Hidden Beneath Brown Eyes (A Zayn Malik Fanfiction)

Chapter 67 - Explanations

Doniya didn't seem to realize the effect that her question had on me and her brother, and as good as Zayn was at keeping himself in check, this time would prove a challenge even for him. It wasn't often that we were asked about each other at all, so I think it's safe to say that this was the first time we'd ever been outright asked why we weren't together. 

Doniya's words continued to echo throughout the living room, haunting me and the man who sat beside me. If we were being honest, I don't think either of us had ever seriously thought about why weren't together. It's just the way things were, and I think that we both just blindly accepted it. Even now, I couldn't bring myself to search for an answer to his sister's question. 

"Uhm." I moaned out awkwardly, almost unaware that I'd even opened my mouth at all. I probably looked like a dufus, and I sure as hell felt like one too. I had been completely blindsided by her question, and there was no hiding that.

"Doniya! That's not a polite question to ask!" Mrs. Malik snapped at her eldest daughter. I put on a sympathetic face for Doniya, but secretly, I just wanted to run up and throw my arms around Zayn's mother. She was my saving grace.

"No, mum. It's fine. Perfectly reasonable question." Zayn said in defense of his sister, his tone devoid of any real emotion. I would have said that he was calm, but even that seemed to be absent in him at the moment.

As Zayn's voice set in my mind, I couldn't help myself but to whip around and stare, wide-eyed at him. I was absolutely horrified and angry that he was condoning this question. I didn't think it was a question that either of us had an answer to, nor did I think we wanted to have to come up with one on the spot.

As I stared at him, he glanced down at me from the corner of his eye, one eyebrow cocked up. He appeared far too comfortable with this situation that we now found ourselves in, and the way his expression lacked any animation made me want to smack him. He looked about as human as a statue. He wasn't at all bothered by this, and something about the way his lips suddenly twitched upwards gave me an uneasy feeling.

"So, why aren't we together, dear?" He spoke the last word in the most sarcastically sweet tone, while a smug grin appeared on his face. His mother must not have caught on, because while her daughters were trying to conceal their giggles, Mrs. Malik looked at us with a hopeful smile.

I narrowed my eyes at Zayn, shooting daggers through him with my piercing gaze, but he was up for the challenge and continued to stare right back at me with just as much intensity. We were playing a dangerous game, and he knew he'd win. He knew that I couldn't go off on him in front of his family, and that I was too much of a people pleaser to respectfully decline their request for an answer. He knew exactly what he was doing, and it pissed me off to no end.

Realizing that I had nowhere to run and literally no time to come up with an excuse to get me out of this, I gave Zayn one last menacing glare, and turned back towards his family with the fakest smile plastered on my face. 

"Well, uhm." I mumbled, straining to keep my head up, and racking my brain for words. "To be completely honest, I don't really know. I mean, at one time it could have been something, but I guess, sometimes things just don't work out." I explained, my voice slightly quivering.

I don't know why I was so nervous. I'd spoken the truth. I'd actually given the truth. Or at least, I thought I had. 

Zayn's family stared at me, their expressions all unreadable. I didn't know if my answer had sufficed, and I was absolutely terrified of the possibility that they may not accept my answer. I was hoping that they would just drop the subject, but when have I ever been so lucky?

"But, you have a son together. That must mean something." Safaa pleaded, her eyes filled with hope and anticipation. 

It was then that I remembered Zayn telling me that Safaa never knew of me and his affair. She hadn't been home during that last blowout between him and his family, and he had begged them to never tell her. Although, it's not like she was a little girl. She was sixteen by now, and I'm sure that with Jack's age, she could put two and two together. But, then again, who knows what story they told her to prevent her brother's image from being tainted in her mind.