Zora's eyes roamed the crowd of people surrounding the aircraft. She was dressed in Zaylie's clothes and was holding her bright yellow duffel bag.
She took a deep breath as she looked around, her heartbeat spiking up when she first saw Zachary. "Oh, my God. It's him."
She whispered to herself as she felt tears forming in her eyes.
"Hey, munch!" Zac waved at Zora with a big smile. "Welcome home, Zay!" He exclaimed as Zora ran towards him.
Zora Faith dropped her bag at Zachary's feet and threw herself into her father's arms, feeling love each second.
"Dad! Finally." Zora said as Zac tightly hugged her. Zac laughed and spun Zora around, making the young girl laugh.
"God, I hope you had a horrible time at camp because you're not going back. I missed you too much."
Zac grinned at his daughter as he pulled away from the hug and crouched down to Zora's level, looking at her.
"What happened to you, Zaylie? Something's changed. Are you getting taller?" Zac jokingly asked as he got up from the floor and picked Zoe's bag up.
"So, what's up, dad? How's Lauren and everyone?" Zora asked as they walked hand in hand through the terminal.
Zac smiled at her. "Everybody's great. They can't wait to see you, kiddo. Eight weeks is too long! So much happened, you have no idea."
"A lot's happened to me too, Dad. I feel like I'm practically a new woman!" Zoe smiled and shrugged, earning a chuckle out of Zac.
Zac looked down at Zora as they were walking, a little taken aback by how much the younger girl was staring at him.
"Come on, munch, let's go home."
••
Zora looked at the view as they drove through NYC completely mesmerized. It was a lot different than Atlanta.
She wondered how Zaylie and her mother were getting along, or have they even seen each other yet. She definitely missed her mom.
"Oh, by the way, thanks for all the letters Zaylie, thank God I bought you that personalized stationary you just had to have." Zachary mocked.
Zaylie hadn't mentioned any stationary stuff. She held in a groan and apologetically looked at Zac, "I'm so sorry, dad! We meant to write, but we just.."
Zac frowned. "We?"
Zora's eyes widened. "Oh! I met this girl at camp and we got super close. Practically like sisters!" She nodded happily. "She's a lovely girl."
Zac raised his left eyebrow and let out an incredulous sound. "Lovely girl? When the heck did you get so proper?"
Zac smiled at her to let Zora know that he was joking, he grabbed the girl's hand taking a good look at it.
"You really do gotta stop biting your nails, Zay."
Zora grinned. "I've decided to stop, dad. It's a horrid habit, you know."
Zac laughed, "'Horrid girl', 'Lovely habit'," he glanced at his daughter. "Did I send you to summer camp or summer school?" Zora giggled.
"And why do you keep saying 'dad' at the end of every sentence?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was doing it, dad." Zora said, making Zac laugh. "Sorry, Dad. I just missed you so much. It's been so long since I said Dad."
Zac sweetly smiled at her and looked ahead, pointing to show her they had made it home, making Zora's eyes widen.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God, oh, my God!" She exclaimed, not being able to contain her excitement. It was lovely.
Zachary let out a laugh, "Well, you definitely sound way more like yourself now."
He honked as Marmalade , the pomeranian, chased the car and barked. Zora took the view in, the pictures definitely didn't do the size of the house any justice whatsoever. It was huge.
Lauren Smith waited for them leaning against the door. Her skin glowed in the sun, her hair was up in a bun.
She gave a huge smile as Zora slowly walked out of the car and ran towards the older girl, showcasing her excitement.
"Mini Taylor! Hi!" Lo exclaimed as she picked Zora up and spun her. "You're growing way too fast, Zay. We missed you!"
"Mr.Z, what did you let them give her?" Lauren yelled out and Zachary let out a laugh as him came up as well.
"You hungry Zay?" Zora shrugged, never once dropping her smile. "I made us some tasty nachos! Let's go." Lauren grabbed her hand.
"Why the hell are you so quiet, anyway?" She asked.
Zora shook her head as Lauren pulled her towards the kitchen and Zachary went to place the suitcases on the living room.
"Nothing. I'm just really happy to be home." Lauren hummed. "Something's changed about you, Zay. I can't put my finger on it, but something about you has definitely changed." Zora shrugged.
As if on cue, Marmalade ran over to Zora and started barking. "Hi, Lady!" Zora excitedly exclaimed, being met with more barking.
Lauren quickly frowned. "What's wrong with you, Marmalade? It's just Zay." Lo said as she petted Lady.
"Oh, I probably just smell like camp, that's all." Zora said as she walked away with Lo following right behind her.
Zoe started walking around, observing the entire house. It was huge, bigger than in the pictures. The decoration was modern.
The type of decor that made people gasp. It also had a breathtaking view of a vineyard, making Zora smile.
"Wow, it's even better than the pictures." She whispered. "What was that, Mini Taylor?" Lauren asked.
"Nothing!" Lo suspiciously eyed Zora but nodded.
"Alright, What do you want to do first? Eat? Do you need help unpacking?" Lo asked as she crossed her arms softly smiling at Zoe, standing in front of her.
"You mean I can eat in my room?" Lauren frowned, Zora always ate in her room. "I mean, sure. It's a definite possibility."
Just as they were about to go upstairs, Zac came in the room. "Hey, Zay. When you're done, come down so we can take Betsy and Davy out."
Zora grinned. "Okay sure, dad." Zachary smiled as she walked away. "Okay, Zaylie." Zay giggled and went upstairs, followed by Lauren.
As soon as Zaylie closed the door, Lauren put the bright yellow duffel bag on top of the bed and Lauren started to help unpack.
