27 ??I need answers??

ZAYN

I stood waiting for her answer on baited breath, still unable to meet her gaze. He beat her. He raped her. I would kill him. But I had to know this. I had to know if she was going to be the mother of his child.

"No,"

My head swiveled in her direction. "You're not?"

Her eyes glistened with tears. "No."

I didn't let myself believe it. This was a relief unlike any other. She could be lying, for all I know. But my Leia hated lying.

I just nodded at her and turned to talk to the doctor.

"Zayn," There was something in her voice that halted me in my tracks. Vulnerability. Plea. "Don't humiliate me further by talking to someone else about this. I can tell you everything you want to know."

"I can't—" I sighed, unable to let out the right words. "I can't bear to hear it from you, Lee."

There was a desperation in her eyes, a pain I couldn't stomach. I knew I had to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Please," she repeated.

I looked back at her and exhaled again. "Leia, you can't possibly—Fine. I'm listening. Just don't try to stop me when I go have a,"—my hands clenched—"word with that bastard."

She winced at the term. "He didn't do anything, don't call him that."

I stared at her for a moment, unable to believe that she was still defending him. "He didn't do anything, you say?" I gave a dry, little laugh. "Why do I find that so hard to believe? I'm only going to wait for you for a minute to tell me everything before walking out of that door and asking the doctor myself."

She made a disgruntled sound in the back of her throat, tapping her foot impatiently. Still not speaking.

"The clock's ticking,"

"Ugh. Zayn."

If I wasn't so pissed off and ready for murder, I would've been amused. "Forty seconds."

"I'm telling you he didn't do anything," she said, eyes connected with mine. I could've sworn my body was on fire.

How long had it been since I'd seen this much light in somebody's eyes? Mostly it was dimmed stars or completely diminished light. I wondered for a long second what it was like to see through her eyes. Mine were no different from other people. Most times it felt like I was sinking deeper and deeper into an abyss.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"I am. You're continuing to lie about him. And . . ." I peered down at my apple watch. "Your time's up."

She jumped up from the bed, sank her feet into her shoes lying by the table and went over through the open curtains to block the door with her short frame.

I drew in a heavy breath and looked over at her abaya and niqab lying on the chair. It felt weird somehow to touch them. I examined the material between my fingers, soft as silk and without any fragrance.

How could I feel something inside me thrumming to life from mere clothes? Clothes that did not have any female scent. Plain black clothes.

Maybe I was losing my mind.

I staggered over to her, her clothes draped over my right arm. "You forgot these," My tone was sarcastic. Lord knew I felt anything but.

Her eyes zeroed in on them but she strutted up her chin again, as if indifferent. "You aren't leaving without listening to me."

I prowled closer until I knew I was far away from the danger of getting slapped. Or maybe a few weeks with her had made me respectful. "I heard the lies, Leia. Now I'm going outside to learn the truth." I put the clothes on a chair nearby. My hand snaked from behind her to the door knob.

"No, please," she said, prying my hand off with her bag. "Don't do this. I'll tell you the truth."

I slowly backed away, giving her space and folded my arms over my chest. "Just know one thing, Leia: I can tell when you're lying."

She bit her lip, palms plastered on the door. "Um . . ."

I waited but when I realised she had no intention of continuing, I rolled my eyes. "Is that all you have to say? Ummmmmm." I imitated a very high-pitched girly voice.

Red-hot anger flickered in her gaze. "I've been tolerating your behavior ever since we came here but you need to stop. I don't know why you think you have the right to even ask questions. Why are you intruding my private life?"

I scoffed, wondering if she was for real. "I have the right because you came asking for my help. I have the right because you're my best friend and no, don't tell me otherwise. If you really believed we aren't best friends you wouldn't have come to me, of all people, in your desperate time. Tell me your heart doesn't always find a way to connect with mine," I breathed heavily, pausing for a moment before I said something I would regret. "Look me in the eye and tell me, Leia."

It seemed like she was also struggling for control. The air was crackling with a tension as thick as mud.

"I—" She brought up her hand to fix her scarf when the cuff of her uniform slid up her arm.

The whole world stopped. I immediately stepped forward and took her hand in mine.

"Zayn," she tried to push me away. "What are you doing?"

I was not in the mood to listen to her, though. I unbuttoned her cuff and pushed back her sleeve to find print marks. Her breathing became ragged, mingling with mine. I lightly caressed the discoloured skin with the tips of my fingers.

"Zayn, I can explain," Her voice was a gasping panic. "He was just a little angry yesterday. I swear, it's nothing. Please . . ."

Her words faded into nothingness as a voice tumbled into my ears and a vision held me stock-still.