Our Cheeky, Movie Star Romance (Zouis Talik)

Chapter 12

Zayn didn't know what to expect when he went home that night, but it surely wasn't this. After a lazy, cuddly day with Louis, Zayn had all but begged to stay. And, though Louis wanted him to stay just as much, he pointed out that he couldn't hide from his family forever. Zayn had to take charge, and while Louis offered to face the challenge with him, he couldn't bring himself to make Louis do that for him. No, he had to do this alone.

When he went home, he'd expected the whole house to be silent, everyone pretending that nothing had happened. That wasn't what he got. What he was faced with, instead, was the sounds of shouting coming from within the house. He wanted to cringe at the fact that this was normalcy in the Malik household.

He opened the door and ignored whatever was going on. It was just his mother and father again-

Wait, no, it wasn't.

"I hate you!" Waliyha screamed, voice heavy with emotion. She burst into the main room, running straight into Zayn and throwing her arms around his waist. He was a bit startled at first, but quickly reacted to her action.

"What's wrong?" he asked, letting his arms wrap around his little sister, one hand stroking her hair. She buried her face into Zayn's chest and clung tighter before responding.

"Dad."

He guessed that he probably didn't want to know what had gone on. Waliyha still hugged her brother.

"Mum and Dad are getting a divorce. I heard them talking about it last night, after you left," the girl mumbled tightly, her eyes tearing up a bit. Zayn felt his own eyes widen.

A divorce? Really? Had last night been the last straw? Zayn knew that Patricia only wanted to try to change Yaser's behavior, change his views. She hadn't gotten a divorce in the hopes that she could do just that. But maybe she realized now that Yaser Malik was a hopeless cause, and that he wasn't going to change his mind about his son. 

Waliyha let go of her brother, wiping away a tear with the side of her thumb. She sniffed, shaking her head slowly. 

"I don't understand how he can be so mean! Especially to Louis..."

Zayn nodded in agreement, pressing his lips together. He didn't necessarily want to talk about it.

Waliyha noticed this, and stopped talking. Zayn pulled his phone out of his back pocket and checked to see two e-mails and a text message. He wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulders once more and pulled her close.

"I'm sorry," he said. Waliyha widened her eyes.

"Zayn, this isn't your fault. Even if it was, I wouldn't care. We both knew it was coming, sooner or later. I'm not upset about it."

Yes, that was true. The siblings had discussed the possible divorce that their parents might finally decide on. As the fighting grew worse, acceptance of the concept expanded in both Zayn and his sister. Maybe Doniya even suspected it, from the tidbits that Waliyha and Zayn had given her. Or, maybe she didn't. Either way, the only person it was likely to really hurt was Safaa, who didn't seem to be around.

"But why are you upset, then?" Zayn then asked, releasing the hold on Waliyha's shoulders. She shook her head.

"He's just being a prick. I... I can't stand being in the same room with him. Not after last night," the girl responded. Zayn thought for a second.

"Yeah, I can relate."

He walked over to sit on the staircase, pulling out his phone and sliding over so that his sister could join him. As the girl sat, he saw that one e-mail was from his publicist, just explaining a few things. The other was from his agent, Joan, a tall, middle-aged American woman with bleached hair. She had a few things to talk about, including scripts to look at to decide on his next movie, and how she wasn't trying to pressure him, but moving to London would probably be best.