I didn’t know what to make of his answer. Either he was completely delusional and traumatised, or he was carrying a dark secret. I couldn’t believe the latter to be true, so I dismissed his reply with a scoff and a roll of the eyes.
‘’Not safe? Zayn, I think you’re wrong. Why don’t you just get some sleep? Looks like you need it.’’ Without a word, he got on his feet and turned around to fall back down on the bed. I was still sat on the ground, stunned. The way he acted made him come across as distant and uncaring, but his eyes told a different story. For the brief moment I saw them, I could see the hurt and loneliness. The craving for human contact, real human contact. Not people bombarding you with questions, just a simple conversation. But something was holding him back, I could tell that much. It didn’t seem like I would be finding out anytime soon, so I stood up and walked away without looking back.
I was looking forward to the prospect of going home and burying myself underneath the blankets. What I needed was some peace and quiet. I breathed in the warm summer air when I stepped out of the station, feeling the sun bear down on me.
This could have been such a beautiful day.
***
Upon finally entering our small house, I let out a deep breath I didn’t know I was holding. The wood creaked under my feet as I slowly made my way up the stairs, stopping in front of my father’s bedroom door to hear his familiar snoring. Knowing he was safely in bed, I walked to the end of the hallway towards my own bedroom. It was simple. I had a double bed with a chest of drawers opposite it, my laptop left on top of it. My walls were a faded white, the floor a warm brown and my curtains still the old flower patterned ones from my childhood. If I had to describe my room, I’d call it warm and inviting. Just like the rest of the house.
I quickly stripped off my clothes and fell down on my bed, not even bothering to climb under the covers. I let the sun shine through the window and smiled as it kissed my skin, warming me up. Nuzzling my pillow, I gave a final yawn before falling into a deep, exhausted sleep.
***
I woke up feeling groggy and disoriented, my eyes squinting at the last few rays of sunlight. Lifting my head, I looked at my alarm clock to discover it was 8 pm. I had slept twelve hours. I stumbled out of my bed and went downstairs, not even bothering to get dressed. My father was used to seeing me in my boxers. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, my nose picked up the scent of food. The white fluffy rug in the living room tickled my feet as I passed through it to get to the kitchen. It was a fairly small house, but it was charming. It was all basic and simple, but that’s how we liked it.
Upon reaching the kitchen, I stilled to see my dad cooking. He was cooking. That was my job. After we both came to the mutual agreement he couldn’t prepare a meal without burning anything, we decided to leave the cooking to me. But right then, I scrunched up my nose at the smell of burning toast. My father didn’t seem to notice, so I quickly moved to help him. After dropping the toast on the counter and hissing from the heat, my father finally seemed to notice my presence. I gave him a worried look before exclaiming:
‘’Are you trying to burn down the house?!’’ I was rewarded with a nervous chuckle and a shrug. He turned his back to me, focusing on not burning anything else, I imagined.
‘’Just thought I could do this for you, after what happened,’’ he murmured. I could feel the tears burning in my eyes, but I blinked them back. I had enough time to think about what happened, and I didn’t make any progress. I had locked up the memory somewhere far, far away. Out of reach.
‘’Thank you,’’ I said, voice almost breaking. My relationship with my father had always been kind of quiet. Neither of us felt comfortable spilling our feelings, at least not to each other. There had always been a silent agreement that we didn’t have to tell. We would just offer our support in times of need. We didn’t really need words, just knowing that we had each other made it all sort of ok.
Of course, this time was different. This couldn’t be fixed with a hug, breakfast or a lazy day in front of the TV. My father understood, but he had to do something. So I let him. I stood by as he prepared our meal, fighting to hold myself back from snatching the pan out of his hands. I even cleared my plate, telling him it was the best meal he’d ever cooked – which was kind of true. I talked and smiled, trying to show him that I would be ok.
But I honestly doubted that would ever happen.
***
It was just past midnight when the phone rang. I was sprawled out on the couch, watching reruns of Friends with a large bowl of popcorn on my lap. Not paying attention to my dad’s annoying ringtone, I continued to chew slowly. My mind was on different things, not registering what was happening on screen. I had zoned out after two episodes. Stuck between being too bored to do anything and not being tired enough to sleep. My dad finally rushed into the living room, his feet carrying him as fast as he could without actually running. He put his phone to his ear after snatching it from the coffee table, but huffed in annoyance after he realised he hadn’t pressed the ‘answer call’ button. I was rewarded with a glare as I chuckled and watched as he put the phone to his ear, again.
There seemed to be a flood of information right away, because he didn’t utter a word. His face was drained of all colour within a matter of seconds, alarming me. I placed the bowl on the table and stood up to stand in front of him. After the call ended, he gave me a shocked look.
‘’What happened, dad?’’ He seemed to be putting the pieces together in his head, struggling to form a sentence. He pinched the bridge of his nose before puffing his cheeks and letting out the air.
‘’The boy, he’s gone. There was a large hole in the back of his cell which he probably escaped through. It’s unclear what really happened.’’ The moment he mentioned a large hole, I was brought back to the mansion. Flashes of a dark room, moonlight and grass. The beast.
‘’Escaped? N-no dad! He must have been taken. He knew the beast would come for him! Don’t you see? We have to rescue him!’’ I could feel my stomach drop when he slowly shook his head, looking down at the ground. They had to go find him. Zayn could be in danger. Ever since I saw him in that cell, I almost felt it was my responsibility to keep him safe. To make sure he would be alright.
‘’We can’t, son. We’re only a small force - it’s best not to meddle with things like this. Even if we brought reinforcements, we don’t have any evidence. I’m sorry, Harry.’’
His words wouldn’t stop me. I had already made up my mind.
Ohh, what's Harry going to do? You can find out this Friday :). Thank you so much for the reads and votes!
Until then xxx <3
