Scarred ➵zauren

Chapter 16

"One more," Zayn laughed and I rolled my eyes at him, though I obliged and kissed him one more time.

"Okay last one, I promise!"

"Baby!" I protested.

"Please, I'm gonna be gone for four hours, that's a long time babe," he pouted, knowing I wouldn't be able to resist him.

I sighed and kissed him one last time, lingering for a bit before pulling back and resting my forehead against his.

"Be careful, okay?" I pleaded with him, making sure his warm brown eyes read the worry in mine.

"My mom won't let me do anything stupid, she's just as deep in this recovery as you are."

"Okay good," I touched his cheek softly before standing upright again.

Before my hand completely escaped Zayn's reach, he caught it and squeezed it lightly, earning my attention again.

"I love you habibti," he kissed the back of my hand softly and the combination of his statement with the pet name that reflected his cultural background made me smile.

"I love you too, now we both need to get going. Ryan's waiting for me at the pool with family and I'm sure your family is wondering where you are."

"Alright, alright. I'll see you later pretty girl," Zayn kissed my hand again before letting it go and heading for the hotel room door.

"See you later, pretty boy."

I made my way to the hotel's pool where my family was waiting for me. Zayn and I decided to spend our last day in the States with our families and we'd reunite again for one last dinner all together. It had been a great couple of days and our families had bonded but we figured a little time on our own was the least we could give our families who of course missed us dearly.

As I arrived at the pool, I saw Liam and Normani in the kiddie pool with Kevin who'd gotten over his small cold pretty quickly. Normani was still rocking her two piece bathing suit though she was super pregnant. I was always left stunned at her beauty but she radiated when she was pregnant.

As I continued looking around I noticed my parents having what seemed like a serious and intimate conversation on a couple of chairs, which was odd. They were on good terms after their divorce but they never really seemed to have any meaningful conversation anymore. Not wanting to disrupt them, I searched for Ryan amidst the small group of kids and adults in the pool. He was sitting on the steps of the shallow end, swirling his finger around in the water.

"Hey little man," I nudged him with my foot. His head shot up to look and a smile spread on his face the second he saw me.

"Hi momma."

"What're you doing on the steps?"

"I don't know how to swim," he frowned.

"I thought your Tio taught you," I furrowed my eyebrows, remembering receiving pictures and videos from the previous summer of Ryan swimming with Liam.

"I don't remember how to do it. Abuelo and Abuela didn't want to come in so I just sat here."

"Well, I'm gonna teach you again," I decided as I took off my shirt and shorts, folding them neatly and placing them on the edge of the pool. I got in the water and Ryan stood on the steps.

"Can I jump to you?" He smiled excitedly.

"Sure," I chuckled.

"Here I go..you ready mommy?"

"I got you nugget, go ahead," I nodded and Ryan counted to three before leaping toward me. His giggles rang in my ear as he squeezed me tightly.

"I did it!"