We spent days in the hospital and I refused to eat what thy gave me until they forced it down my throat. I was weak and uninterested. As was Ashton, but he ate what I wouldn't. He didn't think starving was the best way to go, he was more of a "going out with a bang" kind of guy.

No one familiar came into the room to talk to us. Only the nurses came in and took care of us. I don't even think that the doctor came in to see us. I was so drugged up that I didn't need to move and I slowly felt my muscles become mush as I remained in bed for days.

A week passed by and we weren't told anything about what was going on. My leg was doing better, but I still couldn't walk on it. They almost forced a catheter on me, but that was the last thing I wanted.

"Things will go smoothly if you just cooperate." One nurse told me. Ashton was passed out on the other bad. He was given something to keep him numb and unresponsive to the world.

"I-I refuse." I argued with the nurse. I tried to move out of her way, but it didn't work so well. Not like I was going anywhere. I had a shot up leg that was so fragile that even a step would shatter my bones. "You're better off killing me right here than getting me to cooperate with whatever Liam is planning."

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Mr. Payne?" The nurse and I both looked up to see Liam standing in the doorway. He was sporting a pretty heavy black eye and has a cane at his side, telling me that his leg was hurt. "Leave the room." He nodded at the nurse. She left quickly, leaving just the three of us, Ashton of course was the third, in the room together. "You've caused me a lot of trouble, Niall." Liam slowly made his way over to my bed. Once he was there, he slid his hand over the skin of my arm. Too close for comfort, I would say.

I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to egg him on.

"Nothing to say back? Have you lost your fighting spirit?" He squeezed my arm and then stood back. "Such a shame really. Zayn, you know."

I couldn't keep quiet any longer. "What did you do to him!?" I yelled, biting back tears. "I swear if anything happened to him I'll-" Would I kill him?

"That's what I was looking for!" Liam grinned. "That fire in your eyes. That passion. I used to see it when you rode me all night long. It's been far too long, Niall." Liam chuckled. "But don't worry about your precious Zayn. He's long gone by now, running off with his tail between his legs."

"He's not-" Liam said nothing about killing him. And I knew Zayn wouldn't just run off and never come back. He had sacrificed so much to keep me at his side, there was no way he was giving up now.

"No, I didn't kill him." Liam rolled his eyes. "Why kill the guy? When I can take everything from him and then kill him. It's much more fun that way." Liam let out this dark chuckle that chilled me to the bone. "I'm not here to talk about him, though. I'm here for you."

"Bite me." I ground my teeth together. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Ashton stir in bed. His medication must have been wearing off.

"Oh, I wish I could right now." Liam leaned down to me and grabbed my neck in a chokehold. I panicked, eyes wide and waiting for what was next. "But unfortunately, you need your rest because tomorrow we're going somewhere."

He never told me where and I bet that I wouldn't even know until I got there. I was worried that he was just taking me and not Ashton. But then again, he did keep Ashton alive, so there was some use for him yet.

When Liam left the room it was silent for a while. Ashton was still in a haze of pain medication. If we were separated I knew it would be the end of him. Hell, it would be the end of me, because right now Ashton was my only protection, even if he was still bedridden from being stabbed in the back. At least he had my back.

I can't even laugh at my own puns.

A few hours passed until Ashton was sitting upright and rubbing his eyes. "They did it again, didn't they?" He asked. I nodded. "Those bastards really know how to knock someone out." He rubbed his neck next and a hiss of pain escaped his lips.

"Does your back still hurt?"

"Does your leg hurt?"

Okay, it was a stupid question to ask.

"What did the rat say?" Ashton asked about Liam. I told him about Liam's general creepiness and then about how we were being moved the next day. "I see." Ashton stared down at his hands and then I watched as he clenched them into fists. "I promised Zayn that I would keep you safe if anything were to happen to him." Ashton looked over at me with his look of understanding. "I know what kind of hell this life can give you. I've been there. Done that. Zayn showed me the way and I'm sure he will do the same for you. So it's my job to get you back to him and get rid of this Liam guy."

"That'll be a tough job." I lightly chuckled, trying to lift myself up from the bed, but my bulky leg was most of my problem. "Dammit. Sometimes I just think that they put me in this big cast to keep me from moving around." I wasn't sure if any of the two bullets hit the bone in my leg or not. It sure felt like it though, but I still thought the cast was a little overboard. "Can I ask you a question?" A sudden urge hit me. I remembered something that Liam had said to Zayn back at the house more than a week ago.

"You, of all people should know that lowlifes like Niall here are meant to be owned and controlled."

"I bet you have a lot of questions. And no, I don't know the meaning of life." Ashton shrugged, breathing deeply in and out as he did so. "Go on. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

"Liam said some things about Zayn..." I treaded carefully.

"You owned people yourself. Gave them out like prizes to your business partners. Kids like Niall himself. You didn't care then, so why care now. Think of this as a business transaction."

"He used to..." I bit my lip. I couldn't see Zayn being that type of person. "...own people. Like he was a pimp." It was sickening to think and if it were true. I realized it then that Zayn was keeping his past from me for a good reason.

"He was." Ashton told me straight. "A big wig too. Only until a few years ago. His dad was the boss before him." I watched as Ashton physically looked away from me and caved into his own world. "It was brutal working for Yasir Malik, Zayn's old man. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was terrified of him. He was an omnipotent man."

"A-And Zayn took over?"

"He jumped at the chance."

I gulped. That wasn't the Zayn I knew. Or, did I know Zayn enough to know that? "But Zayn- He's not like that. He would never." My vision of Zayn was twisting with each passing thought.

"Well, he did. And Liam wasn't too ecstatic about it. Thought the old man would give it all over to him."

"Liam?"

"Yeah, the two were partners in crime, but in the end the old man gave everything to Zayn. Liam was pissed. I remember that night when everything went to hell. There was this kid, a couple years older than you, almost around my age, Liam beat the s.hit out of him. He was keeping his head held high for the most part, I'm not sure what happened to him after that. Zayn kept doing his own thing and doing whatever he wanted. He was actually running the whole thing Liam went off and did some things that Zayn didn't think were classy. As if prostitution was ever classy." Ashton huffed.

"W-Was Zayn..." I couldn't find a way to word it. "Was he like Liam is now?" Harsh. Evil. A terror. If he was back then, then what if he still was and putting on this show?

"The thing is. He was at first, to show that he was boss after his dad died. But after a few months he wanted things to change and Liam wasn't ready for the change. Zayn was the one who got me out. Along with a lot of other people. He would buy up everyone he could and get them out of the country. He even took some of Liam's... erm.... property and got them out. I think he was trying the same thing with you, but you're underage so he couldn't get you out of the country without proper documentation."

"And I think that's why Liam wants you so bad. He's had a lot taken from him from Zayn and I think you're his revenge." Ashton continued. "Which makes the situation so dangerous.

This was all so much. Zayn being a prostitution ring leader. Him and Liam working together. Him buying other people and getting them out of that life. Him doing the same for me. "I'm the same then. Like all of the others he got out." I could feel my eyes welling up with tears, ready to burst from the rims. "I'm just like them." I don't know why it felt so sad to know that. Maybe I thought I was special? That I had intrigued Zayn so much, that he loved me so much that he wanted me free. But whose to say he didn't act the same with the others.

"You're not like them." Ashton spoke in an assertive tone. "You are so much more to him and I can tell. Just from experience. That guy's got it good for you. He really does love you."

I let my tears fall. "I-I don't know how to be loved, though. I just- I don't-"

"Well, It's time you figured it out." Ashton grumbled. "I swear. Kids these days."

A/N: I'm planning on at least 50 Chapters for this story. So you still have me for a while more. Also, you finally get a look into Zayn and Liam's past. Crazy-Craze. I hoped you liked the chapter. I enjoyed writing this very much. 

Here's another question for you guys, how old are you all? I'm 21. 

Much Love

Jachxx