TAINTED | Zayn Malik

Chapter 46 | In Love

Ryder

The entire week seemed to pass us by rather fast before I was free again, I spent the entire seven days locked in my house with limited access of people outside to catch up on school work. Being back on good terms with Mckenzie meant I had a lot of requests to go out, be spontaneous and living my life. Part of me felt like agreeing but none of this changed anything, I was still against going to parties for my own reasons and being a hour away did have some perks that I was able to decline just because of the distance.

But mostly I just felt the need to respect Zayn and Harry's tight request of just being out of the light for a moment, they felt more better if I was around my family in a safe small house than his. So I decided that time with my family was a much needed task before I left and would be back in Zayn's house soon; Of course I didn't have to listen but I decided that it was better to be safe than sorry.

But keeping away in the house could only last but so long before Erica found out that I was here for a few more days took advantage of me being in town and dragged me out of the house once I finished everything. We spent the entire day shopping and picking out things cute for the fall that was approaching, but I was also shopping for this trip Zayn is forcing me to go on.

Not that I was complaining, I was more than happy to leave now that I fixed everything as much as I could. Taylor and I, even made up once we ran into each other. She had the heart to sit me down and explain to me her situation with Michael and Brandon with not much details for my sake. And Erica was completely okay with it, her relationship with Harry making her realize that Brandon wasn't anything she wanted in a guy.

I decided that it was their own business and I needed to just learn when to let things go, it wasn't worth it and I was just happy to have everyone back. Once that was over we all had a good day, rushing into every store and picking out things. We were exiting out of the elevator in Erica's apartment building when I spotted that same girl walking down the hall, facing the opposite way.

I watched as she laughed with another friend before entering the apartment a few ft away, Erica turned around and looked at me confused before gazing down that end of the hall.

"What are we looking at?" She laughed.

"It was that same girl from the other night. She was laughing and I just swear I heard it before. I don't know." I shook my head before looking at her. "Am I going crazy?" I asked.

"I don't know, are you?" She laughed before grabbing my hand and pulling me down to her door and inside. "Maybe it's just a coincidence, it happens to me a lot when I think I seen someone in the store and wave at them but then it turns out they don't know me and I look like a creep."

Taylor looked back and forth between the both of us. "I could tell that happens a lot with you."

They both laughed tossing pillows back and forth between each other, arguing over who was the creepiest out of us three. I watched them for a few seconds until my phone beeped inside my jacket, I picked it up heading into the kitchen. The random number made me weary of answering it until I just decided to answer.