"Your husband is such a good boy." Rod had said as he looked back at Zayn with a cocky smile. The phonecall with Harry had just ended. "You ready to be a good boy for me too?"
He stuffed the phone in his pocket and winked at Zayn who tensed.
"You might as well let yourself loose. You can't go anywhere. Besides, I have a gift for you. I bought it while I was out today."
He grabbed a white plastic bag he brought in earlier. From it he took out two articles of clothing. They were bright blue.
"I had a lot of time to think about our conversation yesterday. I'm still eager to find out what Harry could possibly see in your Veronica side. How could he ever be attracted to it? As I said earlier, there's no way he could be. But if you insist he is, then that should at least be proven, right?"
He held one of the articles of clothing up and let it hang down. That's when Zayn saw that it was a pair of women's panties. His heart beat so fast. Was Rod expecting him to wear those?
"See, I had to do a little research on you when I was planning this. You don't buy panties for men. You like women's underwear. Which is really weird."
He reached downward and gripped Zayn's legs.
"But we did talk about proving to me how irresistible Zayn and Veronica could be to a straight man. So it's time for you to show me."
"No."
"Yes. And you will."
"No!"
Zayn kicked at him but Rod dodged his foot.
"Hey!"
"Stop it!"
"SHUT UP!"
Not in the mood to fight Zayn, Rod angrily got up and got his gun from the small rolling table.
Zayn thought Rod was about to kill him so he let out an ear piercing scream. But Rod took the gun and struck him back handed across the face. Once. Twice. Three times.
"I said shut up, sissy!"
Zayn had been struck under the eye on one side of his face, across the mouth and at the the top of his forehead. He was so dazed, that he didn't even realize he was bleeding from his cheekbone and his lip.
Since Zayn was in no condition to fight back anymore, Rod agressively pulled down his panties and used gardening shears to cut his camisole all the way off since the handcuffs kept him from removing it properly. But he didn't stay fully naked for long because he began dressing him in the underwear. The first piece he put on him was a strapless bra. And he was able to slide that on from the bottom without uncuffing Zayn. Then he put the panties on him.
When he was finished, he stood up to admire his work. "Not bad. Although, I have to say the bleeding face makes it really hard to enjoy this."
He ran two fingers across Zayn's stomach and over his two waistline tattoos. "Hmm. Still wondering what about this makes you so irresistable. You're not exactly turning me on right now. So how could you even possibly think you have actually gotten Harry Styles, a straight man, to fall in love with you dressed like that. You're fucking delusional."
He shook his head then folded his arms.
"Nevertheless, since you're going to be here a while, I'll give you a second chance. We'll leave the lingerie on and see if something different happens. Until then, let's have Kelly bring you something to clean that face up, shall we?"
He headed towards the door but as he went out, turned to Zayn. "Oh. And by the way, because you didn't cooperate tonight, you don't eat tonight either. Hopefully that'll help you learn your lesson. That's what happens when you disobey your master."
He walked out of the shed, then closed the doors. Zayn didn't hear it lock but then again, he wasn't really hearing anything. The pain across his face was distracting. The last thing he remembered was Kelly coming in and cleaning his face with a damp towel before apologizing quietly and drugging him for the night.
➡➡➡
The following morning, Amos, Harry and the children were all in the dining room having breakfast together. Harry needed something to keep himself busy, so he made waffles and eggs for everyone. He also thought he was smart to do that because waffles were Nema's favorite breakfast. Perhaps it would take her mind off another day of not having her daddy.
As he was scolding Charlie for trying to feed a piece of Waffle to the cat, he heard a noise that meant someone had come in through the front door. He quickly got up from the table to meet whoever it was. It was Marie and she was just about to sit her things down.
"Good morning, Marie."
"Good morning, Mr. Styles."
"My apologies but I forgot to phone you and let you know that all is fine today."
"All is fine?"
"Yes, we don't need anything. The kids and I, that is."
"Uh... huh." She looked curiously at him. "I thought you said to be here this weekend because Zayn's mother was coming into town."
He nodded. "That's right. I did. But there has been a change of plans. Ms. Malik won't be staying here. She'll be at the penthouse where she can have some privacy."
"Oh really? With Zayn?" She questioned.
"Sure."
But she folded her arms. "You know, when I pulled in the driveway I noticed that car there again. What was his name? Amos?"
"What about it?"
"Did he spend the night?"
"As much as I love you, Marie. I do believe I am the one who hired you and not the other way around. Therefore I would appreciate it if you didn't question me like this. I've told you that you're free this weekend. So I'll see you on Monday. Okay? Thank you."
He placed a gentle hand on her back as he led her back towards the front door but that gesture meant he was clearly rushing her out of the house. Again.
"Should I drop by the penthouse to check on Ms. Malik after she arrives then?"
"No. That won't be necessary. She can very much take care of herself."
Marie stopped and faced him. There was clear confusion on her face. "Mr. Styles. I don't ever like to pry. But this is not like you at all. You are always making sure she's taken care of right here in your own home. Is something going on?"
He paused so the lie wouldn't come out shaky. "No. Why would there be?"
"Because you have me quite worried."
"Goodbye, Marie. I will see you on Monday. Spend some time with your husband. You deserve it."
"Um.."
He opened the door and smiled. "Be safe now, okay? Alright. Bye."
When he finally closed the door with her on the other side of it, he sighed and leaned against it. That's when Amos appeared.
"I heard."
"I know."
"I don't really like this. And honestly. It feels wrong eating with you and your children without Zayn. I also feel like your housekeeper doesn't trust me for whatever reason."
"Never mind her. She'll be fine. She's always taken on the role of my mother, especially after my mother died. So naturally she worries and wonders a lot."
"And you know that for sure?"
"Absolutely."
He seemed skeptical but didn't see a point in questioning him at a time like this. "If you say so."
"And unfortunately I am no where near finished being a liar. So for now, I'm going to finish eating breakfast with my children and think about what I've already done."
Amos folded his arms and followed him. "Me too."
* * *
Around two oclock, Harry's doorbell rang. Since Marie wasn't there, he told Amos to keep the kids with him and not let them make a sound while he answered his own door. It was no surprise that Niall and Patricia were standing there.
They came and stood inside the foyer without even asking. Niall sat Patricia's suitcase and carry on bag down on the ground.
"Hey, Harry. I don't intend to be rude in your own home. But I tried calling my son about three times this morning and got no answer. It keeps going straight to voicemail."
Niall looked visibly frustrated. "Me too. Oh and by the way, he never called me back yesterday either."
He scrambled for an explanation. "Oh, yeah. That's because I forgot to tell him when I got back home. I'm sorry. I should've remembered."
Niall folded his arms. "He didn't see my missed calls or my text messages though?"
Shit... Got him there.
"No. He didn't. You know what? He actually dropped his phone in the lake so..."
"Oh no." Patricia said.
"You didn't tell me this over the phone when I talked to you yesterday." Niall commented.
"Well it was raining and I was in traffic. I had forgotten he'd done it myself."
"So where is he, then? I can talk to him myself in person since I'm here."
"Not right now, you can't."
"Why not?"
"Because he's not here. Zayn left out a while ago."
Harry could see Niall slowly growing more irritated. "I thought he was too busy to go out. Wasn't that the reason he couldn't come to the airport?" He said politely because Patricia was still there and he didn't want to fully accuse his best friend and her son of something in front of her.
"This is work related. So trust me. He isn't having fun right now. But for now, why don't we worry about Ms. Malik, here. Get her someplace comfortable."
But Niall was still upset. It wasn't even his mother. His mother was already at his house unpacking and waiting on him to return. But he was unexplainably offended by Zayn's neglectful behavior. This wasn't like him at all.
"You know what? Whatever. Tell him he knows better than this. My phone is on whenever he decides to call."
He walked away from Harry's door and out to his car. Harry sighed. How did compulsive liars do it and not feel an ounce of guilt? It was so hard.
"Ms. Patricia, how are you?"
"I'm fine now that I know why Zayn wasn't answering his phone."
"Oh. Yes. Sometimes things happen like that."
"So I noticed there was a car outside when we drove up. You have visitors today?"
"Not in so many words. That's the baby sitter's car."
"Oh. I thought you had a nanny."
"She doesn't work on weekends. That's usually Zayn and my time to spend with the kids. But you know how this week is. Busy, busy, busy. So I called upon the services of a baby sitter."
"Ah, I see. So the kids are here then? Good."
She started to walk but he stepped in front of her. "They're not here. It's just me."
"Then where are they?"
"With Zayn."
"While he works?"
"Sure. It isn't an official work day, so it's okay with me."
She frowned. "So why is the baby sitter's car here then?"
"Uh... the babysitter went with him."
She chuckled. "Why do they need a baby sitter if they're with Zayn?"
"So they can be watched whenever Zayn gets too busy."
She stood there looking at him with slight confusion. That didn't make all that much sense to her but she guessed if it made sense to them then there was no need to question it.
"Well, I guess I'll rest until they get back, then."
"Absolutely. But I thought you should know that Zayn and I had different plans."
"Different plans?"
"Yes. For you. Every time you've come to visit you've had to spend time with the kids and with us. Plus Marie was always popping in and asking you if you needed anything. It's sometimes hard to get privacy in this house when you're so used to not having so many people around."
"Yes. But I don't mind."
"Well... we still think you'll like this. Because we thought that it would be nice to give you the penthouse to yourself this stay."
She gasped excitedly. "Really?"
"Yes."
"The entire penthouse?"
"Yes. And you can do whatever you feel pleases you there just as you do here. You're welcome to any food items you see and I'll show you the guest bedroom to stay in and that will be that."
"Sounds fun."
"It does?"
"Yes."
"Well, let's go then. This way to the garage. Since you have your suitcase and bags, we'll take the SUV there."
"Okay."
"To make sure she didn't wander through the house, he helped her out to the garage and into the car first. Then he came back inside the house to get his keys. Before he left, he checked on Amos and the kids.
He used his finger to call Amos to him.
"Are they gone?" He asked in a low tone so Charlie and Nema couldn't hear.
"Niall is. But Zayn's mother is in the car. She thinks Zayn is out with the children and a babysitter right now."
"Oh."
"But I'm going to drive her to the penthouse and she'll stay there."
"What about Zayn?"
"What about him?"
"She's here to see her son, isn't she? She's going to know something is up if Zayn never shows."
"Then let's keep working to find him so that never happens. I'll be back in a couple hours."
Amos watched him leave, then put his hand on his forehead as he looked at Harry's children. He didn't like being apart of lying to Harry's family as much as Harry didn't like lying to them. Hopefully Monday would be the end of it all.