Snow

Chapter Thirty Five

Compared to the two months I'd endured previous to my conversation with Andy, the next month was practically heavenly. Willow had finally figured out his name wasn't actually Nasty, and now referred to him as Daddy. It was sweet, really, how close they'd gotten in the two months during which he'd started seeing her. "Do you mind if I come over again today?" Andy asked when I picked up the phone. "I promised Kota I'd see her every day this week."

I bit my lip and struggled to hold back my protests. It wouldn't be right for me to stop him from seeing her, considering we were both her legal guardians. "That should be okay, so long as you're good to watch her for the afternoon. I've got to go into the studio to work on the EP." He agreed, telling me he'd be at the house in half an hour, and I quickly rushed into the shower.

I'd finally discussed the possibility of me doing some solo work with my band mates, and they'd all been fine with it. Flynn had looked hurt that I refused to look him in the eye, but Alli, Tia and Cody seemed to be happy for me. We hadn't done anything as a band since the previous tour, and it didn't look like we would for a while.

JT and I had been properly working on my EP together for a month now, and we already had two songs recorded and ready to go. There'd be five songs on there in total by the end of it, and it'd be released in just over three months from now.

Willow was sleeping in her cot as I quickly showered, leaving the door cracked open so I could hear her if she called for me, and I spent all of five minutes to wash up. I pulled on my dressing gown and pulled out my makeup bag. My makeup was as thick as ever, but I took extra effort to make sure my actual skin colour wasn't on show so no one noticed how pale I was nowadays. Willow woke up before I could get dressed, so I moved on to calming her down and getting her ready.

When Andy turned up, I was still in my gown and dressing Willow in the guest room - our new bedroom. Opening the window, I waved down at him. "You have keys." I called, pulling the window shut again as I heard the front door open. "We're upstairs." I quickly tugged Willow's top over her head and put her feet into her shoes. Andy took longer than expected to find us, but I soon realized he'd thought we'd be in the main bedroom. "Great, you're here." I said, lifting Willow onto my hip and kissing her cheek. "I have to get dressed."

He took her from me without a word, and I pulled out an outfit before all-but-running into the bathroom. I quickly tugged on the flared jeans, pulling a baggy vest top and leather jacket over the top. I'd taken to wearing more concealing clothing now to hide the weight loss - I wasn't exactly proud of it, but I didn't have time to eat properly.

When I'd finished dressing, I went in to find Andy looking at a picture on the cupboard. It had been taken before Sammi died - she was holding Will in her arms, and I stood behind them with a happy grin. Andy had been the one to take that picture, and I think he realized that. There was another picture beside that, featuring Andy, Willow and I. The part with him in it had been hidden behind the frame of the other photo, and he looked sad as he turned to face me. "When are you leaving?"

I was sat on the bed, pulling my Vans on, and I held up two fingers. "Two minutes." He must've nodded, or else ignored me completely, because I didn't hear him say a word. He just continued to look at the pictures. "Let me have her." I said as I stood up, sliding my thick-rimmed glasses onto my face - I didn't have time to put my contacts in, so I'd have to do it at the studio. He passed Will over to me, and I pressed a kiss to her nose. "You be good for Daddy, you hear me Will?"

She giggled and nodded. "I will." She was speaking a lot more now, and understood practically everything I said to her. "Bye bye." She kissed my cheek and tugged my hair a little. "Bye, Momma." Grinning, I kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly.