Hidden Beneath Brown Eyes (A Zayn Malik Fanfiction)

Chapter 43 - Lesson Number One: Hide and Seek

Zayn and I practically crawled out of the zoo, using all of our remaining strength to push the stroller to the car. My head ached and my arms and legs were the equivalent of jelly as I rested my back against the door of the black SUV that Zayn had rented for the day. 

I was thankful that he had rented a car instead of making us take mine, because after a day like today, driving all the way home in my car would have made me feel claustrophobic. 

I gave myself all of thrity seconds to take a breather, before remembering that Jack was still in the stroller and that I had to buckle him in. I loved my son with all my heart, but there were times when I wished he were old enough to do certain things for himself.

I pushed myself away from the car and moved toward the stroller that was standing in front of the back door of the SUV. As I grabbed onto the handle and opened the door, I noticed Zayn sitting on the ground directly behind the stroller, back-to-back with it. His head was tilted back against the stroller, his eyes were closed softly as if they could open at any second, his lips were parted ever so slightly and I could hear heavy breaths escaping them, and despite the tan color of his skin I could tell that his face was a deep shade of red.

For a second, I felt sorry for him. I tried to place myself in his shoes and think about how I would feel if one of my old fuck's came out of the blue one day and told me that I had a son with them. Meanwhile, having no experience with small children and not the slightest idea of how to raise one.

I was actually impressed by the way Zayn had handled Jack all day. For having no experience, he actually seemed to know what he was doing. Maybe I could chalk that up to fraternal instincts or something.

I reached down into the stroller and unbuckled Jack. His eyes were closed in the same way as Zayn's, is head resting on his shoulder, his lips puffed out along with his cheeks, his hands were crossed across his stomach, and his face was even redder than Zayn's, or maybe it was just that fact that Jack's skin wasn't as tan as his father's.

If there was one thing that my son got from me, it was my pale complexion. So, not only did I have to be careful in the sun myself, but I had to keep an eye on Jack, because he burned even more quickly than I did.

Just as I bent down to wake my son up and get him into the car, I noticed Zayn's leg move, and then I watched on painfully as he struggled to lift himself up off the ground. Never once did he use the stroller as leverage to hoist himself up, which spoke volumes, because if he had, his weight would have flipped it and possibly injured our sleeping son inside.

Once he was up and had shaken off the slight dizziness caused by standing after sitting for so long, he waved his hand up as if in protest.

"Don't worry. I'll get it." he yawned, rubbing his eyes as he circled around the my side of the stroller.

"What? I was ju-"

"I said don't worry about it. Go sit down. I'll get him buckled in." he insisted, almost demanded.

"Uh, okay."

Normally, I would have started some argument about how I was perfectly capable of taking car of my own child, but today I was too tired, and so was Zayn. 

I was kind of relieved as I opened the passengers side door and pulled myself up into the seat. I sank down into the leather upholstery. The leather was cold on my heated skin, and the contrast felt amazing. I knew that I would mostly likely wake up with a mild sunburn the next morning, but I honestly could care less.

"Hi sleepyhead. You woke up just in time. We're going to get McDonald's." I heard Zayn say behind me, signaling to me that Jack had woken up.

Jack only made some sort of mumbling sound in response, but I knew it meant that he was hungry.