I'm not in a state of disbelief, nor am I nervous or shocked. I simply feel happy.
Though I don't know why. Usually, when something or anything that involves Louis happens, my heart would skip a beat, my breathing would go uneven, my hands would shake and I would be shocked.
But that didn't happen in any form tonight, even before I came, I was comfortable and I was feeling at peace and I was happy, and even now, when those beautiful words roll out of his mouth, I find myself getting more comfortable and happy.
Without a word, I lean in again, connecting my lips with Louis in a small peck as my palm rests on his cheek, and as I pull away and rest my forehead against his, I murmur quietly, "I want you, too, Louis."
And man do I want him. I want every single piece of him; I want each part of his body and soul, every inch of his mind and heart, his touch, lips and eyes. I want him. I want everything about him and everything that he is.
Hearing my words, he grins widely before he purses his lips together, trying to suppress the grin that is there before he leans in for another peck. His arms tighten around my waist as he buries his face in the crook of my neck, pulling me closer to him if possible.
I take the chance to cherish this irreplaceable moment. Us tangled together in a tight embrace, with so many unspoken words from me, with Louis wanting me and me wanting nothing more. Surreal.
A knock on the door interrupts this blissful moment. Fuck, I spoke way too soon. Louis groans before he stands up straighter and pulls away slightly, keeping a hand on my waist.
"Yes?" He says loudly, though I don't pay attention for the door and focus on the fact that I just discovered that Louis is the same height as me. And fuck if it doesn't warm my heart, I have always hated those tall-as-some-fucking-towers kind of guys.
Wren struggles with Harry and thank Lyara I'm not struggling with Louis. It would have been hectic.
"Sorry mate, I know you said no interruptions but there're customers." Liam says from the outside.
"No," Louis whines, dragging the word out before he huffs.
I laugh lightly as I say, "Go, I should leave anyway."
I didn't plan to spend the whole night here with Louis; I made a decision to meet the man who is my real father tonight, which is probably why I came to Louis before it, because I know he would comfort me, even if he has no idea.
"No," he whines again, pulling me in a surprising hug. "Why would you leave now?"
I try to come up with a quick answer. "I'm meeting my father." Fuck, that will lead to further questions.
"Your father?" He looks at me with one eyebrow raised. "Sorry love, but he can fuck off right now; I haven't finished my night with you yet."
I laugh as I say, "Oh, you haven't?"
"Nope, not even close to it." He shakes his head slightly with a tiny smile on his face.
"So, you have something planned for us?" I ask as I – without much thinking about it – wrap my arms around his neck.
"Not really," he says quietly as he closes the distance between us again. "But I was thinking that we can just... kiss for a little," he pauses to press a small kiss under my ear, "then maybe just cuddle and talk."
"Mmhmm," I say with my eyes closed, savouring his lips on my skin. "I'd really love that but unfortunately; I can't cancel my plans with my father."
As much as I want to cave in and do nothing but sit next to him, I can't. Because I know that if I delayed going to my real father tonight, I won't have it in me to go and I will cower out.
"There is no way of persuading you, huh?" He says and I feel him smiling widely against my skin.
"Nope." I grin as I say.
"Shoot," he mumbles and I laugh. "It was worth the try."
"Louis!" Liam calls loudly again, sounding clearly impatient.
"I'm coming, God damn it!" Louis yells just as loud before looking down at me. "See you soon?"
"I'll see you soon." I nod, smiling when he pecks my lips for the millionth time tonight.
"Take care, love," he says. "Do you want me to give you a ride? On the motorcycle?" He asks with a little smirk. My mind immediately goes back to that night when I went on my first motorcycle ride with Louis, when he told me that he saw me before. It deeply warms my heart and I find myself wanting to relive it.
Louis must have known what I'm thinking about, because he smiles and says, "That was a wonderful night, wasn't it?"
"Yes," I reply quietly. "It was."
"I knew you enjoyed it," he bites down on his lip as he smirks. "We'll do it again."
"Can't wait." I say, raising my eyebrows and widening my eyes just a little to show him my excitement.
"Go," he smiles. "I'll call you later."
"Good," I nod and pick my hoodie up before putting it on. With a final kiss to his cheek, I say, "bye."
"Bye, love." He says before I leave the room, smiling widely like an idiot.
A couple are waiting next to the desk when I go out, though Liam guides them to the tattoo room before returning back to me. "It was nice to finally meet you, Tallulah." He says nicely.
"Oh, thanks. You, too." I say with a smile.
"He never shuts up about you." He chuckles to himself as he sits down behind the desk.
"He doesn't?" I ask, grinning and finding this absolutely interesting.
"Uh-uh," he shakes his head. "Your boyfriend is a little annoying."
If I can explain how wide my grin is, I will, but I can't. I can't even explain the unbelievable happiness that found its home inside my heart.
Boyfriend. It sounds weird. Perfect but weird.
I sigh happily before I recover and say, "I'm sure he is," I smile. "I'll see you soon, Liam. Bye!" I say loudly before rushing out of the parlour.
As soon as the cold air hits my face and body, I squeal loudly in happiness. I feel as light as a feather and as happy as Patrick in SpongeBob is, and man does it feel amazing.
"Woo!" I squeal before taking a deep breath to calm my overflowing happiness.
Immediately my mind warns me that I'm about to leave this place to meet a man that I have never seen before, the man who was supposed to be a big part of my life but is only a dot in it. And just like that, the nervousness overtakes my happiness, and an uneasy feeling settles at the bottom of my stomach.
I can do that. I can easily do that, right? It's nothing big. I will just go there, knock on his door and talk to him. But what if he doesn't recognise me? What if he doesn't remember me or my mother or anything?
What if, what if, what if, what if.
I groan as soon as the uncountable questions begin to appear in my mind, giving me a headache and distracting me from keeping my cool down.
It occurs to me that I'm still standing outside the parlour, and it also occurs to me that I feel that there is a strong pair of eyes burning holes through my back. So I turn my head to the side, and much to my horror, Liam is standing there with a curious look on his face, though as soon as our eyes connect, he recovers and sends me an awkward smile.
Smiling a small smile, I turn my head back quickly and start walking according to the address that is engraved deeply inside my memory. You would think that I don't know the place here, but no, I know it like the back of my hand. We spent so many years discovering it anyway.
I wander between the streets of the city, meeting new and random humans who are living their lives easily and without rules, without anyone caging them. And as I continue wandering here, I begin to ask myself those questions that have never left my mind.
Why can't we be like them? Free and without any rules? Going to different places each night and enjoying our times? Whoever sat those rules of us not communicating and living with humans is an asshole or a bitch.
I reach the street, a fancy street with fancy houses that look much too expensive. With a deep breath, I start walking in that street, passing each house and counting their numbers until I stop at house twenty-four.
Polished in shinning white with a big porch and a too greenish garden, the house is massive and beautiful. I push the small wooden door open and walk slowly on the garden.
With each step I take, a part of my body is controlled by nervousness, and with every breath I take, my heart beats harder against my chest. Walking up those three black stairs, I fist the hem of my hoodie in my palm, fisting it tightly and releasing it again.
When I reach the door, I hear loud chatting and people laughing inside, and immediately think that now is not the right time. However, I know that if I don't do that now, I won't do it anytime soon. I can't go back now, not when I'm right in front of the big wooden door.
Taking a deep breath, I pick up my courage and knock three times on the door, making sure to knock loudly so that they can hear me over the loud noise.
What if this isn't his house anymore? What if he moved out?
Mercifully, before the questions begin to pop up inside my mind again, the door is pulled open from the inside and before I panic, I look in confusion at the small kid who looks like he is eight or nine years old.
He stares at me with complete silence, making this whole situation more awkward than it is already. Finding no other way, I take it upon myself to speak first, "umm, hi?"
Again, he remains silent as he only stares at me. Fuck. Clearing my throat, I try again, "is your mother here?"
As if on cue, a young woman with blonde hair and brown eyes appear on the door with a beaming smile on her face. "Hello, how can I help you?"
Smiling nervously, I shift from feet to feet before saying, "I'm looking for Mr Peter Evans." I inform her.
She only smiles wider as she takes the boys' hand and says, "Of course, just a second!"
She leaves me on the door, with my nerves all over the place as I take in a deep breath and let it out, and repeat the whole action.
"Dad!" The same voice of the woman says loudly and my blood turns cold. Dad. Okay. He's her dad. That's fine.
Fuuuuuuck.
A man in his mid-forties appears, with dark black hair and a decent height. He is wearing a dark blue loose jean with a patterned button up underneath his black sweater. Though that's not what catches my eyes, what really takes my breath away and makes me speechless in front of him, is his blue eyes. The same blue eyes as mine.
Holy fuck.
My eyes start to brim with tears and an enormous lump forms itself in my throat, making it hard for me to swallow and to form any kind of words. I blink back the tears to stop them as he gives me a genuine smile and says, "Hello, young lady."
His voice is smooth and soft, gentle and careful that it makes me just want to curl up and do nothing but cry. Forcing the lump down my throat, I take a deep breath and try to speak. "I... Can I speak to you?"
"Of course, come in," he says and steps inside, though I don't move. I don't think it's a good idea for me to get inside there when there are a lot of people who are basically his family.
"Can we talk here? O-outside?" I hesitate as I ask. Noticing my tone, he furrows his eyebrows together slightly before he steps outside and closes the door behind him.
"Take a seat," he gestures me slowly to one of the chairs. I do as he said and sit down before he sits down on the chair in front of me. "Who are you, if you don't mind me asking?"
I stare into these typical blue eyes, debating whether or not I should tell him who am I. My mother didn't tell me what to do when I meet him, though she did tell me to get a closure. I just don't know if telling him the truth is part of this closure or not.
"I'm Tallulah...?" I blurt out, sounding absolutely unsure of what I'm saying.
I swear that something flashes before his eyes for just a second before he recovers, clears his throat and smiles. "And how can I help you, Tallulah?"
"Do you know Ciara Lothbrok?" I ask, seeing how his breathing turns uneven in a matter of seconds.
"D-do you?" He asks back, blinking.
"Yes," I answer almost immediately. "She's my mother." I whisper.
"No," he says lowly, his lower lip starting to twitch as tears begin to gather in his eyes. "No, that can't be true."
"I'm sorry," I choke out, losing all my control. "She just told me recently. I'm so sorry."
"Oh, God," he chokes out, kneeling in front of me as he places his hands on my knees. "You're Tallulah? My Tallulah?"
A choked sob is the answer to his question as I place my hand over my mouth to stop these chokes. The man in front of me loses all his control and emotions as he grabs my knees tightly and cries into my leg. His entire body shaking, making me not able to look at him anymore.
"I've yearned to see you, my darling," he manages to speak out between sobs. "I've wanted nothing but to hold you in my arms. My baby."
I sniff and let out a strangled breath as I wipe away my tears. "I'm so sorry, I just found out a few days ago and she gave me the address and I was so scared to come and I—" I trail off, trying to find the correct words. "I'm so sorry it took so long." I barely whisper as the tears restart falling over my cheeks.
"I've waited for this moment for nineteen years," he says. Finally regaining some control as he continues, "And I'd have waited for a lifetime, darling."
Hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading and please, don't forget to vote and comment :) x