Stealing Hearts (Zayn Malik Fanfiction)

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

‘What do you want to know?’ I shrug, knowing very well I’m not good in telling things about myself. I tend to ask people all sorts of questions, to prevent them from asking something back. But I think he already figured that out.

I rolled back on the matrass, so I could see his eyes. I like seeing someone’s eyes when I’m talking to them. So we’re back in our original spots: facing each other, lying on the bed.

‘Do you have brothers or sisters?’ He starts.

That’s an easy question and I love him for taking that one first.

‘No. I’m an only child.’ I answer him. ‘Although I kind of see Harry like the brother I never had.’

‘You’ve known him for a long time then?’

‘Yes! From when we were in elementary school. We’ve always been best friends.’

‘That’s amazing.’ He nods, genuinely happy for me. ‘So you never missed it? Having a brother or sister?’

I shake my head surely. ‘No. I mean… You always wonder how it would be of course. But I never really missed it.’

‘And what about your parents? How are they?’

That was the question I did not like. Although I knew it would be the next one, it still left me unprepared and at loss for words for just a couple of seconds.

And then I realized I actually never really talked about this with someone. I never told someone aside from Harry.. And I never had to tell him the whole story, because he already knew. He’d been there, every step of the way.

I took a deep breath before I started talking, not sure how this whole story was going to come out.

‘I’m not going to tell you every single detail because I don’t think that’s at all necessary.’ I start, letting him know this is not an easy subject for me. ‘My parents never really were supportive. I was an accident. They never wanted children, but then I happened and after lots of discussions, they decided to keep me. I like to think I was an easy child. I was good in school. Not the best, but definitely not the worst either. My parents were rarely home. They are both doctors and they had the longest working shifts. Day and night. I was pretty much home alone most of the time. Not that I really mind, because after some time you get used to it and it comes to a point where you can’t even stand it anymore when they are home.’

Zayn never left my glance. Like he wanted to catch every single emotion he could possible read off my face. I on the other hand, found it hard to look at him while explaining. Instead I was staring at my hands, not daring to see his face expressions change during my story.

‘The only thing my parents really wanted was for me to become a doctor or something medical. I think it kind of was their last hope on making their ‘mistake’ work. But, obviously, I didn’t want it. And I’m that kind of girl who knows what she wants. So when I decided to go for teacher, they were furious and we were at each other’s throat all the time when they were home, which was rare during that period in my life. But it all stopped when I decided I wanted to move out. I was in my first year of college and about 19 years old.’

‘Did they agree?’ Zayn’s voice sounds soft and caring, something I never heard from either one of my parents.

His question made me push out a forced and fake laugh. ‘I know it sounds awful, but they actually were relieved. They gave me a sum of money and I basically was out the house a week later. I stayed at Harry’s house for a while, until I found my own place. I was still studying at the time so I worked my butt off to pay my rent every month. I worked in Liam’s café practically every single night and in the week-ends, which was hard combining it with my studies. It wasn’t a great time for me. It’s only now I graduated that I start to find my way again.’