Avery Holmes
In the morning, I woke up with an unclear mind. It took me about a minute to remember all that happened last night, and when it all came back to me, I closed my eyes again, wanting to sleep forever. Unfortunately, reality doesn't work that way.
I rolled over on my side, anticipating a sleeping Niall beside me, but almost shrieked when I didn't see him. The spot next to me on the bed was still occupied, but instead of Niall, Zayn laid beside me, scrolling through Twitter on his phone.
I sat up, rubbing my eyes. He smiled politely.
"Sorry, your daughter kicked me in my sleep and I have a bad back." He smiled sheepishly.
"I'm so sorry about that, I should have warned you." I sighed, sitting up. "I don't want you to think I don't want you here, because it's totally fine, but where's Niall?" Zayn chuckled and set his phone down on the pillow behind him.
"He went to the airport with Harry to pick Darcy up. It's only six in the morning, but she had an early flight. He wanted to be there with him." Zayn shrugged. "And don't worry, I'm not offended."
I smiled and looked around the room. Dim light barely shone in through the window, but it was enough that I could see around the room. Louis was curled up in a ball on the floor beside the couch, and Liam wasn't a few feet away. Aimee was on the bed beside us, sprawled out like a starfish. I snorted and rolled my eyes at her, pulling out my phone.
"So..." I trailed off, feeling a bit awkward. I wondered how long we'd been sharing a bed. "How's Perrie? That's her name, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Zayn's face lit up. "She's really good, and we're really happy."
To my dismay, his answers were always short and sweet. I realized if I was going to make any conversation with him it'd either be brief or I'd have to do all of the talking. Instead of sitting in bed, I decided to get up and head to the small bathroom, slipping my phone out of my pocket and dialing Niall's number before forgetting that the security guards probably destroyed it.
Sighing, I looked at myself in the mirror. I felt bad for Zayn, because I looked like an absolute train wreck. As I peed, I combed through the knots in my hair in an attempt to tame it, but I needed my brush back at the suite and I didn't know if I was allowed to even go back there.
About ten minutes later of fixing my face and hair, I saw that Aimee was awake. She was always an early riser, so it didn't surprise me, but I just didn't want her to disturb the others. Liam and Louis were both awake, too, now, both on their phones.
"G'morning, love." Louis's soft voice said. "How are you doing with... all of this?"
"I'm okay." I said. "I'm sorry about... all of this." I chuckled, realizing I was copying him.
"Don't worry! We'll have plenty to do today, and as long as we're with the guards, we'll be safe. It's sort of exciting, despite someone wanting to come after Niall." Louis pouted, scooting over on the couch so I could sit.
"We can play, mommy!" Aimee exclaimed from the other side of the room, bouncing around on the bed that she basically claimed.
"First you need to say sorry to Zayn for kicking him in your sleep, goofball." I chuckled.
"It's okay! It's fine, Aimee." Zayn reassured her quickly, not wanting her to be concerned or get her feelings hurt. I thought it was sweet for him to be so considerate of her.
"'Kay," Aimee grinned. "Mommy, I went potty ." She pointed to her pull up. I groaned.
"If you wake up in the middle of the night and need to pee, you've gotta tell me. Okay? We need to get you out of pull ups at night." I said, standing up and grabbing her outfit from yesterday with a fresh pair of underwear for her that I had set out on the recliner.
"Alright, Aim, it's red underwear day. What day is that?" I quizzed her.
"Ice cream day!" Aimee clapped. Louis looked at me and raised an eyebrow.
"Ice cream day?" He asked.
"Sunday. You know, since it sounds like sundae. It helps her learn the days of the week." I chuckled, helping Aimee get dressed for the day. When I was done, I threw out her pull up and washed my hands whilst Aimee tried to get the attention of the boys who were sitting around in the main room of the cramped hotel suite.
"Harry just called, Avery, they'll be here in a few!" Liam hollered over to me while I was getting ready in the bathroom.
"'Kay!" I called back, rushing my makeup. I wanted to look at least decent, because I always wanted to make a good impression, but it looked like that wasn't going to be happening today. My makeup looked fine, but I had to put my hair in a ponytail because there was no way I'd have time to do it.
"Crap, Aimee, I've gotta get you ready!" I said when I stepped back out into the main room. Louis seemed to already have beaten me to it, because Aimee was already dressed in the outfit that I laid out. Her hair, however, was still a mess. I smiled up at Louis. "Thanks."
"No problem," He grinned. "They should be here any minute, Sam got a few other guards to escort them to the airport, but that was a few hours ago. Then, very seriously, Louis looked straight into my eyes. "You're going to talk to Darcy about..."
"Yeah." I sighed, feeling a bit nervous. "Yeah, I am."
"You know what you need to do, Avery. And I know that you may not see that right-"
"No, I think I do, actually." I admitted. "I still want to talk to Darcy about what it was like for her. I mean, I know our situations are completely different, but she still went through things that I've got to go through. Questioning, court..." I trailed off, a headache already building at my temples.
"Did Harry tell her anything or is she clueless?" I shook my head.
"No, she knows to a certain extent. Harry and Niall thought it would be better to tell her before hand, so she could think about it a bit, I guess." I said. "I just hope that she'll shed a bit of light on the situation."
"I'm sure she'll hope to give you a clear head." Louis smiled sympathetically, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Niall's a lucky lad. I can tell that you two really love each other and he's going to take care of you." He reassured me.
Before I could respond, there was a sharp knock on the door, followed by the sound of Sam's voice, telling us that it was only him. This meant that Darcy was here with Harry and Niall. I was honestly really nervous, I didn't want her to think I was a teenage-pregnancy screw-up. Ever since I had Aimee I felt like I had some kind of point to prove.
Liam ran to the door and opened it quickly. Niall followed Sam into the room, and then came Harry, holding hands with a pretty brunette that must've been Darcy. She was sweet looking, like she couldn't hurt a fly. It made me feel a bit better that she didn't look too intimidating.
All around me, everyone was greeting her, saying how much so-and-so missed each other, laughing, as Aimee and I sat awkwardly on the couch. I knew to let them have their little reunion time, but I still felt silly just sitting there.
"Oh!" Niall said, walking over to the couch and holding my hand, pulling me up so I was on the balls of my feet. I gained my balance quickly, though, smiling politely at Darcy. Funny, I never pictured her to look like this. I thought she'd look very high standard, but she was only wearing sweats.
"This is my girlfriend, Avery, and her daughter Aimee." Niall introduced. "And Ave, this is Darcy, Harry's fiance." Niall glanced between us and I soon was pulled into a big hug from Darcy.
"I've heard so much about you." She chuckled. "Harry says that this one here doesn't shut up about you. You've got him whipped." She teased, glancing at him. He blushed furiously and picked Aimee up, who probably was striving for attention. "And you! It's so good to see you, what's your name again?"
"Aimee and I'm this many." Aimee put up two fingers, and Niall put up the third for her. "I have my red undies on today." Aimee stated. I wanted to scold her, but I held back this time as everyone in the room laughed. Screw it, I'd let it slide just this one time.
"Babe, I've got your bags." Harry whispered to Darcy, his hand on her side. I could see the way that they looked at each other that they were truly in love, and it made me wonder if this was what people saw when they looked at Niall and I. Guess I would never truly know.
"I'm really sorry that we're all cramped in here right now." I apologized. "Zayn told me this morning that we're going to move to a bigger room, so hopefully you'll at least have a bed." I said sheepishly.
"Don't worry, I'm not too high maintenance if you couldn't tell." She gestured to her one bag that Harry had strapped over his shoulder as he leaned in and pecked her on the lips. I looked down and saw a small diamond ring on her finger and it brought a smile to my face. They truly were an adorable couple.
"Mommy!" Aimee shouted, holding my phone high in the air. There was so much commotion around the room that I could barely hear her, but a mother knows how to pick out their child's voice. I turned to her as she rushed up me, handing it to me. "It dinged."
I bit my lip and looked around the room.
"If you'll just excuse me for one sec." I apologized to Darcy, slipping into the bathroom to read the message. I saw that it wasn't a text or a voice mail, but an email. I frowned down at my phone and set the toilet seat lid down, sitting on the cold tile and clicking on my mail app.
When I saw my mom's old email address, my heart slowed. It felt so good to see that she was at least trying to contact me. It had been over a year since she had talked to me and I'd heard her voice, and even then it was to lecture me about my life decisions.
I clicked on the email and read it a few times over.
Avery-
I hope that you and Aimee are doing well. I wanted to write to you because I knew that Aimee's birthday has passed and she's turned three. I feel so old saying that I'm a grandma of a three year old, and I also feel bad that I have only seen her a few times.
How is Jake doing? Has he gotten a job yet? I hope that he's gotten off his lazy bum and actually tried to work hard for once in his life. I promised not to complain about him, but it feels necessary to at least once in this message.
Anyways, I'll get to the point. I know that New York is far from Nevada and that you aren't in the best shape financially, so your father and I have purchased two tickets to come down to Nevada to visit us for two weeks. Don't try to bring that rotten boyfriend of yours, we just want to visit with you two because it has been so long.
The dates of the tickets are in a month, which I know is a bit of a long time away, but I wanted you to know a while in advance so that you could talk to Jake about leaving for a little while. I hope that you write back, because it has been a while. I'd also like to apologize for my behavior, but I feel very strongly against having a child before marriage and you know that I won't forgive you for doing something so stupid.
Please respond soon.
-Sandra Holmes
I realized that I was squeezing my phone so hard that my hand was hurting. It was a nice gesture to offer us tickets, but I didn't want to be insulted like this again. And for her to sign as Sandra Holmes instead of mom just made me feel so betrayed.
I closed my eyes, focusing on breathing, trying to relax myself. Darcy was here, and everyone was together, and I was going to enjoy myself. I wouldn't let some silly email get in the way of my fun and most especially- my life.
Not even taking a second glance at it, I clicked the waste bin on my screen and put the email in the trash. I did not want to be reminded of how my family practically shunned me after I became pregnant. Back then, what I needed was them and they weren't there for me. So why should I be for them now?
There was a soft knock on the door, and I quickly fixed my hair.
"Coming!" I called.
"Good, babe, we're gonna order somethin' for lunch. You okay?" He answered. I bit my lip and opened the door to the small bathroom, letting him in. I didn't want to worry him, but I wanted to tell him.
He closed the door behind him and we were standing face-to-face in the extremely tiny bathroom. He smiled down at me and pecked me on the lips.
"It's my mom, she emailed. She wants Aimee and I to come to Nevada." I sighed. Niall's face lit up.
"That's great! Avery, you'll finally get to see them again! And Aimee can see her grandparents finally!" He beamed. I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest, frustrated.
"No, Niall." I shook my head. "I'm not going to see them."
"Why not?" He asked, cupping my face with both of his hands and making me look up like him. I felt like a little child, slumping at looking at him with big, sad eyes.
"Because of them, I went through hell. Maybe if they were there for me and they were supportive, I wouldn't have felt trapped and alone for the last three years. They gave up on me, and I'm not going to visit them because they feel bad." I bit my lip.
Niall licked his lips and had a faraway look in his eyes, like he was thinking of what to answer me with. I waited, studying his face.
"Alright, babe." He said. "I understand. But just think about it, okay?"
I nodded and looked up at him, smiling.
"By the way," Niall smirked. "You look really beautiful today. Do you know that?" I giggled and we stood there, in that tiny bathroom, kissing, my back already hitting the wall because we literally were so crammed in there. Niall chuckled and pulled away, still smiling.
"We should go before they think we fell in the toilet." He teased. I nodded and we walked back to the group, hand in hand, as I pushed away all the thoughts of my parents into my past, where they belonged.
a/n:
I FEEL SO HAPPY YOU GUYS, WE GOT TO 20K FANS AND FAN FICTION #3 ALL IN 24 HOURS. TALK ABOUT CRAZY TIMING, RIGHT!?
You're all amazing and I love ya so much.
HAPPY FRIDAY!
Thanks for taking your time to read this c:
- x Delilah