Torn Apart
one.
As Scarlett Cooper shut the door of her car, she locked the doors and walked into the apartment building that she and her boyfriend, Zayn, shared. It had been a long day at work and she couldn’t wait to cook dinner and just relax for the rest of the night. Spending eight hours stuck behind a desk with only a half hour break was not something Scarlett enjoyed doing nearly every day of her life, but money didn’t grow on trees and she committed to having a job as a part of becoming an adult. She had to deal with it no matter how boring it was.
Once she got to her apartment door, she turned the knob and walked inside, only to see her boyfriend lying on the couch watching TV. He was still in sweatpants (or, well, his pajamas) and he looked like he hadn’t moved all day. Scarlett sighed to herself and smiled, wishing she got as many off days as Zayn, but there was no way she would ever be able to go through his every day chaos with his up-and-coming singing career.
“Hi,” Scarlett greeted Zayn as she set her purse and car keys down on the counter. She slipped her high heels off and rubbed her heels as she felt new blisters starting to form. She sighed once more to herself and walked over to the couch where Zayn was resting. She sat down on the edge and smoothed his hair back.
“Babe,” Zayn groaned as if he was dying, his whine laced with the accent that made Scarlett’s heart melt. “I’m so hungry.”
“Are your arms and legs broken?” she chuckled as she glanced over at the spotless kitchen. Zayn rarely got food for himself when Scarlett was at work, because he knew that right when she got home she would make something for the both of them. And maybe some women wouldn’t like that their boyfriends demanded food right when she got home, but Scarlett loved sitting down with Zayn after making a meal and watching him scarf it down.
“No,” he said quietly, looking up at his girlfriend of two and a half years. “I was waiting for you to get home.”
Scarlett continued to smooth Zayn’s dark hair back as she smiled at him. She met Zayn three years ago when she and her cousin, Brooke, decided to go on a trip to England. She was there for almost two months and she met Zayn one of the first weeks she arrived while she was out and about with her cousin. As her time in England progressed, she and Zayn would see each other more and more, and when she returned home they continued to keep in touch. About five months later, when Scarlett got the money, she ended up moving to England. It wasn’t just to be with Zayn, but it was because she loved the area when she visited, and she was that spontaneous girl that wanted to make her life an incredible adventure.
And picking up and moving her whole life was something she considered an adventure.
Her relationship with Zayn continued once she moved to England, and soon enough they were an official couple, and they moved in together. It was one of the easiest relationships Scarlett had ever been in, and her feelings didn’t even seem to confuse her to cause her to think about what she was doing. The relationship came so smoothly and she and Zayn became close so quick, and soon enough Scarlett had an office job at the business that Zayn’s dad owned. Her life with Zayn had been perfect ever since she moved to England and started a new life, and she knew she was going to marry him one day.
“So, what do you have in mind?” Scarlett asked Zayn as she stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen, the room where she spent plenty of her days cooking food and cleaning the messes she made while playing the wife of the house.
“Spaghetti? Lasagna?” Zayn suggested. “Something like that.”
Scarlett nodded her head before she started to pull out the ingredients from the overhead cupboards. She walked over to the fridge and opened the freezer and pulled out her homemade spaghetti sauce that she had frozen from their last meal. She learned from her mom that you can always put leftovers you wanted to save in the freezer for next time, and that was her secret that Zayn had no idea about. The good thing about him not being much into making himself food when Scarlett was around was that he didn’t know how many leftover meals she had frozen in the back of the freezer for whenever he wanted them. Scarlett learned that Zayn was never one for leftovers, but there was no way Scarlett would throw perfectly good food away.
She watched her boyfriend closely as she began to thaw the frozen spaghetti sauce, and Zayn was a lot more interested in the show that was on the TV than how Scarlett was cooking dinner. After Scarlett cooked some angel hair noodles and got two plates out, she covered both plates with her “fresh” spaghetti and set them on the table. She filled two cups with water and got silverware and napkins for both her and Zayn, before sitting down.
“Zayn,” Scarlett called. “It’s ready.”
“Yes,” she heard Zany cheer to himself, before she saw him pop up from the couch and make his way to the kitchen table. Before he sat down he gave Scarlett a quick kiss. “Thanks, love. How was work?”
“It was okay,” she replied as she spun her fork in her spaghetti noodles. “It was just really long, like every day.”
“Was my dad in?” he asked curiously, his string of questions always the same.
“Only for a little bit,” she answered. “He brought me some lunch in and I talked to him for a little bit, and then I didn’t see him the rest of the day.”
Zayn nodded, not being able to say anything due to the spaghetti noodles that hung from his mouth. He obnoxiously slurped them until they were out of sight and wiped the sauce on his mouth off with the back of his hand, not bothering to pick up the napkin that Scarlett had set out for him, causing her to smile to herself.
“Did any of the guys stop by today?” Scarlett questioned. “You looked like you didn’t get off the couch at all while I was gone.”
“I cleaned up our room a bit after you left,” Zayn commented, making sure he didn’t sound like he bummed around all day. “And Liam stopped by for a few minutes before he went out with Niall. They invited me to go with but I would’ve been gone by the time you got home and I didn’t want to leave you to come home to an empty house.”
“And because you starved yourself and needed to eat,” she stated, sending him a smirk. Zayn shook his head as if he were a child that was denying that he ate the last cookie in the jar.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” he trailed off, the ghost of a smile on his lips.
Scarlett rolled her eyes to herself and as her phone started going off of the counter, she sighed to herself figuring it was Zayn’s dad to tell her to come in tomorrow on her day off. She stood up from where she was sitting and walked over to where her phone was ringing, Zayn’s curious eyes following her the whole way. As Scarlett grabbed her phone she glanced at the name flashing on the screen to see her mom was calling. Her eyes widened slightly, knowing that her mom never called unless she needed something from her daughter, whether it was important or minor. But whatever the reason, it always made Scarlett nervous when she called.
“Scar,” Zayn started, noticing his girlfriend’s shocked expression. “Who is it?”
“It’s my mom,” Scarlett said, before answering her phone and starting down the hallway out of ear-shot, so Zayn couldn’t hear.
After shutting Scarlett and Zayn’s bedroom door behind her, Scarlett turned her attention to the phone call. “Mom?”
Once she got to her apartment door, she turned the knob and walked inside, only to see her boyfriend lying on the couch watching TV. He was still in sweatpants (or, well, his pajamas) and he looked like he hadn’t moved all day. Scarlett sighed to herself and smiled, wishing she got as many off days as Zayn, but there was no way she would ever be able to go through his every day chaos with his up-and-coming singing career.
“Hi,” Scarlett greeted Zayn as she set her purse and car keys down on the counter. She slipped her high heels off and rubbed her heels as she felt new blisters starting to form. She sighed once more to herself and walked over to the couch where Zayn was resting. She sat down on the edge and smoothed his hair back.
“Babe,” Zayn groaned as if he was dying, his whine laced with the accent that made Scarlett’s heart melt. “I’m so hungry.”
“Are your arms and legs broken?” she chuckled as she glanced over at the spotless kitchen. Zayn rarely got food for himself when Scarlett was at work, because he knew that right when she got home she would make something for the both of them. And maybe some women wouldn’t like that their boyfriends demanded food right when she got home, but Scarlett loved sitting down with Zayn after making a meal and watching him scarf it down.
“No,” he said quietly, looking up at his girlfriend of two and a half years. “I was waiting for you to get home.”
Scarlett continued to smooth Zayn’s dark hair back as she smiled at him. She met Zayn three years ago when she and her cousin, Brooke, decided to go on a trip to England. She was there for almost two months and she met Zayn one of the first weeks she arrived while she was out and about with her cousin. As her time in England progressed, she and Zayn would see each other more and more, and when she returned home they continued to keep in touch. About five months later, when Scarlett got the money, she ended up moving to England. It wasn’t just to be with Zayn, but it was because she loved the area when she visited, and she was that spontaneous girl that wanted to make her life an incredible adventure.
And picking up and moving her whole life was something she considered an adventure.
Her relationship with Zayn continued once she moved to England, and soon enough they were an official couple, and they moved in together. It was one of the easiest relationships Scarlett had ever been in, and her feelings didn’t even seem to confuse her to cause her to think about what she was doing. The relationship came so smoothly and she and Zayn became close so quick, and soon enough Scarlett had an office job at the business that Zayn’s dad owned. Her life with Zayn had been perfect ever since she moved to England and started a new life, and she knew she was going to marry him one day.
“So, what do you have in mind?” Scarlett asked Zayn as she stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen, the room where she spent plenty of her days cooking food and cleaning the messes she made while playing the wife of the house.
“Spaghetti? Lasagna?” Zayn suggested. “Something like that.”
Scarlett nodded her head before she started to pull out the ingredients from the overhead cupboards. She walked over to the fridge and opened the freezer and pulled out her homemade spaghetti sauce that she had frozen from their last meal. She learned from her mom that you can always put leftovers you wanted to save in the freezer for next time, and that was her secret that Zayn had no idea about. The good thing about him not being much into making himself food when Scarlett was around was that he didn’t know how many leftover meals she had frozen in the back of the freezer for whenever he wanted them. Scarlett learned that Zayn was never one for leftovers, but there was no way Scarlett would throw perfectly good food away.
She watched her boyfriend closely as she began to thaw the frozen spaghetti sauce, and Zayn was a lot more interested in the show that was on the TV than how Scarlett was cooking dinner. After Scarlett cooked some angel hair noodles and got two plates out, she covered both plates with her “fresh” spaghetti and set them on the table. She filled two cups with water and got silverware and napkins for both her and Zayn, before sitting down.
“Zayn,” Scarlett called. “It’s ready.”
“Yes,” she heard Zany cheer to himself, before she saw him pop up from the couch and make his way to the kitchen table. Before he sat down he gave Scarlett a quick kiss. “Thanks, love. How was work?”
“It was okay,” she replied as she spun her fork in her spaghetti noodles. “It was just really long, like every day.”
“Was my dad in?” he asked curiously, his string of questions always the same.
“Only for a little bit,” she answered. “He brought me some lunch in and I talked to him for a little bit, and then I didn’t see him the rest of the day.”
Zayn nodded, not being able to say anything due to the spaghetti noodles that hung from his mouth. He obnoxiously slurped them until they were out of sight and wiped the sauce on his mouth off with the back of his hand, not bothering to pick up the napkin that Scarlett had set out for him, causing her to smile to herself.
“Did any of the guys stop by today?” Scarlett questioned. “You looked like you didn’t get off the couch at all while I was gone.”
“I cleaned up our room a bit after you left,” Zayn commented, making sure he didn’t sound like he bummed around all day. “And Liam stopped by for a few minutes before he went out with Niall. They invited me to go with but I would’ve been gone by the time you got home and I didn’t want to leave you to come home to an empty house.”
“And because you starved yourself and needed to eat,” she stated, sending him a smirk. Zayn shook his head as if he were a child that was denying that he ate the last cookie in the jar.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” he trailed off, the ghost of a smile on his lips.
Scarlett rolled her eyes to herself and as her phone started going off of the counter, she sighed to herself figuring it was Zayn’s dad to tell her to come in tomorrow on her day off. She stood up from where she was sitting and walked over to where her phone was ringing, Zayn’s curious eyes following her the whole way. As Scarlett grabbed her phone she glanced at the name flashing on the screen to see her mom was calling. Her eyes widened slightly, knowing that her mom never called unless she needed something from her daughter, whether it was important or minor. But whatever the reason, it always made Scarlett nervous when she called.
“Scar,” Zayn started, noticing his girlfriend’s shocked expression. “Who is it?”
“It’s my mom,” Scarlett said, before answering her phone and starting down the hallway out of ear-shot, so Zayn couldn’t hear.
After shutting Scarlett and Zayn’s bedroom door behind her, Scarlett turned her attention to the phone call. “Mom?”
update please
2/15/14