chasing (zarry)

14

"isabella zahrah malik! if you don't get down here this instant—"

"no! 'm not getting down!" bella yells, glaring at her father. zayn is frowning, too. bella is sitting on top of the high bookcase, with her arms crossed over her chest.

"what is your problem today?" zayn asks. bella has been throwing a fit about everything and nothing, and it's getting on zayn's last nerve. he sighs loudly when bella doesn't respond. "what's wrong, babes?" he softly asks this time, hoping she will respond to this.

"i don't want to talk to you," bella simply says, rubbing her eyes. zayn's own eyes water a bit, when he realises she's crying.

"don't cry, darling. just tell daddy what's wrong and we'll fix it, okay?" zayn looks at the girl with a hopeful look on his face, but she shakes her head.

"i don't want to talk to you!" she repeats, louder this time.

"who would you like to talk to, then?" zayn asks.

"uncle ni."

"if you come down, i'll call him, okay?" zayn tries to negotiate, but bella stubbornly shakes her head.

"call first," she demands. zayn sighs loudly, tiredly covering his eyes for a few seconds and then nods. he pulls out his phone and dials niall's number.

"niall," zayn says when niall picks up.

"hi. something wrong?" niall asks, noting the tremble in zayn's voice and also knowing what day it is tomorrow.

"if you're not busy, could you come over? like, now?" zayn asks.

"of course. i'll be there in a few," niall agrees, hanging up the phone right after.

"will you come down now, darling?" zayn puts his phone away again, looking at bella. she, once again, shakes her head.

"no," she says. zayn plops down on the floor, rubbing his eyes, just like bella did a few moments ago. he feels like a child himself.

it doesn't take long for niall to arrive. and when he does, he frowns at the father-daughter duo. "what's going on?" he asks.

"bella is upset with me and wants to talk to you," zayn briefly says. "can you please come down no, bella?" bella ignores him and turns to her uncle.

"help me down, please, uncle ni," she politely requests, holding her hands out. niall looks over at zayn for a second before walking over and helping bella down.

"what's wrong, little bug?" niall softly asks, crouching down in front of her.

"i want to go home with you. can i?" bella asks, ignoring niall's question. zayn recognises it as a trait of his own, he's done it many times. his heart aches a bit when he realises that. he doesn't want his daughter to be the way he is. that'll only cause her problems.

"yeah, but you have to answer my question first, petal," niall says. bella huffs and folds her arms over her chest again.

"'cause, 'ncle ni, i don't wanna be here," bella mumbles angrily. and it's ridiculous, because nothing even happened. bella got angry just because, and zayn knows, he fucking knows, it's another one of his traits, and he hates it.

"why, baby? are you upset with daddy?" zayn softly asks, moving towards them a bit. bella doesn't answer, doesn't even acknowledge her father. niall turns to zayn, he sighs and nods, looking away from the blond lad.

"okay, pet, let's go," niall says, standing up. bella holds out her hands, wanting to be carried. so niall does. "is it alright if i bring 'er back the day after tomorrow? i think, you might need tomorrow to yourself."