Zayn's POV
"You what?" He what?
"I said...I kind of told Gen that we'd go out with her for her bir-"
"I fucking heard you. I mean," I pinch the bridge of my nose, "why the hell would you tell her that?"
"Because I told you you need to fix this!" He shouts, probably louder than he wanted to. Li looks up again, this time at Louis- almost as if to silently ask why the hell he's talking to her dad like that. I'm wondering the same damn thing.
"And I don't want to fucking fix it- you know that. She can quit for all I care."
"You have to. I told you trust me on this, and I mean it," his blue eyes blaze, burning into mine. "I think you're a dick of course, but you're one of my best friends, Zayn. I wouldn't tell you to do this unless you had to." The door opens suddenly, and both Lou and I (and Li) look up expectantly waiting for whoever it is to come into view.
"Mummy!" Li shouts, but Marley rounds the corner full speed ahead instead, his dinosaur backpack flapping in the wind as he eventually lands in my arms. "Daddy! Guess what!"
I pull him up, so he's sitting on my lap. "What?"
"I gots a gold star today! Miss Leeman gaved me a gold star cause I was being good and listening to her when not everybody was doing dat! So I gots to be da line leader and I gots a- I gots a present from da magic box!" he shouts, one big fucking ball of excitement. He holds up a Cars pencil. I can't stop the smile that spreads out over my face as I peck his forehead and ruffle his hair.
"Awesome, buddy. I'm so proud of you, yeah?" I look up around the room, finding Louis looking at me and Marley like he's lost or something.
"Yeah. I gonna get a gold star everyday!" he yells. "She tolded me to te- to tell you and mummy!"
"I was made for this sh-crap!" Harry announces, walking into the room. "I killed it today. And if I was single, I would have had like twelve dates lined up." I'm guessing his first day went well, no? He immediately takes a seat next to Li on the floor, trying to pull her picture away from her, but she swats at him. And then she offers him a crayon. Weirdo.
"Please, you must mean playdates with the kids," Louis snorts. "Because no one but my looney-toon sister is mental enough to put up with you."
I roll my eyes, as Harry gives Lou some snarky response. "Mum's gonna love that, bud. You wanna call her and tell her?" I say, redirecting my attention back to Mar.
"Yeah!" he says, as I pull out my phone. I knew he'd want to. And okay, I haven't heard from her all day; I know she told me this morning she might leave work early to go see her dad, but I don't know if she actually did.
I hand him the phone after clicking on Charlie's contact. "Hello?" His eyebrows immediately furrow as Charlie answers, I presume. "Mummy, you cryin'? Why you cryin'?"
Fucking shit. I hope nothing happened. "Daddy's here. You wanna talk to daddy?" I reach for the phone, but he continues on. "You seein' grandpa? I gots a gold star and a new pencil today and I gonna show him. And I gonna show you too. I come wid you? Okay. Daddy gonna bring us later? Okay, hold on."
He hands me the phone and I immediately take it. "Babe?" She breaks down on the other end, sobbing something about the doctor and her dad- sobbing so much to the point where I can't really make out what she's saying. "Charlie, calm down. I can't-hold on."
I get up and grab my pack of cigarettes, before heading for the balcony. I don't want the kids to worry, though I can feel their eyes trained on me as I move around the room.
