Harry felt the awkward tension in the room when he and Elena went to put Joey to bed. Frank was sitting on the couch with a glass of wine a few feet away from him while he thumbed through an online news site on his iPad. Carolyn was in the guest suite in the basement unpacking and making herself at home. Eric had gone to bed. The only words exiting his mouth as he left the room were,
"Jet lag..."
So Harry and Elena were left to put their little boy to sleep. Harry folded up some of Joey's laundry while Elena rocked Joey to sleep. He put away a few odds and ends, wanting nothing more than to turn around and ask her if she was alright. He hated feeling so nervous around her.
Harry got Joey's crib ready. His mind raced with all the things he wanted to say. He turned around, ready to start talking when Elena stood up with a very asleep Joey in her arms.
She walked towards him, laying their son in his crib gently.
Harry watched as she rested her arm on the crib, her other arm stretched over the side while she slowly caressed Joey's back.
Harry felt shame wave over him for how he'd treated her again. She was such an amazing mother. Her priority was Joey at all times. So much so that she was ready to give up her dream to make sure he was always the number one thing on her list.
"You alright?" Harry heard himself say before he could think better of it.
Elena looked up, rather surprised he was asking. She turned her head to look at him. She knew she should've said she was fine and ended it there, but he was trying. And if she was being honest she really did need to talk,
"I don't want to be second guessed about this." She answered.
Harry leaned his arm against the crib and gave a slight nod of his head,
"Sounds fair."
"I'm doing what I think is right." Harry nodded again. Elena looked back down at Joey, "I wanna do this."
Harry felt himself relax. After a year of being at odds, Elena had opened up to him. It felt like a small return to how they used to be. He knocked his shoulder into hers,
"We could sneak out. Leave until they're gone? Then you wouldn't have to worry about it."
The smallest hint of a smile played on Elena's lips as she shot him a look,
"Harry..." She warned.
"What? Something tells me Frank wouldn't even realize we were gone until his wine glass was empty."
Elena was full on giggling now. She shook her head,
"Stop." She said, playfully knocking back into his shoulder.
Elena looked back down at Joey. He was still so fragile and so dependent on his parents. Elena couldn't fathom anything happening to him. How was she supposed to get on a field and focus on the game when her mind was always preoccupied with his safety. Even when Elena knew he was safely with Harry, she worried.
"I don't want him to feel like he wasn't the most important thing in the world."
"Len," Harry started, "I think you should do whatever you feel you need to. You're an adult and you can make this decision in your own."
Elena looked up at him. She blinked as she studied his face. Was he just saying what she wanted to hear? It didn't feel like it. Harry may have hated soccer, but he knew what it meant for her to play. And he knew what it meant to reach the heights of a dream,
"Liv scheduled a press conference."
"When?"
"Day after tomorrow." Elena looked away then. Harry felt like she'd done it out of shame for whatever she was about to say, "I'm gonna go look for places tomorrow with my mom."
Harry wanted to say something. He wanted to beg her not to. He wanted to say they still had time to figure things out and make it work. But instead he nodded,
"I'll take Joey with me then."
Elena looked back at him,
"Thanks."
--------------------
Carolyn watched Elena as she surveyed the ceiling of the eighth kitchen in the eighth house they'd seen. So far, Elena had found something wrong with every house on the Realtor's list. From the petty and cosmetic to full on renovations, Elena had turned down every house for one reason or another. And Carolyn could see the frustration on the face of the Realtor. So much so that she had left Elena alone in the house after showing her the specifics because Carolyn was positive the Realtor couldn't hear her rip another house apart.
"Honey?" Carolyn questioned. When Elena looked at her she smiled, "I like this house. I think it offers a lot."
Elena shook her head,
"The crown molding is off." Elena turned to gesture out the back door, "And there's no fence around the pool, that's unsafe. What if Joey gets out there?"
"Sweetheart, Joey can't move without assistance at the moment."
"I know, Mom. But...when he does become mobile I can't have that."
Carolyn sighed,
"Ok, I agree. Should we go to the next house then?"
Elena chewed on her lip as she turned around,
"I don't think this is working. Maybe there's nothing I'll like here."
Carolyn watched her daughter, a knowing look on her face,
"Elena, I don't mean to sound unsupportive. I realize this is hard for you." She said as she lovingly brushed Elena's hair off her shoulder, "But you have had one issue or another with every house we've looked at today. Do you think maybe that's because you don't want to move out of where you live now?"
Elena looked over at her,
"What do you mean?"
Carolyn squeezed Elena's hand,
"He's still very much in love with you, Honey. I think you know that. It's very plain on his face every time you walk into a room." When Elena didn't respond she continued, "He asked you not to go didn't he?" Elena shifted uncomfortably on her feet, her eyes filling with tears as she looked up in an effort not to shed them. Carolyn nodded, "That's what I thought. Elena-"
"He wants to fix things. He wants me to fight." Elena interrupted.
"And you don't want to fight?"
Elena shook her head as she looked down,
"That's not it. I'd fight for him forever if I thought it would do any good."
Carolyn watched as Elena walked to the opposite side of the island. She braced her hands on the counter as she stared down at the sink,
"How do you go back to loving each other after all that pain? Do I just...forget it all happened? I don't know if we can do that."
Carolyn shook her head,
"Remember that story I told you? About your father getting angry with me for not being honest with him about my fears?" Elena nodded, "To this day, we struggle with that." When Elena looked up at her in surprise she shrugged her shoulders, "Some things just never go away. But you work through it and you try to keep in mind all the reasons you were together that far outweigh the bad parts."
Elena stared back at her,
"You make it sound so simple."
"Because it is simple, Elena. You're complicating something that doesn't need complication. You love him. He loves you."
Elena shook her head,
"If it was that simple we never would've broken up."
"Elena, what do you expect a relationship to be? Roses and rainbows the whole time? Your father and I are fine right now...but there's no telling what's around the corner. You work through it. That's what loving someone means. Loving someone when it's good is easy. It's when it's bad that you really find out what you're made of."
Carolyn looked over when Elena's Realtor walked into the kitchen,
"Well? We ready to make an offer?"
Elena turned to her. She gave a slight nod of her head,
"Yes. Full asking. All cash. Closing in a week."
Carolyn shook her head as she watched Elena walk out into the other room with the Realtor hurrying behind her in obvious shock.
--------------------
Randy felt herself roll over into something. She slowly opened her eyes to see Niall's heavy body sprawled out on the bed next to her. A smile crept up on her cheeks as the previous evenings shenanigans rushed back through her brain.
She reached over to spread her palm out over his chest, her smile growing when she felt a good strong heartbeat through his sternum. He was snoring but not loud enough to be annoying. His lips gently moving with each inhale and exhale. His eyes looked like they might open at any moment,
"Creepy t'watch people when they're sleepin'." Niall said.
Randy screamed in shock, her hands slapping against her face. Niall opened his eyes to look at her. A large smile spread over his cheeks as he turned onto his side.
Randy finally moved her hands,
"I thought you were asleep."
"Obviously." Niall liked watching Randy laugh. Her whole body seemed to light up from the outside in. But her eyes sparkled so bright it was impossible to look away. He lifted his hand to brush some hair out of her face, "Don't wanna leave, Angel." He said softly.
Randy's laugh calmed. Today was their last day in Bournemouth. She had to be back for work tomorrow evening,
"Me either."
Niall slid his hand onto her hip, pulling her closer to him. Randy rested her hand on his shoulder,
"We could..." He licked his lips, "Stay here..."
Randy cuddled into his chest,
"I like the sound of that." She said, her voice low as she pressed her lips to his.
Niall brushed his nose against hers as he pulled away,
"Was thinkin'..." He started, his eyes opening to focus on hers, "When we get back...we could talk about...bein'..." He paused, the moment causing his nerves to go a little haywire, "A couple?"
Randy stared back at him in shock for a moment. Niall held his breath until her face broke into a huge smile. She giggled,
"Niall Horan...did you just ask me to go steady?"
--------------------
Niall walked back into Harry's house to a whole lot more activity then when he'd left it. Elena's parents and brother were here, a detail he'd missed when he left with Randy for the weekend. But the house was alive with loud voices when he opened the front door.
Niall followed what sounded like an argument. What on earth anyone was arguing about this early in the morning was beyond him.
The situation Niall walked into was confusing, to say the least. Harry was standing outside of the kitchen with Joey in his arms. He lifted his finger to his lips when he saw Niall. Niall walked towards him,
"What's goin' on?" He whispered.
"They don't want her to do this press conference." Harry answered.
Niall furrowed his brow in confusion,
"What press conference? About leaving soccer?" Harry nodded in response. Niall shook his head, "She shouldn't be doin' this." Harry shot him a look. Niall, however, wasn't deterred, "You know she shouldn't be."
Harry sighed. He looked down at Joey before turning and walking back down the hallway towards Joey's room. He turned to wave Niall towards him.
Once inside the room, Harry set Joey in his playpen gently. He turned to look at Niall,
"Look, I know why she's doing this. It's my fault. If I had supported her when I found out rather than shamed her into believing she'd be a shitty mother none of this would be happening."
"So why don't ya tell her that?"
"Because she doesn't hear me right now. I don't have the same pull I had before. Everything she hears from me is colored by the way I treated her while she was pregnant with Joey."
Niall blinked in response. That actually made sense. He glanced down at Joey and then back up at Harry,
"So...what are you gonna do?"
"The only thing I can do," Harry answered, "Support her now."
Niall slumped back into Elena's rocking chair,
"Ya need me t'watch Joey while ya go with her?"
Harry reached down to hand a toy to his son in a vain effort to not look at Niall when he said the next thing,
"I'm not going."
"What?!" Niall exclaimed as he launched out of the chair.
"Shhhhh!" Harry admonished as he looked at his friend, "Be quiet."
Niall stared back at Harry in disbelief,
"You're not going?"
"No, I'm not."
"Why not?"
"Because as far as she's concerned we're not together anymore. She's doing something I'm sure she never expected she'd do this early in her career. And I'm positive the last person she wants to see while she's doing it is me."
"Ya just said you were gonna support her."
"This is how I'm supporting her." Harry answered, "I'm gonna make sure Joey is taken care of so when she gets back she doesn't have to worry about it and I'm gonna not make her talk about it."
"And you think that's supporting her?"
"Look Niall, I realize everyone wants us back together and I'm working towards that as best I can. But I have to get her to trust me again. I have to get her to listen to me again and to hear me without thinking I'm going to shame her. And that doesn't happen overnight."
Again, Harry made enough sense to quiet Niall down. Niall sat back down in the rocking chair,
"You're making sense which means you're done being a wanker."
Harry giggled softly,
"Thanks, I think." Harry shoved his hands into his pockets, "She bought a house yesterday." He blurted out. He looked up at Niall, "Her mom told me this morning."
"Shit." Niall breathed.
Harry shrugged gently,
"She wants to move on...I can't say I blame her."
Niall nodded, taking a moment to let everything he'd just learned sink in. He looked back up at Harry,
"So what...we just wait here?"
Harry shrugged,
"That's the plan. She doesn't want anyone to go with her. So I'll wait here until she gets back. And I'll wait until she comes to me..."
"That could take awhile." Niall pointed out.
Harry nodded,
"I'll wait." He finished as he looked down at Joey.
--------------------
Elena stared at herself in the mirror while the hair and makeup artists did their worst. She didn't care what her hair looked like or if her makeup was perfect. She just wanted to get this over with so she could go home and be with Joey for the rest of the night.
Liv was loudly talking while she paced on the phone behind Elena, making it increasingly difficult to finish any thought in Elena's head. She sighed, resting her forehead against her fingers as she let out a deep sigh.
"You ok, Honey?" The makeup artist asked.
Elena was sure the woman had told her her name but she didn't remember it.
Elena nodded, suddenly aware she'd shown a bit too much emotion,
"Yeah. I'm alright."
Liv pulled her phone away from her ear,
"Ugh..." She grunted, "Men."
"Something wrong?" Elena asked.
Liv shook her head,
"Nothing I can't handle." She pushed her hair out of her face as she looked over at Elena, "How are you doing? Water or anything?"
"No, I'm ok."
Liv flopped into the chair next to Elena. She knew this was a mistake but much like everyone else she was unable to convince Elena of that fact. She studied Elena closely. In the few years she'd known her Liv had never once seen her unsure of anything. But seated in the chair right now, all Liv could see was how tightly Elena was wound.
"Elena..."
"What?" Elena asked, her head snapping in Liv's direction.
Liv stared back at her. It became clear to her then that Elena was determined to do this no matter what. Liv closed her mouth,
"Nothing. I'm gonna go make sure everything is set up out in the room."
Elena watched as Liv left. A small amount of guilt popped up as the door closed. Liv was just doing as Elena had asked. It wasn't her fault Elena couldn't figure anything out.
Elena looked down at her hands clasped in her lap. Her knuckles were white.
--------------------
Harry made sure Joey was safe in his bouncy seat before setting him on the kitchen table to get his dinner ready. He made his way over to the refrigerator, well aware that Carolyn's eyes were on him the entire way from the couch. Harry ignored her deliberately. He knew if he looked at her she would start in on him about Elena.
"Harry...don't ignore me young man." He heard her voice break through the silence behind him.
Harry sighed as he closed the refrigerator,
"I'm not ignoring you. I just don't see the point in having this conversation."
"No point in having the conversation?" She asked as if she had never heard anything so preposterous.
Harry braced his hands on the counter. He exhaled a deep breath from his lungs,
"Carolyn, she wants this."
Carolyn stood up, stomping over to Harry,
"That's not what I'm talking about."
Harry was confused now,
"Then what discussion do we need to be having?"
"Why aren't you there?" Carolyn demanded.
Harry stopped,
"What?"
"She needs you and you're here."
"She doesn't need me." Harry said as he turned back around.
Carolyn reached forward to turn Harry back to facing her,
"She needs you to be there for her, Harry. Whether she knows that or not."
"I am doing what she asked." Harry responded, "She said she didn't want any of us there."
"She didn't mean it. Especially when it concerns you."
Harry desperately wanted to be there for Elena. He'd felt like he had spent so much of the last year punishing her. But she'd been clear before she left that she didn't want anyone there today. He just wished he could figure out why.
"If I go there...and she doesn't want me there...like she said she didn't...I run the risk of upsetting her even more than she already is."
Eric looked up from the newspaper he was reading,
"My sister makes it her job to always be upset about one thing or another. I wouldn't put too much stock in her being upset about you showing up." He looked back down, "Now if it was me....she'd be pissed forever."
Harry thought for a moment, his eyes darting across the kitchen and finally falling on Joey. Even if Joey wasn't in existence he'd want to fix this with Elena. He knew that for sure. But forcing it on her wasn't the way to go.
He shook his head,
"I'll be here when she gets home." He said finally before opening the refrigerator, "What you want for dinner my boy? We have breast milk...and breast milk."
--------------------
Elena stared forward at the room full of press in front of her. She wasn't sure where the butterflies had come from, she was used to being in front of a legion of cameras, but she did her best to calm her raging nerves.
Her knuckles were still white only now it was because she was squeezing her fists together so tightly.
Liv looked into the crowd of press and then turned her back on them to face Elena,
"Still wanna do this?"
Elena could still see the crowd over Liv's shoulder, her eyes glued to all the cameras.
"Hey," Her eyes snapped up to Liv's when Liv called her attention. Liv nodded, "Yes?"
Elena gave a stilted nod of her head. She felt like she couldn't get enough breathe into her lungs and her body felt cold while her skin was hot,
"Y-yes."
Liv waited until Elena finally looked up at her. She raised her eyebrows,
"That didn't sound very convincing."
Elena closed her eyes while she took a few deep breaths. When she opened them again Liv was still staring down at her. Elena licked her lips and nodded,
"I'm fine." When Liv didn't immediately move, Elena hardened her glare, "I'm fine." She said as she set her shoulders, "Let's go."
Liv turned around to face the reporters without another word. She stood behind the microphone,
"Everyone, we're ready to begin."
Elena stared down at the chair that had been set out for her while the press got ready to hear her statement. She opted to stay standing.
She could hear Liv speaking though she wasn't exactly absorbing anything she was saying. However when Liv stepped aside, Elena knew what that meant. She was on.
Elena stepped forward to the microphone. She could hear nothing but her heartbeat in her ears. She stared at the microphone stand, her fingers reaching for the shiny chrome pipe leading to the microphone.
How long had it been since Liv had introduced her? An hour? Five minutes? Judging by the faces of the reporters in front of her, it had been long enough for them to start wondering.
Elena cleared her throat,
"Th-thank you for coming."
A door in the back of the room closed, momentarily breaking Elena's concentration which wasn't hard considering she was hanging on by a thread.
Elena took a deep breath. She glanced back at Liv who took a step towards her. Elena felt tears prick the backs of her eyes. She took one last look at the room full of people before shaking her head and turning to run off the stage.
Elena wasn't sure where she was going, she just needed to get away. She passed a few people in the hallway, tears blurring her vision. She reached forward to wrap her fingers around the cold metal of a doorknob. She pushed the door open, closing and locking it behind her once she was inside. She rested against the door, her eyes closed while she took in deep breaths.
But it wasn't doing any good.
Her heart was still hammering, her skin was still hot and she was still crying.
"Len?" She heard his voice, but she was sure she was hearing things. Until, that is, she heard it again, "Len, are you alright?"
Elena's eyes opened to see Harry on the other side of the room. It took her a minute to realize the door she'd opened was the door of the green room. Harry was the only person there.
Harry swallowed nervously. He had wrestled with showing up. He still wasn't sure if that was the right decision.
But seeing Elena crying, all he could think about was stopping it.
He stepped towards her, his eyes wide as they met hers,
"I know...I know you said you didn't want anyone to show up." He swallowed again, his breathing almost as labored as Elena's, "And I know I'm the last person you wanna see right now...but...I couldn't..."
Harry's sentence ended the moment Elena pushed up from the door. She rushed towards him, collapsing into his arms as she broke apart.
Harry held onto her tightly. His body relaxing as she tightened her grip.