Our Cheeky, Movie Star Romance (Zouis Talik)

Chapter 8

It was around nine thirty when Zayn pulled up to his house, the sky pitch black. Zayn stopped his car, slamming the door shut and heading up the walk to his house. His gaze passed over the empty spot in the driveway, noticing that his mother's car was missing. He looked away, but then something caught his eye, and he looked back...

He quirked an eyebrow, stilling his motion of spinning his key ring around his index finger. Was that a person? Zayn stepped closer, pulling out his cell phone for a light source.

When the light of his phone illuminated the area, he was shocked by what he found. It was his father, a bag slung over his shoulder, suitcase at his side. He had frozen, like he hadn't wanted to be caught.

"Dad?"

Zayn's father didn't respond. He just stared at Zayn coldly.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

The light on his phone went out, so he pressed the lock button again to reilluminate his surroundings. Yaser slumped over, looking like a kid who'd been caught stealing cookies before dinner.

"I'm... Going to work," he said then, unconvincingly. Zayn blinked at him. His father was the manager of a small workplace, and Zayn couldn't ever recall him needing to go to work at night time...

"At nine thirty? With a suitcase?" Zayn asked incredulously. Yaser sighed, while Zayn felt a stone form in the pit of his stomach.

"Where are Mum and Waliyha and Safaa?"

Zayn's father shrugged. "They went out. I don't know where."

It was silent. The screen to Zayn's phone had gone out, but he didn't do anything about it, which left the two standing in the darkness, facing eachother.

Zayn took a deep breath. "Were you trying to, like, leave? Like, leave us?"

Even through the darkness, Zayn could visibly see his father slump over, guilty. Zayn drew in a sharp breath, feeling tears prick at his eyes. He blinked quickly, attempting to ward them off.

His throat was aching from trying not to cry. He coughed, trying to rid himself of the lump that was blocking his air ways, and managed to get out one word.

"Why?"

There was no good answer to this question. Nothing could justify Yaser's actions. But still, Zayn wanted to know. Sure, his parents would fight, but was it really this bad? Zayn watched his father shift on his feet.

"I..."

He didn't finish. Zayn waited, but it seemed that nothing else was going to be said. Zayn felt a sudden rage rise up in him, and he really felt like punching his father square in the jaw. He would have gotten punched right back, he knew, and that couldn't end well, but it seemed almost worth it at the moment.

"Why on Earth do you think that leaving is a good idea?" Zayn asked, a little harshly. He didn't give Yaser time to answer. 

"You coward. You selfish fucking coward. Did you even think about how this could hurt our family? Did you think about Safaa? Mum? Waliyha? What about Doniya?"

Zayn didn't include himself in the list. He didn't want to say it, and then be told by Yaser that no, he didn't care about Zayn. That fear of rejection was what kept Zayn from uttering a single word about himself.

"Don't you dare speak to me that way," Yaser snapped. "I'm the parent, you're the child. You don't get to talk to me like that."

Zayn rolled his eyes, a bit appalled. "Oh, that's real cute. Maybe if you acted like my parent, then I'd show a little respect."