Disturb the Peace

When I woke up the morning after barn dance, I felt much more well rested than I thought, but not like I was in any better head space. The whole situation with Zayn had completely turned my life upside down, and I didn’t know what to think anymore, especially since Grace appeared to be missing from her bed.

My first thought was that she had been kidnapped and I’d have to find a Liam Neeson look-a-like to come to her rescue, but then I heard the unmistakable sound of her hurling in the bathroom. She was probably going to be spending the rest of the morning hugging the toilet, and I wouldn’t be any sort of friend if I didn’t take at least a minute to make fun of her for it.

Stepping into the bathroom, I smiled down at Grace, hands on both of my hips.

“Good morning, sunshine,” I joked, turning on the faucet to splash some cool water on my face. “Don’t you look absolutely beautiful this morning?”

Grace looked up at me for one quick moment to glare before shoving her head into the toilet again.

“Fuck off,” she let out, before she was emptying her stomach again.

I would have stayed in the bathroom to continue making fun of her if it weren’t for the fact that the smell of vomit made me want to vomit, and that I heard the sound of knocking on the door, which was like music to my ears at the point. Anything to get out of the bathroom.

I was at the top of the stairs when I saw that Annie had opened the door already and was turning around to head back to my room when she called my name.

“Lydia,” she said, turning back to call into the house. “It’s for you.”

I turned back quickly, my attention suddenly peaked at who would be looking for me so early in the morning. 11:00 am, actually.

After I had made my way down the stairs, Annie stepped to the side, revealing Zayn standing in the doorway with Liam behind him. I couldn’t help but stop dead in my tracks, completely shocked by the sight of Zayn standing in front of me with a tray of coffees in one hand and a brown paper bag in the other.

“How’s Grace?” Liam asked immediately, not even bothering with a hello.

“Great,” I said, nodding my head while I gripped my hand on the doorframe. “But she’d kill me if I let you see her."

Zayn chuckled a bit, his bright smile making my heart jump, which immediately made me kick myself. “So not great then?”

I simply shrugged, because the weight of everything that had happened the night before made me realize I needed to keep things short and sweet.

“This is for you,” Zayn said, passing the coffees and bag in my direction. “A peace offering.”

The whole situation was making it so I didn’t know what to think anymore, because Zayn didn’t come back the morning after and he certainly didn’t bring coffees.

“You guys can come in if you’d like,” I said as I took the items from Zayn’s hands, though I regretted it the moment I said it. I absolutely should not have invited them in.

Liam flicked his eyes back and forth quickly, as though there was some enemy waiting to attack him. He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck before his eyes met mine.

“I have to go – uh – do something,” he breathed out. “Just tell Grace I stopped by.”

Before I had a chance to respond, he had turned around and begun walking back to the Alpha house. I simply shrugged, because that boy was getting increasingly weird, before I stepped to the side to let Zayn in.

He followed me into the kitchen, where we both sat at the bar stools in front of the island, and I gave him one of the coffees while I took the other, setting the paper bag in front of me.

“Are you going to the Omega party tonight?” Zayn asked, taking a sip from his cup while he looked at me.

“I was planning on it, but now I’m not so sure Grace will feel up to it.”

“I could go with you if you’d like.” He paused as he turned his stool so he was facing me. “Or if there’s something else you’d rather do, you know, there’ll be other parties.”

“What? You mean like sleep with you?”

“That’s not what I meant,” he said, shaking his head as he let out a deep breath.

I took a sip of my coffee before setting it back down, looking away from Zayn so my gaze was set on the wall. “Sure it wasn’t.”

“It wasn’t.”

“Right.”

“Is that really all you think of me?” Zayn asked, leaning forward on his stool so it was impossible for me not to look at him.

Our eyes met and I shrugged. “That’s all you seem to be.”

Zayn’s eyebrows furrowed, as if that answer was the exact opposite of what he expected. He clasped both his hands on his coffee, letting out a short breath as he looked at me.

“You can’t really believe that, Lyds,” he practically whispered, still looking at me with that deep gaze. “Not after last night.”

My breath caught in my throat and I had to push it down properly to answer. “One night doesn’t change who you’ve been for the year and a half I’ve known you.”

Before either of us could say anything else, Grace walked into the room, a new pep in her step after throwing up all morning.

“I smell coffee,” she cheered before her eyes fell on Zayn and she pursed her lips. “Oh, Zayn I didn’t see you there.” She paused, looking at the coffee in front of me. “Let me just grab my coffee and leave.”

She took my coffee from me before I had a chance to protest and was out of the kitchen before I could chase after her. Zayn let out a small laugh before taking his coffee and setting it down in front of me for me to take.

He then stood up from his stool, putting one hand on the counter top and the other on the back of mine while he looked down at me.

“Not everyone is exactly who you think they are, Lyds,” he whispered into my ear, sending a chill down my spine.

Even if he had given me a chance to respond, I wouldn’t have been able to, and he was out of the kitchen in just seconds, leaving me sitting alone. My eyes were blinking quickly as I tried to get a grip on what exactly had happened.

Letting out a deep sigh, I picked the coffee off the counter top and tossed in the trashcan while speaking to myself. “Just like him to leave me alone again. Ass.”