory.”
“Well,” I say slowly. “It may not be a lot, but it’s something, isn’t it?"
She nods. “I suppose so. I just wish it were more.”
“It will be,” I say, taking her hands in mine. I play with her fingers for a moment before looking up at her again. “It’ll be more than you ever thought possible, soon enough. Just give it time.”
Her gaze moves from our hands to my face. “Thanks Zayn,” she finally says, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around my neck in a hug. “I’m really glad that you’re here.”
I’m a bit taken aback at first, but slowly return the hug. “I always will be,” I find myself saying softly.
When I realize how close we are and that we’re still hugging, I clear my throat and pull back, sliding off the bed. Dana seems to realize it at the exact same time I do, and quickly moves away, looking sheepish but giving me a small smile.
“I’ll come check in on you later, alright?” I say as I stand in the doorway, my hand on the doorknob. “You need anything?”
“No,” She shakes her head. “ But thanks again Zayn.”
“No problem.”
With that, I step out and close the door behind me, taking a deep breath. She trusts me so much it’s nearly painful. I don’t even know how she can put so much faith in anyone, especially someone she hardly remembers.
Pondering the thought, I walk over to the stairs, ready to return to the boys. But I stop when I hear their voices, hushed, like they’re talking about some sort of big secret.
Usually, I wouldn’t eavesdrop on anyone, but a gut feeling tells me that this is something important, something I should know about.
So I creep about a quarter of the way down the stairs to hear better, listening intently for the next words.
“Well it is a first,” Liam’s voice carries to me. “A first time that he’s thinking so much about someone else. That he’s not being moody and upset just because of him. He cares.”
“I don’t like the fact that he’s lying to her,” Niall’s Irish accent is easy to pick out. “But if she can change him like this without even trying, I’ve got to say I’m all for it.”
“He was moody and irritable the whole week before this,” Louis joins in, sounding completely serious for once. “And I have to admit, it’s kind of a miracle. I don’t think he even knows how much he cares for her yet.”
That’s when I stop listening. They’re talking about me, aren’t they? I admit I’m moody sometimes, but am I really that bad? I thought doing this was secretly tearing me apart inside, but are they right?
Is this stranger changing me for the better?