Malik's Daughter
Chapter 19 - Evergreen and Dagger
"Ellie, let's go," Zayn said, making his way to the door.
I lifted my tear-streaked face off my knees and looked at Zayn in surprise. Where does he want to go with me?
"Ellie. I said let's go," he repeated, a little more stern.
"Zayn, I think I'll take care of my daughter. You can go if you want," mum said.
"Perrie, please stay out of this. I know exactly what is going on and I would like to talk with Ellie. Besides, she happens to be my daughter as well, if you have forgotten. My daughter who you have kept away from me for 14 years, now. I think I've got some rights to have some time with her myself," he said.
Mum, taken aback by his response, stood speechless, staring at him.
"So, if you don't mind, Ellie, let's go," he said for the third time.
I looked from mum to Zayn, back and forth, trying to judge their expressions. Deciding whether to go with Zayn or not was like an impossible task at the moment. If I don't go, Zayn will get mad. If I go, mum will get mad. And there wasn't an in between option for me to choose. I guess the choice was up to me. I sniffed, wiping the tears off my face and stood up. Without a backward glance at mum or any of the others intently watching me, and walked over to Zayn. He gave me a small satisfied smile and we both walked out the door. It was quite rude, if you ask me. But Zayn didn't seem to mind, and neither did I.
He silently walked past their front porch and out onto the street with me following close behind him. I didn't dare say a word, as I was afraid he would lose it. I could sense the tension between us at the moment. I didn't want to make the situation any worse.
He walked past some of Uncle Louis and Aunt Eleanor's neighbors' houses and crossed the street. He made it to the other side within the blink of an eye and turned a sharp corner into what appeared to be a dead end. A huge mass of trees stood opposite to us, neatly lined like some of those forests in movies. Rows and columns of tall trees standing majestically before us as though they haven't been touched for ages. It's sharp, pointed leaves spoked out of its thick trunk, darkly tinted in a rich green color, shining in the light from the afternoon sun.
In the distance, you could see a faint outline of mountains by the horizon. That's weird. There aren't any mountains near here. The closest hill would have to be at least a good fifty kilometers down south. That didn't make sense. I frowned, facing Zayn, who was greatly admiring the scenery.
"Isn't it beautiful?" he asked, dreamily.
I didn't respond, annoyed at his sudden change of expression.
"These are evergreens," he informed me.
As if that was necessary right now. I know we aren't here to research trees. My mouth still stayed sealed.
"You know that isn't a real mountain out there?"
Hesitation...
"It's just a mirage. The trees give you the feeling that there should be mountain out there, but there really isn't. It's just the fog cowering over the trees," he said.
Like I care about all this...
"This is a beautiful scene to draw," he added.
Yeah, sure. Who's going to go get an easel and a paint set to draw now? Not me, that's for sure.
After a few seconds of silence, he turned to me, his eyes twinkling and his face a lot more relaxed than it had been just a minute ago. He sighed.
"Ellie, come on. I know you aren't the happiest right now, but it would help if you try to be a little... uh... easier to talk to," he said.
So now he was saying I wasn't easy to talk to? Well, we'll see about that.
"Ok then, talk all you want. I'm listening," I retorted.
"Please, Ellie. I mean it,"
"Well, so do I. Go on. Speak. Speak anything at all. I'll hear you through it," I said.
"Ok, I know I haven't had any practice with children, leave out the teen part, but I never thought it would be this hard," he said, disappointment clearly visible through his voice.
I sighed. "Alright. I'm sorry. Go on," I said.
He eyed me suspiciously for a second. I raised my hands in confession. He smiled, nodding.
"Ok then. Now I have a guess on what just happened, well, two guesses. But I need your perspective on things to figure it out," he said.
"My perspective on what? I already told you. I didn't put that nail polish in there. I didn't put any acid in it. And I definitely did not want to harm Aunt Jade in any way. Not now, not ever." I said.
"I know, I know it wasn't you, Ellie. Calm down. But I want you to tell me about last night. Everything you know about Natasha being at my house," he said.
"Oh, that. Well, mum and I got home last night and we realized we'd left mum's purse at your place so I called you. Natasha picked up and -" I stopped. I couldn't tell Zayn about the conversation. Natasha's fake story would go viral if she found out I'd spilled the beans.
"And?" Zayn urged.
"And she said it was there and we could come pick it up tomorrow. And that's what we did," I concluded.
He looked at me, as though trying to read my mind.
"That's it? There's nothing else you know?" he asked.
"Yeah. That's it," I lied.
"Are you sure?" he questioned.
"Yes! I'm sure."
"Ok then," he said.
Relieved that he'd bought my story, I relaxed up my tense muscles.
"Why are we here?" I asked him, looking around at the huge trees still standing untouched before us.
"Two reasons. One: it is my favorite place to come to when I'm in a tough tangle, like just a few minutes ago. I can have a bit of a tight temper, you know. So this place keeps me calm. I thought it was a good place to talk to you," he said.
I remembered how his face had completely changed from tensionised to relaxed in the span of a couple minutes of just standing here and staring at the trees. He was right, it did make an impression on him.
"Two... well, I think it's better if I show you, rather than tell you first," he said, "Follow me,"
He stepped forward towards the forest. I walked behind him, confused at where he was taking me. We walked through the thick, dense thicket, carefully stepping over twigs, tree roots, and traps on the soft dirt layering the ground below our feet. It felt like ages before Zayn stopped walking.
"Stop." he whispered.
I froze. I had a feeling this wasn't what he was planning to do.
"Don't move. Don't make a sound," he said.
I stood as still as possible. My heart thumped so loudly in my chest that I was surprised Zayn hadn't complained to keep my heart thumping down. Zayn frantically looked around, trying to make out the situation. I had no idea what he was doing. I had no clue why he was suddenly so cautious. But I was frightened.
"We're not alone. Someone's been following us," he said.
I frowned, confused. Why would anyone follow us? What was so important that Zayn wanted to show me that someone would follow us here to get a look at it?
"Natasha..." he whispered.
But he didn't have to tell me who it was. As soon as she spoke the word, the devil appeared from behind a tree beside us covered in a black jumpsuit. Her eyes were narrowed to slits giving us the impression of KILL. But that wasn't the worst part. In her hand, she held a red handled dagger, six inches in length with her fingers clasped around it so tightly that her knuckles showed white blotches. My eyes widened at the sight. Zayn uttered something that sounded like 'help' and everything turned into a slow motion movie scene.
I lifted my tear-streaked face off my knees and looked at Zayn in surprise. Where does he want to go with me?
"Ellie. I said let's go," he repeated, a little more stern.
"Zayn, I think I'll take care of my daughter. You can go if you want," mum said.
"Perrie, please stay out of this. I know exactly what is going on and I would like to talk with Ellie. Besides, she happens to be my daughter as well, if you have forgotten. My daughter who you have kept away from me for 14 years, now. I think I've got some rights to have some time with her myself," he said.
Mum, taken aback by his response, stood speechless, staring at him.
"So, if you don't mind, Ellie, let's go," he said for the third time.
I looked from mum to Zayn, back and forth, trying to judge their expressions. Deciding whether to go with Zayn or not was like an impossible task at the moment. If I don't go, Zayn will get mad. If I go, mum will get mad. And there wasn't an in between option for me to choose. I guess the choice was up to me. I sniffed, wiping the tears off my face and stood up. Without a backward glance at mum or any of the others intently watching me, and walked over to Zayn. He gave me a small satisfied smile and we both walked out the door. It was quite rude, if you ask me. But Zayn didn't seem to mind, and neither did I.
He silently walked past their front porch and out onto the street with me following close behind him. I didn't dare say a word, as I was afraid he would lose it. I could sense the tension between us at the moment. I didn't want to make the situation any worse.
He walked past some of Uncle Louis and Aunt Eleanor's neighbors' houses and crossed the street. He made it to the other side within the blink of an eye and turned a sharp corner into what appeared to be a dead end. A huge mass of trees stood opposite to us, neatly lined like some of those forests in movies. Rows and columns of tall trees standing majestically before us as though they haven't been touched for ages. It's sharp, pointed leaves spoked out of its thick trunk, darkly tinted in a rich green color, shining in the light from the afternoon sun.
In the distance, you could see a faint outline of mountains by the horizon. That's weird. There aren't any mountains near here. The closest hill would have to be at least a good fifty kilometers down south. That didn't make sense. I frowned, facing Zayn, who was greatly admiring the scenery.
"Isn't it beautiful?" he asked, dreamily.
I didn't respond, annoyed at his sudden change of expression.
"These are evergreens," he informed me.
As if that was necessary right now. I know we aren't here to research trees. My mouth still stayed sealed.
"You know that isn't a real mountain out there?"
Hesitation...
"It's just a mirage. The trees give you the feeling that there should be mountain out there, but there really isn't. It's just the fog cowering over the trees," he said.
Like I care about all this...
"This is a beautiful scene to draw," he added.
Yeah, sure. Who's going to go get an easel and a paint set to draw now? Not me, that's for sure.
After a few seconds of silence, he turned to me, his eyes twinkling and his face a lot more relaxed than it had been just a minute ago. He sighed.
"Ellie, come on. I know you aren't the happiest right now, but it would help if you try to be a little... uh... easier to talk to," he said.
So now he was saying I wasn't easy to talk to? Well, we'll see about that.
"Ok then, talk all you want. I'm listening," I retorted.
"Please, Ellie. I mean it,"
"Well, so do I. Go on. Speak. Speak anything at all. I'll hear you through it," I said.
"Ok, I know I haven't had any practice with children, leave out the teen part, but I never thought it would be this hard," he said, disappointment clearly visible through his voice.
I sighed. "Alright. I'm sorry. Go on," I said.
He eyed me suspiciously for a second. I raised my hands in confession. He smiled, nodding.
"Ok then. Now I have a guess on what just happened, well, two guesses. But I need your perspective on things to figure it out," he said.
"My perspective on what? I already told you. I didn't put that nail polish in there. I didn't put any acid in it. And I definitely did not want to harm Aunt Jade in any way. Not now, not ever." I said.
"I know, I know it wasn't you, Ellie. Calm down. But I want you to tell me about last night. Everything you know about Natasha being at my house," he said.
"Oh, that. Well, mum and I got home last night and we realized we'd left mum's purse at your place so I called you. Natasha picked up and -" I stopped. I couldn't tell Zayn about the conversation. Natasha's fake story would go viral if she found out I'd spilled the beans.
"And?" Zayn urged.
"And she said it was there and we could come pick it up tomorrow. And that's what we did," I concluded.
He looked at me, as though trying to read my mind.
"That's it? There's nothing else you know?" he asked.
"Yeah. That's it," I lied.
"Are you sure?" he questioned.
"Yes! I'm sure."
"Ok then," he said.
Relieved that he'd bought my story, I relaxed up my tense muscles.
"Why are we here?" I asked him, looking around at the huge trees still standing untouched before us.
"Two reasons. One: it is my favorite place to come to when I'm in a tough tangle, like just a few minutes ago. I can have a bit of a tight temper, you know. So this place keeps me calm. I thought it was a good place to talk to you," he said.
I remembered how his face had completely changed from tensionised to relaxed in the span of a couple minutes of just standing here and staring at the trees. He was right, it did make an impression on him.
"Two... well, I think it's better if I show you, rather than tell you first," he said, "Follow me,"
He stepped forward towards the forest. I walked behind him, confused at where he was taking me. We walked through the thick, dense thicket, carefully stepping over twigs, tree roots, and traps on the soft dirt layering the ground below our feet. It felt like ages before Zayn stopped walking.
"Stop." he whispered.
I froze. I had a feeling this wasn't what he was planning to do.
"Don't move. Don't make a sound," he said.
I stood as still as possible. My heart thumped so loudly in my chest that I was surprised Zayn hadn't complained to keep my heart thumping down. Zayn frantically looked around, trying to make out the situation. I had no idea what he was doing. I had no clue why he was suddenly so cautious. But I was frightened.
"We're not alone. Someone's been following us," he said.
I frowned, confused. Why would anyone follow us? What was so important that Zayn wanted to show me that someone would follow us here to get a look at it?
"Natasha..." he whispered.
But he didn't have to tell me who it was. As soon as she spoke the word, the devil appeared from behind a tree beside us covered in a black jumpsuit. Her eyes were narrowed to slits giving us the impression of KILL. But that wasn't the worst part. In her hand, she held a red handled dagger, six inches in length with her fingers clasped around it so tightly that her knuckles showed white blotches. My eyes widened at the sight. Zayn uttered something that sounded like 'help' and everything turned into a slow motion movie scene.
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Uh oh... someone's in trouble...
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~ Lily <3
Update
8/12/14