My Soulmate...?

Chapter Two

"Come to our house for dinner and we can talk about it all, okay?" Zion's father, Josh, says. Zakaria swallows and nods. "Tonight?" he asks hesitantly and is rewarded with a smile. "If you want." Josh allows. Another nod and Zakaria is pulling out his phone. They exchange numbers and Zakaria sets off for home shakily. He doesn't realize how far he's walked until he's opening the front door. His dog jumps on him when he walks in the door. He lets her out into the back yard and goes into his room. He texts Josh and asks when he should head over and where they live. What is he going to do? He needs to stop and breathe. Zakaria sits on the end of his bed. "My soulmate," he breaks off, "is a twelve year old." he finishes. A deep breath and he's off the bed and heading to the bathroom. "I need a shower." Zakaria mumbles as he shuts the door. Once freshly showered, he shaves his face and runs his fingers through his hair. This is going to be an awkward dinner. He checks the clock, lets the dog in, slips his shoes on, and slips out the door. They live on the other side of town so Zakaria decides to drive.

He parks in the driveway and, with a sigh, he climbs out of the car. "Here goes nothing." he says and walks up to the front door. The doorbell sounds throughout the house and Josh opens the door. "Hello Zakaria. Come in." Once inside, Zakaria relaxes minutely. Zion poke his head out of the living room to see who's here. "Oh, hello again." he says quietly. Zakaria smiles and walks further into the house, toward Zion. "You boys watch tv until dinner's done." Josh says to them and Zakaria rolls his eyes as he walks into the living room with Zion. They both plop onto the couch and Zion grabs the tv remote. "So what do you do for fun?" Zakaria asks. "Watch tv." Zion replies. Zakaria is confused for a second before shaking it off as nothing. He has just met the kid, after all. He nods and turns back to the tv. "Dinner." Josh calls after a while and both boys stand up to head to the kitchen. Zion turns off the tv on the way. The table is covered in delicious looking food and Zakaria doesn't know where to sit. Do they sit in certain seats? He's saved from having to just pick a seat when Zion catches his eyes and nods toward the seat across from him. Zakaria smiles gratefully and sits in the chair. A girl, probably Zion's sister, sits at the table and Josh takes the last seat. They all shovel food onto their plates and begin eating. "So Zakaria," Josh starts and Zakaria looks at him, "What do you do?" he finishes. Zakaria swallows and sets his fork down momentarily. "I don't have a job at the moment, but I've been trying to get one." he replies. Josh nods and takes a bite of food.