Hold Onto Me

Once we pulled into the driveway, Zack was quick to help get Mel, who kept singing about her surprise, inside. I had her suitcase, while he carried her on his hip. The front door swung open before I hit the first step and Jimmy came running out, sweeping Melody out of Zacky's arms.

"Uncle Jimmy!" She cried loudly, more than excited to see him.

"Oh, my sweet Mel!" He grinned, giving her kisses on her face.

I carried her stuff inside, and let them have their little moment. Matt was in the kitchen with Brian, and Johnny was sitting on the couch, stuffing chips in his mouth and watching tv. I gave them all a quick hello, before taking Mel's things to her room.

"Okay, so Mel's outside. She doesn't know Zack's her dad yet, so don't say anything. And please, try to watch your mouths around her. I don't need her repeating the things you say."

They all nodded, eagerly waiting for their niece to walk in. I took a seat on the couch beside Zack, and watched as Jimmy carried Melody in on his side. She noticed all the people in the room and buried her face in his neck, getting nervous. Jimmy said a few soothing words to her and she slowly lifted her head and looked at everyone.

"Mel, it's okay. Come here, I want you to meet some very important people, sweetie."

She slowly walked to where I sat, and climbed up between Zack and I. He gave her a small smile and she giggled for a second before focusing on me again.

"You see the big guy that looks like a giant teddy? Well, that's mommy's brother. Your uncle, Matt. The one beside Uncle Jimmy is Uncle Brian, and the shorter one is Uncle Johnny."

She studied their faces for a second before jumping out of Zack's arms. She stood in front of Matt and just stared at him for the longest. He shot an uneasy look at me, and I just shrugged my shoulders, unsure of what my daughter was doing. She did the same with Brian and Johnny, who both just stood as still as a statue and let the little girl stare holes into them.

Just as it was starting to get a little weird, she took off running towards her room. I looked at Zack with an eyebrow raised as I heard her rummaging through stuff.

"Melody, what are you doing?" I asked, peering down the hallway.

"Nothing, mommy!" She yelled back.

I saw her running back towards me and I couldn't help but crack a smile. I sat back down and waited for her grand entrance. She stopped in front of Matt, her arms full of stuffed animals, and handed him a stuffed elephant. Before he could say anything, she was already handing Brian a stuffed cow, then Johnny a stuffed giraffe, and Jimmy a stuffed penguin.

"Thank you, sweetheart! But we don't want to take your stuffed animals, cause then you won't have them." Matt said, hugging his niece.

"It's okay, Uncle Matty! I want you to remember me and I have lots of animals."

"Oh, don't worry, beautiful. No one's going to ever forget you."

She smiled proudly before moving to the other guys, giving them big hugs. And then, she stopped in front of Zacky and held out her second favorite stuffed animal. Tricks the Turtle. He graciously took it and then pulled the tiny child in for a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek, before running off pulling everyone but Zack with her.

Since everyone was being occupied, I decided it was the perfect time to make lunch and tidy up a little. Zacky followed me, offering to help with whatever I was about to do. I wasn't going to refuse help when I was about to make lunch for seven. Normally, I couldn't get any help from anyone so it was a nice change.

I looked up from slicing a tomato and saw Zacky staring intensely, his eyes glued to me. It made me feel a little uncomfortable, honestly. He cleared his throat and went back to frying the bacon. I just shook off the uneasy feeling I had and sat the knife down so I could put Mel's bread in the toaster. I turned around and leaned against the counter, and saw Matt chasing Jimmy and Mel around in the back yard.

"So, Zack. How does it feel to be a daddy?" I asked, with a small smile.

"So far, it's great. But it'll get even better after we tell her I'm her dad."

"It's great to see you so excited about this, it really makes me happy."

"We could've done this a long time ago, ya know?" He chuckled softly.

I knew he was only kidding, but it hit me hard. I looked down at my hands and didn't say anything. I heard him sigh a little, realizing what was going on. He lifted my chin and wiped the tears like I had done for him hours earlier.

"Shhh, shhh. Don't cry, Mari."

"I ruined your life, Zack. I probably ruined her life too. I ruin everything without even realizing it."

"Don't you ever say that again, Marissa! Do you see everything Melody has? You have, in no means, ruined her life. She has you, she has John, and now she has me and the rest of the guys. You've given her the greatest life a three year old could ask for! Do you see that?" He asked, pointing towards the window where Melody and the rest of the guys were playing. "She's happy. Extremely happy. That's all a little girl could ask for."

I didn't even know what to say to him. I just threw my arms around his neck, and hugged the shit out of him. He didn't resist, he just let me hold onto him for a good five minutes. I heard someone clear their throat from the doorway and I let go of Zack, to see Jimmy standing there with a grin on his face.

"No! It's not like that. I was just upset and I needed a hug. Get all those little ideas out of your head, it's not gonna happen. I'm engaged, remember?"

"Didn't stop you beforeeeeee!" Jimmy sang, grabbing a bottle of Coke out of the fridge.

"Hey, no. Different circumstances. Lunch is ready though. Tell everyone to come eat."

I sat plates out while Zacky awkwardly put a dozen BLTs together, while I put out drinks and little bags of chips. I heard Melody ushering the guys one by one into the bathroom to "get rid of the germies" so they wouldn't get sick. Slowly, they all made their way to the table where Zack was putting their sandwiches on a plate, and I was putting mayo and mustard on Mel's.

"Thank you, Momma!" She said, as I set the plate down in front of her.

"Thank Zacky too. He helped." I smiled.

"Thank you, Zackyyyy!" She sang.

"You're quite welcome, sweetie pie."

Before I knew it, it was getting dark outside and I still hadn't heard from John or any of the other boys which was weird, considering they were supposed to be home today. I kept checking my phone to see if I had a call or a text, but there never was. I quickly texted Kat, asking if she'd talked to Kenny or anyone else for that matter. Just as my phone vibrated in my lap, the front door swung open and Lauren came waltzing in, followed by my fiance.

"John." I whispered as my heart jumped out of my chest at the sight of him.