41. Zayn
Zayn
I was this close to jumping over the table and tackling my brother. If he says anything like that again, I will. He cannot talk about Annie like that and get away with it.
Dinner remains mostly silent besides the few questions my mom peppers in. Perks of being close to home is she mostly knows everything going on, or at least the highlights.
We manage to avoid any bloodshed, thank you parents for acting as buffers, and once dinner is done, Annie and I retreat to the living room first.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask her for what feels like the tenth time.
“Z, yes, I’m okay. I promise.” She presses a kiss to my forehead. “Let’s just enjoy the time with your parents.”
“Okay, if you insist. We only need to hang out for a few, then we can go to the bedroom.”
We take a seat on one of the couches in the room. I pull her hand to mine, feeling the need to protect her more than normal.
“So, Annie, Zayn tells us here that you’re working for a well-known firm in LA?” Mom asks.
“Yes, I am. You could say it’s a childhood dream come true,” Annie replies.
Dan rolls his eyes, and part of me wonders if he’s acting like this because Annie is with me and not him.
I don’t know much about their relationships, but if you are with someone for two years, you have to feel something.
There had to have been a point where it was good between them, maybe even great.
Even thinking about that aches my heart, thinking about Annie being with anyone but me.
“I’m going to grab a drink,” Annie says in my ear.
“Let me,” I say, getting ready to stand up, but she places her hands over mine.
“I’ll be right back, promise. I know where it is.” Annie smiles. It’s hard for me to say no when she’s looking at me like I hung the moon from the sky. Bright eyes, wide smile, all mine.
I nod, then switch my attention to the room.
Dad updates us on work. Mom does the same. The girl that Dan brought, I can’t even remember her name, talks to us about her work. All of it is boring, but I do a great job (I think) staying engaged.
“Where’d Dan go?” Dad asks.
Dan isn’t where he was next to his date. When did he leave the room? I wasn’t paying as close attention as I thought I was.
Fuck.
And Annie’s not back yet.
Fuck .
“I’ll find him,” I say, shooting up out of the couch.
A pair of voices reach me before I have eyes on the kitchen.
“What do you mean you miss me? You can’t fucking say things like that.”
Annie’s voice barely reaches me as she whisper-yells.
“Look, I’m sorry, okay, but you can do better than Zayn. Look at him.”
“He’s your fucking brother. I get you two don’t get along, but I’m his,” Annie says.
“Good luck picking up his pieces because he’s a goddamn mess if you haven’t noticed.”
“He’s picked up the pieces himself, he doesn’t need me to do that. And you need to accept that we broke up a year ago and you have no claim on me anymore.”
When I finally reach the kitchen after what feels like a prolonged minute, I catch Dan wrapping his hand around Annie’s wrist, stopping her from moving. I don’t think, I just move.
One step.
Two steps.
“Zayn, what are you—” Annie gasps.
My right fist connects with Dan’s jaw.
“Fuck, Zayn.” He stumbles back, hitting the counter.
Pans clash and clatter on the floor, alerting the rest of the family.
“Don’t ever fucking touch her again. And don’t dare speak to her like that. Do you understand?” I ask.
“You can’t tell—”
“Do you understand?” I stand tall in front of him, looking down at his current hunched state.
He’s gripping his jaw, but I can still see the nod.
“Come on, let’s go.” I grab Annie’s hand and walk us out of the kitchen, pushing past my family waiting in the hallway. They can hear what happened from Dan.
Annie is my priority.
“Zayn. Zayn, slow down, please. Talk to me. Zayn, shit, you’re shaking.” Annie grasps both of my hands and stops me from walking in circles in front of my bed. “Sit down. Breathe.”
I listen to what she says, taking a deep breath in and exhaling a long, deep breath. And I do it again. And again. And again.
“Good, that’s good.” Annie rubs small circles up and down my back, further pushing me to a more calm state. She places a hand over mine and I tense, just now realizing that maybe punching someone wasn’t the best idea when I have no experience in the matter.
My hand is red, not bruised, but throbbing with a dull pain.
“Let’s take care of this,” Annie says. She stands up and grabs my other hand, interlacing her fingers in mine.
My body willingly follows her to the attached bathroom. She guides me to sit on the toilet and I am at her will, too exhausted to put up a fight. To tell her that I don’t need help, that I can do it on my own.
Because that’s what I’m used to. It’s what my life has been for the past year. Not needing anyone, not relying on anyone, that’s been my safety net. People don’t leave your life if you don’t let them in. People don’t let you down, hurt you, lie to you, if you never give them the chance.
“I’ll be right back,” Annie says, and I find myself not being able to focus enough to answer her or think about what she’s doing.
My focus stays trained on the floor, my brain running through the entire scene with my brother. Am I shocked that he did something? Kind of? But I should have expected it with the comments he was throwing her way earlier.
“This should help,” Annie hands me a bag of ice.
“Where did you—?”
“Kiley.” Annie smiles, her bottom lip tucked slightly inward.
I just nod, knowing that Annie would have gone out to the kitchen if I needed her to. She would have faced Dan, my family, if it meant helping me. That’s how incredible she is, always thinking of other people before herself.
“You didn’t have to punch him, you know.” Annie looks at me from the now-shut door. She walks over to the shower, turning the knob to let the water fall.
“I did. That was the second time tonight I wanted to. I wasn’t planning to let him walk away from me a third time. He deserved it. “
“Maybe so, but I can protect myself.” Annie begins undressing. Not in a way that’s sensual, but intimate. Like she’s her most comfortable self when around me.
“You can, but I want to. I want to be the one that puts others in their place. You don’t ever deserve to feel little again. He’s already made you feel that way once, I wasn’t planning to let him talk down to you like that again.”
Annie walks over to me, nude, and situates herself in between my legs. “And I like you a whole lot for that. Feel free to join me, or go lay down. Either way, I’m here for you, too.” She presses a kiss on my forehead and then gets in the shower.
It’s an obvious fucking choice that I follow her. What better way to relax?
***
The next morning, we walk into the kitchen and Mom lets me know that Dan left last night.
That’s one less thing we need to worry about.
We were leaving today anyway, so it wouldn’t have mattered much, but the last thing I needed was an awkward goodbye, or eating an uncomfortable breakfast. Mom wasn’t mad at me, but she was furious with Dan.
I’m sure it’s not easy for them to be in the middle of this feud.
They likely don’t know the things that happened between Dan and Annie.
I don’t expect Dan to apologize anytime soon.
“Keep us updated on everything, okay?” my mom says, and I nod.
Annie and I exchange hugs with my parents. Kiley walks us out to the car.
“Sorry again about Dan, Anns. If I knew that was going to happen, I would have uninvited him from dinner last night. You’re better company.” She pulls Annie into a hug and they stay like that for a moment.
And fuck, if I wasn’t getting emotional looking at my baby sister hugging the woman I’m in love with. It’s not everyday where you look around and everything just feels perfect. The sun is shining, there isn’t a cloud in the sky, everyone has smiles on their faces, and the future is looking great.
Well, maybe that last part isn’t set in stone yet, but I know what I want.
“Ready?” Annie looks at me, outreaching her hand toward mine.
“Ready. Bye Kiley, I’ll call you this week. Love you.”
“You better. Love you.”
Kiley waves as we head to the Uber waiting for us in front of the house. Just a quick flight back, then we are back home.
We both need to be back at work tomorrow, back to reality, back to figuring out what our next step is.