Torn Apart

Five days later Scarlett was in the room she would be sharing with Zayn for one more night packing her bags for Ohio. She was extremely nervous to be leaving Zayn tomorrow, yet a tiny part of her was excited to go see her mom and her old friends back in Columbus. She spoke to a few of her friends yesterday and told them that she was coming back home and their excitement caused a small part of her to want to go home to see them. Being back in Columbus wouldn’t be the same as being in Bradford, but it was something she would have to get used to because she wasn’t sure how long she would be taking care of her mother.

Scarlett looked up towards the door as she heard it open to see Zayn poking his head into the room. He entered and took a seat on the edge of the bed as he watched his girlfriend pack.

“Do you need help?” he asked curiously as he shifted his gaze towards the comforter of their bed.

“I know you don’t want to help me,” Scarlett stated. “You don’t have to.”

“Well, what are our plans for today?” he wandered. “It’s your last day here, so.”

“Niall was saying something about all of us going out to lunch,” she shrugged as she folded up one of her shirts and set it in her bag. “Then after that I was thinking that you and I should have one last night together to do whatever. Maybe we can watch a couple movies or just sit around and just spend time together?”

“That sounds fine,” he nodded. “I’m ready to go when you are.”

“I’m just going to finish packing this bag,” she said as she let out a sigh. She looked up at her boyfriend. “Are you okay?”

Zayn shrugged his shoulders as he stared down at the bed. “I don’t know.”

“Just tell me,” Scarlett pushed. “I know you’re hiding something.”

“If you leave,” Zayn began, his eyes gazing up at Scarlett. “I don’t think we can be together anymore.”

The words that came out of Zayn’s mouth caused Scarlett’s stomach to drop and, as stupid as it sounded, her heart started to actually hurt. Zayn never had said something that caused Scarlett so much pain so quickly, and he was never one to just give up on their relationship. Whenever they had an argument and Scarlett refused to talk to Zayn, Zayn was the one who pushed everything out of her to make things better. He never turned to ending their relationship over a fight, and it shocked her that he was wanting to end it even before she left. She felt like she had never seen this side of him, and it worried her.

“Why?” she whispered, avoiding eye contact with the man that just ruined her day and hurt her feelings.

“You’re going to be gone and you’re not even going to be on the same continent, Scar,” he explained. “You know how hard that is going to be? I can’t see you, touch you, talk to you whenever, and you’re going to be so absorbed in taking care of your mom. You won’t even have time for me, I bet.”

“You should know out of all the people in the world that I would make time for you, Zayn,” Scarlett snapped. She zipped her bag up and tossed it on the floor before she picked up another suitcase that she would be taking. “I’ll talk to you whenever I can and you know that. And I’m going to try to make myself happy there but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to forget about you or just try and find someone else to be with.”

“I know,” Zayn nodded. “I just feel like this won’t work.”

“But can’t you try?” she wondered as she began to stuff more clothes into her suitcase. “I think we can work it out if we try.”

“And One Direction is going to be going on tour soon; we’re escalating, Scar,” he shrugged.

“So, are you trying to insinuate that if I leave you won’t have time to talk to me or anything when One Direction goes on tour?” she questioned. “But if I stay here and live my normal life you will? That makes no sense, Zayn. It doesn’t make sense at all.”

“Well—” he began before he was cut off by Scarlett.

“And if you go on tour in the U.S. then I can manage to go see you if you’re close enough to Columbus,” she interrupted. “Just give this a chance. What’s gotten into you, Zayn? You’ve never been this negative.”

“I’m done talking about this,” Zayn stated as he stood up from the bed and walked towards the door. “We’re leaving in five minutes, so get ready.”

Scarlett sighed to herself as Zayn shut the bedroom door behind him. She plopped down on the bed as she felt tears prick at her eyes, and she was wondering if her saying yes to her mother was a mistake.

+

After Scarlett and Zayn entered their apartment after going out with all of the guys, Zayn shut the door behind him and followed Scarlett to the couch. Scarlett sighed to herself as she plopped down on the black leather. She didn’t think saying goodbye to all of the guys would be so depressing, but the fact that she didn’t know when she was coming back made everything worse for her. She was so close to the guys and she didn’t want to think about what it would be like to not be able to call them and go out to lunch with them. She had known them for three years and they were always there for her, and after tomorrow that wouldn’t be possible until she was able to come back to Bradford.

“Did you have fun?” Zayn asked his girlfriend as he put his arm around Scarlett, before kissing her temple. Ever since they left to go out with the guys they didn’t argue and their discussion from earlier was completely dropped. Scarlett was just happy that Zayn didn’t let everything get to him and ruin the evening for him, his girlfriend, and his friends. She still knew that it was eating away at him, but she decided to drop it considering it was her last night with the man she had been in love with for two and a half years.

“Yeah,” Scarlett nodded as she rested her head against Zayn’s shoulder. “It was just a little sad, I guess. I don’t know when I’ll see them again.”

“I know,” he nodded, and for the first time he was comforting Scarlett about the situation. “But you’ll hopefully be back soon enough and everything will go back to how it was. It’s just temporary, right?”

“Right,” Scarlett nodded, trying to keep a positive outlook on everything.

Zayn turned towards his girlfriend and sighed softly. He looked into her eyes and a slight smile appeared on his face. “Whatever happens while you’re gone you can always call me. I want you to talk to me every chance you get and no matter what, I’ll love you. I’ll always love you, Scar, and you know that.”

Unable to control her grin, Scarlett nodded before she pressed her lips against Zayn’s in a passionate kiss; it was one of the most passionate kisses since Scarlett got that dreadful phone call from her mother.

Scarlett dug her fingers into Zayn’s hair and put one of her hands on the back of his neck, refusing to let him get away from her. Zayn put both of his hands on the sides of Scarlett’s face as his heart started to race, and he didn’t want to let the feeling of Scarlett’s lips and body against his go. Minutes later, with their lips still intact, Zayn lifted Scarlett off of the couch and started towards the bedroom without coming in contact with any objects that could possibly ruin the last romantic moment they would have. He kicked opened the bedroom door, before kicking it shut and walking Scarlett over to the bed where he laid her down , knowing he had to take advantage of this moment because it would be the last time he would be able to relieve his want for Scarlett.

And as hard as it would be for her to leave and for him to forgive her, Zayn knew deep down that he would never find a woman that made him feel the same way Scarlett did.