baby, i'm haunted ➡ lilo/larry

Little Talks

"WELL, um, I, uh, I guess I'll go now. I'll email Malik. But uh, yeah, bye." Liam stammered, heading towards the door.

"Um, wait." Louis said, catching Liam's attention.

"Look, I'm sorry for busting your ass all the time and being a dick. You're really not all that bad, Payne. I'm sorry, I guess." Louis apologized, looking at the floor in insecurity.

"I forgive you. Don't worry about it. I come off a big strong sometimes. It's one of my bad traits, but uh, I'll just go now." Liam explained, walking out and heading to his car.

Liam was pulling out when his car phone went off. He had one of those smart cars that allowed him to answer his cell phone from the car.

"Hello?" Liam answered.

"Hey, Li, um it's about Jazlyn and Alex. Alex was pulling Jazlyn's hair and uh, well, things got out of hand." Niall explained.

"How out of hand?" Liam questioned.

"Well, um, I asked Zuri to watch them while I checked on Kailey, but by the time I got back, Jazlyn had a bloody nose and Alex had a black eye. Zuri was on her phone. I grounded her for you."

"Lord have mercy," Liam muttered, turning the corner.

Liam continued, "Look, I'll be there in about five minutes. Until then, round all the kids on the couch and watch them carefully."

"Got it. Bye Li." Niall said, hanging up.

Liam groaned when he pulled into the driveway. He picked up his briefcase and walked into the house. There was Niall pacing back and forth and the kids with pouts on their faces as they were squished on the couch.

"Thanks for watching them, Ni. You can go to bed." Liam said.

Niall was the nanny of the household. Liam had four kids. Zuri was his eldest daughter and she was sixteen. She hadn't really took much responsibility in past years. She was a spoiled brat, to say the least. Liam really need to take that phone of hers away. Jazlyn and Alex were the twins. Fraternal, of course. They were both fourteen and unfortunately for Liam, Jazlyn was very moody lately since she just got her first period. Alex was simply just a little boy that wanted attention. Liam really should start paying more attention to him. Afterall, he was Liam's only son. Finally, there was Kailey. Luckily, Kailey was only three, but boy was she a ball of energy. Liam had a wife at one point. Their mother, Crystal, passed after the birth of Kailey. Liam loved Crystal and he missed her everyday, but he could survive without her. He just didn't want to. Liam was sure that the death of her mother was the reason that Zuri had been so careless lately. Liam honestly never thought he'd be able to take care of the kids without Crystal, but look at him now. Three years later and he was still here being a dad to four spoiled brats. Thank god Liam had Niall to help him out.

"Kailey, honey, why don't you go up with Niall? Yeah, babe?" Liam suggested and the toddler nodded. Her sandy blonde curls bouncing as she ran to catch up with Niall.

Liam turned his attention back to the three teenagers that lay on the couch. "Now, would someone like to explain to me why in hell I had to race home to find two of my children with busted up faces?" Liam sneered.

"Look, daddy--" Liam cut Zuri off.

"No. Don't daddy me. Why weren't you looking after the twins like Niall asked you to?" Liam asked the sassy little girl.

"It was nothing." She muttered.

"It was obviously something. Give me your phone. You've lost your privileges." Liam said, motioning for her to give him her phone.

"What? No. That's not fair. I'm not the one who beat up my twin. Aren't you gonna punish them?" Zuri looked at her father like he had two heads.

"Yes. They are grounded for the month and they don't get their phones either. Same goes for you, missy. You need to learn responsibility, Zuri and now is the perfect time to do so. In fact, I have the perfect job for you. You can help me with my new project at the firm. What do you think about that?" Liam smirked at the red faced excuse he had for a daughter.

"W-work?" She squeaked.

"Yes. Work. To find a job for a paycheck. Working. To achieve a goal. Do you understand what that means?" Liam questioned.

"Yes."

"Good." Liam said.

The twins were snickering in the corner of the couch.

"Now, don't think I'm letting you two off easy, either. You will be Niall's helping hand 24/7. Meaning that if he asks you to do something, you do it. Whether you want to or not. And if there is a problem, Niall can always call and I could always take away your privilege to stay at a friend's. I can always make you come straight home from school. It's really not a problem." Liam threatened the twins, making them look at each other and then at their father in disbelief.

If they thought Liam was joking, they were in for a great surprise. Liam was dead serious. He grabbed a bucket off the counter and said, "Phones. Bucket. Now."

They groaned, reaching into their pockets and throwing them in the buckets.

"Don't forget the back ups, children." Liam added.

"You knew about those?" Jazlyn asked.

"Your uncle Drake is shit at keeping secrets. You should know this." Liam replied, smirking as they dropped another batch of phones into the bucket.

"Thank you. Now, head up to bed." Liam said, pulling them all into a hug.

"I love you Zuri. I love you Jasmine. I love you Alex." Jazlyn cringed because she hated her real name which just so happened to be Jasmine, but headed up to bed anyway with a, "Night, dad." for good measure.

After they were out of sight, Liam sighed in frustration.

"Li?" Niall's voice called out.

Liam turned around and sighed. "Hey Ni."

"I went to tell Zuri goodnight, but she was crying. I'm worried about her." Niall said in worry.

"It's Crystal's birthday, Niall. Zuri was always a mummy's girl. It's really hard for her."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Something's up with her, though." Liam noted and Niall nodded in response.

And, ironically, Zuri's phone beeped and Liam knew exactly what was going on with her.

The text said Go die, you little whore.

Tears prickled in Liam's eyes. There was no way that Zuri was being bullied. Who could ever hate such a sweet soul like herself?

"W-what's the matter?" Niall stuttered. Liam shoved the phone in hands. He couldn't look at the messages anymore.

"Li." Niall warned.

"What?"

"I think I know why she's being bullied." Niall said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Here." Niall gave Liam the phone back and his eyes turned into saucers as he saw the text.

It was picture of some guys dick and then Liam knew it. His daughter was being sexually harassed.

This wasn't what Liam expected at all. If Crystal were here, she'd know what to do. Liam didn't. Niall didn't. They were all stuck in the thin atmosphere where they didn't know what to do. Liam was already under enough pressure with this whole project with Louis and now his daughter was being cyberbullied and there wasn't a damn thing that he could do about it.