𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐚 𝟐𝟓𝟖 [𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]

𝟓𝟏. 𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐦

I must have fallen asleep or passed out from shock, because after Louis's wide eyes looking at me with concern, I remembered nothing.

I didn't have the courage to lift my eyelids, I was afraid I had only imagined the last part of the story. I was certainly still on a bed, which confirmed my thesis that if I opened my eyes, I would find Nick staring at me, ready for a second round. I then tried to slowly move an arm and to my great relief, I realised that it was not tied.

I then tried to move a leg and to my great joy I learned that that wasn't tied either. I also realised that I was dressed, which I encouraged me to open my eyes, but before I could, a voice spoke

"Do you think we arrived too late?" I immediately recognized the timbre of that anxious voice. A feeling of warmth immediately spread throughout my body at the knowledge that Louis was there with me. I was safe.

And apparently he wasn't alone, because he sure as hell wasn't addressing me. At that moment I remembered the second figure, the one who had pushed Nick away from me.

"I don't know".

At first I was certain that I had misheard and the will to get out of bed became almost irresistible, but I forced myself to pretend to still be asleep to hear that strange conversation.

"We should ask him when he wakes up," the voice, or better, Zayn continued.

I didn't even think a dialogue between those two was possible, especially without yelling, but it was happening, right at that moment. Once I would have been happy, but now I was just amazed and confused.

"I don't know if I want to ask him. If he wants to tell me about it of course I'll be ready to listen, but if not, I don't want to force him to remember such a terrible thing," Louis said and once again I was struck by the full sensitivity he could have. Zayn for his part said nothing.

"How did you know that?" Louis asked him.

If possible I was even more surprised. Had he been the one to realise what was happening?

"I was walking outside the school for a smoke and I saw on one of the chairs near the entrance that idiot Stanley Lucas was trying to lie down and curl up without falling over. He had a pillow as big as him and a blanket that barely covered his torso I asked him what the fuck he was doing there. Annoyed, he told me that Nick had kicked him out of the room and that therefore he was getting by as best he could. I then asked him the reason for this exile and he replied that he didn't know, that Nick had just told him that he and Harry were busy." Zayn paused.

"I punched him and immediately ran to his room. Of course the door was locked and I could never have broken it down by myself. I wasn't sure I could handle it unaided against Nick. He might as well have been armed for all I knew. So I ran to your room, I knocked, you opened it and you know the rest," he concluded.

"Why me?" Louis asked seriously. "Why did you call me?"

"Who else should I call? Liam? Niall?" Zayn started giggling "They're not suited to these things. They would have been more of a hamper than anything else. And then..." I heard a strange noise. It seemed that one of them had stood up. "When it comes to fighting for Harry, you definitely come first."

"Is it too much to hope he didn't do anything to him?" my boyfriend asked him.

"I think so. He had semen on his face and in his hair. He must have done something to him." After that answer I heard Louis sigh and the mattress near my head sagged, a sign that someone had just sat on it. Soon a familiar hand began to stroke my hair. I basked in that reassuring touch, trying to maintain my sleeper appearance.