Summary:
Maddie's dad, Gary, arrives unexpectedly at her house and she welcomes him but makes him promise he'll quit drinking and he'll search for a job. With his arrival and Peter's decision to move to Washington after the wedding, the tension between the couple is becoming more evident everyday. Francesca and Maddie became pretty good friends while Niall, on the other hand, is still trying to move on.
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"Harry, I thought you were having lunch with Nate and Leigh" I said when I saw him still sitting on the sofa.
"Yeah, but they couldn't in the end" he replied still looking at his phone.
"Is everything okay?"
"I guess so. Apparently Maddie's dad moved with her, and I think thing's aren't going very well"
"Her dad? Gary? Why is he living with her?"
"I honestly don't know"
I stood there without saying a thing. Lots of things going on in my mind. I was pretty worried about Maddie. Her father caused her so much anxiety so I didn't even want to imagine what was her state at that time if he was living with her. Maybe Gary had changed but I could only think about how nervous she was the day she decided to forgive him.
[Flashback]
July 2014.
I turned and saw her sitting in the passenger seat. She was bitting her lip. With her left hand she kept playing with her blonde hair. Her right one was shaking on her lap. It killed me to know that I couldn't do anything more than driving. I took her right hand with my sight still on the road.
"Hey, it's going to be alright, baby" I whispered before placing a little kiss on the back of her hand.
She didn't say a word, she only nodded. I knew she couldn't say a word because she had a huge lump in her throat. She didn't even look at me. She kept staring at the road ahead. I knew she was too inmerse in her own thoughts. She did smile for a little bit, though. I didn't like seeing her like that so I parked into a gas station.
"What's up?" she asked.
"I can't stand seeing you like this, Maddie... I want your fears to fade away. I want you to trust me when I say everything's going to be alright today. But I know you can't. I know I can't do anything when something's up with your father and..."
I sighed and and run my fingers through my hair nervously. I was fucking scared. I was scared things wouldn't go as planned and her father would hurt her again. I didn't know if she'd be ready for that or if I was ready to see her completely devastated.
Suddenly I noticed how her fingertips rubbed along my arm until they got to my neck. She made me turn around to face her just so I could see her smiling. She approached me slowly until our noses were brushing against each other.
"Niall, you don't have to worry about anything. When it comes to my father you're the only one who brings me calm. It's you the only one who can make my fears disappear and my doubts fade away"
I smiled when I heard those words. Maddie always talked about how I calmed her, without knowing that in that moment, she was calming me.
Our lips brushed and I felt the urge to kiss her, so I did. I placed my hands around her neck while I pressed my mouth on hers, and they started moving to the same rhythm. My tongue gently slipping between her lips as she curled her fingers through my hair and I moved my big hands from her face to sit at her waist. I melted into her, as her tongue slipped across mine, making us both taste each other once again. I swear I could've stayed like that forever. I swear I would've stayed in that car for the rest of the day, even for the rest of my life. Kissing her. Tasting her. Making her feel loved. Because I loved her, I truly did, and I always wanted to let her know I did. She broke the kiss, our chests going up and down heavily, trying to get back the oxygen we had lost during that kiss. We both smiled and I took her hand in mine and placed a tiny little kiss on it. She carressed my flushed cheek and looked me straight in the eyes. Her big blue eyes were shining, and I couldn't even see a hint of sadness in them. She looked happy, and I could still feel both of our hearts pounding in our chests. And that, made me happy too.
"It's you, babe. It's always been you, and I know it will always be you. Nothing will ever change that" she whispered onto my lips.
[End of flashback}
But it did. It changed. And it was all my fault. I had the urge to call her, to tell her how she'd been doing dealing with her father. I felt the need to hug her and calm her. I felt the need for her to need me. I still knew I could do nothing, though. That was Peter's duty now. That didn't mean I didn't care about how she felt, but I couldn't talk to her since she discovered I stole her folder. I couldn't do it, so I decided to send someone to do it.
"Harry? You know if Maddie's alright?"
"I don't know, you know I'd tell you if I did, but Leigh didn't give me much detail. She was in a rush"
"Can you go and ask her?"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Harry, I need to know how she's doing"
"Call her then"
"I can't. She doesn't want anything to do with me"
"Go and see her if you care that much. I won't go for you"
"Oh, thank you for being such a good friend" I said ironically.
I got out of my house and got in the car, driving straight to the place where I felt the most secure in. I took my phone out of my pocket.
Maddie's POV
"I think I can't stand him being here anymore" I admited while picking up a bottle from the floor.
"Why don't you tell him to leave?" Leigh asked.
"I just can't. He's my dad"
"He promised no to drink and that he'd try to find a job. He's done none of them"
I sighed and said nothing while putting some bottles in the bin. The house was a disaster: dirty clothes all over the floor, broken bottles in the living room... It was all too much, but I couldn't do anything else. I was desperate and my anxiety was increasing everyday. Peter hardly ever talked and the wedding preparations were going worse everyday. I felt trapped in that house, trapped inside my own home.
"I have to give him a chance" I finally said.
"And Peter?"
"Pete's been acting like a stranger. He spends almost all day in the office. I don't know what to do"
"Confront both of them. I don't want you suffering this way"
"I know but it ain't easy"
"You've got to try, Maddie. Do it for you" I nodded "I've got to go to work. Call me if you need anything, alright? I'll pass by as soon as I can" she said hugging me.
"I don't know what I'd do without you, Leigh. Thank you"
"It's okay, love. Just try to relax, everything will eventually be okay"
I nodded again and closed the door once she left. I sat on the sofa and sighed. I was truly tired of everything. I wanted to be free, I wanted to stop feeling other people's weight on my shoulders. Suddenly the bell rang.
"Hi Maddie!"
"Francesca? What are you doing here?"
"I was in the neighbourhood and decided to visit you, just to ask how you are, you know. How's the wedding going?"
"Oh God. Don't even get me started on the wedding"
"Why? What happened?"
I let her in, she sat on the sofa next to me. Truth is we had been texting since we went wedding dress shopping together. It's not like we were suddenly besties, but we got along really well.
"My dad's staying here and Peter can't stand him. Besides, I said some things I shouldn't have said and we hardly talk now"
"But... are you okay?"
"I don't know. I guess I'll be soon" I shrugged my shoulders "I know Pete and I will get through this. I'm just trying to keep myself busy, but the house's a mess and I don't know what to do"
"Aren't you going to work"
"Yes, of course I am. But I can't even give my best. It seems like everything is going wrong lately. I just feel like no one truly cares" I said resting my head in my hands
"Well, I can assure you someone does care"
"Peter? He doesn't even notice me, he's always working and..."
"I'm not talking about him" she interrupted me "It's Niall"
"Sorry? Niall's already moved on, we have nothing to do with each other now"
"He called me. He asked me to come and see how you were doing. He wanted to come himself but didn't dare to"
"C'mon Francesca, stop it"
"No, Maddie, listen to me. Niall's taken care of you during all this time. There hasn't been a second when he hasn't cared about you. That's why he called me today when he heard your dad was here. Niall cares about you, he always has"
"He only called once when we broke up. He hadn't called once ever since to ask how I was doing. Not even once"
"He got you the job"
"What?"
"He knew Coop. He was the one who asked him to go and see you perfom. He knew you needed to get busy, to get a new job you loved in order to move on with your life. That's why he recommended you to Cooper"
"Are yo usure of that?"
"Of course I am. And that isn't the only thing he'd done to make sure you were doing fine. Every bouquet of flowers you'd get anonymously on your birthday, the presents your nephews got when they were born, Harry asking Leigh about you all the time, the concert tickets Coop gifted you mutiple times sos you could see your favourite bands perfom... it was all Niall"
"You must be wrong. He stopped caring a long time ago"
"Get up"
"What?"
"Come with me, I want to take you somewhere"
I got up and followed her up to her car. I sat on the passenger's side without knowing what to say nor what to think. I couldn't believe Niall had done all of that. It all made sense, though. He was the only one who knew tulips were my favourite flowers. He knew I wanted to work in a little studio. But that couldnt be true. Why didn't he tell me anything? Why didn't he try to reach out to me so we could sort things out? Francesca stopped the car and I looked out the window.
"What are we doing here?" I asked.
It was our old house. The one where Niall and I lived in for two years.
"He never got himself to sell it. He still comes here sometimes"
"Why?"
"I don't know. He doesn't even know I know about this. There's a key behind the plant that's next to the door. I think you should go inside" I nodded "I'll wait here for you"
I got out of the car and got to the door, took the keys and went inside. It seemed surreal. It seemed like a dream. It seemed like my body wasn't even following my mind's instructions. I guess that's why, for the first time in forever, I did what I needed to do and closed the door behind me. The smell was the same, but the house was completely empty. And suddenly every single memory crept in my mind while I walked down the hallway. My feet went straight into my favourite room in that house, and when I opened the door I discovered that was the only one that wasn't empty. I walked while brushing the old brown piano with my fingertips. I stopped right in front of the wall that once held all of our pictures and that was also filled once with handwritten quotes by both of us. There was only one quote and a picture there now. Keep me warm, and a picture of both of us laughing on the sofa the day when we first moved. I took it in my hands. I smiled, but felt my insides turning around. It was a mix of nostalgia and happiness at the same time. Happiness because he still cared. Nostalgia because the cheerfulness captured in the picture had left us years ago. I noticed my eyes getting tearful. But I still felt like home there. That was still my home.
"Maddie?! What are you doing here?" I heard from behind.
I turned around to see who had pronounced those words, even though I had obviously recognized his voice inmediately. He was standing right there, hands in his pockets, mouth wide open, completely confused. His blue eyes fixated on mine, his skinny legs making his way up to me, while his hands tried to reach me. The knot in my stomach became bigger with every step he took. My legs started to shake and the picture in my hands slowly fell to the ground. He was standing there just in front of me, and that made me feel defenseless. But I didn't want to run away, I didn't want to leave or disappear. I just wanted to fall into his arms and cry until I could feel strong again. So that's what I did.