POV: BAYLIN GRIGGS
All that chaos brings us to today, Thursday morning.
Harry squatting on the floor beside me as my eyes flicker open and adjust to the glaring sun coming through the window. His hand gently caressing my cheek to wake me up from another restless night.
I'm still not sleeping very well, but I at least am getting a couple hours a night— much better than the zero I was getting last week.
"Baby?"
Baby was a new name he started calling me recently, I can't explain the feeling I get when he calls me that. The way it sounds rolling off his tongue drives me crazy.
He's called me it before, but only while he was touching or pleasing me in some way, never in a casual setting— which made it that much more the first time he did.
I still don't have a clue as to where we stand in our relationship, we are far from 'dating' or being 'together', but obviously we aren't just friends. We've both admitting to having feeling for one another, which felt like years ago. Other than that, we haven't really talked about a title.
I don't mind this titleless relationship, for now at least, maybe one day we'll talk about it and figure out what we want. But for now I'm okay with doing whatever this was.
"You coming with me today?" He whispers, his tone quiet but encouraging and not wanting to talk up so early in the morning as I was still in bed and half a sleep.
I squint my eyes open and shake my head no, he sighs and placed a light kiss on my temple before standing himself up and leaving my side.
"I'll call you." He adds before leaving the bedroom.
"You always do." I coo back.
I'm finally starting to get back into the pace of things, getting out of bed a reasonable hour and making proper food for myself. Thinking about started school again on Monday, dreading it, but I know I have to go back at some point. And I don't want to miss any more of the work that I'm going to have to do. I've only been out for two weeks but I can already see the piles of work I'm going to need to complete.
I have completely pushed that worrying thought about the balcony incident out of my head, seeing how stupid I was being to even consider something like that. Thank god I came to my senses, I don't know what came over me that day. And I'm so grateful that I didn't let anything push me over the edge... literally.
When lunch rolled around, Liam and Zayn came and brought food as they usually would.
These past few days I was starting to be more chatty than I had been the first week, talking and engaging in the conversation. Before I was only sitting and listening, unable to concentrate on anything further more than my mother and sister— no matter how hard the guys tried to get to me out of my head.
The three of us talked about me coming back to school, they thought it was a good idea for me to return to school on Monday as well. I was slightly hoping they would say no since I needed a form of confirmation to tell me no, but there was none of that.
Only about half an hour after they arrived they left to go finish off the last two classes of the day, assuring me they'll be texting and calling to check up on me until Harry comes back.
I spent the next few hours catching up on as much school work as I could, making sure to not fall behind in any classes. Today was the first day I had actually had any motivation to do so, I played some music and got to work with an essay I had to write for my History class.
I've gotten emails from most of my teachers saying that they'll extend due dates for me, or telling me I don't have to do it at all— most were very understanding after finding out what had happened.
Ms. Sun sent me a long message, it was so kind hearted and sweet. She told me she went through a similar thing when she was my age, so she had the basic idea of what I was feeling. Told me if I ever needed anything I could always go to her.
In the middle of me doing my work, I get a call from Alice.
"Hello?" I answer.
"Hi dear, I need to stop by and go over a few things with you." Alice murmurs over the phone. "Will you be free around four?"
I don't leave this fucking apartment, yes I'll be free.
"I'll be here, yes." I huff, I couldn't help but tense my nerves at the 'things' she is talking about. "Um, what things?"
She hesitates to answer, taking a deep breath before being able to push out her words. "I think it's best if we talk in person."
My heart started beating out of my chest, I knew I'd be overthinking this until she drops whatever it is. Half expected her to tell me they found Maya's body or something serious like that, though I don't think her voice would sound so calm if that was the case.
"Don't trip on your thoughts, nothing with worrying too much about." She comforts, probably sensing the stress in my voice.
Before I gave her a reply, she spoke again.
"Is Harry there?" Her voice sounding nervous.
"No, he's at school." My curiosity getting the best of me and it cant help but seem like she was glad I said he wasn't home. "He will be by the time you come though."
She curses under her breath. "Can he not be?"
"This is his apartment, he lives here." I try to reason, if she wanted me alone she could have asked me to just go down to the station. "Why don't you want him here?"
Why in the world would she not want Harry here? Does it involve him? I was a little panicked, hoping to god nothing happened to where Harry wouldn't be able to know.
She delays her answer, smacking her lips as my throat starts to tighten.
"I have to bring my daughter along with me, her sitter canceled on me last minute."
I keep forgetting that Alice and Harry have a past, a past in which involves her being a fuck up and Harry having his childhood ripped out from under him. Alice's daughter also being like a sister to Harry, who he hasn't seen in years.
Harry talks about that little girl none stop, she clearly made some kind of impact on his life before she was torn away from him. I can only imagine how that must have felt like to go though, being how Margot was so young.
Everytime Harry gets the chance, he practically begs Alice to let him see her, I can tell how much he misses her just by how eger he is to contact her.
I'm sure Harry will be ecstatic when he finds out Margot will be tagging along, though Alice seems the opposite.
Alice cut our phone call short and assured me that she isn't happy about having Harry reunite with Margot— which is long overdue by now. I still don't understand why Alice didn't want this to happen.
When Harry got home, he had a bag of more of my clothes— along with a couple things from my home. He passed by my house to pick up a few things, he asked if I wanted to go with him and I turned him down— he said he expected it.
I can't bring myself to go back there, I don't know how I'm going to when the time comes.
I was nervous to tell him about the Margot situation, even though I knew he would be bouncing off the walls with excitement.
"How was school?" I ask him as he places my items on the floor. I notice the still blank canvas from my art class, and my filled duffel bag that has been stuffed in the back of my closet for years— wondering how he even managed to get to it.
"Fine, boring." He admits, striding my way near the foot of the couch and where I stood. "What about you?"
"I didn't go school." I tease, knowing what he meant but choosing to look past it anyway.
"Your day, how was your day?" He drapes his arms around me and brings me to a comforting hug.
"Fine, boring." I repeat his answer back to him.
My day was fine, and it was boring. I felt more myself today, more open and willing to do things out of bed.
"What did you do?" He asks further, walking us back until we meet with the couch and he pushes us both down— falling to lay down beside each other.
The more time Harry and I spend together, the more we act like a real couple— cuddling up on the couch like this and having random little conversation with no particular meaning, I genuinely enjoy his company.
We haven't even been able to bring ourselves to be sexual with each other in a while, I think he's a little freaked out that I'll push him away or something. He's giving me time to cope, which I understand but god this man makes me feel like a thirteen boy going through puberty.
"The boys brought me a burrito and I finished some school work." I murmur plainly with the tiniest chuckle. "I'm in a better mood today, thinking about going back to school on Monday."
"Well that's good." He encourages, moving a strand of hair off my face and staring gleamy at my lips. I hum in agreement, placing a quick chaste kiss on his lips to ease the need he wasn't acting upon.
Harry seemed extremely exhausted, his under eyes dark and hollowed and his breathing was slow calm as his chest rises and falls against my side.
I was laying flat on my back, while harry was laid lower than me on his side— cuddled tight into my side with his legs twisted in mine.
His eyes were now shut and it looked like he could fall asleep right here if he tried, I could too. But I knew Alice was supposed to be here in less than an hour and if we fell asleep here we'd sleep through it. Unlike me, Harry could sleep through a hurricane.
"You're tired." I state, brushing his hair off of his face and tangling my fingers with his roots.
"Mhm." He hums in agreement, keeping his eyes shut.
"I am too." I whisper, turning his face so that he'll look at me. "But we can't sleep right now."
He groans out a complaint, "Why not?"
"Alice is coming, said she needs to go over a few things with me. I don't think she'll take long, probably just useless information like last time." I inform as he grumbled again. "I promise when she's gone we'll take a nap."
I was beating myself up over whether I should tell him about Margot now or just wait until she's outside my door, I don't want him to freak out and think I was hiding it or something of that sort.
Before I even got the chance to tell him, I felt my eyes getting heavy and my concern fade. Harry feeling so comfortable around me like this I couldn't help but drift to sleep.
Thank god the doorbell was loud enough to act as an alarm to wake me, Harry was still sleep in my arms when my eyes shot open— the doorbell not affecting his slumber the slightest bit.
I bolt up when it rings again, realizing that we actually fell asleep after I had said we simply can't.
"Harry." I shake his arm to wake him, earning nothing but a groan. "Alice is here. Get up."
I unhook Harry's body from around me and stand myself up, my body tired and lazy from just waking up from the brief nap. This is exactly the reason I didn't want to sleep, I knew how tired I would be when I woke up and how long it would take for the energy to set in.
I pry myself from the couch, standing to my feet and quickly smoothing my fingers through my hair to flatten down whatever mess it was and made my way to the door. Harry on the other hand, still on the couch— at least he was sitting upright and fixing his own hair, which was messier than mine.
Right as the loud bell rang, which priced my eardrums and making me mentally groan at how tired I had still been, I reach for the knob and swing open the door.
Alice was standing in black pants and a regular T-shirt, looking more casual than usual. To her left was a tall and thin woman I had never seen before, she was wearing a grey pants suit with a light blue shirt underneath and holding a clipboard in her hand.
"Hi," I greet with a tone of question in my voice as i wasn't expecting who ever the woman was to come with her. "Come in."
When the two walk threw the door way, it comes to my attention that there was a small figure behind them— walking in behind Alice and latching onto her hand once she was.
My eyes tilt down to a little girl now at Alice's side, holding her hand and shying the slightest bit behind her leg. She was in a blue dress with a white flower printed on it and had her platinum blonde hair in two adorable braids.
This must be the famous Margot that Harry wouldn't shut up about, the spark in his eyes when he talks about her made me realize how much he really did miss her.
Fuck, I didn't tell Harr-
"Mags?" I hear Harry's voice, still sounding sleepy but obviously in quite a bit of shock, from behind me.
The second the little girl looks around my body to see Harry now standing up by the couch, her entire face lights up, the crystal blue in her eyes shooting wide to him.
"Harry!" She squeals in excitement, her baby voice poking out to make her 'R's slur and sound like 'W's in the slightest.
Immediately the little girl darts away from us and goes running deeper into the apartment, rushing to Harry who still looked like he didn't believe she was actually here.
For the past two weeks, Harry has been non-stop going on about how he couldn't wait until Alice was finally going to let him see her.
In seconds she was only apart a foot away from him, that's when I think Harry's brain had finally pieced together what was going on, he dropped down to squat at his knees and Margot leaped into his arms. Harry tightly hugging her, squinting his eyes shut as if he dreaded letting her go.
The three of us watched the two embrace, Alice visually a upset.
Harry hummed and started shaking the girl side to side in enthusiasm, earning countless giggles to escape her. Harry pried his head off her small shoulder and kissed the side of her head before leaning back and taking everything in.
"You're so big." Harry says to the girl, staying low and using his hand as if he was comparing heights. "How did you grow so fast? Look at you, nearly my height." He jokes.
Her laugh was so cute, I love kids around that age— I always have. They're just so cute and innocent, how could you not love them?
Harry just stares at her for a second longer, still looking like he was dreaming— maybe even questioning himself if he was. I hear the two mumbling words, to quiet for me to understand.
Margot launches herself forward again to bring them into another hug, her arms wrapping around the back of his neck while his were locked around her tiny torso— his bicep practically bigger than her whole head.
Harry then stands himself up— picking her up with him so that she was sat on his hip.
"I miss you, when you would come home." Margot mumbles, that alone breaking my heart to hear. "When I would see you lots."
The look in Harry's eyes was unrecognizable to me, the familiarity glint of this little girl who he use to know so well. If I wasn't mistaken, I might have even noticed the smallest shine of a tear to his eye. I've never seen him look like that before, it was endearing.
Harry fired a quick glare at Alice, I saw the change in mood in his eyes for the split second as they rang with agony before turning back to Margot who was now at eye level with him.
"I know." He leans to her, the hurt in his eyes very potent. "I've missed you too."
I've never seen how Harry was with kids, I know he told me he was close with Margot when he explained the situation to me, but I never expected for it to touch me in the way it did. Harry did so not look like the kind of guy to be good with kids, but seeing how this little girl looked at him with so much love made me giddy.
"I haven't seen you in so so so long." Harry drops his head back in exaggeration, courtesy to Margot.
"Did you know, I start first grade in one year." Her eyes glow in passion, rambling about probably the only thing a girl her age has going on. "I'm almost six, mom says."
"Wow, six?" Harry acts as if that was the most surprising statement he's ever heard, clearly playing it up for her amusement. "Well, don't we have a lot to catch up on then, little one."
The way he was talking to her made me feel so happy, seeing the care in his eyes as he tried to make up for lost time, truly seeing the passion in how he spoke to her.
"Awe, well aren't they just the cutest." The unknown woman murmurs— more to Alice than to me. "Makes me wish I had given my son a younger sibling."
"They aren't siblings." I hear Alice mumble.
I had to use every bit of my control not to sock her in the face.
Alice then clears her throat, causing Harry and Margot to both look up to her.
"Harry dear," She begins waving them off. "Can you watch her while we talk to Baylin? I'm sure you want to spend a little time with her anyway."
Harry doesn't verbally answer and walks around the couch, Margot still attached to his hip, and goes into the kitchen— placing the girl down so that she was sitting on top of the counter.
I see her eyes land down on Harry's arms, looking over his tattoos.
"What are those?" She asks, Harry pulling one of the island stools up next to her so that he could be with her.
I take it he didn't have any tattoos the last time she saw him, since she seemed like this was the first time she was seeing them.
The smile across Harry's face was so bright and content, his eyes crinkled and his body language acted as if he had just found fifty bucks off the floor— bubbly and ecstatic.
"They're tattoos." He reached his arms out to look at the tattoos scattered across his skin.
"What are they for?" She questions tracing one of her tiny fingers across one of the inked pictures on his skin.
"Nothing." He answers simply. "I like how they look."
She admires the pictures for a moment longer, her eyes and finger landing on the large rose near his elbow. "Pretty."
As I was enjoying every passing second, watching as Harry and Margot interacted as if no time had passed between them, Alice broke the sweet trance I was caught in by bringing the attention to her again, this time by speaking.
"We should be getting started, Shannon doesn't have a lot of time on her hands." Alice murmurs, referring to the tall woman.
My eyes fixate to her, she was looking around the apartment and taking in the sight of the impressive interior.
Once she noticed my gaze she looked back to me with a bright smile. "Sorry where are my manners, good afternoon Baylin." She reached her hand for me to shake, as I did so she continued. "My name is Shannon Walker, I'm a social worker working with Detective Williams. It's a pleasure to meet you."
A social worker? For a missing person case?
Maybe she was here to help with the issue with my mom, thought I don't believe I need any assisted help with that— only time.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you." I answer back to be polite. "Come please, sit."
I gesture to the couch and we take a seat, the two women sitting side by side on the long end of the 'L' shaped couch, while I sat on the short end. All our bodies facing each other getting ready for this conversation.
I was nervous, not the as much as I should have been clearly— for what I wasn't prepared for as this conversation ended up taking a turn I didn't expect.
"Did you find something? With Maya?" I question Alice.
I'm just now noticing how timid her body language was, her hands were folded together and she was dodging my eyes, shifting in her seat like she couldn't get comfortable.
I wasn't able to configure if she was stressed about what we were soon to be talking about, or about Margot and Harry close behind us.
"No, my team and still working with the forensics to test some DNA we found-"
"You found DNA?" I spark, not holding back at my expression.
"Yes, unidentified DNA." She states, my excitement settling just as quick as it shot. "But that isn't what we're here today."
She nods over to Shannon at her side, giving her a 'go ahead' kind of assent.
"Baylin, I'm just here to ask you a few questions." She flashes me a warm smile that doesn't quite meet her eyes. "Will that be okay?"
I nod my head, my stomach flipping at the sound of her voice and at Alice's reaction.
In a hope for comfort I glance over to Harry— he was still sat in the same spot with Margot. Margot had the biggest smile on her face and she was still admiring Harry's tattoos.
"Okay first, I know you've been staying home from school, are you planning on going back anytime soon?"
"Yes, we talked about having me go back starting Monday." I answer trying my best to sound confident.
"And are you okay with that? Do you feel ready? No one pushed you into that decision?" She goes further.
"No, it was my idea. I discussed it with Harry and a couple of my other friends."
She writes something down on the clip board that was out of my frame of sight. "Harry who you have been living with for these past two weeks, correct?"
"Correct."
She writes down more, the sound of her pen writing on the paper giving me a highly strung tension throughout my body.
"And you mentioned friends, have you been seeing your friends? Getting enough social interactions with people?" She says with a sincere tone to her strong voice. "That's very important."
"Yeah, a couple of my friends come over to see how I'm doing. Mostly everyday I'd say." I answer, she writes more on the paper making me panic.
I felt the tensing in my stomach, her face as she writes making it worse and making me think she's writing something bad.
"Alright, and how are you handling witnessing the passing and brutal murder of your mother?
Way to be blunt Shannon.
My heart drops at her question, not expecting her to be so harsh but calm sounding at the same time over such a depressing event.
"I-I don't really-" I stutter not knowing exactly how to answer.
How the fuck do you think I'm doing, what kind of question is that?
"You don't have to answer anything are aren't comfortable with sweetie." Alice cuts in.
"Yes of course," Shannon agrees. "We're trying to make you comfortable here, we'll move on."
I'm sure she picked up on how upset and uncomfortable I may have felt, thankfully.
"So you're living with Harry? Who is over the age of eighteen, if I'm not mistaken." She turns around in her seat to get the boys answer from the other side of the loft.
"Um, yes I am." He answers, stopping his conversation with Margot for a second to answer and giving me a quick glance as well.
"Alrighty." She writes more. "And you are a minor, sixteen?"
"Yes, my birthday was the-"
"The same day your mother passed." She finished my sentence.
I nod timidity. I really don't like the abrasive energy I'm getting for you Shannon.
I'm sure it's just her job and she has to deal with these kinds of situations all the time, which is possible why she sounded so casual talking about it.
I needed to get use to the fact that this is becoming a normality in my life.
We sat in silence for a couple seconds, the sound of Harry and Margot chatting in the kitchen was to be heard along with the writing of the pen.
"So with your mother now gone and your father out of the picture..."
I wonder how she already knew that private information about me, had they talked to anyone? My school possibly? My school counselor has records on my home life back when I was forced to visit her when my father left.
"...do you have any other adults in your intermediate family?"
"No one other than my sister." I answer truthfully.
My mother moved to california before we were born, her parents practically disowned her when she decidedly move on her own to start a new life. She use to live in North Carolina, that's were the rest of my family was— who I'd never met for starters as well as them being across the country.
"No one?" She digs.
I shake my head no, dodging her eyes and darting them back to Harry for that comfort feeling.
Her and Alice exchanged a glance, sighing in what seemed to be disappointment and fearing what they had to say following up.
"Honey, with both your parents gone and the only other adult relative you have going missing..." Alice pauses like this was hard for her to inform me.
"You're a waif minor." Shannon shoots, again sounded ever so casual with her behavior.
"A waif minor?" I shake my head as the unfamiliar term. "I'm sorry what exactly is a waif minor?"
"You're a ward of the state." Shannon continues.
Still confused as to what any of these words mean, I furrow my brows as give the look that told them I was clearly unaware of what any of that meant.
The room is silent for a moment, the two women looking at each other in agitation while the tension in the air was thick and hammered.
I hear the chatter in the kitchen stop and I tear my eyes away from the women to focus on Harry— who had taken Margot off the counter and was now holding her hand at his side.
Harry's face was wiped of the joyous emotion he has and is replaced with a look of pitty and deep worry.
"Alice." He says deeply to grab her attention. Harry walks over to the back of the couch to meet with Alice who has now stood up. "She's sixteen, she isn't a fucking child." Harry's voice filed with anger immediately.
He clearly was understanding these terms which I was clueless about, making me feel a bit dumb at the loss of connection.
Margot was standing behind Harry the same way she stood behind Alice in the start of their arrival.
Alice went to answer Harry, but was cut off by the other woman.
"She's a minor, therefore underage and eligible for self living or emancipation of the state." Shannon murmurs, standing up herself which made me follow along so that I wasn't the only one seated.
I still wasn't following.
"What's a ward of the state?" I question again. "Wats going on?"
They all look at me, Harry's eyes turning soft the minuet they met my own. I tried to fetch for that feeling of safety in the green, yet it was empowered away by the worry in his eyes.
"They're putting you in foster care."
~~~
now you guys are finally able to see why i needed to make baylin so young, i've had this chapter planned out for a long time lol
also it's my birthday today hehe
- c