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‘Daddy! Daddy! Come on! Let’s play!’

 

 

The child continued to cheer at his side.

 

 

By now, you could probably laugh at my reaction just by how dumbfounded I feel myself that moment.

 

 

The man, I mean, Zayn shares the same reaction and you can tell he can’t believe his eyes either.

 

 

That voice, it’sZayn’s!

 

 

It just took me a moment to process it all coz for the most days we were together, I was blind.

 

 

And now, seeing that handsome young face mouthing that lovely accent seemed alien.

 

 

Like, I have no idea who this guy is.

 

 

Like he’s a stranger.

 

 

It was all so new to me that I could not move at all.

 

 

My tongue seemed frozen.

 

 

And was I sure my mind is too damn busy taking this all in to make my body move an inch.

 

 

‘I can’t believe this.’

 

 

He admitted ignoring the poor child who’s basically ripping his shorts off by now.

 

 

‘Yeah. Neither do I.’

 

 

I responded breathlessly still stunned.

 

 

Suddenly, a voice of a woman calls towards our direction.

 

 

‘Revin!Zayn! C’mon! Snack time!’

 

 

I looked at the woman and she was wearing a two-piece maroon bikini, a stylish straw hat on her wavy brown hair and a pair of sunglasses obscuring my eyes to look at her own.

 

 

She must be at least a year older than me.

 

 

The child, which was probably Revin, ran across the sand to the woman as soon as he heard her voice.

 

 

All the while, he was screaming: ‘Mommy! Mommy!’ to the lady as he moved his tiny feet forward to her direction.

 

 

By the looks of it, she was probably his Mother.

 

 

And it took me a lot of effort to nag my knees not to crumble and my mind to not black out as the possibility of Zayn being the father gathered around my already stuffed brain.

 

 

He couldn’t be, could he?

 

 

I don’t know what to do if my guess is proven factual.

 

 

I might die, I thought.

 

 

Zayn, by the looks of it, had a hard time taking his eyes off me before he gestures the mother and son to go on without him.

 

 

And then it was just the two of us.

 

 

Just the two of us.

 

 

The two of us.

 

 

Shit!

 

 

It’s like our first meeting all over again.

 

 

I’m meeting a new stranger.

 

 

And for the first time, I wished I had those bandages around my eyes again.

 

 

I can’t bear to go through it.

 

 

It’s just too much.

 

 

My heart makes it all worse.

 

 

It can’t seem to stop pounding in my chest like the first day he came to visit me.

 

 

And just like before, I have a hunch it won’t.

 

 

Not with this guy around.

 

 

++++

 

 

‘S-so… you can see now?’

 

 

He asked unsure.

 

 

‘Uhhh… yeah. I think so.’

 

 

I responded dumbly still disoriented by the sudden turn of events.

 

 

‘Well, god for you, then.’

 

 

He chuckled nervously.

 

 

Glad to know I’m not the only one nervous around.

 

 

And another moment of silence filled the air between us.

 

 

And the staring games had commenced yet again.

 

 

I don’t know what it is with our eyes looking at each other so intensely.

 

 

It feels so involuntary.

 

 

Like every time my eyes gazes towards his, it seems too impossible to not stare.

 

 

I can tell he suffers the same thing.

 

 

Thankfully, my mind started working all of a sudden and I found myself inviting him to sit on the sand.

 

 

He responded by kicking of his sandals and let his feet feel the grains underneath him.

 

 

‘So… how long has it been?’

 

 

He started.

 

 

‘A year.Maybe.’

 

 

I answered uncertainly.

 

 

‘What have you been up to?’

 

 

I managed to ask.

 

 

‘Uhm, nothing much.Just… clearing my mind off things for a while. Taking a vacation, I guess.’

 

 

He answered looking over the horizon that stretched in front of us.

 

 

‘How are you?’

 

 

He asked not taking his sight away from the blue distance.

 

 

The way his voice said it was too genuine and I found myself giving a genuine answer in response.

 

 

‘Never better.’

 

 

‘Good.’

 

 

I can sense the smile creeping on his lips as he said it.

 

 

As if he’s satisfied by my reply.

 

 

A moment of silence.

 

 

The distant sound of waves, birds taking over the skies, people around wandering about and the music of the man I was listening at a while ago sounded like a gentle murmur in the background.

 

 

Their noise couldn’t compete with the loud thudding of my raging heart underneath my ribs.

 

 

‘How’s Greg?’

 

 

He suddenly asked maybe aware of the thickening silence between us.

 

 

‘In the car, napping, I guess.’

 

 

A smile spread across my face as a memory flashes back.

 

 

That time when we were at the hospital garden and Zayn thought Greg was my boyfriend and sounded genuinely upset that he might be replaced as he suddenly appeared in my life.

 

 

The thick British voice he had turned into a blissful laughter.

 

 

Oh how I badly need to hear it again.

 

 

‘Niall…’

 

 

He started.

 

 

A cold chilling sensation crept up from my spine as his sexy voice called my name in a hoarse whisper.

 

 

My head turns to the side where I can see him turning away from the horizon and inspecting my face.

 

 

We were so close.

 

 

And just a bit of a nudge and then BAM!

 

 

I would’ve been smashing my lips onto his irresistibly pink ones.

 

 

But it didn’t happen, unfortunately.

 

 

Instead a heart-warming sentence came out from his mouth which instantly had me melting like butter left exposed under the sun.

 

 

‘I’m really glad I saw you again.’

 

 

His stare became intense.

 

 

With sincerity…

 

 

And desperation.

 

 

It took me a while to respond:

 

 

‘I’m also glad I finally got to see you.’

 

 

I gave a tight smile.

 

 

He smirked maybe glad of my answer or glad that the tension between us is actually starting to diffuse.

 

 

‘And thanks a lot, too.’

 

 

This left his eyebrows furrowed.

 

 

‘What do you mean?’

 

 

‘Harry told me everything.’

 

 

He looked down as Harry’s name came up.

 

 

‘He’s changed, you know. He says he owes you a lot for making things right for him. He believes you helped him do the right things… and honestly, I believe him too.’

 

 

He looked back up at me.

 

 

‘Yes, Zayn. I forgave him. I actually just did. An hour ago, just before we headed down here. He really surprised me, to say the least. And I’m actually feeling good after our encounter.’

 

 

‘I just… I just hope you’d do the same to me.’

 

 

The words came out his mouth in a mumble but we were too close that I could understand it.

 

 

He looked away refusing my eyes as if despair came to his composure all of a sudden.

 

 

And then I said:

 

 

‘What makes you think I wouldn’t?’

 

 

His eyes were on me again.

 

 

This time, hope was reflected upon them.

 

 

‘You deserve nothing of what we’ve done, Niall. You really do. In fact, you don’t deserve ANY cruelty. You’re… you’re too innocent, too good, and too vulnerable to be even played at. And I’m so sorry for everything I did that made your life painful. I really am. If it meant my whole life, I would give it just so I could take back that time.’

 

 

A droplet of tear flowed down from his eyes and continued to trickle down to his chin.

 

 

My hand involuntarily reached for his face to stroke away that teardrop.

 

 

It’s heartbreaking to see him like this.

 

 

It’s heartbreaking to see a man this regretful.

 

 

Just like Harry.

 

 

‘But it’s already happened. It’s already in the past, Zayn. And the last thing I want is to relive it again. I’m tired, so tired, of remembering that painful part of my life. And I’ve decided to stop. To forgive.To move on.’

 

 

I said sincerely.

 

 

This made him cup my hands on his face with his own.

 

 

Afraid I might let go.

 

 

Gently, we held each other like that for a while and it felt nice.

 

 

To be near him.

 

 

To see him being so fragile.

 

 

To feel that need to protect him.

 

 

It all felt too good that letting go was not an option.

 

 

Suddenly my eyes trained on the two figures lying on the sand like us, just a few yards away eating potato chips and sandwiches from the basket that’s been laid in front of them.

 

 

It was Revin and his young mom.

 

 

And just like that I snapped from reality just like a cold icy bucket of water just all of a sudden poured down my back.

 

 

I looked at Zayn still holding my hands in his beautiful face oblivious about my racing thoughts of the mother and son… and the possibility of him being the child’s father.

 

 

The thought broke me.

 

 

Snapping me into two and then crushing me into powder.

 

 

It’s simply unbearable.

 

 

The thought of Zayn being a young parent hurts.

 

 

Maybe because it’s too early for someone like him to settle at his age…

 

 

Or maybe because I was just simply jealous.

 

 

Or worried.

 

 

That there’s no chance for us to be together.

 

 

A while ago I just witnessed him happily playing with Revin like a father to a son.

 

 

And it pains me to think that that is the reality.

 

 

It pains me!

 

 

A lot!

 

 

Before I knew it, I was breathing hard.

 

 

Like I just ran a marathon.

 

 

Zayn notices this and asks me what’s the matter.

 

 

I looked straight into his eyes as I prepared myself for the unknown.

 

 

‘Zayn... is-is the kid—is Revin… yours?’

 ++++

Yeah Zayn!

IS Revin YOURS?

DO answer!

But before that make sure you comment and vote!

please?

love you guys!

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