One Last Time - I'll Make It Feel Like Home

Chapter 26 - Zayn

"What was that?"

Harry just stormed out as if he had somewhere to be. He looked torn between a state of rage and desperation. I'm guessing he'll let the rage win.

Being angry is easier than being in pain.

I look over to where Lottie, Phoebe and Daisy are sat huddled together. When we learnt that Louis was gonna make it, Daisy broke down. Her legs just gave out as she fell to the floor.

I itched to go check on them, try to comfort them to the best of my abilities. But none of them have even looked at me.

I know this isn't about me, but about Louis. So I'm doing my best to keep my feelings about them in check. But I can't ignore the blow it is to learn that they still hate me.

I can't say I blame them for hating me after not showing up after their mother passed. Not that I had much of a choice in the matter, exactly.

To my surprise, Lottie gets up from her seat next to the twins, making her way to where I'm stood by the entrance to the waiting room.

I peek behind me to see if Harry might have come back and she's on her way to her instead. But I'm the only one here.

She looks so much like Jay did.

My heart aches for her and her siblings. They've lost so much.

"Um. Can I talk to you for a minute, Zayn?", she asks timidly, fiddling with the hem if her sweater.

"Of course.", I blurt out immediately, mentally smacking myself.

"Please sit.", I urge her when she keeps standing after I've sat down myself, gesturing to the seat next to mine.

Lottie nods, finally sitting down. She hesitantly meets my eye, hers red from tears.

She opens her mouth to speak, but I rush out, "I am so sorry Lottie. I understand if you want me to leave.", knowing if I don't say anything now, I never will.

Her eyes widen a fraction as she looks at me in disbelief, "No, no. That's not what I wanted to say at all.", she tells me, "I was gonna say that Lou called me yesterday and told me to not be mad at you anymore. He didn't say why, just that I should give you a chance."

"He did?", I ask in complete shock, feeling my heart beat faster in stress.

I was really not prepared to talk about this today. But if she's willing to give me a chance to redeem myself, I'm sure as hell gonna take it.

I've missed her.

Before I left the band, whenever we got to see our families, Louis would visit mine with me and I'd come to Doncaster with him.

All five of us know the other's families pretty well, but Louis and I never wanted to be away from each other longer than necessary.

We'd often have barbeques and invite the lads down as well.

I would like to think they kept doing it after I left, but I don't know. I wasn't there.

Lottie looks at me expectantly, clearly wanting an explanation.

"What do you wanna know?"

-

After Lottie and I talked, Liam and Niall came back from wherever the hell they were, Niall looking like a man who just came back from the dead.

He was extremely pale, dark, heavy bags and bloodshot eyes.

He practically tackled me to the floor when I stood up to greet him, informing me of all the ways he would hurt me if I ever 'pulled a Louis' on him.