I'm confused as fuck.

Where the hell am I? I woke up in a small two-bedroom apartment on a surprisingly comfortable white couch, a fuzzy purple blanket covering me.

I remember absolutely nothing after leaving that liquor store last night, and I really hope this isn't some random one-night stand situation because that would be really shitty for me.

I'm still fully clothed, and I'm not in someone's bed, so I'm taking that as a good sign. I've always had a habit of sleeping with inappropriate people at inappropriate times. That's why I've been staying away from bars and partying since college.

Last night was a moment of weakness, and I'm past it, but I need to figure out whose house this is.

Before I can get up and assess my surroundings, the front door swings open, a tall, athletic-looking girl barges in. She stares at me, looking confused, two hot coffees in her hands, and I fight the urge to jump out the nearest window.

"Hello?" she says warily, kicking the door closed with her foot.

"Hi," I respond, awkwardly shuffling up from the couch. "Who are you?"

"Who am I? This is my apartment. Who are you?" She questions. Good point.

"I'm Zayn. I have no idea how I got here," I answer honestly. I really hope I didn't do anything with this girl. She's hot and all, but I have my eyes on a shy brunette that likes the word 'um.'

"Oh," is all she says for a moment, a small smile appearing on her lips. "I'm Jordyn. Scarlett's roommate."

Scarlett's roommate? Wait. This is Scarlett's apartment? "You're Jordyn?"

"You're Zayn," she retorts, a knowing smirk taking over her face while she sticks her hand out to shake my own. "Nice to meet you." Does Scarlett talk about me? 

"Yeah, likewise."

"Scar's probably still asleep. I can grab her if you want?" She points to the hallway to our left. It's small with two doors on either side.

"No, it's okay. Let her sleep," I go back over to the couch and fold the blanket. "I should get going anyway." I have nowhere to go for a few hours, but sitting here and awkwardly waiting for Scarlett to wake up and tell me how the hell I got here doesn't feel too entertaining.

I don't even notice that Jordyn's left the room until she comes back with one less coffee and a tired brunette behind her.

Scarlett's hair is tied into a low bun, random strands framing her face. She's in a pair of loose grey sweatpants and a black tank top that stops just above her belly button.

God, she is fucking beautiful.

I don't even bother hiding the fact that I am fully staring at her. I wait for her chocolate eyes to find mine and smile when they do.

"Good morning," she says, her morning voice raspier than her regular voice. She sips the warm coffee in her hands and walks towards me.

"Good morning. How'd you sleep?"

"You're welcome!" We hear Jordyn's voice shout and the door to her bedroom close, leaving us alone in her living room. I like her.

Scarlett lets out a small laugh and shakes her head at her friend. "Good. How was the couch?"

"Honestly? Really comfortable." I answer truthfully, watching as her face lights up at my response.

"I'm glad. Well, um- I can make us some breakfast if you're hungry. We haven't gone shopping in a while, so I'm not sure how good it will taste." I can tell she wants to ramble on more about the various thoughts lingering in her head, but she bites her lip and looks down.

I wish she didn't censor herself in front of me. 

I chose to ignore it. "I'd love some breakfast."

Her face lights up, and she gives me the most gorgeous smile I have ever seen. I don't miss the exhaustion in her eyes, though. "Waffles or pancakes?"

"Hmm, waffles," we head over to her kitchen, and I sit at the stool, leaning my elbows on the island. I rest my head in my hands and watch as she gathers all her cooking materials.

"Do you want some coffee?" She asks.

"I need some coffee," Scarlett laughs at my desperation and nods, turning on the coffee machine.

Her apartment is exactly as I pictured it. White walls and neutral-colored furniture with pastel decorations and details. It is spotless, even her white marble countertops. It's simplistic and in a lot of ways, so is Scarlett.

Scarlett pulls out her waffle maker that she is very proud of and makes us each three waffles. We talked about our plans for the day, and Scarlett tells me she should hear back about her possible new job soon.

I never used to care about the details in girls' lives before. I've avoided relationships simply because I'm not capable of keeping one. With Scarlett, though, I want to know everything I can know about her. I've been the douchebag that sleeps around and I've been the asshole boyfriend, but I want nothing to do with that side of me when I'm around her. 

"I feel like I owe you an explanation," I start.

She frowns, shaking her head. "You don't have to explain, Zayn."

"No, I do. I can't just crash on your couch, hammered, and not give you an explanation." I swivel on her black stools and face her.

She sighs. "Well, I imagine there's a reason, but it's not really my business."

"You're telling me you're not the tiniest bit interested?" I smirk, raising my brows.

She looks down, hiding a smile. "Of course, I'm interested, but it's not my place to pry into your personal life." Where did I find her? Seriously, I am absolutely lost for words by this woman.

"I want you to know," I say, avoiding her gaze.

She pauses, and I can feel her analyzing me carefully. "If you want me to know, then I will listen, but don't feel obligated to tell me."

I take a sharp breath in and prepare myself. I would drag it out and give her a backstory, but I can't dive into all that right now. "My father might be released from prison after fifteen years, and I went to his parole hearing yesterday. It brought up a lot for me, so I drank." I blurt out.

Scarlett freezes, and I can practically see the wheels turning in her brain as she stares at me. She finally talks after a few seconds of silence. "I'm so sorry, Zayn."

She grabs my hand and holds it tightly, giving me comfort. There's no judgment in her eyes or her mannerisms; in fact, she doesn't even seem fazed. Her eyes are soft, and they observe me with an overwhelming amount of kindness. 

I squeeze her hand. "Anyway, before he went to jail, we never had a good relationship. Not with me, my brother, or my mom. I don't have many fears, but I fear him." I give her the SparkNotes version of events because the truth is too much to put on someone all at once.

"Is he going to be released? You said might," she asks, her voice gentle.

"I don't know. We won't find out for a couple of weeks, possibly months." That fact makes it all worse. All this shit gets dug up just to be ignored again until the parole board makes a decision.

"I can't imagine how you're feeling, but I will be here for you. You know, if you want to talk." Her thumb rubs gently against my hand, matching the softness of her voice. She is the most comforting person in the world, and she's completely oblivious to it.

"Thanks, Scarlett. I'll try not to drunk dial you again." I laugh, trying my fucking best to lighten the mood.

She lets out a quiet laugh, sitting up and letting go of my hand to clean up our plates. "I happen to like your drunk dials."

I raise my brows. "Really? I should get drunk more often."

She shakes her head with another laugh, turning to face me. "No, that's not what I meant."

"Don't worry. I'm not planning on becoming an alcoholic any time soon."

It's nearly eleven in the morning, meaning I'm late for work. I don't know if Adelaide expects me to come in today, but I'm going to regardless. I can't be away from reality because of the man that ruined my childhood. I won't let him ruin my adulthood, too.

"I should get going," I say, finishing up the last of my coffee. "But I'll see you tonight? For the list?"

She nods with a smile. "Definitely."

"Cool. Thanks for dealing with my shit," I debate for a few seconds if I should hug her or say goodbye and leave, but I'm selfish, and I want to feel her body warmth. I pull her into a hug, feeling as her hands slowly snake around my waist. "Bye, Scarlett."

Her head is tucked into my shoulder as she says goodbye to me, too. "Bye, Zayn." We break from our hug, and she walks me to the door, waving as I head out.

I dread the day ahead of me, honestly. 

I head to my apartment, clean myself up, feed my dogs, and take them for a short walk. I feel terrible leaving them alone the whole night, but it was out of my control.

By the time I get to the office, Adelaide has left the office for a trial, leaving me a pile of files to take care of while she's gone.

Before I can even get through the first pile of paperwork, my phone rings. "Hello?"

"This is a prepaid call from," there's a short pause before I hear his voice. "Carlos Miller, an inmate at the county correctional facility. To decline this call, press nine now. To accept this call, press one now."

Fuck. Why the fuck is he calling me? The last thing I want to do is talk to this man, but I have to know why he is calling me, so I press one.

I wait for him to say something, and the silence on the other end is deafening. "Z?"

"Don't call me that," I bark back, feeling intense anger build up. "Why are you calling me?"

"You weren't at the parole hearing," his voice is rough and raspy, sounding nothing like the man I knew as a child.

"Yeah?" I say shortly.

There's silence for a bit, other than the muffled background noise. "I don't know what to say to you, Zayn, but I want to apologize for the pain I've caused our family."

"My family," I don't care if I'm too harsh. He fucking deserves it. "It stopped being your family long before you went to jail. You being in prison is not the only thing you did to my family, and you know it. So do me a favor and don't fucking call me ever again."

I hang up and slam my phone against my desk. I can feel myself getting angrier as time passes, and with each minute, I want to punch the wall even more.

The chipped paint of the wall is practically taunting me. Adelaide would kill me if I put a hole in her wall. 

I pace back and forth and try to resolve my anger without calling Rocky and dragging him into this.

I hear the door to Adelaide's office swing open, a smiling Adelaide stepping through, a large pile of papers in her hands. I grab the papers, and she thanks me, staring at me in disbelief.

"What?" I question.

She smiles a pity smile, one that makes me mad. I never liked receiving pity, especially when it concerns Carlos. "I didn't think you'd show,"

I sigh, falling back into my seat and spinning to face her as she sits at her desk. "We have a busy month ahead of us."

"That's an understatement," she huffs, starting up her computer. "Now, tell me why you were pacing around my office."

Adelaide has a talent of sensing when someone is stressed or sad, or exhibiting any emotion over than fine, really. "My father called me," I decided to tell the truth because other than my brother, Adelaide is the only person that knows the whole truth about my father.

"I hope you hung up on the fucker," she says angrily. Her foul language always shocks me. She's a very professional woman, but wow, does she have a potty mouth.

"I did," I say proudly, kicking my feet up onto my desk. "He said he wanted to apologize."

Adelaide rolls her eyes, holding back a humorless laugh. "Please, if he wanted to apologize, he would've done it fifteen years ago, not when your forgiveness has a lot of pull in his future."

"Exactly," I dramatically drag out the word, reclining in my seat and trying to focus on the paperwork in front of me.

The two of us work quietly for the next couple of hours, only stopping to get some dinner. Adelaide's husband, Tyler, stops in for dinner, too. He's a nice guy, far too nice for Adelaide's aggressive self. Maybe that's what she needs, though.

I decide to call it early and give them some alone time. Well, that was my excuse. The real reason is that I am dying to see Scarlett again.

She texted me asking if ten was a good time to meet, and it's only eight right now. I feel like a pathetic teenager checking the clock every five minutes to see if it is time to leave yet.

Once the clock hits 9:50 PM, I get in my car and go to the one place that feels safe. 

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author's note-

hi guys :) surprise chapter for you + another one tomorrow! I am finally done with school for the summer so I'll be back on the normal update schedule. I'm hoping to get at least two chapters out a week. Please give this chapter a vote if you enjoyed & let me know your thoughts

Thank you for reading!