Musician Zayn Malik has broken his silence following the death of his bandmate Liam Payne.
Payne fell from the third-storey balcony of his CasaSur Palermo Hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina, recently.
In a touching post to social media about his friend, the singer who worked with Payne on One Direction, an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010, claimed his late friend was a better musician.
“Liam, I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me. I can’t help but think selfishly that there were so many more conversations for us to have in our lives. I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life,” he wrote.
He said his wish is to give his late friend a hug one last time and say goodbye to him properly.
I secretly respected you
“You would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and that I was loved. Even though you were younger than me, you were always more sensible than me; you were headstrong and opinionated.
“Even though we butted heads because of this a few times, I always secretly respected you for it. When it came to the music, Liam, you were the most qualified in every sense. I knew nothing in comparison; I was a novice child with no experience and you were already a professional.”
He added that he lost not only a friend but a brother.
“I lost a brother when you left us. I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever; there are no words that justify or explain how I feel right now other than beyond devastated.
He said he hopes that wherever Liam is right now, he is good and at peace. “… you know how loved you are.”
The news of Liam’s passing broke on Thursday.
Unknown if he fell or jumped
According to reports, an autopsy performed a few hours later determined that he died from falling out of a window and that there was no sign of anyone else being involved.
It is not clear whether Payne jumped or fell accidentally.
The autopsy report indicated that he died of “multiple trauma” and “internal and external bleeding” in the skull, chest, abdomen and limbs.
According to authorities, Payne may have lost consciousness after the fall because of the position his body was found in and the 25 injuries he received.
