~Evric's POV~
Zayn gently, firmly, peeled my arms from around his waist. He stepped away and turned to look at me, his face utterly weary.
"Evric," he said, his voice calm, which was worse than yelling. "If I let you move into my apartment, or if I let you come over every day, what would be the point of leaving? I need distance. I need to be alone, or I won't know if I'm staying because I love you, or because I'm scared to leave you."
He paused, and the look of exhaustion in his eyes was profound. "I'm not doing this to hurt you. I'm doing this to save myself."
He didn't wait for a response. He simply turned and walked out of the room, leaving me standing in the center of the vast, quiet bedroom, utterly alone.
I stood there, paralyzed for a moment, the silence rushing in to fill the space where his love had been. A harsh, tearing sob ripped from my throat. I crumpled onto the floor, the pain in my chest eclipsing the physical coldness of the polished wood.
