Niall's POV
It was around one in the morning when I heard the faint cries of a baby through the thin walls of my flat. I sat up in bed and debated if I should go see if Zayn needed anything. The crying didn't die down after two minutes, so I got out of bed and walked over to the other room. I knocked, then I poked my head in to see Zayn was pouring water from a water bottle into a baby bottle that looked like it had formula in it. I went over and picked up Laila and held her while Zayn made the bottle.
"I hope she didn't wake you. I didn't know where the bathroom was for water." Zayn told me sleepily. He gave the bottle a good couple of shakes then came over to me. I took the bottle and put it in Laila's mouth. She stopped crying and latched on the the bottle. Zayn went and sat back on the bed so I went to sit next to him. He rubbed his eyes and messed up his already messed up hair.
"You can go back to sleep. I've got her." I whispered to him. He shook his head, so I knew there was no point in forcing him to do anything. He's an over protective, stubborn man. However, I don't really mind that too much because it shows just how much his little girl means to him. Both of us sat back on the bed while Laila ate. I looked at the little girl I'm my arms and looked over her features. She was sleeping as she ate, but I could pick out a few things that looked like Zayn. Her eye shape, her hair, her skin color all belonged to him. Her cheeks did too in the way they were cubby but I could still see her unique cheek bones. Her nose wasn't his and her lips weren't like his either.
"I don't mean to ask if it's not my place, but where is her mother?" I asked Zayn quietly. I looked at him and saw his tired brown eyes were looking down at the tattoo on his hand that covered the whole back of it.
"She didn't want anything to do with Laila after she was born. She didn't hold her after she gave birth to her. She drank and smoked when she was pregnant, which is why Laila was so small. I took full custody of her instead of her going up for adoption." Zayn told me sadly. Laila finished her bottle and burped on her own. I put her back in her bed then sat back down on the bed with Zayn.
"Well Laila only deserves the best and her mother wasn't the best so it's better she's not in her life. The same goes for you. Laila is the best thing in your life, so you both deserve each other." I told Zayn. He smiled at me like he was really wanting to believe that, but I saw he wasn't going to. He had been damaged in a way that I've seen too often at the shelter. It's mostly women that have been left by their husbands. They could care less about the man leaving them, it's the fact he left their children that hurts them the most. It breaks their hearts in a way that will never be mended. They hurt for their children because they don't understand. That hurt tears down confidence and self esteem for the parent before it will ever do that for their child. I've seen it too much, but it actually caused me pain when I see it in Zayn.
"Perrie and I never dated. We got together once and made a baby. After that, she hinted she wanted a relationship then she found out she was pregnant and wanted nothing to do with me. When Laila was born, I was stupid enough to tell Perrie we could make it work and I wanted to have a family with her. It's funny that over three weeks I've aged in common sense ten years more than I was then." Zayn told me. The name he mentioned made me sit up straighter and look at him. I remember the name from that waiter at the restaurant.
"Perrie is the woman the waiter asked me if I knew her or was related to her. He said he had some business to take care of with her or something." I said quickly. Zayn looked at me like I had gone crazy, which I definitely have not. Then a look of slow realization crossed his face.
"Louis Tomlinson was your waiter I'm guessing at some point at the Little Italiano place." He pointed out to me. I nodded and scoot closer to Zayn like a child wanting to hear a story. That whole situation had been bothering me since it happened and I wanted to know the answers to it. Zayn slipped under the blankets and laid back on the bed. I moved closer to him until he finally just lifted the blankets for me to get in next to him.
"Louis has been my best friend since birth. He's older than me just by a little, but he's always wanted to fight all my battles. I'm not surprised he wanted to fight this one for me as well. I noticed lately he's had his eye out on hating everything with blonde hair and blue eyes. That's how Perrie looked, so don't take it personally. He's just a little on the crazy side recently because I've been... Well, the baby blues is a thing for everyone I think." Zayn chuckled to me, but it was forced. It registered in my head that that man that seems to be doing fine as a single father isn't doing well at all. He needs rest and food and to know he has help. Without that, that could be a first class ticket to depression. I saw that with my sister in law and I'm seeing it here too. Granted she had hormonal problems too after giving birth like any mother, but it was the stress of it that really triggered her postpartum depression.
"You sleep and I'll get up with her for her next feeding." I told him. I reached over and turned off the light, then started to get out of the bed so I could make a bed on the floor or something. Zayn, however, gently gripped my wrist and held me in place on the bed. With the light coming from the window I saw his sleepy eyes looking at me.
"You can stay here..." He said, but I heard how hard that was for him to get out without falling asleep. I nodded and got back under the blankets. Zayn's eyes closed the second I was laying down and I knew that was all that it took for him to fall asleep. I looked at him for a while just because he kind of in captured me in a way to want to look at him. He was gorgeous, even with his black bags under his eyes and the thinness of his body.
I only looked at him for a few minutes until my own sleepiness came over me. It wasn't a deep sleep I usually get or anything like that, it was just one where I got enough rest but was very aware of my surroundings. One of those surrounds woke me up at three in the morning with little cries. I jumped out of bed and went over to Laila. Zayn moved in his sleep a little like he knew she was awake, but she stopped crying the second I was holding her. I got a bottle that I guess Zayn had already made and popped it in her mouth.
"Let your daddy sleep. He works too hard and needs some." I whispered to the little girl. I still find it amazing that anytime I look at her or hold her that I'm still mesmerized with how perfect she is. I went and sat back in bed and placed her on my lap. One of her tiny little hands gripped on to my finger as well as my heart. Hearing what Zayn has gone through with her makes it feel like I want to hold her that much tighter just so she knows she has all the love in the world.
She finished eating so I put her back to bed and laid back down with Zayn. I only closed my eyes for a minute then was startled when Zayn's arm landed on my waist as he rolled over in bed. My heart fluttered and my cheeks blushed. I wasn't sure if I should move him, but the way his fingers curled around my waist I knew it would wake him up. I just closed my eyes again and tried to get some sleep.
Laila started whining at six in the morning. Both Zayn and I opened our eyes only to see how close we were. I knew that a few hours ago he had curled up to me with no problem in his sleep and I didn't really care, but now I think he's realizing what he had done. Zayn rolled over and sat up, but I got out of bed first to get to the little girl. I felt my cheeks were hot with embarrassment. Zayn was just sitting there with his hands nervously running over his face hand his hair. I got Laila out of bed and got another bottle to give to her.
"Thanks for tending her. Sorry about, uh, turning into a human koala. That's an embarrassing thing that I do in my sleep and now you know about it." Zayn rambled to me nervously. I giggled at him and sat next to him because suddenly it didn't feel so awkward. Granted, he's a straight man with a child and I bearly know him and just cuddled up to me like it was supposed to be that way, but it wasn't awkward anymore. I've never really shared a bed with someone that wasn't my brother and have them hold him like that. I've never properly snogged anyone either, but that's a different story. This situation suddenly felt fine because I realized it was just a Zayn thing to do.
"It's okay. When me and my brother went up to our grandparents house when we were younger and stayed there for the summer, I would always end up trying to use him as a human pillow. Of course, he would just kick me off him to the floor and leave me there." I told him. He laughed which caused Laila to open her eyes to look for the sound. She even stopped sucking her bottle to look for it. Zayn moved closer to me and touched her cheek softly before she went back to eating.
Zayn's phone started vibrating softly on the bed side table so I reached over and answered it. He talked in short sentences and listened allot. I just watched him because something about the way he looked when he was really listening kind of interested me. He sighed happily and ended the call after a few minutes on the phone.
"There's too much snow so work is canceled for the day. I guess Laila and I will both get out of your hair so you can go to work and the shelter." Zayn offered to me. I shook my head smiled at him. I knew that I didn't have to do anything today. Plus, it's dangerous to drive so I didn't want them going anywhere.
"I can call in at the grocery store because of weather conditions and Anne and Robin are the ones that have huge trucks to get through snow easily to work the shelter. You bot can stay here for the day." I said. Zayn shook his head, but when he looked down at his daughter he must have realized that being safe was better than being stubborn.
Laila fell asleep in my arms eating so I place her back in her bed and went to get my own phone to call in for work and sent Anne a text. Once that was all through I went back into the other room only to find Zayn laying back down in bed dozing off. I turned off the light and climbed into the bed next to him. He rolled over and opened his eyes to look at me. It was a soft look and a very sleepy one too.
"Can I...?" He whispered to me, but trailed off before he could finish the question. I knew what he ment so I scoot closer to him. His hands pulled he in like I weighed nothing and he situated my body so his cheek was rested in my head. My arms wrapped around his too thin waist and my head was rested between the pillow and his shoulder. It was nice to feel this as strange and sudden as it was. It just felt right and in a way it felt like I had been missing this for years but never noticed until now.
A/N: yay an update! I'm doing a little better. I've cried allot, but I'm eating again and today I got outside to release some balloons with his sister. I hope you liked this! If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?!?!??! Comment / Vote!
- Bri;)