Hidden Beneath Brown Eyes (A Zayn Malik Fanfiction)

Chapter 30 - He Loved You

Louis sat there, staring at me from across the table. My eyes darted wildly around the room, looking everywhere and anywhere but at Louis.

Jack had just finished his pizza and run off to play in the ball pit, and now that I was alone with Louis, I couldn't face him. I knew where the conversation was going to turn and I wasn't ready for it.

We had decided that since we were with Jack, that we would go to Chuck-E-Cheese's. It wasn't exactly a great place to talk, but it would make sure that Jack wasn't around when the dreaded conversation took place.

I was holding my breath and tapping my nails on the table, about ready to revert back to my old habit of biting them off. I was waiting for Louis to speak, but he kept silent, and the weight of his gaze on me felt like a thousand pounds on my shoulders.

"He's a great kid Ada." Louis' voice finally broke the silence between us.

I exhaled loudly, relieved that he was starting with something positive.

"Thanks." I said with adoration as I watched my son jumping around in the ball pit. He was so carefree and whimsical. I wished that for just a moment, I could see the world through his eyes.

Just then I felt Louis take my hand in his and I looked up into his crystal blue eyes.

"No. I really mean it. You're doing a great job raising him on your own. I know it must be tough."

I was wondering for a second if he was being sarcastic, but I couldn't detect a hint of it. He was being genuine.

"Well I'm not exactly alone. I mean, I have my parents, and whenever Rosie is in town she helps out, and my brother takes care of him all the time. I've never been alone in this." I told him, reflecting on the last four years and realizing how lucky I really was.

"No, it hasn't been easy, but he's worth it." I said, feeling all the love in my heart ooze into my words.

"I'm really glad that you had such supportive people around you. If most other girls came home at nineteen and told their parents that they were pregnant, they would have been kicked out and disowned." He said, half joking, but I knew he was serious.

"I held off telling mine for five months because I was so afraid of that." I laughed, enjoying this calm before the storm.

"Just be glad that you weren't around for their reactions. It was like a bomb going off. I think I can count that as the worst moment of my life." I laughed it off now, but back then it had been the end of the world.

"Well I'm sure even the best parents would have that kind of reaction. I would if my daughter told me that." He laughed too.

"Oh. You have a daughter?" I asked a little too excitedly. I was kind of hoping that he did so that we'd have something in common.

"No, actually. El and I have been trying for a year now, but it just hasn't happened yet." His voice was defeated, and I felt sorry for him.

I squeezed his hand, causing him to look up at me, and I could see small tears held up in his eyes.

"Don't worry. It'll happen. And when it does, I know you'll be a wonderful father." I smiled at him.

"Thank you Ada. Really."

It was quiet for a few seconds. A comfortable silence. Like we were appreciating each other's company, and in that moment, I really was.

"What about Jack's father?"

Even though I had been expecting this and fearing it the whole time, the abrupt way in which he asked it caught me off guard.

"What?" I choked out.