The door opened and I jumped quickly.

"Oh shit, sorry Rach, I didn't mean to - Whoa, what the fuck happened to you?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My eyes widened.

"Zayn I - I -" I stuttered.

I watched as he studied my bruises with his eyes.

"Rach.." his voice trailed off.

Tears pricked my eyes.

I pulled Nialls hoodie over my head quickly, hating the feeling of being judged

"Seriously, what the fuck Rachel?" he asked, seeming unsure of how to react.

"How did this happen?" he added, his voice softer.

"C-Can we talk in your room?" I asked , a lump in my throat making it difficult to talk clearly.

He nodded briefly before taking my hand in his and quickly leading me to his room.

I locked the door as we walked in, worried Niall or one of the others would walk in.

"So.." He began as soon as he had sat down on the bed.

I ended up telling him everything.

About how I first met Brad and how great it had been in the beginning.

I explained it all to him. All about the drinking and hitting.

By the time I was finished, I was sittings in Zayns lap, crying into his chest.

"Why didn't you tell us Rach? We could have helped you.." he whispered, rubbing circles into my back comfortingly.

"I couldn't Zayn.. You don't understand, If Brad ever found out that I told you.." I burst into a fit of sobs again.

I couldn't even bear to think what would happen if Brad found out I told Zayn.

I pulled back from him suddenly.

"Zayn, you can not tell Niall about this" I said, and despite the fact that I was still crying, my voice came out pretty steady.

"What? Rachel, I have to tell him.." he replied, seriously.

I shook my head firmly.

"No, you cant! Please! Niall cant know about this. You have to promise me Zayn, you can't tell him.." I told him, panicking.

"Rach.." he whispered, biting his lip.

"Please.." I whispered back.

"Rachel!"

We both looked to the door where Nialls voice came from.

"Please Zayn, please, promise me" I whispered, pleadingly.

Zayn groaned before nodding.

"Okay okay, I promise.. But I'm not happy about it" he muttered.

"Thank you!" I flung my arms around his neck.

"What are we gonna do about it though Rach? You have to break up with him.. " he told me firmly.

"I can't.. really.. If I even try and break up with him.." my voice broke as I got to the end of the sentence.

His fists curled into balls.

"Ugh.. I can't believe he's been doing this to you.." he muttered.

I just nodded in response.

It felt good to have let it all out.

To have Zayn to talk to.

"Your gonna have to move out of there.. You can't live there with him " he told me.

"I know but what if he caught me trying to leave?" I whispered.

Zayn sighed.

"Niall's gonna get suspicious.. You should go find him Rach. Leave it with me for a while, I'll figure this out" he said after a minute of silence.

"You can't figure this out.. But thank you for being here Zayn" I replied.

I went back to the bathroom and changed in to the bottoms Niall had given me.

I cleaned my face too in the hope that Niall wouldn't notice I was crying.

I made my way downstairs quickly.

I found Niall in the kitchen, nibbling on a piece of toast.

"Hey, there you are! I've been looking for you for ages, where were you?" he asked.

"Just, getting ready" I lied.

He frowned, walking towards me.

"Have you been crying?" he asked, rubbing his thumbs under my eyes.

"Course not" I lied again.

He raised his eyebrows but I changed the subject quickly.

"Niall can you give me a lift home?"

Notes

Heyy!

So now Zayn knows...
Please comment if you enjoy reading the story & want me to update :)
Love you all soo much for reading.
Any questions, comment below or message me and I'll (try to) answer them :P
Thanks ~ Lee xxx