Chapter 37
“Zinnia’s living with us now,” Jackson said simply. He didn’t explain more since Zinnia was right there; he didn’t want to upset her.
Yannis, who wasn’t dumb, got it right away. Something must’ve happened that made Zinnia unhappy while living with the Shaw family. After Jackson found out, he brought her to the Lynn residence.
Yannis glanced at Zinnia, who was happily chewing on a chicken leg, and thought she looked kind of silly and clueless.
Zinnia was enjoying the food a lot, but Jackson, Yannis, and Perry didn’t eat much. The whole chili con carne lasted over an hour, and it was mostly Zinnia eating while the other three just watched her.
“Zinnia, we’re heading back now. Say goodbye to Yannis and Perry,” Jackson said. He was happy to see her so full that her stomach was round. Seeing Zinnia enjoy herself made them all feel good.
“Bye,” Zinnia said, her face glowing with joy. She hadn’t eaten that well in a long time.
“Bye, Zinnia. Hit me up on WhatsApp if you need anything,” Perry said with a grin, waving at her.
Yannis glanced between the two of them.
“Go home and get some sleep. Don’t stay up late. Your body can’t take it,” Zinnia said to Yannis with a serious look.
“Okay,” Yannis smiled and nodded, actually listening for once. Jackson and Perry had never seen him this obedient before.
“Um… Zinnia, let’s swap contact info too. That way if I ever feel sick, I can come to you for help,” Yannis said, pulling out his phone.
Zinnia didn’t say no. She turned around and got her phone from her small bag. They added each other on WhatsApp. Yannis smiled even wider.
“Make sure you go home and sleep,” Zinnia said again, still frowning at him. She didn’t trust him to behave like a proper patient.
“Got it,” Yannis answered seriously again.
“Zinnia, if you ever need help, go to Yannis or Perry,” Jackson told her. “They’re both close friends of mine. When I’m not around, you can trust them.”
The sky had already gone dark as Jackson and Zinnia headed home in the car. Jackson turned to look at her, a soft smile warming his usually cool eyes.
“Okay,” Zinnia said. She wasn’t someone who ignored kindness. She knew Jackson was helping her build connections, and she appreciated it.
“Zinnia, if you’re sleepy, just lean on me and rest. I’ll wake you when we get there,” Jackson said.
After the long day, Zinnia was tired and yawned. Jackson shifted a little closer, letting her know she could lean on his shoulder.
“Thanks, but I’m not sleepy yet,” Zinnia said with a small smile.
But not long after, Jackson saw her nodding off against the car window. He let out a quiet laugh, then gently moved her head to rest on his shoulder.
Watching her sleep peacefully, Jackson took off his coat and draped it over her.
The next morning, Zinnia rubbed her messy hair as she woke up. She had no memory of how she got home the night before.
She had slept straight through the night. Sitting up in bed, she looked a little dazed and cute.
“Zinnia, are you up yet? We have to go register at school today,” Sofia said, knocking gently on the door with a warm, kind voice.
“I’m up, Sofia. I’ll be downstairs in a minute,” Zinnia replied. She blinked a few times as her sleepy brain started to wake up. Then she patted her cheeks with both hands.
When she suddenly remembered school started today, her face fell. Her happiness disappeared.
Zinnia didn’t like school and wasn’t good at it. Her master once told her she had no talent for studying.
Still annoyed, she got up to wash and change. When she saw the pink backpack with a strawberry bear design, her mood brightened a little. Jackson had bought it for her yesterday.
When Zinnia came downstairs, the house was loud and chaotic.
“Ouch! Grandma, stop hitting me! If Zinnia sees you like this, she’ll be scared!” Isaac yelled from the living room, holding his head and dodging Sofia’s feather duster.
Since Sofia wouldn’t stop chasing him, Isaac quickly used Zinnia – whom he’d never even met – as a human shield. He’d heard from his brothers that Sofia really cared about Zinnia.
He wasn’t sure if using her name would work, but if it did, he planned to treat her to an extra chicken leg at dinner.
“Look at your hair! If Zinnia sees it and wants to dye hers too, I’ll hit you again!” Sofia shouted, glaring at Isaac’s hair. He’d dyed it a very light blonde, almost white, and it hurt her eyes.
Even though Sofia was nearly seventy, she was still strong. She chased Isaac all over the living room with her feather duster and didn’t seem tired at all.
“You little punk, why’d you dye your hair like that? It looks awful!” she yelled. “You better dye it back today, or don’t come home. I don’t want you being a bad influence on Zinnia.”
After hearing Isaac mention Zinnia, Sofia even looked upstairs, worried that Zinnia might’ve seen her acting so rough.
“Zinnia! Help me! Grandma’s trying to kill me!” Isaac suddenly shouted when he saw Zinnia appear upstairs.
“Nice try,” Sofia huffed, raising her feather duster again.
“Grandma.” Zinnia’s voice came from behind her. Sofia was so startled she dropped the feather duster on the floor.
She quickly ran her hands through her messy hair to fix it. “Zinnia, you’re awake? Benedict, get Zinnia some breakfast!” Sofia said sweetly, switching her tone in a flash.
Zinnia came downstairs, a bit confused by the chaos. A handsome boy was in the living room with two feathers stuck in his hair, looking kinda silly.
“Zinnia, save me! She’s gonna kill me,” Isaac cried as soon as he saw her. His eyes lit up – he thought she was pretty and cute.
Isaac liked her instantly. He jumped over the stair rail and landed behind Zinnia, using her as a shield while complaining about Sofia.
“Isaac, have you no shame?” Sofia said, too mad to find the right words. She rolled her eyes at him as he hid behind Zinnia.
“Zinnia, don’t listen to him. Just look at his hair. It’s getting worse and worse. Last winter break it was gray, now it’s some weird white-gold mess. It’s so ugly,” Sofia said, smiling kindly at Zinnia again.
“You just don’t get it, Grandma,” Isaac argued. With Zinnia in front of him, he was no longer afraid of the feather duster.