Count On Me | Niam

Chapter Twenty-Three

Liam

The meeting wasn't going well.

Not that Liam was an expert on how this kind of meeting should go, but he imagined they weren't supposed to go like this.

Chloe hadn't looked at him since they'd walked back into the park, instead holding Niall's hand and shuffling along, leaving Liam stood there, very much unwanted. He'd persevered, though, asking her questions and trying to get the seven-year-old to talk to him, ignoring the half-silence that would follow, Niall answering for Chloe or prompting her to answer, or asking Liam questions about Loki and trying to push through the awkwardness surrounding them.

Loki seemed to be the happiest member of their little group, the husky more than happy to walk around the park, pulling on his lead and barking every so often, whining to be let off his lead until Liam finally gave in, looking over to where Paddy was standing, trying and failing to be inconspicuous, and gesturing to him before he let the dog go, Loki dashing off and running circles around them.

Half-answering when Liam tried to ask her about her school, Chloe shrugged, glaring at Niall as he tried to make her answer, giving both adults a grumpy glare before she looked over at the playground, her frown becoming more of a pout as she asked, "Can I go, Dad? Please? Daddy?"

Sharing a look with Liam, Niall nodded, sighing as the seven-year-old ran off, seeming more animated than she had been throughout the entire morning. Watching after Chloe, Niall smiled slightly as she claimed the swings as her own, making sure that she would be okay on the playground by herself for a few minutes before he looked over at Liam. "I'm really sorry. About her behaviour. She's not normally... this protective. I get it, Liam, if you want to call this off."

"It's fine. I get it, Niall." Shaking his head, Liam clutched Loki's lead tighter in his hand, forcing himself to smile as he looked at Niall. "I get it, she knows what... Happened, what I did to you was unacceptable. She's allowed to hate me for it."

"She's not. You hurt me, Liam, not her. But let's put a pin in that and make it through today. She'll come round, trust me." Reaching out and squeezing Liam's arm, Niall fell silent, letting his words sink in before he looked away. "And you being here is a good thing. I'm glad you're here. It was time that you two meet, even if Chloe is being a little... Awkward."

Nodding, Liam's smile became more genuine, trying not to read too much into the smile Niall gave him, following Niall's gaze and watching Chloe for a moment, smiling as he watched her sneak Loki into the playground, ignoring the no dogs allowed sign and playing with the husky, smiling more than Liam had ever seen her before. Looking back at Niall, Liam noticed the way his eyes lit up as he looked at his daughter, standing closer to Niall, the two of them watching Chloe for a moment before Niall tugged on Liam's sleeve, leading him over to the playground.

Dropping onto one of the swings, Niall smiled as he watched Chloe playing with Liam's dog, gesturing for Liam to try again and talk to her. Kneeling down near the seven-year-old, Liam reached out and stroked Loki's fur, trying to ignore how Chloe's whole demeanour changed, the little girl stiffening, dropping the stick she'd been letting Loki play with and trying to act uninterested as Liam gave her a tentative smile. "His name's Loki."

Shrugging, Chloe gestured at the collar around the dog's neck, giving Liam a bored look that conveyed the unspoken 'I know', reaching out and stroking Loki before she glanced up at Niall, sighing as he looked away. Producing the packet of dog treats he kept in his jacket pocket and offering one to Loki, Liam gave Chloe the packet, watching and smiling as she took it, giving Loki a whole handful of the treats before giving Liam back the packet. "How old is he?"

"He's seven." Picking the stick that Chloe had been playing with up, Liam played a game of tug of war with the dog, his smile widening as he looked up to see Chloe almost smiling, letting Loki win as he said, "I've had him since he was a puppy."

"So he's almost as old as me... I've always wanted a dog, but Dad's never let me have one." Relaxing as Liam moved closer, Chloe actually smiled up at him, rolling her eyes as Niall called out, "We live in a flat, Chlo. It wouldn't be practical. Besides, it would've meant choosing between feeding you or it."

Brushing past Niall's comment about cost, Liam fed Loki another treat, wrestling the stick away from the dog and throwing it a short distance, glancing over at Chloe to see that she was still smiling. "Loki always loves attention, he'll worship you if you keep feeding him treats."

Shrugging, Chloe turned away from Liam, her smile fading slightly as she joined Niall on the swings, dropping onto his lap and leaning against him a he wrapped an arm around her, swinging the two of them forwards and backwards gently for a second before looking up at Liam and giving him an encouraging smile. "You can count on that then, Li. You'll lose that dog to Chlo if you're not careful."

Looking over at Chloe to find that she was no longer smiling, Liam nodded, ignoring Paddy as he attempted to wave him over and sitting on the swing next to Niall and Chloe's. Shaking his head as Loki dropped the stick at his feet, Liam reached down and reattached Loki's lead, sighing as Paddy entered the playground, gesturing in the direction of the children who'd entered the playground with their parents and citing something that Niall or Chloe didn't catch but set Liam's expression in a frown.

Standing up, Niall checked the time on his phone, giving Paddy a nervous smile before he looked over Liam, wondering what Paddy had pointed out as he gave him a smile, taking Chloe's hand and gesturing towards the gate as he said, "There's a cafe somewhere around here, why don't we go and get lunch or something?"

Nodding, Liam stood up, letting Paddy block the view between him and the other people in the park as he followed Niall out of the ark, the earlier silence falling between them as Niall led them through the park, Chloe's earlier sullenness returning as Niall tried to keep a conversation, his attempts falling short as Chloe remained silent. Entering the park's cafe, Niall let Chloe run on ahead and grab them a table, giving Liam a questioning smile, reaching out and squeezing Liam's hand before they followed the seven-year-old, Liam letting Paddy take Loki as he went and sat at a table not too far away from them.

Sliding into the seat next to Chloe's, Niall gave her a pointed stare as he handed her a menu, trying again to engage her in conversation and dispel the awkwardness of the moment. "Chlo... Why don't you tell Liam... Your dad about swimming? Your instructor was so proud of you earlier..."

Shrugging, Chloe set the menu down, looking over at Liam and frowning again before she muttered, "Swimming's fine. I managed to swim five hundred meters in under five minutes."

"It sounds better than just fine. That's amazing, Chloe." Smiling at Niall, Liam tried not to seem too grateful to actually be referred to as Chloe's dad as he nodded at him, briefly looking through the menu handed to him before giving Niall his order, biting his lip as he was left alone with Chloe as Niall went to order. "Your dad told me you love swimming. And that you want to swim professionally."

"He did?" Wrinkling her nose, Chloe looked up at Liam, still frowning as she shrugged again. "I do. I want to go to the Olympics. Daddy thinks it's a great dream to have. My teacher doesn't though. We were writing in class and she told me not to be ridiculous. Toby spat in her water bottle at break as revenge, though."

"Wow... That's... Does you dad know? About the teacher?" Frowning, Liam remembered having a similar conversation with Louis, years ago, back when they were still getting to know each other as a band, his bandmate having confessed that to him sat around a fire at Harry's childhood home, the bitterness in Louis' voice as he told him similar to the frown on Chloe's face.

"No. He'd only get upset. And he's already been upset enough by you. He has a box of stuff I'm not meant to know about. He's showed me it a couple of times, though, and it's stuff he had of you two before you left. That's what happened, right? You left him and you left me to go off and do... Do whatever it is you do." Scowling at Liam, Chloe looked down at the tablecloth, not looking at Liam as his expression changed from concern to something he didn't even know how to describe, a mixture of shock and guilt and something else entirely, the two of them falling into silence until Niall came back, oblivious to their conversation.

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So... That didn't go very well.