Zayn's POV
"E-fucking-nough!" I spit at Louis. I know this isn't his fault, but part of me can't help but be selfish; if I didn't fucking go last night I'd still be blissfully ignorant. And if he didn't hire Genevieve, I'd be even more so.
"Listen. Just- don't fucking think about it," he fires right back. He mutters something else that I don't catch. "Focus on getting through this shit show on Friday night without any problems." And with that, he storms down the steps and walks away.
I'm never hiring my fucking friends again, I think to myself as my fists clench. Mark my words.
I feel a pair of hands slip around my bare torso, fingernails gently scratching at the level just above my belly button. I don't know what it is about her, but I easily relax from the simple gesture. "I didn't go food shopping," she murmurs into the crook of my back. "I figured I'd go see my dad and then go. You wanna go with me?" She continues, pecking the same spot before leaving a lingering kiss.
"Yeah, let's go."
//
"Daddy, I want da animal cookies, please?" Marley says, pointing to some red package on the bottom shelf. "I had dem in school. A-and Harry gived me some too when I was at him and Eranor's house." I vaguely remember Harry having these in the frat house-well, I should say I remember Harry throwing them up along with a shit load of tequila and rum one early morning.
"Cookie," Li says in agreement from the carriage. So what do I do? I get the fucking animal cookies and toss them into the carriage. I should probably ask Charlie first; she's a nut case when it comes to what these kids eat. I say give them an oreo and call it a day, but...no, I'm overruled on that.
She's busy further down the aisle, steadily crossing things off of the extensive shopping list. She seems to be in better spirits today, and if it takes food shopping to make her that way, then I'll do it all day long, every single day of the year. Though I think it has more to do with the fact that her dad looks a lot better than he did yesterday. Still not very good, but better.
We ended up bringing him a steak to the hospital- his request. He claims, and I quote "if I'm going out, might as well go out lavishly."
He also wanted a twelve pack of beer, but for the obvious reasons, we couldn't bring that.
He's set to return home tomorrow and start his hospice care. It's making Charlie a fucking wreck since her and her mum still aren't talking, so she has no idea if she's allowed in her childhood home to see her dying father. I'd like to think that even the ice queen herself would let her do that, but we'll see.
My phone chimes and I pull it out, revealing a text from Niall. He's asking what I'm doing and I tell him I'm at the market, to which he replies perfect.
I don't even wanna know.
I find myself pushing the carriage aimlessly, not even really there mentally. I'm trying to play this cool, but I can't; I've somehow managed to keep a calm exterior, though I'm the complete opposite on the inside. But I have no choice but to keep my head together, because Charlie's stressed and then there's the kids, and I just don't need this bullshit right now. I move down to the end of the isle where she's trying to grab something from the top shelf. "Zee, could you help me?" she asks after yet another failed attempt with the jump and grab approach.
So I turn my thoughts off and push the carriage to her, easily reaching up and grabbing a couple of boxes of macaroni and cheese, it looks like. "Thanks." She gives me a broad smile. "Even my sneaker wedges couldn't help me."
I know I'm being creepy as hell when I stand there staring into her green and brown eyes in the middle of the supermarket-even more so when I grab her hands in mine. "I love you, you know that right?" I blurt. She cocks her head to the side, giving me a weird look.
