Status: Active.
Torn Apart
third.
“So, he’s just ignoring you?” Niall asked Scarlett as they sat in Niall’s apartment that was in the same complex as Zayn and Scarlett’s, just in a different building. Niall was the one guy she could go to when she couldn’t go to Zayn. Of course she could talk to all of the guys about what was going on because they were going to figure out sometime, but Niall was always the easiest one for Scarlett to talk to, no matter the predicament.
“Yes,” Scarlett sighed as she sunk into the chair she was sitting in. She ran her finger along the rim of the glass of water she was drinking and looked up at Niall. “He locked me out of the bedroom and wouldn’t talk to me, like a baby. I stood outside the door for almost a half an hour trying to get him to talk to me, but he’s pissed.”
“Well, you couldn’t expect that not to hurt his feelings,” Niall shrugged as he glanced at his friend. “You have to leave him to go take care of your mum in the states; he doesn’t know when you’ll be back. What if you never even come back?”
“I plan to come back,” Scarlett commented. “I just don’t know when. I didn’t think he would freak out this much though.”
“Scar,” Niall said as he let out a deep breath. He turned slightly so he was facing his friend of three years. “You’ve been with Zayn for two and a half years; you’ve technically been with him longer than that. And now all of a sudden you’re leaving to go overseas to cater to your mum. I know it’s a good reason, but it’s going to be hard on him. You have been around for three years,” Niall explained. “He’s going to react.”
“I know. This is hard on me too, though,” Scarlett said, her voice quiet as she stared down at her glass. “He doesn’t understand that I have to do this though if I want my mom to stick around. If I didn’t have to go I wouldn’t, but I have to.”
Niall shrugged. “Maybe when you go back home tonight he’ll be okay; maybe he’ll be more relaxed.”
“Yeah,” Scarlett nodded. “Maybe.”
+
When Scarlett walked into the apartment at 10 pm, all of the lights were off and she knew Zayn was already in bed. She sighed to herself, hoping he hadn’t moved her pillow to the couch, before walking down the hallway and into the bathroom. She washed her make-up off and pulled her hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of her face during the night. After she exited the bathroom she walked into the room she and Zayn shared and turned on the lamp that was on the end table. Zayn was turned on his side, facing Scarlett, and he was already asleep. Scarlett changed her clothes quickly, quiet not to wake Zayn up, before she turned off the light and crawled into bed carefully.
She closed her eyes and sighed quietly, and she slowly scooted towards Zayn just like every night. And to her surprise, due to the fight earlier, Zayn scooted closer to Scarlett and put his arm around her waist.
Just like every night.
+
The next morning, Scarlett awoke to the sound of Zayn climbing out of bed. She opened her eyes to see him running his hands through his dark hair while he sat on the edge of the bed. He looked over at her and smiled softly.
“Sorry if I woke you,” he apologized, his voice deep and groggy.
“It’s okay,” Scarlett said, before letting out a deep breath. “What time did you get to bed last night?”
“Rather early,” he answered, before standing up and grabbing a t-shirt from the floor. He slipped it on and looked down at his girlfriend. “So, what’s for breakfast, since you have the day off?”
“Whatever you want, love,” she teased, trying to imitate Zayn’s English accent but failing miserable.
Stiffling a laugh, Zayn walked out of the room. “That was bloody awful, babe.”
Rolling her eyes, Scarlett rolled out of bed and walked out of the room. She saw Zayn sitting on the couch, the TV already on, and he looked over at her and patted the spot next to him. Not bothering to ask why he was acting as if nothing happened last night, Scarlett walked over and sat down next to him only to have him wrap his arm around her.
“Where’d you go last night?” he asked curiously, before cracking a smile. “To the pub to get smashed?”
“To Niall’s,” Scarlett chuckled, shoving Zayn slightly. “No, not the pub.”
He just smiled and nodded his head, before falling silent. Scarlett looked down at her hands and sighed to herself. She wanted to know why he was acting completely normal, like he didn’t blow up at her yesterday. She was confused but she was also enjoying that they weren’t arguing on one of her last days left in England…but, of course, she decided to ask anyway.
“Why aren’t you still mad at me about yesterday?” she wondered, her gaze shifting to Zayn’s dark eyes.
“Scar,” sighed Zayn. “Can we just…not talk about that right now? Let’s just enjoy today.”
This time it was Scarlett’s turn to nod her head and fall silent. Neither of them said anything as Zayn watched the TV and Scarlet stared down at the floor, wondering why all of a sudden Zayn was in a good mood. She knew he had to realize that she was leaving at some point, because next week would come faster than a blink of an eye. There was also a part of her that thought that maybe he accepted it and he was okay with her leaving for a little while, knowing she would eventually come back and be with him. The only thing that scared her was that she didn’t know when she would be back. And maybe Niall was right—what if she didn’t come back?
England had been her home for three years, and she considered it home. Ohio was not home anymore, it was just a place where her mom lived. She never liked living in Ohio, and she preferred England over the Buckeye State, and she always would. Deep down she did wish that her mom would just move into her and Zayn’s apartment, but she knew her mom would never go for it. She liked Zayn and all of the guys, but Scarlett knew her mother wouldn’t feel comfortable around a bunch of “young kids”, and she just wanted her daughter to be with her and keep her company. She knew it wouldn’t be a hard job to take care of her mom; the hard part would be being away from Zayn and the life she built in England.
So many things could change while she was gone and she wasn’t ready for that. Zayn’s music career with One Direction would just grow and grow while she was away, and she would have no idea what he was doing if they didn’t constantly keep in touch. She wouldn’t be able to go out to dinner with all of the guys and their girlfriends to talk about work or about the band or about anything going on in their lives. She wouldn’t be able to cuddle with Zayn late at night like they did nearly every night. She wouldn’t be able to hold him, hug him, kiss him, or have any physical activity with him. She wouldn’t be able to be with her best friend, the one that kept her going every day.
And that, of all things, would kill her.
“Yes,” Scarlett sighed as she sunk into the chair she was sitting in. She ran her finger along the rim of the glass of water she was drinking and looked up at Niall. “He locked me out of the bedroom and wouldn’t talk to me, like a baby. I stood outside the door for almost a half an hour trying to get him to talk to me, but he’s pissed.”
“Well, you couldn’t expect that not to hurt his feelings,” Niall shrugged as he glanced at his friend. “You have to leave him to go take care of your mum in the states; he doesn’t know when you’ll be back. What if you never even come back?”
“I plan to come back,” Scarlett commented. “I just don’t know when. I didn’t think he would freak out this much though.”
“Scar,” Niall said as he let out a deep breath. He turned slightly so he was facing his friend of three years. “You’ve been with Zayn for two and a half years; you’ve technically been with him longer than that. And now all of a sudden you’re leaving to go overseas to cater to your mum. I know it’s a good reason, but it’s going to be hard on him. You have been around for three years,” Niall explained. “He’s going to react.”
“I know. This is hard on me too, though,” Scarlett said, her voice quiet as she stared down at her glass. “He doesn’t understand that I have to do this though if I want my mom to stick around. If I didn’t have to go I wouldn’t, but I have to.”
Niall shrugged. “Maybe when you go back home tonight he’ll be okay; maybe he’ll be more relaxed.”
“Yeah,” Scarlett nodded. “Maybe.”
+
When Scarlett walked into the apartment at 10 pm, all of the lights were off and she knew Zayn was already in bed. She sighed to herself, hoping he hadn’t moved her pillow to the couch, before walking down the hallway and into the bathroom. She washed her make-up off and pulled her hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of her face during the night. After she exited the bathroom she walked into the room she and Zayn shared and turned on the lamp that was on the end table. Zayn was turned on his side, facing Scarlett, and he was already asleep. Scarlett changed her clothes quickly, quiet not to wake Zayn up, before she turned off the light and crawled into bed carefully.
She closed her eyes and sighed quietly, and she slowly scooted towards Zayn just like every night. And to her surprise, due to the fight earlier, Zayn scooted closer to Scarlett and put his arm around her waist.
Just like every night.
+
The next morning, Scarlett awoke to the sound of Zayn climbing out of bed. She opened her eyes to see him running his hands through his dark hair while he sat on the edge of the bed. He looked over at her and smiled softly.
“Sorry if I woke you,” he apologized, his voice deep and groggy.
“It’s okay,” Scarlett said, before letting out a deep breath. “What time did you get to bed last night?”
“Rather early,” he answered, before standing up and grabbing a t-shirt from the floor. He slipped it on and looked down at his girlfriend. “So, what’s for breakfast, since you have the day off?”
“Whatever you want, love,” she teased, trying to imitate Zayn’s English accent but failing miserable.
Stiffling a laugh, Zayn walked out of the room. “That was bloody awful, babe.”
Rolling her eyes, Scarlett rolled out of bed and walked out of the room. She saw Zayn sitting on the couch, the TV already on, and he looked over at her and patted the spot next to him. Not bothering to ask why he was acting as if nothing happened last night, Scarlett walked over and sat down next to him only to have him wrap his arm around her.
“Where’d you go last night?” he asked curiously, before cracking a smile. “To the pub to get smashed?”
“To Niall’s,” Scarlett chuckled, shoving Zayn slightly. “No, not the pub.”
He just smiled and nodded his head, before falling silent. Scarlett looked down at her hands and sighed to herself. She wanted to know why he was acting completely normal, like he didn’t blow up at her yesterday. She was confused but she was also enjoying that they weren’t arguing on one of her last days left in England…but, of course, she decided to ask anyway.
“Why aren’t you still mad at me about yesterday?” she wondered, her gaze shifting to Zayn’s dark eyes.
“Scar,” sighed Zayn. “Can we just…not talk about that right now? Let’s just enjoy today.”
This time it was Scarlett’s turn to nod her head and fall silent. Neither of them said anything as Zayn watched the TV and Scarlet stared down at the floor, wondering why all of a sudden Zayn was in a good mood. She knew he had to realize that she was leaving at some point, because next week would come faster than a blink of an eye. There was also a part of her that thought that maybe he accepted it and he was okay with her leaving for a little while, knowing she would eventually come back and be with him. The only thing that scared her was that she didn’t know when she would be back. And maybe Niall was right—what if she didn’t come back?
England had been her home for three years, and she considered it home. Ohio was not home anymore, it was just a place where her mom lived. She never liked living in Ohio, and she preferred England over the Buckeye State, and she always would. Deep down she did wish that her mom would just move into her and Zayn’s apartment, but she knew her mom would never go for it. She liked Zayn and all of the guys, but Scarlett knew her mother wouldn’t feel comfortable around a bunch of “young kids”, and she just wanted her daughter to be with her and keep her company. She knew it wouldn’t be a hard job to take care of her mom; the hard part would be being away from Zayn and the life she built in England.
So many things could change while she was gone and she wasn’t ready for that. Zayn’s music career with One Direction would just grow and grow while she was away, and she would have no idea what he was doing if they didn’t constantly keep in touch. She wouldn’t be able to go out to dinner with all of the guys and their girlfriends to talk about work or about the band or about anything going on in their lives. She wouldn’t be able to cuddle with Zayn late at night like they did nearly every night. She wouldn’t be able to hold him, hug him, kiss him, or have any physical activity with him. She wouldn’t be able to be with her best friend, the one that kept her going every day.
And that, of all things, would kill her.
♠ ♠ ♠
yayyy chapter three! :) i really hope you all are enjoying this story. thank you to the people who have commented and subscribed and recommended. it really means a lot. i was hoping to get a little more feedback on this story so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what you think so far. it really means a lot when someone comments and tells me their thoughts. i'm only posting this so early on a Friday because i'm going out of town until Monday and i don't won't have wifi at my grandma's house so... yeah. :)i have started posting the sequel for my Niall Horan story!! :)