Paper Hearts (Book Five)

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Don't wanna call you in the nighttime, don't wanna give you all my pieces

Don't wanna hand you all my trouble, don't wanna give you all my demons

You'll have to watch me struggle from several rooms away

But tonight I'll need you to stay.

"Are you going to be okay?" Niall asked me about an hour or so later. He had finally coaxed me out of the shower and helped me dress but I was still having a lot of issues with not breaking down.

It was a lot harder than some would think.

Niall's hand grabbed mine as he looked at me, concern on his face.

He shouldn't be concerned about me.

It should be me who's concerned for him.

I couldn't even imagine what he's thinking.

I never really could.

"I love you Niall... and I'm sorry." I whispered. Niall just gave me a small smile before opening the bedroom door.

"No! Jemma stop!" A.J. could be heard the second we stepped out of the room, along with Jonah and Jemma's giggles. Niall let go of my hand for a second as he checked on Audrey. I almost panicked when he left my sight, but when he came back a moment later he was holding a very sleepy two year old.

Together we walked downstairs where A.J. was trying to keep the twins under control, but being only six he couldn't hold them both down.

"Daddy!" Jemma squealed, running over to me before throwing her arms around my legs. I smiled down at her fondly before picking her up. She wrapped her arms around my neck before giggling into my shoulder. A.J. looked at Niall and I hesitantly, biting his bottom lip as he did so. Niall gave him a reassuring smile, but I could still see the hesitance.

He was a lot like me in that way, wearing his emotions so that everyone could see them.

Or at least the ones that weren't easy to hide.

I smiled at him, the smile tight and hardly welcoming at all as he stared at me.

I felt like a stranger in my own home already and it hadn't even been a day since I was last here.

"Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy." Jemma started to chant, poking at my cheek. I looked away from A.J. to be met by Jemma's small smile.

"Jemma. Jemma. Jemma. Jemma." I copied her, kissing her cheek after every time I said her name. She was a giggling mess at that point, leaning away from me. Niall smiled at this both of fondly before putting Audrey down on the floor. She instantly crawled over to A.J. and Jonah, sitting up as she tried to grab A.J.'s hand. A.J. sighed dramatically before pulling her into his lap, allowing her to start playing with his hair.

There was a knock on the door that broke the small silence that fell over the room, Niall standing up to go answer it. I stayed in the living room with the kids, still trying to figure out why A.J. wouldn't talk to me.

"Good afternoon Styles family!" Zayn's voice echoed through the room, making Jonah jump a little from his spot on the floor. Zayn came in with a smile on his face, followed by Liam and Oliver who honestly didn't look all that happy.

"Uncle Zee!" Jemma squealed, squirming out of my arms as she reached for Zayn.

"How's my Jemma?" He asked, lifting her up above his head. Jemma just giggled in response.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked, not wanting to come of as rude or anything but to be quite honest I was in no mood for company.

"Figured it had been a while since I visited my favorite family." Zayn said, shrugging as Jemma started to play with his hair. He seemed to be better than he was the last time I had seen him.

Even though that was just a night before.

But Zayn was good at things like. He was good at being okay when need be.

"A.J. aren't you going to say hello?" Niall asked, arching an eyebrow as A.J. still refused to even acknowledge the fact that Oliver was here. A.J. shook his head as he continued to play with Audrey. Oliver didn't even seem to care, sitting down by Jonah.

"Well it's nice to see you guys..." Niall said, the awkwardness floating around the room like it was the air. Liam hadn't said a word, dark bags underneath his eyes and his eyes bloodshot. He looked like absolute shit but I couldn't really say I looked much better.

"Harry? Can... Can I like talk to you for a minute?" Liam asked quietly, biting his bottom lip as he waited for my answer.

"Sure..." I said, and the both of us walked into the kitchen.

"What's up?" I asked as soon as everyone else was out of earshot. Liam looked stressed for a minute, his eyes wild as his mind races a mile a minute.

"I..." Liam started, his voice cracking as he looked at me. He took a deep breath as I waited for him to finally say what he needed to say.

"I'm pregnant... and Zayn doesn't know." He finally got out.

"Isn't this something you should be telling Niall?" I replied, not really getting how to react to that.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Niall's kind of an expert at getting pregnant and not telling me about it.... Im pretty sure he's got more in common with you than I do at this point."

"What the f uck is wrong with you?"

"Everything."

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Well.

This chapter took forever to write.

Mainly due to the fact i rewrote it like twenty times.

Yeah....

Um.

A.J. seems to be a little closed off to everyone, any guesses as to why?

Liam's pregnant.... thoughts on that?

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Connie xx