Infidelity [Zarry]

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Clink.

Clink. Clink.

Clink.

With each clink Zayn lost a bit more patience.

After their fight last night, Zayn chose not to speak to Louis, and Niall was too busy eating to talk.

So now, the only sound heard at their family breakfast was the clinking of silverware, and Niall's crunching of his cereal.

"Niall, lad I want you to have a good day today, alright?" Louis asked quietly, looking at his son.

Niall lifted his big blue eyes to look at Louis, nodding a little.

"Papa's going to work now." Louis said, getting up.

He couldn't sit here like this any longer.

Sometimes Louis could barely sit anywhere quiet for long, because the guilt began to eat at him.

"I'm working late again." Louis added while facing away from Zayn, putting his plate in the sink.

"That's a surprise." Zayn muttered.

Louis gripped the edge counter, staring forward.

"Yeah, it happens a lot when you have a job." Louis said, prying his hands off the counter.

Zayn's jaw clenched at Louis' cheap shot.

It wasn't Zayn's fault that he was laid off from work.

"You're right. But your job has nothing to do with you working late." Zayn shot back at him, staring at the back of his head.

Niall was watching Zayn, and had stopped eating now.

He knew what his daddy looked like before the yelling started, and this was it.

"Okay," Louis chirped, smiling tightly and turning away from the sink.

"Well, I'm off. Have a lovely day family." He said, his voice oozing false positivity.

Louis kissed Niall's head. "Papa loves you, and if I get home in time I'll read to you tonight, okay?" He asked softly, squeezing Niall's shoulder before he left.

Zayn wanted to scream, but he swallowed the urge and stood up.

"Are you done eating?" He asked Niall, who sank down in his chair and nodded.

Zayn took their dishes to the sink, and Niall hopped down out of his chair.

He looked down at his shoes, seeing that they were untied.

Niall looked back over at his daddy before he crouched down and started trying to tie them.

He didn't know how, but he didn't want to make his daddy any angrier.

Zayn sighed heavily, starting to leave the kitchen until he noticed Niall.

He watched the boy for a moment, feeling himself smile at the sight of Niall's little frown.

Niall eventually looked over at his father's boots, his eyes trailing up his body to his face.

Zayn chuckled. "Come here." He said, holding his hands out.

Niall slowly stood up, walking over and letting Zayn pick him up.

Zayn tousled Niall's hair, smiling at him.

"Can you smile for me?" He asked.

Niall avoided Zayn's eyes, playing with his small fingers.

"Hey, everything's okay, yeah?" Zayn asked softly, lifting Niall's chin so he could see into his eyes.