Count On Me | Niam

Chapter Thirteen

Niall

Knocking on the sitter's door, Niall barely had time to plaster an apologetic smile onto his face before the door opened and he was met by not only Jessica but his daughter, Chloe already ready to leave and wearing her coat, her swim bag on the floor by her feet. Bending so he was at Chloe's height, Niall enveloped her in a hug, ignoring the smell of chlorine and holding the seven-year-old tighter as he muttered an apology in her ear.

Straightening up, Niall pulled his wallet out, handing over his last, crumpled ten-pound note, shrugging apologetically as he handed it over to Jessica before saying, "Sorry, I was later than I thought I'd be. Thank you so much for watching Chlo."

"No problem. It's a one-off, anyway." Noticing how tense and forced Niall's smile was starting to look, Jessica gave him a friendly smile, handing the tenner back and closing his fingers around it as he opened his mouth to refuse, picking Chloe's bag off the floor and handing it to him. "Chloe was an angel, as always. I'll see you Monday, Chlo."

Giving Jessica a grateful nod, Niall took Chloe's hand in his as the two of them left, Niall keeping the smile on his face as Chloe began to tell him about her swim class. Not really listening, Niall hummed occasionally, getting the vague impression that the seven-year-old was talking about a new stroke or dive that she'd mastered in the course of the lesson, Chloe's earlier tantrum about Niall not taking her to the class apparently forgotten.

Not once letting go of Chloe's hand during the five-minute walk from her flat to theirs, Niall tried not to think about what he'd done in the cafe, watching Chloe as she walked beside him uncomplainingly, his daughter running her hand against the wall as she walked along, tracing over the graffiti in the lift, unaware that Niall was watching her with a look resembling something more pained than happy and an almost sad smile.

Shaking his head as Chloe ran into the flat once he'd unlocked the door, Niall followed her inside, picking her shoes up from where they'd landed and tidying them up before he set her back down and kicked his own shoes off, wanting nothing more than to put the morning behind him as he collapsed onto their sofa, hiding his face in a cushion and groaning.

"Daddy? Are you okay? What's wrong?" Standing in the doorway, Chloe bit her lip as she looked at Niall, looking more and more concerned until he sat up, shaking his head. "I'm fine, Chlo. Sorry, poppet."

Still frowning, Chloe looked unconvinced, hovering in her spot by the doorway and staring at Niall, her frown fading slightly as Niall stood up and enveloped her in a hug. Lifting Chloe off of her feet, Niall smiled as she let out a squeal, spinning her round as well as he could without hitting anything before he set her back down, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and saying, "Everything is fine, Chlo. I promise."

Noticing the still dubious look on Chloe's face, Niall ran a hand through his hair, giving Chloe a small smile as he nodded, trying to believe his own words. "Tell you what, Chlo, why don't we watch a film? We got that new Pixar film, we can watch it if you'd like."

"Okay. Can we have popcorn? Since we're watching a film." Tugging on the hem of her cardigan, Chloe's eyes lit up as Niall nodded, the seven-year-old ran into her bedroom as Niall went sorted through the kitchen cupboards, reappearing with a blanket and her favourite stuffed toy, the one she would hug whenever she was upset or something had gone wrong, jumping onto the sofa as she waited for Niall.

Leaving the microwave running, Niall disappeared for a moment, returning from his room with the DVD, letting Chloe sort the TV and DVD player out as he attended to the popcorn, making them both hot chocolate whilst he was at it, juggling both the bowl and the two mugs in a way only parents could as he joined Chloe on the sofa, handing the bowl over and setting the mugs down on the floor as he snuggled up with his daughter, sharing her blanket and wrapping his arm around her as she snuggled into his side.