Daisy's Daycare 🧸 Zouis {COMPLETED}

CHAPTER 6

📞🚫 Mom 5:22 AM

Zayn stares at his phone, blinking a few times, but the missed call on the screen never goes away. He hasn't spoken to his mom since he got here, and he didn't think he'd talk to her anytime soon.

He debates calling her back, but he doesn't know if he's ready for that, so he just sets his phone down. He looks across the room at Niall who is sleeping soundly. He wishes he could give the boy a better life.

He doesn't have to get Niall to daycare because it's Saturday, so he debates going back to bed. He isn't really tired anymore though, so he sits up. Mornings are hard for Zayn sometimes because everyday when he wakes up, the first thing he thinks about is how much he wishes things were different for him and Niall.

Seeing Niall sleeping next to him helps, but it doesn't take away his worries completely. He grabs his phone off the nightstand and turns it on. There's a voicemail from his mom, but he doesn't want to listen to it right now. He pulls up Louis' contact.

The two have gotten pretty close over the past weeks, and Zayn would consider them to be good friends now. He doesn't want to bug Louis or seem too clingy, but he feels like talking to someone, so he decides to text him.

To: Louis
You up?

Louis doesn't respond right away, and Zayn starts to regret his decision, maybe he is sleeping? Zayn feels bad for bothering him.

From: Louis
Am now. What's up?

To: Louis
Did I wake you up? I'm sorry.

From: Louis
Don't be. Everything alright?

Zayn thinks about the question for a moment. Is everything alright? He doesn't want to bother Louis anymore, but he also wants to talk. He hesitates before sending another text.

To: Louis
Kinda. Just felt like talking. You can go back to sleep if you want.

From: Louis
Talk to me.

Zayn hesitates again, sighing as he types out a response. He hopes he isn't being overbearing, but Louis did say he could talk to him when he needed to.

To: Louis
Are you busy?

Zayn holds his breath.

From: Louis
No. You want to come over?

He breathes out.

To: Louis
It's early, I don't want to wake Niall up. Maybe you could come over here...?

From: Louis
Sure. I'll tell Lottie I'll be gone for a bit. What's your address?

Zayn texts Louis his address, and paces back and forth while he waits for him. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. What if Louis judges his apartment? It's a one bedroom apartment, and it is far from nice, but it's the best he could afford.

He knows Louis won't do that though, he knows that Louis has never judged him, even with his circumstances.

Louis arrives about ten minutes later, quicker than Zayn had expected him too. When Zayn answers the door, Louis is standing there with his hair messed up like he hadn't even bothered to fix it before coming over.

"Are you ok?-"

Zayn hugs Louis. Louis feels his face burning, and he's a little surprised, but he doesn't mind. He doesn't respond for a moment, but then he wraps his arms around Zayn.

They stay like that for a few seconds. Louis hopes that Zayn can't feel the way his heart is pounding. He almost wishes this could last forever.

Zayn pulls away and coughs. He moves to the side, gesturing for Louis to come inside. "You can have a seat," he tells Louis, motioning to the couch. "You want anything to drink?"

"I'm ok," Louis says sitting on the couch and Zayn sits beside him. Louis turns to him and he can see that Zayn is stressed. "You ready to talk?"

Zayn hums and fiddles with his fingers a bit. "My mom called this morning. I don't know what she wanted, and I don't even know if I want to know. I miss my family a lot," Zayn says. "I know moving was the best thing for Niall, but it's been really hard."

Louis doesn't say anything, just nodding so Zayn knows he's listening. "Things weren't going to change if we stayed there." Zayn rubs his forehead, feeling the tears starting to well up, and he doesn't want to cry in front of Louis.

"I just feel like it's all my fault. Niall would be better off with someone else, but I  just kept telling myself that I could take care of him, I love him, I do. But I'm not sure if I'm doing enough for him," Zayn feels like a baby, crying in front of Louis, but he can't help it at this point as a tear rolls down his cheek.

"Back then. I was such a stupid kid. My parents didn't do anything to help, letting me do whatever I wanted, sleep at my girlfriend's place whenever," Zayn's voice is trembling.

"We used protection most of the time. But there were those few times... She told me it didn't matter, that it would be fine. And I was dumb enough to believe her," Zayn sniffs. He feels dumb, acting like his life is so hard when everything that happened was his fault.

"Things with Niall's mother, they weren't serious. Or at least they weren't supposed to be. But after Niall was born, I tried to make things work. I wanted us to be a family." Zayn feels like he's over sharing at this point, but now it's all coming out and he can't stop it.

"Niall's mother resented me for getting her pregnant, so we fought a lot. The worst thing was she hated Niall even more than she hated me. Eventually, I got sick of it. I figured Niall would be better off if it was just the two of us. So I left. She didn't even fight for him. Just signed over custody like she was washing her hands free of a mistake."

Louis reaches up to brush a tear out of Zayn's face. He doesn't pull it away though, just leaves it there. "It's not your fault, love."

Zayn doesn't know why he leans in, but before he could understand what was happening, he was face to face with Louis, their lips merely an inch apart. He feels his eyes flutter shut as he waits for the kiss.

But the kiss never comes. Instead, Louis pulls him in for another hug. As much as Louis' would love to kiss Zayn, the boy is not in a good state right now, he doesn't know what he wants, and Louis doesn't want to take advantage of the situation.

"Dada?"

Zayn pulls away from Louis and turns to look at a sleepy Niall who had walked into the room. Niall frowns when he sees his dad crying and he runs up to Zayn, reaching for him. Zayn pulls Niall onto his lap. "Dada sad?"

Zayn gives Niall a kiss on the head. "I'm ok now," he tells the boy. Niall wraps his arms around Zayn's neck. "Are you hungry, Niall?"

Niall nods his head and Zayn gets up, setting Niall down. Louis follows Zayn into the kitchen area. "You need some help?"

"Could you get me a plate out of that cupboard?" Zayn asks, pointing to a cupboard next to Louis. Louis hands him the plate. "Thank you."

Louis stays for a few more hours, playing with Niall and talking to Zayn about random stuff. But the whole time, he couldn't get the moment when they almost kissed out of his head.

The thing is Louis thinks he's really starting to fall for Zayn. Hard.