Small Bump [Liam Payne]

Part Four

The next morning, Liam awoke to the sounds of pans being set on his stove. Which was really unsettling, considering it was his house and he lived alone and why on earth would a robber be trying to cook right now?

He sat up from his bed on the couch, rubbing at his eyes. A glance at the digital clock beneath his TV revealed it was just after eight in the morning. He turned and looked behind him, and in a rush, it all came back to him. Anna, the girl currently cooking, who had stayed the night last night because he was afraid Taylor would start crying again if she left. Taylor, his son.His son. He groaned, reaching to pull a shirt over his head. He sat for a moment more, watching Anna search the kitchen for the food he and his mom had bought the previous day, humming quietly to herself as she cooked. His sweatpants were hanging off of her hips lowly, the edge of her tank top just barely hitting the top of the pants. Was Taylor really the only reason he had asked Anna to stay?

Of course it was, he scolded himself. Things ended with Sophie a few months ago--and quite messily, if he does say so himself. She had gone ranting and raving, accusing him of cheating and proceeded to throw things. In fact, it had gotten so bad that he had Danielle take Loki for a bit, just in case. With that shitshow done and over with, he wasn't sure he wanted to enter into anything anytime soon. Especially now that there was a kid involved.

Would Taylor like Loki?

"You're up!" Anna chirped, eyes bright as she looked over from the coffee maker. Liam nodded, continuing to walk into the room and seat himself at the bar. "Didn't expect you to be awake for another hour or so, you had a rough couple days. Not to mention you just finished out a tour."

Liam smirked, scratching at his unshaved face. "Yeah, I thought I'd sleep longer as well. Turns out I can't when someone's rummaging around my cupboards."

She turned to look at him, alarm on her face as she poured the coffee into a mug. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

He smiled, making her relax. "No, no, don't worry. If I get tired, I can just nap later while Taylor's watching Lilo and Stitch again." Anna giggled, and Liam narrowed his eyes. "Would you mind pouring me a--oh, thank you." He stopped, accepting the mug of coffee from her.

"Kind figured you'd want some." She smiled, then turned to pour herself a cup. "Do you have sugar somewhere?" Without waiting for a response, she opened the cupboard in front of her, finding it on the first try. After fixing her coffee, she returned to cooking and mixing the pancake batter, and Liam watched her with a smile on his face. She started humming again, focusing on getting the sausage in the pain and seemingly forgetting Liam was there. It wasn't long before the house was filled with the smell of it, making his mouth water. It also wasn't long before he heard little footsteps coming down the stairs.

Taylor came around the corner, dragging his blanket on the ground behind him and rubbing at his eyes. "Hey, bud!" Liam called softly, extending a hand in his direction as Taylor yawned. "Did you sleep good last night?" Taylor nodded, letting himself be picked up and set on Liam's lap as they sat at the bar. He leaned his head on his arms, the blanket falling across Liam's knee.

"Are you makin' pancakes?" Taylor yawned again, and Anna smiled over her shoulder at him.

"I am! Just like I promised." Taylor nodded his approval, then turned on Liam's lap to look at him. "Dad, I had the coolest dream last night."

"What was it?" Liam asked him, catching Anna's smile and shooting her one in return.

"I was Spiderman, and I was zooming around the city--" He continued his ridiculous story, complete with sound effects and hand motions, telling about how he saved Aunt Perrie from a falling tree. Liam played along, gasping at the right moments, and enjoying how Taylor's face brightened a bit more each time he did.