Choices. Chances. Changes.

Talks of the future

Louis POV

I sit nervously in the car rider line waiting to get the kids from school. I'm a horrible human being. I kissed him. I fucking kissed him. Honestly what else did I expect to happen when I went there? It felt like nothing had changed and no time had passed when in reality everything had changed. I have two kids and a husband who I had to think about but for some reason when I smashed my lips onto Harry's Patrick didn't matter anymore.

"Daddy guess what?!" Bella yells as she gets in the backseat.

"What's that?" I watch as they carefully buckle in and then start the drive home.

"I got picked to be in the spelling bee for the school district." She smiles proudly.

"That's wonderful sweetie. How was your day little man?"

Freddie smiles. "Had pizza lunch. Dad came."

I furrow my eyebrows. I try not to drop my smile so instead I focus on driving. Pat hadn't gone to any school functions or to have lunch with the kids in years so why did he choose today. Even Bella was shocked at this because it was obvious he hadn't made an effort to join her for lunch. Pat always spoiled Bella when she was a baby but once Freddie was born he focused more on him than her. I was afraid this would happen especially when he said he wanted his sister to be the surrogate. I had known that Pat couldn't have kids so when he told me he wanted another one it had been Jessie and I. He made it a point the whole pregnancy to tell me that since it was his sister it was almost like it was him and me together. At the beginning I liked the idea but then after he'd changed the way he treated Bella I'd grown to roll my eyes when he'd say that.

When we pulled in the driveway and I saw Pat's car there already I mentally prepared for the worst. He was almost never home this early and I had no clue what to expect. The kids and I got out of the car and I hesitantly unlocked the front door. The house was silent. It felt cold and lonely. The air felt suffocating. Something was coming. After placing our shoes next to the door I turned around to see the kids looking at me with worried expressions.

"Go upstairs. I'll be up in a minute okay?"

Bella's light brown eyes meet mine. "Patrick." She whispers.

I turn around as she grabs Freddie's hand and walks up the stairs. He's staring at me with his phone in his hand clenching it so tightly I see that his knuckles are white. I've never once been scared of him and neither have the kids but my daughter is not blind and I know she's seen more than I probably know. I square my shoulders as I walk to the living room and sit down on the couch. He follows and stands across the room from me in front of the flat screen TV.

"Pat. We need to talk."

He scoffs. "Oh yeah. About your little lunch date."

I open and close my mouth a few times. How did he know? I mean I didn't mean to hide it from him. I would have told him if he asked about it but he didn't. He also couldn't possibly know what happened in Harry's office...could he?

"Nothing to say Louis. Imagine my surprise when my sister calls and says you walked into Harry Styles fucking building downtown. She just went to have lunch with a friend and the last person she expected to see walked in."

I shrug. "We had Chinese. Look Pat we need to talk about us. This..."

"SHUT UP!" He yells throwing his phone at the couch. "Shut your fucking mouth Lou."

I stand up ready to face him. I'm ready to tell him the words I have wanted to for a while. "But Pat...listen to me. This isn't working and it hasn't been for a while. Can't you see that neither of us is..."