Half a Heart

Chapter Four

As soon as Zayn and I pulled up to the modest house towards the innards of the neighborhood, I got cold feet about the whole idea.

"Zayn," I realized, intertwining my fingers into his long, slim ones, "I know I shouldn't be nervous, but I look like a mess,"

Zayn gave me a quick once over, from my hair, that poofed up into haphazard curls after it was wet, to my damp skin and long-gone makeup.

"You look beautiful. Like always," he squeezed my hand, color rising to my cheeks as I snuggled closer to him underneath the starry night sky.

Zayn reached into his pocket with the hand that wasn't entangled in mine, lifting out the lanyard with his keys on it.

As soon as the door opened, I was enveloped in the aroma of tabbouleh, my favorite Arabic dish-- it was vegetarian, like I was, an enticing combination of bulgur, parsley, mint, onion and tomatoes.

Zayn's littlest sister, Safaa came running up to me as soon as she heard the door open, her small feet pattering across the wood floors and yelping "Brookie, Brookie!"

I laughed, momentarily disentangling my hand from Zayn's to pick her up and let her bury her head into my shoulder, squeezing me in a big bear hug.

"Hey, kiddo," I laughed, "Your hair smells nice." I placed her down and looked over onto the couch, where Waliyha was sitting down fiddling with her phone.

I knew she wanted to hug me just as much as Safaa did, but she was too mature for that so she stayed there until I came over and wrapped my arms around her.

"What's up, Brooke?" Waliyha giggled underneath my grasp.

"Nothing much, you?"

"Same old, same old."

I meandered around the couch through the living room, until I came upon Zayn's mom setting place mats at the table.

"Want me to help, Mrs. Malik?" I asked, poised in front of the plates and silverware, "Dinner smells delicious, by the way."

"Remember, it's Trisha." Zayn's mom corrected, going back to the stove to turn it off, "And no, it's just about done. Thank you for the offer though, love,"

The timer for the oven went off with a buzz, and I noticed that Trisha's arms were full with drinking glasses. Before she could ask me for help, I grabbed two potholders and levered out a delicious steaming pie from the oven.

"Mmm," I remarked, setting it down on the dining room table as she gave me a thank you glance, "this looks absolutely exquisite."

Zayn's mom was so adorable, she actually blushed. Actual 😊 emoji.

"It's blueberry," she smiled at me.

At the same time, we both added, "Zayn's favorite."

Zayn leaned his head into the entryway of the kitchen, sniffing the air appreciatively.

"Did you call me? This smells amazing."

"Call in your sisters, dinner is tabbouleh and casserole with blueberry pie for dessert."

Zayn came in, pecking his mother on the cheek and rubbing his tummy. "Have I ever told you, that you're my favorite mum in the entire world?" Zayn grinned as his mom playfully slapped his shoulder, calling out, "Waliyha, Safaa, dinner's ready!"

We all sat down at the kitchen table, laughing and joking over good food and even better conversation. We discussed everybody's week at school, Trisha's week at work, and topics in the news.