Yaaaaaaaaaay 1,500 reads thanks SO MUCH! I decided to dedicate this chapter just 'cause I like you! Thanks for reading my story guys, enjoy!
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~*Abby's POV*~
It'd been 2 weeks since the big argument between Niall and I and rumors of Louis and I being together had pretty much peaked, but I still wasn't supposed to even hug Louis in public. I stared down at my tummy and smiled. There were still moments that I couldn't believe that there were babies in there, and it always made me tear up. As strange as it may sound, this is probably the best thing that's ever happened to me.
Sometimes I feel like crap, but usually I'm confident, much more than before. My hair had naturally gotten at least two shades darker and is now a light brown color, I'm still quite thin but my arms and legs look much fuller and healthier and my overall appearance, in my opinion, was generally much better. "Ms. Sullivan?" The nurse called calmly and I snapped out of my thoughts.
Niall stood up and took my hand, helping me up carefully. Niall never fails to make me smile. It's not much trouble for me to stand up on my own, I mean I'm showing but my tummy isn't that big, but he still insists on helping me out. I gripped his hand tightly and walked down the familiar hall. "So what do you think about the gender of the babies?" He asked. We still didn't know even though I'd been to 3 other check ups.
I wanted it to be a surprise but Niall wanted to know and he had a right to. I was told it would probably be too early to tell the sex of the babies, but telling that to Niall would get his hopes down, and we don't need that. We walked into the room and I lied down on the bench, Niall sat in the chair beside me and took my hand. "Are you excited?" I asked, smiling at him sweetly while the doctor finished washing her hands and slapped on a pair of gloves.
Niall grinned at me. "Of course!" He laughed and kissed my forehead. How adorable, he was like a kid on Christmas morning waiting to see what gifts he got. The doctor stood up from her chair and turned the lights down. "So how have you both been doing since last time I saw you?" She asked in a way that sounded professional but still comfortable. The past few weeks flooded my mind but all that I let spill out was "Everything's been great!"
She smiled and I felt a shudder go down my spine. The familiar tingling sensation shot through my body, just as it did every time the cold jelly touched my skin. I gripped Niall's hand tighter, which didn't seem so phase him, and looked up at the screen. I could see each of the babies just chillin in my tummy and smiled to myself. "Everything seems to be going well," she said and rolled the small machine around my stomach to get good pictures.
"Your stomach and the babies look well but your frame is still rather small, I'd suggest eating a bit more." She said professionally, probably trying not to insult me. "The babies will be fine, but I'd just suggest it for your own health." She said, and after a few minutes she took her gloves off and excused herself into the next room. My hand was still in Niall's and I stared into the screen.
Gosh, what kind of schooling do you have to go through to know what the hell to look for on these things? My phone buzzed in my pocket and I took it out. I didn't recognize the number but I answered anyway, I always answered. "Hello?" I asked routinely and looked at Niall who mouthed at me and asked who it was. "Abigail?" A female voice asked. She sounded young, but still like an adult.
Why did she call me Abigail? No one ever called me Abigail, not even my mom. "Yes? Who is this?" I asked hesitantly. She cleared her throat. "This is Renee Sullivan." She said. I was so confused, who is she and why is she calling me? "Abigail, I'm trying to get to the point. Dad is dead." She said shakily. Dad? I never knew my dad. "I think you have the wrong number, my dad's been out of my life since I was a baby." I said emotionlessly.
It didn't really bother me not having a dad, I'd realized that he didn't want to know me, so why should I care to get to know him. She sighed into the phone. "Our dad. He's our dad. He wanted you at the funeral." Our dad? I have a sister? My head was spinning around and I couldn't process any thoughts at the moment. "When?" I asked. Maybe he wasn't in my life, but I could at least go to his funeral.
Besides that, I have a sister that I'd never spoken to until this moment and never even knew existed. I looked back at Niall, he was staring off blankly and I got back to my phone call. "We need it to be no later than tomorrow afternoon in Dallas." She said. Tomorrow? I had to book a flight from London to Dallas and get there before tomorrow afternoon? How is that possible? "I don't know..." I mumbled.
"Please. The other day when I was taking care of him he told me that he regretted not seeing you but he didn't want you to see him sick. He said he wanted you at his funeral, and damn it, you're going to be at his funeral!" She said, crying into the phone. "Alright, alright. I'll try my best." I said. It was going to be hard but I couldn't say no, what kind of person can? I hung up the phone and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Niall asked, looking concerned. "My dad died this morning." I said seriously. He looked shocked, and probably more sad than I was. "I'm so sorry, are you going to the funeral?" He asked and rubbed my tummy. "Yes. We need to pack and book a flight like now." I said, and I could feel the stress building up in my body. Niall whipped out his phone. "Dallas?" He asked.
I shook my head and stared at the door. Where is the doctor? What's taking so long? Did it usually take so long? I thought and tapped my fingers impatiently. "I booked a flight for both of us." He said, not expecting an answer. The door swung open and the doctor walked in with the photos. She explained what was in the ultrasounds, which seemed to take forever, and sent us on our way. In the car neither of us talked and it was driving me crazy.
"We need to pack as soon as we get home." I said emotionlessly. It wasn't that I was trying to hide my emotions, I just didn't have any emotions. "Okay." Niall said. He took my hand and continued driving down the road, creating another awkward silence. My phone buzzed again. Mom. Oh my God! I forgot to tell mom! I unlocked my phone and put it to my ear. "Hello?" I answered.
"Abby you can NOT go to Dallas, I know your father's funeral is tomorrow but he was never there." She said, sounding breathless. I was so confused, that doesn't seem like mom. "Mom, that doesn't make sense. He's my dad, I'm going." I said. She sighed into the phone frustratedly. "You just shouldn't go okay?" She said. Why doesn't my mom want me to go to his funeral? I mean yeah, he wasn't in my life, but he was my DAD.
"This is my chance to meet Renee, family I've never met before." I reasoned. There was a pause. "Renee?" She asked. I was about to respond but was cut off. "No, no, no. You can't go." She said. Wait... She knew Renee? And she never told me that I had a sister? "Mom, you knew about Renee? You knew I had a sister and you never told me?" I asked and Niall jumped a bit.
"Abby I was just trying to take care of you, your dad didn't accept you, and his kids wouldn't either!" She said. Kids? Plural? More than one kid? So I had more than one sibling? "How is that taking care of me? He wanted me at his funeral! Renee called ME! I could've seen him and visited him before he died, Mom. Maybe you don't understand." I said, practically crying. I was crying because I was disappointed in my mom, but also in myself.
My dad made an effort to take me into his life and I thought the worst things about him. I almost rejected the invitation to his funeral, a few minutes ago I wasn't even sad that he was dead! But here I am now missing him like I'd met him. "Abby, I do understand. But your father's family hates me, they won't want anything to do with you either." She stuttered. My blood was boiling.
"You know what? I'm going to Dad's funeral, I'm meeting my family, and I'm getting to know everything you never told me. If you can't accept that, then don't bother calling again. I love you, Mom, but I'm tired of being lied to." I said and hung up.
Niall was staring at me through the mirror and the look in his face made me feel guilty for talking to my mom like that, but I didn't care. She made me mad. How could she just hide the fact that my dad actually did want to have me in his life, and that I had siblings I'd never met.
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I stood next to Niall with my suitcase waiting anxiously for a sign with my name on it. I wonder what she'll look like. What if she doesn't like me? What if she sees Niall and freaks out? What if.. "Abby, I think that's her." He said and took my hand, walking in the direction of a short girl with long, dark brown hair. Her smile could be seen from a mile away, and her deep blue eyes were enhanced by the light beaming in through the huge windows.
"Abby?" She asked, flashing a friendly smile. DAMN. She had the thickest southern draw I'd ever heard, and it didn't bother me, but it was so foreign. Even Niall's accent had become normal to me, sometimes I didn't even acknowledge that he had one. "Yes." I said awkwardly and smiled back. She took us out to the parking lot and unlocked the doors to her silver Audi. The car ride was awkward, I mean, what could we really talk about?
I'd never met her and we're supposed to talk like close relatives? No. We pulled up to a gas station and she got out. I got out and shut the door. "Get your clothes for the funeral and change inside." She said and popped the trunk, walking into the gas station. I didn't question the fact that we were changing in a gas station, I just took out our outfits and closed the trunk. Niall and I managed to sneak through the station without getting noticed and slipped into the family restroom.
I squeezed my pregnant tummy into my dark dress and slipped on a pair of flats, teasing my hair a bit in the mirror. Niall was struggling to button his top and I giggled at him subconsciously, causing his face to turn bright red. I picked my purse up and walked over to him. I fixed the button and stood on my tip toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Niall, I don't think she likes me." I whispered, just in case anyone was waiting outside.
He sighed and took my hand. "She's probably just depressed right now." He said and opened the door. We walked through the gas station with our clothes in our arms and walked back to Renee's car. "You're probably right." I said and slipped into the backseat. Renee had the car running and ready to go, and she pulled out of the parking spot and into the road. It took us about 10 minutes before the car stopped and we all got out.
I gripped Niall's hand tightly and walked up the steps. As soon as I walked in the sound of hushed crying from every direction filled my ears and I followed Renee around awkwardly. I felt strange there. I felt like I should've been crying like everyone else, or comforting someone who needed it, but no tears came and I didn't know anyone well enough. I stood for a bit longer until the funeral began.
A chubby older woman got up and started talking about my father. She talked about how they grew up together and how they were always best friends, and about how much she loved him. Then she cried and stepped down. From the way people were describing him, he didn't sound as terrible as I'd always imagined he was, and for once he seemed to be a kind person. Then my sister stood up.
"My father was the best man I've had in my life. Ever." She said and wiped her eyes. "He worked hard for his family, and he tried so hard to be a part of everyone's life." I knew she was talking about me. I looked down into my hands and back up at her. "One thing he said just a few days ago was that he wanted everyone to know that he always tried his hardest at everything he did, and that some things were completely kept away from him. But even though he'd been completely shut down many times, he never intended to give up on anything. Or anyone." She said, now pulling more and more tissues from her coat pockets to wipe her eyes.
"Are you okay?" Niall whispered into my ear and I realized my face was stained with tears. I wiped the tears away and sniffled a bit. "I'm fine." I replied. "So before all of this is over and we say our final goodbyes, let's all please just take a second to acknowledge what a good husband, father, brother, uncle, and son he was." She said, keeping everything together just in time to step down before she broke down.
I sat in my seat without saying a word. My dad had tried to connect with me, there was no doubt in my mind that he had. But why would my mom keep him away from me? Why would she convince me that he was such a terrible dead beat if he obviously wasn't? Niall stood up and pulled me up slowly, leading me to the door. I wasn't completely there, I was in my own world thinking about my dad.
I felt guilt, anger, and sadness most of all, and I wasn't paying attention to anything going on. The next thing I remember was standing in front of a deep hole where they were lowering my dad's casket. People were crying, including me, and one woman, who I assume was my father's wife, nearly jumped into the hole. As the crowd got smaller, the hole would get more and more shallow until you could no longer see the casket.
We left shortly after that and went straight back to Renee's house, Niall and I didn't prepare a hotel, we didn't prepare much of anything to be honest. Niall and I were given a guest room to stay in for the time being and I crawled into the bed as soon as my dress was off. Niall slipped into the other side and brought my body closer to his. I would sniffle every now and then to keep myself from crying until I fell asleep.
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I opened my eyes and stared at the off-white wall in front of me. I didn't feel like leaving the bed but I couldn't go back to living in my room again. I wouldn't. I got up slowly and opened the door. The tv was on the news channel and someone's fuzzy Tweetie Bird socks were propped up onto the coffee table. I walked in quietly and saw Renee's familiar face. I sat right next to her, I couldn't avoid her forever, who knows how long I'd be there.
I cleared my throat softly and looked over at her. "Good morning." I said politely. She looked from the tv and turned her head to face me. "So this is the little sister dad's been trying to find all this time." She said and smiled. I smiled back. What's wrong with my mom? She seemed friendly. "Yeah. I didn't even know I had any siblings other than my brother." I said uncomfortably, but I brushed off any discomfort.
She smiled at me sweetly. "Well it's nice to finally meet you. It's a shame we had to meet this way though." She said softly. I nodded my head because I couldn't think of anything to say and I could tell she was scrambling to make more conversation. "I didn't want to say anything, but my little sister is dating Niall Horan?" She grinned. I smiled at her. I really respected the fact that she didn't flip out on me as soon she saw him.
"Yeah." I blushed and looked down, rubbing my tummy in a circular motion. She laughed. "Aww, look at you! That boy's got a hold of your heart!" She said and rubbed my arm. Talking to her wasn't so awkward anymore, so the fact that she had rubbed my arm wasn't so weird, but it still didn't feel like we were sisters. My phone went off and I reached in my pocket and pulled it out. It was Louis.
I didn't want to seem rude by answering the phone so I turned the ringer down. "It's fine hon, you can answer the phone." She smiled. I smiled back, sort of thanking her, and answered the call. "Hello?" I asked. "Abby, I heard the news." He said plainly. I sighed. "Yeah, thanks for the call Lou. I'm going to be spending a few days here with my family." I replied. Renee's face lit up. She mouthed at me 'invite them.' and I nodded.
"If you boys wanted to come down..." I started. "Sure we will Abby, anything to support you." He said quickly. I smiled to myself. I couldn't be with Louis, but that didn't mean I couldn't find him absolutely adorable. "Thanks Lou, I love you." I said routinely and blushed. Why did I say that in front of Renee? There was nothing going on between us, I always said 'I love you', but I wasn't supposed to say it in public.
"I love you too." He said and hung up. I looked at Renee, who didn't seem phased by the 'I love you', and smiled. "They'll be here soon." I said calmly and Renee grinned. I felt comfortable bringing the boys around her, she didn't freak out around Niall so I felt like she probably wasn't just using me. The next two days pretty much flew by. I met a ton of aunts, uncles, cousins, my grandma, and my dad's second wife, but never my other sibling.
They all seemed like wonderful people, which kept me wondering what my mom's problem was, and they welcomed me into their homes without problem. After a few more hours it was time to drive to the airport and pick up the boys. We got to the airport and waited for about 20 minutes for the boys to get off of their flights. "Are you excited to meet the guys?" I asked and nudged Renee lightly. "Abby, I'm 24 years old. Boy bands aren't really my thing, but sort of." She said and looked around.
Maybe I should look around. Or at least look like I'm doing something. I looked around and spotted Zayn's frosted tips through he crowd of people, followed by Liam, Louis, and Harry. I stood up and walked toward them quickly, dragging Niall by the arm. Louis smiled at me familiarly then looked above my head. He looked like he wasn't even on the same planet as I was, like he'd completely zoned out.
I looked behind me and there was Renee, standing as tall as she could and smiling sweetly. What? No. Louis likes Renee? No. He can't like her. He can't. I frowned and Zayn laughed at me. "Abby, what's wrong?" He asked. "Nothing." I snapped. Was I jealous? Pssh, jealous of what? Louis and Renee? No way. Nooooooooo way. I don't like Louis, and I don't care who Louis likes.
Louis can like whoever he wants, that's none of my business. I grabbed Niall's hand tighter and he whimpered a bit. "I'm Renee, nice to meet you all." She said and held her hand out. Louis grabbed it quickly and shook her hand. "You too." He said and smiled. Is Renee dumb, or can she not tell how much Louis is obviously into her?
My blood was boiling. Deny it all I want but that wouldn't make it go away. I was jealous. I was terribly jealous of my sister. I didn't want Louis to like my sister, I know I'm supposed to be over Louis but I'm just not. At least not yet, and I'm not ready to see him with someone else.
~*Niall's POV*~
Is Abby jealous? I could tell she was, and the worst part was that she wasn't trying hard to hide it. I looked at Louis, who was going gaga over Abby's sister, and smirked. Fine. If this is what has to happen for her to get over Louis, then so be it. Louis could be with Renee and he wouldn't even think about being with Abby. Perfect. Abby squeezed my hand tightly again and I rubbed her back lightly.
After a few more minutes of small talk with Renee, we hitched a ride with security and Renee took her car back home. The car ride was alright, besides the fact that Abby was fuming in her seat next to me. "So Louis, you seem to like my sister a lot." Abby said. I could tell she was testing him, I remembered that tone of voice. Liam, Harry, and Zayn's heads all snapped around quickly and I felt like we all had the same 'innocent bystander' look on our faces.
Louis cleared his throat. "What do you mean babe?" He asked. Oh he was in for it. "Well, babe," she said sarcastically, "You seem to have a little crush on my sister." She said. Louis shifted in his seat. "Oh, is it... is it that obvious?" He responded. I actually felt bad for him at that point. Normally Abby would've handled this much differently, but pregnant Abby? Oh no. "So you do? You like her?" She questioned.
Louis chuckled, obviously because he was uncomfortable. "Well... Sort of." He replied. "Oh." She snapped and crossed her arms over her chest. Louis looked around the car nervously and the rest of us gave him the 'sorry bro' look. We pulled up to the hotel and filed out, then separated into our rooms once we got to our floor. I lied down next to Abby and held her body close to mine.
"Abby, I know you probably still think about Louis." I whispered, acknowledging the risk that came along with saying it. She moved her arms and I could tell she was running her tummy. I loved it when she rubbed her tummy, reminding me that my two little babies were in there. "No I don't." She said. Right. Of course she didn't. "Niall, to be honest, I do think of Louis sometimes, and I'm confused. I don't know why I'm jealous of my sister, I don't know why I feel the way I do, I just feel it." She said.
My mouth hung open. I knew she felt that way, but I didn't expect her to say it out loud. It sounded so much worse when it was put into words, and it actually hurt to think that I wasn't the one she definitely saw herself with. I mean, if I was she wouldn't be having this problem, and I wouldn't be questioning the security of our relationship. I didn't know what to say. I could barely think of anything to do, all I could think of was the fact that my girlfriend just told me that she was thinking of another guy.
I wanted to kiss her and tell her that I was the one she wanted to be with, and that I could take care of her so much better than anyone else would. But I didn't. I didn't kiss her, I didn't hug her, I didn't even rub her arm. The only thing I could manage was to whisper "Oh." and before I knew it she was sound asleep, leaving my thoughts to wander.