Canadian heartbreak (The stars book 1)

18: Broken hearts

Warning: A lot of emotions that could be triggering, child in danger and character death

 *Zayn*

 "Tyler please, don't do this to Athena or to Kitty". I plead with him. "Hell don't even do this to yourself. Everyone needs a second chance, even you".

 He shakes his head. "You don't get it do you ? You took her from me.. you took my family from me. You just swooped in here and took them, not caring about me or my feelings. Athena is my baby, but you two have taken her from me and now I am taking her with me. I should kill you too for doing this".

 "She is just a little kid Tyler. Don't take her life from her... please don't take it out on her". I am begging by now. Edging closer to her bed, wanting to check on her.

 He looks absolutely crazy. "I am not taking it out on her, I am freeing her, saving her from a life with that w***e of a mother, from ending up like her".

 "Sorry Tyler, I am sorry to have caused you so much pain and sorry but you need help, you are not well right now". I try as I move even closer to the bed.

 He realises that I try to get to Athena. "Don't touch her. Don't defile my little girl". He screams and throws himself towards me. His balance is off, probably from whatever he has taken to end his life and he stumbles hammering his head into my chest, making me smash into the wall. I push him off me and he falls into the big mirror smashing it.

 I try to catch my breath, but he has really knocked the wind out of me. I see the door creak open and Kitty peak in. She has realised something is wrong and I try waving her off, I don't want her hurt.

 *Persephone*

 f**k, he had her here, in her own room all the time. I peak in seeing Zayn leaned on the wall, he looks pale and out of breath, clutching a hand to his chest. Tyler is rawing around on the floor in the pieces of the broken mirror. Athena is in her bed, motionless, and I pray to God she is okay.

 I pull back, taking out my phone to call emergency services, both ambulances and the police on their way in a flash. But will they come here fast enough ?

 Then I open the door, I need to get to my daughter. To check that she is okay. But Tyler sees me, getting up, a long shard from the mirror in his hand. "Oh no, don't think I will let you save her. Then I just have to end it quickly". 

 I know I can't get to him in time as he launches himself at the bed with our daughter and Zayn seems to be unable to move for some reason. But then he seems to pull out his last resources, throwing himself in front of Tyler, the mirror piece hammering into his chest. And I hear myself scream.

 Seeing Zayn collapse like a ton of bricks I grab the first hard thing I see, Athena's piggy bank, smashing it down on Tyler's head, making him crumble too. I throw myself down next to Zayn, finding him completely lifeless.

 "Zayn.. .Zayn please look at me". I plead, hearing the sirens, pull up outside. I realise his lips are turning blue. He isn't breathing and his pulse is almost non-existent. s**t, s**t, s**t what did Tyler hit with the mirror piece ?

 I pull up his T-shirt expecting blood, a wound, but there is nothing. Around his neck is Athena's Rapunzel necklace, the glass smashed, the mirror clearly having hit it, stopping it from plunging into his heart. I put my hand on his chest, realising there is no heartbeat, he is dead.

 "Please no Zayn, please don't leave me. You can't leave me". I don't get what happened, there is not a scratch on him, but his heart has stopped. My tears start falling desperately, I told him he wasn't Athena's father and never would be and he just gave his life to protect her. "I didn't mean it Zayn, please".

 I grab him, shaking him. Desperately hitting him on the chest, telling him it isn't fair, that he can't leave me like this. There are footsteps on the stairs now and people calling out. "In here, please they need help".

 Suddenly Zayn draws in a deep breath, sitting up. He is blinking wildly, his hands grasping his chest, like he is looking for something. "What ? Why ? Where did he hit me ?"

 "Zayn ?! You.. you are not dead ?" I might sound really weird. But I know what I felt, there was no heartbeat, no breathing …and now he is sitting here looking confused. 

 Police and paramedics come running in, and I point to Athena, wanting them to check her first. Zayn is still clutching his chest. "Dead... no I am not dead… at least I think I am not".

 "But you were. You weren't breathing, your heart wasn't beating. I thought I had lost you". I hug him, my head on his chest, needing to feel his heartbeat.

 A paramedic comes to check on Zayn and another checks Tyler. I explain what happened and Zayn tells about Tyler ramming his head into his chest causing him to lose his breath completely. The paramedic checks him over.

 "It sounds like your heart got a bad pounch at the worst time, disrupting the electric current and causing the heart rhythm to get out of sync. The second hit on the chest was simply too much and the heart stopped. You say you beat him on the chest ? Well you have been incredibly lucky, somehow you made the heart restart". He explains.

 Zayn is getting pale again. "So I died ? I really died… and she made my heart beat again ?"

 "Yeah, You better come in for a check-up, we need to make sure that your heart is back to the right rhythm and that it hasn't suffered other kinds of damage". He tells him.

 "Athena ?" I fly up to the paramedics working on my daughter, grabbing her small clammy hand. "Is she going to be okay ?"

 One of the paramedics looks at me. "We are trying to stabilise her. Her heart is very weak and we don't know what he has given her, so we don't know how to counter it".

 "Please help her". I plead, seeing my little baby girl like this is the most heartbreaking thing ever. The thought of her not pulling through is ripping at my heart.

 Zayn crawls to Tyler, just as a paramedic pulls a blanket over him, shaking his head. Zayn rummages around, then he springs up, coming over with fast strides handing the paramedic a medicine bottle. "Might be these".

 "Super, these we can counteract with medication". He says and suddenly everything is happening very fast. Zayn pulls me into his arms and I let him, needing to feel him close.

 Soon we are loaded into a police car, following the ambulance at high speed to the hospital. I am clinging to Zayn, who keeps whispering softly to me. I can't help admiring his strength.