Zephaniah // z.m

Twenty

Hannah

The sun was shining warmly, the soft breeze making the leaves rustle and the birds chirping creatively. It was a beautiful and calm day, but the nerves somehow seemed to interrupt the calm vibe I was getting.

We walked over to the group of people, my heart beating rapidly as I didn't know what to expect at all. What would they think of me? I cringed at my own thoughts, realising I was acting as if I was his girlfriend meeting his family for the first time.

I was a caregiver. A simple caregiver, knowing his family would only be practical in my case, nothing else. But why did it feel different, then?

When a woman came our direction, the first thing I noticed was that Zayn looked like her, so I figured she was his mother. Her honey brown eyes sparkled when she noticed Zephaniah, and a pretty smile appeared on her face when she looked at Zayn.

"There's my son! We've been waiting for you, Zayn." She kissed Zayn's cheeks softly, patting one of them afterwards.

Zayn squinted his eyes for a second, his nose scrunching up when she patted his cheek. "Hi mum. Yeah, I thought I was on time. Sorry 'bout that." He mumbled.

"Oh, you were, sweetheart. We were all just a bit early." The woman turned her attention to me and smiled warmly, "Hi, love. I'm Trisha, Zayn's mother and Zephaniah's grandmother. I take it you're his new caregiver?"

The nerves almost left my body instantly as her warm voice somehow soothed it. "Yeah, that's me. I'm Hannah, it's lovely to meet you." I smiled as I shook her hand.

Is this how it's supposed to be?

"Likewise, darling. And how is this cheeky one treating you?" She pinched Zephaniah's cheek playfully, who blushed in response as he hadn't even said hi to her, too busy with my dog.

"Oh, he's the sweetest thing. Just a little shy, yeah?" I smiled at Zephaniah, who blushed even deeper, but did give me a small smile back.

Trisha lifted Zephaniah up and placed him on her hip, kissing his cheek softly, "Is that so, Zeph? I think Hannah is a very sweet girl."

I glanced at Zayn and noticed he was looking at his mum and son with a fond look on his face, a smile forming on his lips.

Zephaniah wrapped his arms around Trisha's neck and laid his head down on her shoulder as he stared at Cooper. "Well, let's meet the rest of the family, shall we?" Trisha asked, me and Zayn both nodding in response.

I noticed that almost every women here had the same beautiful black hair as Zayn, and the same tanned skin, so I figured it was the family from his father's side as I had just shaken his hand. A moment later, I met a few of his aunts who all looked as sweet as his mother had been.

It was a moment later when Zayn led me to two pretty girls with long black hair, "Hey, uhm, Waliyha, Safaa, this is Hannah. Zeph's new caregiver. Hannah, these are my younger sisters and Zeph's aunts Waliyha and Safaa."

The girls both smiled warmly and as Waliyha pulled me into a hug, the blue eyed girl shook my hand in modesty. "It's nice to meet you,"

"Likewise," I told them, a blush creeping on my face as I was sometimes a little awkward when it came to talking to new people.

Waliyha smiled, "Where's Zeph? I haven't seen him in so long!" She pouted when she looked at Zayn.

Zayn pointed into the distance, "He's with Hannah's dog. Be careful when you hug him, though. He's had seizures and hit his head. Got stitches now," Zayn mumbled.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'll make sure to be careful," Waliyha frowned sadly and took Safaa with her as they walked over to their nephew.

I stood still as I played with my fingers, not sure if I should make a small talk with some of his aunts I had shaken hands with, or if I should stay out of it and focus on Zephaniah only.