Hidden Beneath Brown Eyes (A Zayn Malik Fanfiction)

Chapter 53 - Old Friends

I slowly opened my eyes, squinting as the sunlight shining through the window assaulted my poor, enlarged pupils. I could have sworn that I closed the curtains last night to prevent waking up in this way, but I guess I was mistaken. I groaned, bringing my hand up to the back of my neck and moving my fingers in slow circles in an attempt to work out the kinks that were causing me discomfort.

In fact, every part of my body ached. The more I thought about it, the more aware I became of the pain that I felt in every muscle. My head was pounding, and I'm sure the sunlight didn't help one bit, and any slight movement felt like a knife being driven deeper into the middle of my back. My shoulders almost felt like they were dislocated, and I would have believed they were had I not had so much control of them.

I slid my tongue along my chapped lips, hoping to give them some much needed moisture, but unfortunately my tongue was as dry as my lips, and I nearly gagged at the bad taste that lingered in my mouth. I knew that my breath most likely wreaked, and I made a mental note to brush my teeth before I interacted with anyone.

Naturally, I assumed it to be passed noon, since the only time that I ever woke up in this bad of shape was when I'd slept in too late. My assumptions were confirmed when I glanced over at the clock that sat on the bedside table.

"One o'clock?" I mumbled in an irritated and groggy voice.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up?" My complaints fell upon deaf ears.

Now that I was awake enough to form coherent thoughts, my first thought was to look for my son. When I fell asleep last night, Jack was sound asleep next to me, but now the spot was vacant. I couldn't say I was surprised. He slept all day yesterday, so he had probably been up since very early this morning.

But something was bothering me. If he had been up for so long, where was he and why hadn't he woken me up? The thought of him roaming around Zayn's house by himself, or worse, with Zayn, made me feel uneasy. I didn't want him going anywhere in this damn place without me.

It never fails to amaze me how quickly I can snap into action when it concerns my son. I threw the covers off of my body and hopped out of the bed. I felt a little dizzy, black dots overtaking my vision, and I probably should have sat down or at the very least paused for a moment, but I pressed on instead.

I tip-toed across the floor, my footsteps so light that I might as well be a ghost. I pressed my ear to the door, listening intently for any movement on the other side. I hadn't forgotten about my encounter with Zayn last night, and I would do everything possible to avoid him.

After about thirty seconds of nothing, no footsteps, no breathing, no talking, just nothing, I carefully opened the door and peaked around the corner. To my relief, the hallway was empty. I stepped out and quietly closed the door behind me. I was feeling very good about how quiet I was being.

"Ha, I could be a ninja." I whispered to myself triumphantly, my shoulders and head held high.

"Then I should probably let you know that ninjas don't talk during a mission." a voice chuckled from behind me, and I stopped myself dead in my tracks. I could practically hear the smile on his face.

I spun myself around and I couldn't suppress the smile that quickly spread across my face as my eyes drank in the sight of the tall figure that stood before me. It was like seeing a ghost, but a ghost that you actually wanted to see.

"Harry!" I squealed, running up to him and throwing my arms around his neck. He was so much taller than me that I had to stand on my toes just to hug him. He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around my waist and squeeze me just as tight as I squeezed him.