Message in a Bottle

Wait And See (16)

"That's how you pictured me a short second ago?"

"Kind of. You were so demanding, you're usually so not... Demanding."

"I don't want to make you feel afraid of me, I want you to feel safe with me," he insists.

"I do feel safe."

"Good, now let me go over this again. Ciara, I don't think you should be on your own just quite yet. I think you should stay with me until you get back on your feet. It could take days, weeks or even months for you to get situated, but however long you need, I want you to stay with me and Louis. I want to be the one who protects you if you're in need of help, will you please stay?"

I smile, "yes."

"Later, let's take another walk and get management really mad, deal?"

"Deal."

~

"Brrr!" Mason shivers as he chatters his teeth together. I wrap a faded blue towel around his small body and pick him up, cradling him in my arms.

"Let's get you dressed!" I tickle his toe which sends him into loud laughs.

I pound into the living room, my legs feeling weaker with each step. I lay him down on the couch as I dig into a plastic bag, searching for clothes that may actually fit Mason. When Harry had gone shopping, he got eight different outfits in two different sizes, not sure what Mason's correct size was.

I look for the label '2T' on the tags, feeling successful when I pull out a shirt which says 'daddy's little man.' I shake my head with an amused smile smeared across my face, I place it back in the bag and look for a different choice.

"Hey," Harry's voice whines from behind me, "I like that one."

I spin around, looking him over. He's wearing black jeans with a bright yellow shirt, a cheeky grin was on his face revealing his dimples. "I think I need to go shopping for his clothes from now on, I don't need him getting his style from somebody who dresses like a bumble bee."

"I bought you that so I wouldn't be talking," he smirks, pointing down to my outfit. I roll my eyes as I return my attention back to Mason who's now kicking at my arms.

"Then I won't wear them anymore," I reply, fastening a diaper around Mason's waist.

"Wearing nothing is also an option." He takes a seat on the couch opposite from me. I shake my head in disagreement, a playful smile sprawled across my face. I watch him out of the corner of my eye without him noticing, I can feel his eyes burn on my skin. "Have you ever had somebody walk in on you naked?" He asks, tapping his hand against the arm rest.

"Um, I don't think so. Why?" I wonder, deciding on a striped blue and orange shirt to dress Mason in.

"Well one time when I was younger, my sister had a bunch of her friends over. Yeah, I can tell you already know where this is heading," he laughed, dropping his gaze to the floor. "But they were older, and I thought they were all hot so I tried to show off by doing a flip into the pool. So I did my flip, which was pretty great if I could say so myself, and when I was getting out I realized I wasn't wearing any trunks...." He drifts off, clearly embarrassed with his memory. I can't help but to laugh, not at the story but more at his facial expression. It's a cross between innocence and regret. He seems so embarrassed with his memory that still to this day he was cringing when he thought about it.

"What's your sister's name?" I ask. It surprises me that I've never asked Harry about his family, I wasn't aware that he even had a sibling. No one has ever mentioned her before besides now.