Hold Her Tight - 5SOS Adoption Fic

Chapter 3

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      ~* Ashton's POV *~

I'm a daddy now. I thought as I watched Lyric play with my Cajon later on that evening. (A/N: Plz no kinky jokes. K? K.)

Luke was playing his guitar to the tune of 'She's Kinda Hot,' our new single. Calum mumbled out the lyrics as he scrolled through his phone. Michael was out at the store buying basic toddler needs, such as a car seat, sippy cups, dummys (pacifiers?) just in case she still used them (A/N; some toddlers still use pacifiers at two years old, don't bother trying to correct me) baby soaps, and a pair of pajamas for the night. We would shop for things like clothes and toys and room decorations tomorrow.

I smiled at Lyric as she slapped her little hands against the Cajon, looking quite proud of herself. Suddenly, she stopped and ran over to me. She held her arms up to me. "Up." she said. I giggled and lifted her up, setting her on my hip.

"Ashy, when my mummy come back?" she asked. Her ocean blue eyes stared into mine, hope shimmering in them. Luke's guitar playing instantly stopped, and Calum's eyes snapped up from his phone. A deadly silence hung over us. I felt a pang of guilt in my stomach, knowing I would have to be the bearer of bad news.

"Okay, I have something I have to tell you, Lyric." I said softly, watching her eyes go from hopeful to worried. "Your mummy had to leave you. I don't think she's coming back, sweetheart. I wish I knew, but... I don't." I sighed.

My heart began to crack as Lyric's big blue eyes welled up with tears. "Why leave?" she asked, her voice at a little whimper. I pulled her close, and she rested her head on my shoulder.

"I don't know, sweet pea. I guess she had to move away and just couldn't take you with her." I tried to come up with an explanation that wasn't a complete lie. Unfortunately, it only upset Lyric even more. Her little body shook with sobs, her tears wetting my shoulder.

"My mummy no wuv me!" she wailed. I quickly began rubbing her back, trying to calm her.

"Shhh, don't cry." I soothed. "Shhh." I swayed back and forth on my heels, and continued to rub her back. We all turned at the sound of the front door opening. Michael walked inside, carrying two bags of groceries.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking worried.

Calum waved him over, and whispered something into his ear. Michael nodded slowly, sadness crossing his pale face.

"Sweetie, your mummy probably left because she loves you. She probably didn't want you to be sad or get hurt." Luke said. Lyric sniffled and looked up.

"Weally?" she asked. All of us nodded in agreement, though we didn't know the actual truth.

"Yea, and that's also why we're gonna take care of you. We're gonna help you grow up and teach you about so many different things, and you're gonna love it." I said.

Lyric stopped crying, but it didn't get rid of the frown on her face. "I miss Mummy." she sniffled. "She played games and watched pwincesses wif me and gave cuddles."

"Well, that's what we're here for!" Calum exclaimed, taking Lyric from my arms and giving her a squeeze hug. "We can do those things too, ya know!"

Lyric nodded, sniffling and hiccuping. She looked up at us with sad eyes, making our hearts shatter. "Pwease no leave me." she whimpered.

"Never ever ever." Cal told her, hugging her tight again. Lyric rested her head on his shoulder for a moment, before reaching her arms out for me again. I gladly accepted her.

"I think we need Michael to make Lyric happy again." Luke said, sighing a little.

"H-How Mikey make me happy?" Lyric asked, looking over at Michael. Michael smiled before taking her from my arms.

"Well, first I do this." he said, and pulled a face. He crossed his eyes and puffed out his cheeks, then scrunched up his nose and stuck his tongue out. A grin slowly began to form on Lyric's face.

"Then, I do this." Michael said, cradling her in one arm and tickling her belly with the other hand. Loud giggles erupted from the toddler's mouth, making us all smile.

"And finally, I do this!" Michael exclaimed, dancing around the living room with Lyric securely in his arms. Lyric began to laugh, squealing when he would spin in circles. He stopped his dancing after a moment, and smiled.

"She's all better now." he announced. Lyric giggled and snuggled into his chest. He rubbed her back softly, and we all cooed at her.

~ * Third Person Point of View * ~

For the rest of the night, the four boys were on the phone with an adoption agency. They knew that if they were discovered with Lyric without legal papers, they could get into trouble. They settled on a court hearing for the next morning, bright and early.

The boys decided to have a movie night with Lyric, who showed quite an interest in Winnie the Pooh. They turned it on, while Ashton made some popcorn.

As they munched their popcorn and giggled at Lyric, who would squeal and jump up and down every time her favorite character, Tigger, came onscreen, they felt their hearts tying tighter and tighter to that little girl's. That little girl whom they'd only know for less than a day, whom was going to be damaged by the loss of her mother... She was all theirs now.

Maybe one day she would finally forget about being left behind, and they would be able to tell her the story of how they found her without her tearing up as memories of her mother faded away. But they knew, her broken little heart wasn't gonna be an easy fix. What was happy in the moment, could be grieving a second later.

But, as they looked down at the sleeping little girl curled up in Michael's arms, they knew that all was worth it. To make her smile, laugh, make the right choices, was going to be the center of their lives, now and forever.

Lyric..

Their little Lyric.

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To be continued in Chapter 4.....