“Told you.”
My attention is brought to the door as a blonde guy, who I think's name is Carter, walks in. Easton's brows furrow as he sees him. Carter gives me a friendly smile before turning to Zayn.
“My dad's downstairs. Are you ready to go?”
He nods and bends down to kiss my forehead.
“Wait,” I stop him. “You're leaving me?”
His eyes meet mine and he sighs. “I have to, Meelz. I have to make this right.”
“The last time you told me you had to do something, you walked out that door with every intention of never seeing me again,” I point out.
He comes over and grabs my hand. “I promise I will see you at home. You just have to trust me.”
With one last squeeze, he lets go, and he and Carter head out. I'm left staring at the empty door until Easton's voice breaks the silence.
“Do you?” he asks. “Trust him I mean.”
It's a loaded question. A few weeks ago, I would have answe
red without hesitation, but things have been so rocky since then that it takes a minute of thinking about it. Overall though, when it comes to my safety, there's only one answer.
“Yes.”
Easton nods slowly and looks down at his phone, but I'm not about to let him just drop the subject here.
“He was trying to protect me, you know,” I tell him. “Blade was threatening to kill me. That's why he broke up with me. Why he went there. It was the reason for every move he made.”
“But you could have died,” he sighs.
“Because I followed him.” I take a sip of my water to wash the nasty taste out of my mouth. “And I'm not going to sit here and apologize for that, because if I hadn't, Zayn would either be in prison right now or dead.”
Easton looks over at me, and the corners of his mouth raise. “When did you go from the little girl I always had to look after to this confident woman who knows exactly what she wants and isn't afraid to go after it?”
I can't help but laugh. “Probably around the time I got my first period.”
He groans loudly and covers his ears. “I do not need to hear this!”
Giggling, I look back down at the tray of food. Maybe if I stare at it long enough, it’ll disappear.
A short while later, I’m still willing for it to go away when there’s a knock at the door. At first I think it's one of the nurses checking in to see if I've eaten yet, but instead I find Tessa. She smiles warmly at me and steps inside, holding a bag from my favorite deli.
“Zayn asked me to come check on you two.” She holds the bag up. “And he told me to bring this.”
I push the tray away from me and hold my hands out for the food I actually want to eat. I can smell it from here, and my mouth starts to water. As soon as it's in my hands, I tear the bag open and start to dig in.
“Thanks, Tess,” Easton says to her. “You didn't have to do that.”
She sighs. “I did. Zayn told me what happened, and that he's worried about you.”
“Me?”
Nodding, she goes over to sit next to him. “You two may not be talking right now, but he loves you.”
Leave it to Zayn to always know exactly what Easton needs. Kennedy may be his right now, but I don't know if they'll ever have the connection he had with Tessa. If anyone has the ability to get through to him right now and make sure he's okay, it's her. When they were together, they were more than dating. They were best friends.
Meanwhile, I mind my business and eat my food, sending Zayn a quick text.