Whiskey Lullaby

She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette
She broke his heart he spent his whole life tryin' to forget
We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time
But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind
Until the night

After spending the past 2 months on tour, Zayn had a spring in his step as he climbed the steps of his shared house with girlfriend and love of his life, Sophie. Excitement bubbling over him, he quickly unlocked the door. He wasn't surprised she wasn't waiting for him on the couch like usual, he had gotten home earlier than expected.

Dropping off his bags and shedding his jacket, he checked himself over in the foyer mirror and smiled. He was mere moments away from seeing her gorgeous face once more. Happily, he bound up the stairs and saw their bedroom door closed. She must be sleeping, he thought as he slowly opened the door.

His smile dropped to a look of disbelief as he wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. Like a ghost, he slowly walked into the room unable to tear his eyes away from what horrible sights he saw.

She giggled oblivious to his presence.

"How could you do this to me?" His voice startled her, the torn pain and confusion in his voice enough to kill her.

Quickly, she covered herself as she whipped around to see Zayn, his face pale and this look in his eyes; this look that would forever haunt her. He tried to tell himself that he was just seeing things, as he shook his head furiously. When he looked up, he realized it wasn't some horrible nightmare he could get rid of and Sophie watched the tears stream down his cheeks, mimicking her own salty drops.

"I-I don't know what to say..." She mumbled tearfully, realizing just how stupid her one-night stand had become. "It doesn't mean anything...I swear." She pleaded as Zayn started for the door.

"I thought we we're in love." He whispered taking her arm gently. She didn't like this, he was so hurt by this he couldn't even yell at her. "I loved you Sophie, I thought you did too." He dropped her arm as he turned away in shame.

"I do love you, I do, I do." She pleaded throwing herself at him. She buried her head into his chest, her heart wrenching in every direction. "Please, let's just talk or something. Just...don't go." She cried as Zayn's jaw quivered. He took in the scent of her fiery hair, the soft touch of her skin, the perfect form as her body melded into his...

"You don't love me though..." He replied sadly. "If you did you wouldn't have done this to me..." His soft voice dripping with betrayal. She turned her weepy eyes up to look at his, them cold and empty. She pulled away in shame.

"I don't know what I was doing..." She said truthfully. Sitting on the now empty bed, she looked down, unworthy of looking up at the man she loved. "This isn't me though, you know it isn't. I would never do this sort of thing."

"But you did." His voice drifted lightly, the pain knocking the wind out of Amy. "And you did it in the bed that we made love to each other every night; the bed that we promised to be together for the rest of our lives. The bed that was our place, only you and me. Now it'll forever be the bed that you betrayed me in and broke my heart into irreplaceable pieces." He wept unable to take the hurt. Slowly, he turned around to leave the room, and her life forever.

She protested but to the tense air as he was already gone.

He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away her memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees
We found him with his face down in the pillow
With a note that said I'll love her till I die
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby

He continued to see her every now and then and every time her eyes met his she would stop whatever she was doing and run to him. But it was like running through a ghost because as soon as she got to him, he'd disappear.

He settled at his bar stool, in the stuffy, dirty bar he had come to everyday since that horrible night. He would come and drink and drink and drink trying to forget about the woman he loved and vowed to spend the rest of his life making love to someone else. He tried to erase her bright hazel eyes, the taste of her lips, the touch of her skin, the way he felt whenever they made love and looked deep into one another's eyes, penetrating to the inner depths of each others' souls. Where they always saw one another. True soul mates. But he had tried desperately to drown all those memories, all the pain through shot glass after shot glass, bottle after bottle. That had been over 6 months ago. And it had been 6 months that he had taken all the alcohol his body could handle before passing out. Until one day he passed out and never woke up again.

The rumours flew but nobody know how much she blamed herself
For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath
She finally drank her pain away a little at a time
But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind
Until the night

Dressed in black, her makeup ran as she stood before his grave. She would never forget the day she found out.

"Zayn..." She said softly as she entered his house, the one place she had called home once upon a time. She got worried as she saw one shoe at the door, the other thrown across the room, with broken shards of glass around it; the mirror no longer reflecting. She looked at the numerous amounts of emptied liquor bottles and silently prayed he was alright. Walking upstairs, the halls were dark and cold. Slowly opening his bedroom door, she saw him spread out across his bed, a bottle in hand, a note beside him and his face buried in the pillow. Softly rubbing his back, she picked up the messily folded note addressed to her.

'My dearest love, Sophie,

There will never be enough time or words in this world to allow me to tell you how much I love you. From the moment I met you, 7 years ago, to this day, my very last, I will always and forever think of you as my one true love.'

She paused as she looked mortified. '...to this day, my very last...' Frantically, she tried to shake him awake when she realized he wasn't breathing.

"Zayn? Zayn?! ZAYN?!" She screamed feverishly as she desperately tried to get him to move, or talk or something to show he was still alive. Tearfully, she rolled him over and looked at his face, the warmth and life drained from his beautiful face. "Zayn...no...please no...Zayn..." She cried hysterically as she buried her head into his motionless chest, her tears soaking into his shirt. She cuddled into his lifeless form, never wanting him to let go, but sadly he had let go a long time ago and never regained his footing. Sniffling, she picked up the letter and read the rest of it.

'Now I wasn't going to go without giving you a rightful goodbye, because after all we've been through, I still love you more than I ever have before. You've always been there for me, the one who held my heart safe and secure right beside yours. I never went an hour without a thought of you on my mind, and now I die with your memory with me forever.

Always and forever will I love you, and I hope one day to see your face once again. I long for the day that we can be together, the day where I can kiss your soft lips and hold you tight never ever letting go again. A brand new start. But until then, I will watch over you, making sure you're safe and sound, never letting anyone hurt you.

I hope you're happy, and I will forever be with you. Please, never forget me, and I'm sorry for everything. I never wanted to hurt you, that's why I hurt myself.

Eternally yours, I love you more than life itself therefore my reasoning for doing this,

Zayn Malik, x.'

She put the letter away as she cried into his chest, hoping for him to come back to her. Her jaw ached and quivered as her eyes grew red and swollen as she cried for hours in his arms. She kept mumbling how it was her fault and she'd join him soon, because life without him was just too unbearable.

Dabbing at her eyes, she watched as his body was lowered to the ground and she was the last one to gently place a bouquet of white flowers onto his casket. Stepping aside, people comforted and consoled her but no one would ever be able to take away the pain she had caused Zayn or herself. No one.

She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away his memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees
We found her with her face down in the pillow
Clinging to his picture for dear life
We laid her next to him beneath the willow
While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby

Weeks had passed and she couldn't hang on any more. Grabbing the bottle, she went up to her bed as she cried her final tears and soon felt her life wash out of her, a new one filling her as she saw Zayn and ran into his open arms.

Picking her up, they captured one another’s lips and never again let go of each other. Smiling, they walked hand in hand before disappearing through the white light.