"Mum, Dad! I'm home!" I called, entering the house. It was a Friday afternoon, and I'd just finished up with school for the week. It also meant I had dinner with Skai, which I was dreading.
"Hi, honey. We're in the living room!" Mum cried. I followed her voice into that exact to see her, my father, and a guest I least expected.
"Steph?! What are you doing here?" I gasped, running over to wrap her in my arms.
"I... well... it's a long story. Turns out me and Bobby will be staying here for a little while," she smiled, though it was filled with sadness.
"What? Why?" Steph was my older sister. She'd moved out when she turned eighteen - which was four years ago - when she got pregnant with her son, Bobby. She lived with her boyfriend, Michael (Bobby's father), since they'd been together for years before.
"Well, Michael and I are taking a break. Not permanently, just... for a couple weeks or so. I think we both just need some time away from each other," Steph explained.
"Ah, right. I'm sorry, but at least it means I'll get to see you way more often," I shrugged.
"Yes! I miss spending time with my baby bro. How are you, anyways?"
"I'm aight. Not dead, yet," I joked.
"Good. You still got a girlfriend? What was her name again... Grace?"
"Nah, I broke things off with her. She was a bitch."
"Zakary, watch your language," Dad sterned.
"Whatever, anyways I'm with a lass called Skai now. She's nice," I said.
"You don't seem too interested. Is she a bitch too? 'Coz if so imma go to her house and squeeze her 'til she pops." Steph acted out the scene by clenching her fist between one another. She's a sweet sister, always looking out for me even if she is a bit morbid at times.
"No, no, she's nice. In fact, I'm going out for dinner with her tonight. Mum, can you drive me?" I asked.
"I will!" Steph volunteered. "It'll give us some time to catch up."
"Okie dokey. I need to be there for six thirty."
"Fine by me." I heard the light patter of dainty feet potter into the living room.
"Uncle Zakky!" Bobby cried, lifting up his arm to show me he wanted to cuddle.
"Hey, little dude! How's my favourite nephew?" I cooed, tickling his belly gently.
"I am good. Mama said you would play with me in the garden!"
"I have an even better idea. How about we go to the park and I get you an ice cream?" I suggested.
"Yay! Can we play on the swings?" The four-year-old giggled.
"Of course. Go and get your shoes on and we can get going." He tottered off to the front door to slide on a pair of welly boots with Spiderman printed on the side. He looked so much like my sister. His dark brown hair (similar to mine) hung like a curly mop upon his head, with blue eyes and dimples on his cheeks. Steph, too, had blue eyes and dark hair with dimples, though Bobby got his curly hair more from his father.
I never really liked Michael, if I'm completely honest. That might be my over-protective brotherly nature talking, but he always seemed sketchy. He always wore a Nike tracksuit that fit him loosely and a hood pulled over his head. No offense to the guy, but he kind of looked like a druggie (which he probably was) with dark bags under his dull green eyes and an unusually thin face. In comparison to Steph, he looked like he'd been found in a gutter somewhere.
"Can we go now, Zakky?" Bobby pouted, tugging at the seam of my school jumper.
"Alright, c'mon." I scooped him into my fairly broad arms and carried him out the door. "Bye, guys!" I called.
"Bye, Zak, bye, Bobby!" My family answered in unison.
Bobby and I walked to the park, hand-in-hand. He was mumbling something about what he ate for breakfast when we arrived. "Uncle Zakky, can I go on the slide first?"
"Uh huh. C'mon, Bobby, this way." I led him over to the younger children's section of the playground. Kids ran around screaming hysterically. Bobby seemed to shy away when he noticed how busy it was, his grip on my hands tightening.
I lifted him up to the top of the slide, sitting him down there. "Ready? One, two, three, GO!" I hollered, pushing him down carefully.
"Weeeee!" He cried. His hands were stretched in the air as he descended, landing graciously at the bottom. "Again, again, Zakky!" Once again, I set him back down at the peak of the slide and pushed him off.
I think he was enjoying it a slight bit too much, as he began choking on his own laughter. "Alright, alright, Bobby. What do you wanna do now?"
"Erm... swings, swings!" Bobby demanded.
"Okay, let's go." We wandered over to the swingset not too far away from the slide. A girl, probably younger than Bobby, was already there, pumping her legs back and forth with the help of her mother. Bobby took the swing next to her and looked at me with wide eyes.
"Push! Push!" He pouted.
"Oh, alright," I sighed. I stepped behind the boy and helped him to start swinging back and forth. The girl beside Bobby's mother kept stealing glances at me curiously. When I caught her gaze, she simply sneered at me.
"Excuse me, is there a problem?" I scoffed at her. I certainly wasn't one to let some hormonal hag think that she was any more superior than me, even if I caused trouble unnecessarily.
"No, besides the fact that you're far too young to be a father, especially to a boy that age," she snorted.
"Oh, I see, and therefore I'm not allowed to give him a decent childhood just because I'm young?" I tutted. I wasn't going to tell her that Bobby wasn't mine just yet, not before standing my ground, at least.
"You shouldn't have a child. You're a teenager. You're not capable of caring for a child."
"And what do you think I've been doing for the past three years?" I had to exaggerate Bobby's age, because otherwise I'd have been thirteen when he was born which was slightly less believable.
"I'm simply just stating that you are far too young to be a father. You're not even out of school yet," she sneered, nodding at my uniform.
"And that's any of your business because...?"
"It's my business because I care for my own children and I know that I would never be able to handle it at your age."
"Well, then, I guess it's a good thing that he's my nephew, not my son. See ya' around!" I chuckled, taking Bobby along with me to the ice cream truck parked outside the gates. The look on her face was priceless; pure shock. She was a bitch to me, but two can play at that game. Twat.
I got Bobby an orange flavoured ice lolly and sat on a bench besides him. "Is it good?" I asked.
"Yes, Zakky. Can we play with my broom broom cars when we get home?" He requested.
"Sorry, bud. I have to get ready to go out with my girlfriend. Maybe tomorrow," I sighed.
"Aww, okay, Zakky. I finished my lolly." He waved the wooden stick remaining in front of my face, a sticky orange goo smeared over his lips and his chin.
"Okay, let's go home then and get you cleaned up, you messy pup," I chuckled.
"Can't we stay a little bit longer?" He huffed.
"No, sorry, Bobby, I'm gonna be late for my date if we stay any longer."
"Aw, will Mummy be home?"
"Yeah, probably," I said, scooping him up and carrying him off in the direction of my house.
"Will Daddy?"
Oh God, how am I meant to explain to a four-year-old that he probably won't see his father for quite some time? I didn't want to break his delicate heart.
"Um... no, I don't think he will, little man." It hurt me more than it probably should telling him that. Michael wasn't going to visit, and that was a fact. He's too self-absorbed to even notice his son exists half the time.
"Oh. Daddy never plays with me at home. He says he will but he never does, and Mama is always too busy to play. But I like playing with you, Uncle Zakky, you're much more fun," he muttered.
"Thank you, Bobby, but you're mum loves you lots. She wants to play with you but she needs to work to get money to buy you treats like ice lollies," I explained.
"Oh, okay. My mama is a good mama. She looks after me well."
"I know she does. I love her too."
"Alright, here we are," Steph announced, pulling the car to a hault outside the restaurant.
"Thanks for the ride, Steph," I smiled.
"No problemo, mi hermano. Do you want a lift back?"
"Yeah, if that's okay."
"It's fine. What time?" She asked.
"Um... I'd say around eight," I replied.
"Great. Have fun!" I took a step onto the pavement beside the car.
"I will, bye!"
"Bye, good luck!" I slammed the car door shut, before making my way into the restaurant.
Immediately, Skai waved me down from a table in the middle of the room. "I'm with her," I said to the server, pointing at my hysterical girlfriend. He nodded, before I wandered over to the table that my girlfriend occupied.
"Hey, babe," I smiled fakely.
"Hi, muffin. You look very handsome," she grinned.
"Thanks, you look stunning as always," I said, leaning down to kiss her softly on the lips. I took a seat opposite her, pulling a menu out from the rack in between us.
"Have you ordered yet?"
"No, I was waiting for you, honey."
"Sorry, am I late?"
"Nope, I was just REALLY early. It doesn't matter, though, I just filled up on Diet Coke," she chuckled lowly.
"Well sorry to keep you waiting, anyhow. What are you gonna get?" I asked.
"Pizza. You?"
"I dunno, maybe a burger. Oh, you'll never guess what," I chirped.
"What, babycakes?"
"My sister and my nephew are coming to live with us for a little while. Steph's broken up with her boyfriend so she needed a place to stay for a little while."
"Aw, I guess it's cool you'll get to see them more often."
"Yeah, it is. I took Bobby to the park after school," I stated.
"Nice, have fun?"
"Yeah, except one of the big-mouthed mothers went along and assumed that Bobby was my kid and gave me a load of mouth about how I was too young to be a parent," I scoffed.
"What a bitch! I swear, if she ever tells my boo off again, I'll throttle her. No one tells my baby off except me," she gasped.
"It's fine. I shot it right back at her so whatever."
"Yeah, erm... Zak, I need to tell you something..."