Count On Me | Niam

Chapter Two

Niall

He was grateful for the invention of coffee.

It was the only thing that was keeping him awake at that moment, having worked a stupid number of hours lately before somehow agreeing to take Chloe to a new swimming group that met from seven am on Saturday mornings.

It was the severe lack of sleep that meant he was on his third cup of coffee, taking it from the guy on duty and not noticing the concerned look being sent his way as he eased the plastic to go lid from the cup and took a sip, ignoring the scalding temperature and making his way back to the viewing area, retaking his seat amongst the other parents to watch Chloe's swim class, though he didn't really take in most of what was happening.

Stifling another yawn, he shifted in his seat, running a hand through his hair as he tried to count the total amount of sleep he'd missed. After working double shifts the past two weeks, the day shift and the night shift that oversaw the shop's deliveries whilst Chloe was at Jessica's, Niall was fairly certain he'd probably slept for no more than four hours at a time. But, despite the crippling sleep deprivation that he hadn't suffered from since an eighteen-month-old Chloe had begun teething, Niall had willingly taken Chloe to the newest swim club starting, a group aimed at those under fifteen who were eager to start competitive swimming.

Taking another sip of coffee, Niall leaned forward, forcing himself to pay attention as his daughter, unmissable in her bright turquoise costume, seemed to finish ahead of all the other members of the club, the seven-year-old looking up in the general direction of the balcony where Niall was sat and grinning before jumping backing the water.

Eventually, the meeting mercifully ended, and Niall wandered down stairs to the changing rooms, collecting Chloe's stuff from her locker before he headed to meet her poolside, holding her towel out as she ran over, earning her a blast of the life guard's whistle that she ignored, grinning up at Niall as he wrapped her in her towel and ruffled her hair with it, earning him an outraged a squawk of, "Daddy!"

Chloe's annoyance didn't last and she let him lead her towards the changing room, taking her bag from him as she chattered on, "This was the best. Can I come every time?"

"It depends, poppet, but maybe. The next meet's on Thursday, you might have to choose between this or regular lessons in the other pool." Directing her into a cubicle, Niall waited outside for Chloe, dutifully taking her costume from her as she flung it over the door and wringing it out before he helped her to repack her bag once she was dressed and then lead her to the exit.

Narrowly avoiding knocking into someone as they made their way past the entrance to the gym, Niall paused for a second, convinced he recognised the guy, turning away as Chloe pulled on his hand, trying to pull him in the direction of the vending machines. In his distraction, Chloe managed to persuade him to dig in his pockets for change and tried to get him to buy her both a bar of chocolate and a packet of fruit pastilles, the money for which he'd already handed over before he realised and tried to change his mind, only to be met with a grin from his daughter.

*****

"Chloe, wait! Remember what I said. You can't really run off, not even in the building." The exasperated sigh Niall let out as Chloe rushed out of the lift and down the corridor to the flat went ignored and he was left to trail after her, half-heartedly calling after her in an attempt to get her to wait. He finally caught up with her outside their front door and simply shook his head at her as she shrugged, running past him inside once he'd unlocked the door.

Chloe kicked her boots off as she ran inside, technically obeying the no shoes indoors rule, and threw herself onto the faded sofa, grabbing the TV remote, stopping in her tracks as she looked up to see Niall leaning against the doorway, looking at her with a pointed expression. "Chlo..."

"What?" Looking round, the seven-year-old tried to tell if she was in trouble for the running off or something else as she drew her knees up to her chest, looking up at again at Niall before she tried to focus on the TV. Niall kicked his own shoes off and set her bag down by the washing machine before walking over to the sofa, running his hand through her still drying curls. "Chlo, you need a shower. Chlorine, poppet."

It took a moment of obstinance before Chloe turned the TV off, jumping up from the sofa and following Niall into their cramped bathroom, sighing as he began to run the bath, pulling her favourite bottle of bubble bath down from the shelf and adding it to the water before he turned to leave. "Shout me if you need help with your hair..."

Leaving Chloe in the bathroom, able to hear the sounds of her occasionally playing with the rubber duck she'd had forever making their way through the rest of the flat, Niall headed through to her room, the bigger one out of the two, opening her wardrobe and grabbing her favourite leggings and a clean t-shirt for her to wear before returning to the bathroom and setting them out on top of the toilet. "I'm hearing more playing than actual bathing, Chlo."

His smile told her she wasn't in any actual trouble and Chloe stuck her tongue out at him, going back to her game of what looked like an attempt by the rubber duck to drown mermaid Barbie as he left, shaking his head at her as she threw bubbles at him only to miss.

Any other day, he might have moaned about the carpet but Niall let it slide for once, heading through to the living room and dropping onto the sofa, using the few moments of peace to close his eyes and relax. His brief nap was interrupted by the sounds of Chloe finishing with her bath, presumably getting bored since she'd have run out of bubbles. She eventually emerged, wearing the leggings he'd set out for her but wearing the same t-shirt she'd taken off earlier, her hairbrush in her hand and a frown on her face as she tried to tackle the knots in her hair, wincing before she gave up and tossed the brush aside.

Niall gave her a smile as she climbed back onto the sofa, grabbing the remote from where it had fallen between the sofa cushions and turning on the DVD player, snuggling up against him as the DVD began to play. He ended up falling asleep before they were even halfway through the film, the smell of Chloe's bubblegum bubble bath replacing the earlier scent of chlorine as she used him as her own pillow. 

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Fluff.

I'm  surrounded by fluff.

And mysterious people you could swear you recognise...

But here we are at the second chapter and I'm already loving this story.

Thoughts on the chapter?