Cliché || H.S.

Chapter 34

"But Auntie Lil I don't want to go to sleep," Harper argues as I tuck her comforter around her. I offered to watch the kids so Kelly and Scott could go on a date, leaving me with bedtime duty.

"Harper you were falling asleep while I was reading the story, I think that means you're ready to sleep," I sit down on the bed next to her, running my fingers through her blonde hair. She doesn't argue anymore, but instead pouts her bottom lip. She rests her head against me and plays with my fingers on my other hand.

"What was your favorite part about today?" I ask her. Her and Scott do this as their nightly ritual, and Harper wouldn't let me walk out of this house alive if I didn't stick to routine.

"Going to the park," she says before elaborating, "Sarah was there and we got to play squirrels. What was your favorite?"

"Hanging out with you and your brother," I tell her, lightly tugging at her worn pajama top. She swats my hand away before protesting, "You say that was your favorite part everyday."

"Because it's always my favorite part," I lightly kiss the top of her head before standing and tightening the covers once more, "try to get some sleep, okay? You have a big day tomorrow." She nods her head once before watching me leave the room, softly closing the door behind me.

I grab the baby monitor and lay down on the couch, finally able to relax until Kelly and Scott come back. I flip through the channels when my phone begins ringing in my pocket. I let out a small groan before answering it as cheerily as possible.

"Hey Lil, it's Robbie. How ya doin' kiddo?" His voice is light, but I know he's not calling to catch up.

"I'm doing alright. What's up?"

"A few things. First of all, have you talked to Nina recently?" He asks, clearly back to business as usual.

"Yeah I talked to her this morning. Why?" I wouldn't have been able to escape the woman if I had tried. She's relentless.

"I ran into her earlier this week and she said she'd been trying to get ahold of you. You agreed to everything she said right? You can't go breaking your contract, hon," Robbie keeps his tone professional, but I can already imagine his stern look.

"Yeah I know, we're all good. She said things are fine right now but Harry and I still need to keep up appearances until a couple weeks after the release. It's more of a press tour problem and not a now problem, so I'll deal with that when we get there."

"Good, good. Glad that's under control. The other thing I'm calling about is this little break you're on. We need to make some decisions. You have three roles on the table and they're not going to wait much longer before they hand them off to someone else. You need to commit," I press my hand to my face, massaging my temples.

"Robbie, I told you that I'm home with my family right now. Work can wait," We've had this conversation too many times, and it feels like all we do is go in circles.

"Lilian, it's my job to make sure that you're successful and on top of your game. You've already taken the longest break you've had since I've known you. Some of these are too big of opportunities for you to pass up, I don't want you having any regrets later on. And I think you'll regret not doing this," his voice is no longer light. Instead he's trying to pressure me, clearly wanting an answer now.

"Robbie, I've already told you, I'm staying here until press tour. Every role you bring to me you say will be life changing and is something that I can't pass up. If this one doesn't work out then another one will come around. I think I'll have more regrets that I slaved away at work for my whole life instead of being here spending time with my family. I'm not having this conversation again."