"Are you serious, Liam?"
"Yes. I'm very serious. I've never really done this before. It's my first time."
"Well, me either if I'm being honest. I've never dated a woman." He stretched out on the couch. "I mean... I had one night stands with them. But real dating? I've never done it."
"You did it with Zayn."
"But he's a man."
"So? You still dated."
"Yes. I dated him."
"So what was the first one like then? Any pointers for me?"
Now Harry switched hands and put the phone up to his other ear. "For my first date with Zayn, I took him some place special to me. I took him to the wildflower field where we spread my mother's ashes. But that was before she died."
"Aw. Did he like it?"
"Yeah. He did appreciate it a lot. That's another reason the place is so special to our entire family."
Liam sighed into the reciever. "I have no place special to take her though. Just the restaurant we're going to."
"You don't need one. If the restaurant is nice, that's still good. Special is ideal but not necessary. As long as it's someplace you've been to before so that you're familiar with it and can help her get familiar and feel more at ease with you."
"Yes. It is familiar. But how do I talk to her? Do I even touch her?"
Harry thought back to his first date with Zayn and chuckled into the phone. "There is nothing wrong with holding her hand. Although it would be appropriate to ask first. I sort of made up this lame excuse to hold Zayn's hand because I didn't know what to do. But you should definitely ask."
"Did you kiss on the first date?"
"Yes. We did. But don't feel obligated to do that. She might not even be ready to kiss you on the first date. If she is, the signs will be there and they will be obvious. You won't even have to ask. If they aren't obvious, then I wouldn't rush it. Take your time."
"How do I talk to her?"
"Oh, come on, Liam."
"What?"
"That is not a question you should need to ask. Just hold a normal conversation with her. Be yourself and don't only talk about things you like. Ask real questions. Get her opinion on things. Let her know what she thinks is important to you. If you do that, you're fine."
"You think so?"
"Yes. I do. And Liam. You are a great guy. Whoever this woman is that you're going on the date with, she'll love you as you are. I have no doubt."
Liam laughed nervously. "Okay. Well... if you really think so, I guess here goes nothing."
"Good luck. Let me know how it goes on Monday."
"I will. See you then."
"Bye, Liam."
When the call officially ended, Harry put the phone down on the coffee table and groaned up at the ceiling. Here he was talking to Liam about memories with Zayn as if things were alright. But the truth was that any day could confirm for him if the memories he had of him now would be the only memories he would have of him for the rest of his life.
And at that point, what would life be like then? What would his mornings and nights be like if he had to wake up and go to bed without him? How would he go about his life? Would he ever successfully fall in love again?
He didn't want to feel sorry for himself by thinking of bad outcomes for his family. Especially when the future was so uncertain. But right now he was scared. When he was young and single and a lot more full of himself than he was now, there were hardly ever any times when he was this scared. He considered himself strong and brave in every sense of the word. But that was before he grew to love Zayn and his family and learned how to be more sensitive. Now he had a reason to feel less confident in himself and he did not like the feeling.
And not that he was making this difficult situation all about him, either. Because while he and his children were suffering without him here, Zayn was suffering the most wherever he was. He was the one whose life was left up to his kidnappers. He was the one being mistreated right now. And no doubt he was scared he would never see his husband and children and mother and best friend ever again.
Harry just hoped Zayn was still alive and waiting for him. He really needed him to be.
* * *
Kelly was rolling a table with a paper cup and bowl over to Zayn.
"Your food." She said quietly.
But Zayn, who had been lying down, didn't even make a move to get up. "I'm not hungry."
She frowned. "But you have to eat."
"Not hungry." He repeated.
She looked sadly at him. "But Mr. Malik... you didn't get breakfast this morning or eat last night."
"I don't care. Leave me alone."
But instead of honoring his request, she moved the table aside and squatted down next to the bed. Zayn tensed when she raised her hand but all she did was push his hair out of his face. There revealed his bruised cheek, forehead and lip. Dried blood was still there because she had a hard time stopping the bleeding when she came in to clean his face yesterday.
"Oh my gosh. Look at your face."
Zayn could feel the tightness and soreness of the soft bruises that formed on his face overnight. And it hurt when she touched him. He was so glad he wasn't standing in front of a mirror right now. Because he knew he looked awful.
"I know you're in so much pain."
He said nothing so she pulled her hands back to herself.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know he would do this to you. He said it was only about the money and that he wouldn't hurt you if I went with it."
Zayn sighed. "Went with what?"
"Kidnapping you."
He rolled over on his back and faced the ceiling. At first he thought they'd seen him at the coffee shop, then purposely bumped into him to stop him and make sure he was who they thought he was. But now he wondered if he was their target even long before that. He wanted to ask her and find out.
"Why were you at the coffee shop with me that day? Did you follow me there? And why did you run into me and make me spill my coffee?"
She wore a guilty look. "Yes. We followed you there. We watched you leave work and go home a couple times. So we were watching your house from a distance. We followed you from home that morning because we were waiting for the perfect opportunity to put a tracker underneath your car. We got lucky when you stopped at the coffee shop."
She sighed heavily.
"I was the lookout. I had to make sure you didn't come out before he was able to put it there securely. Originally, I was only supposed to strike up a conversation with you if you had gotten your coffee before he was finished. But you were moving so quickly. You were already at the door. It was the only option I had."
"Ah. So that explains why you left without buying more coffee. You never wanted coffee anyway."
"Yeah."
"And it also explains how your boyfriend was able to track me down again and get my attention just before I reached the parking lot of that abandoned building. He was following me the whole time and waiting for his opportunity to get me to pull over in a secluded place."
"How do you know he's my boyfriend?" She asked curiously.
"By the way he touched you the other day as you walked out of the shed and past him. You have a type of familiarity that I've seen many times with couples. So I knew. But I'm not too sure what to make of it though. Because if he really cared about you, he would care enough not to use your real name around me while carefully concealing his own real identity."
She looked down sadly. "But he does care. He loves me."
"Does he?"
"Yes. He does."
But Zayn shook his head. "He doesn't love you, sweetheart. Any man who loves you would never ask you to do such a thing as you are now. I've been married to my husband four years now and I've been with him for six. He would never ever ask me to do anything that would get me in trouble or harm me. You... kidnapping me for money. That's very bad, Kelly. It can't end well. And as long as you keep me here and he keeps hurting me, it won't."
She didn't say anything but the silence obviously meant that she was very well thinking about his words.
Suddenly the shed door burst open and Kelly quickly rose to her feet.
"What are you doing in here? I told you to bring him his food and come right back out."
"I was just looking at his face."
"Why? You want to look like that too?"
"No."
"Then get your ass out here."
She stood in place. "Wait. I was just thinking."
"What?"
"I think he should have a fan out here."
"He doesn't need that."
"Why not? I know you can feel it because I can. It's suffocating out here and these conditions are making him lose his appetite for the food we do give him."
"Your point?"
"He needs a fan."
He scoffed and looked her up and down in disapproval. "Seems as though he already has one in you. After all, you seem to not be able to follow simple instructions. When I tell you to do something and come right back out, that's exactly what I want you to do. Nothing extra. We can't be making friends with him with a few days away from the final step."
"I know. I'm sorry. But you can't forget that we need him alive. What happens if he dies in this heat? Then what? His husband won't have proof of life and we're not going to see our money. This'll all be for nothing. We need to keep him cool."
Rod kept glancing back and forth between her and Zayn now. He wanted to keep saying no and denying him anything that may have been considered a convenience. But he begrudgingly walked inside the door and peeked over at Zayn.
"What? Too weak to survive? Is that it?"
Zayn did not dignify him with an answer.
"Well, alright. I'll tell you what. It's still eggs and rice for you, sissy boy. But I'll bring a fan out here for you. And Kelly, start giving him cold water to drink throughout the day. We can't let him die yet. I want my damn money."
He turned from him and headed out of the shed.
"And get out here so I can lock the door!"
"I'm coming."
She knew she couldn't say anything more to Zayn, but the look they gave each other when she rolled the table in front of him again definitely meant that Zayn really appreciated what she'd done for him. It was then that he was sure she was a good girl at heart. She just happened to get involved with the wrong man. It was such a shame.