Count On Me | Niam

Chapter Seventeen

Niall

He really didn't want to have to face Liam. Not after working a double shift and dealing with a particularly snotty customer who insisted that the guitar she'd purchased from them was the reason her son's playing sounded so bad. Niall had at first played along, testing the instrument but he'd eventually snapped and pointed out that there was no way it was the guitars fault and if her son's playing sounded bad, it would be because, at age seven, the kid was hardly going to sound amazing on an instrument almost as big as he was.

The woman had ended up leaving the shop after giving Niall a glare that would have made anyone who hadn't tried to spend three months attending a religious secondary school after being outed as gay freeze to the spot and muttering about never how she'd never return to the shop ever again.

In all honesty, Niall hadn't been able to bring himself to care. Before he'd even started the double shift, he'd spent the previous evening keeping an eye on Chloe and making sure she made it to the toilet whenever she had to be sick, he'd then spent the morning on the phone with Chloe's school before having to leave the seven-year-old at the sitters to be able to go to work, knowing full well that she was ill, with only the promise that he'd bring her back soup and a new book if he had time.

He was ending the extra shift with a headache, an ache in his lower back from restocking shelves and hauling parcels around the backroom for hours and, due to the coffee maker in the back room being broken, was on the verge of falling into a sleep deprivation related coma when, just as he was about to go home to his daughter, he'd come face to face with Liam. He'd almost managed to forget their conversation. Niall had already been awake for nineteen hours without any kind of caffeine when his phone had gone off and he'd more or less managed to put their meeting out of his mind since then.

But Liam had been there, waiting for him just outside the door, and he'd had no choice but to let Liam lead him to a nearby cafe, looking at him with the big brown eyes that Niall had always been a sucker for. Sitting opposite Liam, Niall was actively avoiding looking at him, focusing on the styrofoam cup of tea in front of him as he tried to think of a way to break the silence that had fallen. Sighing as Niall looked anywhere but at him, Liam took a sip of his own tea before beating Niall to it. "So... The maths works out. She is mine, right? I know what you said, but I need to know for sure. Is she mine? My daughter?"

"She's definitely your's. Her names Chloe, Liam. It wouldn't kill you to actually refer to her by her name. Since you are her dad." Gritting his teeth, Niall was tempted to walk out, leave Liam sat there and go home to his daughter, scrapping that idea and shifting in his seat as Liam held his hands up in a conciliatory gesture. Nodding, Liam ran a hand over his face, letting out a quiet sigh before he met Niall's gaze, the other guy looking less angry than he had a moment ago.

"Chloe. Okay. Chloe's... I'm her dad? Fuck, I'm her dad. I'm a dad." Speaking more to himself than to Niall, Liam was having trouble wrapping his head around that particular revelation, his own daughter's name sounding foreign to him, nodding again before looking up at Niall. "I'm a dad. Why didn't you tell me? Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

Flinching as Liam's tone hardened, Niall bit his lip, clutching at the cup in front of him and taking a sip of his drink before pushing it away, not caring as some of the tea spilled over the sides. "I couldn't tell you. You left, Liam. You fucking left and then you didn't really come back. How was I supposed to tell you?"

Lowering his voice, his tone changing and his voice sounding more plaintive and more broken than angry or defensive, Niall didn't let Liam speak, leaning forward in his seat as he said, "You weren't there."

"I was! I came home as often as I could. I was home for a while between boot camp and Judges Houses. When the shows started, I came back as often as I could. You could have told me at any time. I was home for Christmas, there were plenty of times. It's been, what, eight, nine, years? It's been a hell of a long time, Niall. You could've somehow found me and told me." Noticing the glare slowly taking over Niall's features, Liam glared back at him, not caring if he was being unfair or callous, letting all the questions that had been running round his head since three am spill out of his mouth as he asked, "Why didn't you tell me? Would you have told me if we hadn't run into each other and I hadn't insisted on getting your number? If I hadn't kept trying, would you have just let me go without knowing about her? About Chloe? I cannot believe that you didn't tell me."

"You weren't there! Liam, you weren't there! Not when I found out, just after the first live show. You were so happy, finally getting your chance, you barely had time to have a full conversation over the phone with me and I had just had the biggest bombshell you could imagine dropped on me. I had no idea what I was going to do and whenever I tried to speak to you, you were busy. You came home for the odd day but you were busy with anyone but me. You came home for Christmas but you asked me not to come over as it was just going to be you and your parents and sisters. I heard you mention hanging out with Danielle but I was asked to let you spend time with your family. Then you left again and you never answered your phone or had time to and it became easier to just not try. Then you stopped calling. So don't you dare try that. You were never there. Not when I needed you." Giving up any pretence of remaining calm, Niall stood up, pushing his chair back with such force that it fell over, jerking the table and knocking over both his and Liam's drinks as he left, leaving Liam still sat there, processing what he'd ended up saying whilst the cafe staff tried not to stare.

Running a hand through his hair, Liam cursed a couple of times before he jumped up and followed after Niall, grateful that he'd ended up taking Niall to one of the quieter backstreets as he ended up jogging halfway down the street before he caught up with him, angry gasps of incoherent mumbling being thrown his way as he grabbed Niall's hand and forced him to stop. Yanking his hand free from Liam's, Niall glared up at him for a moment before he sighed, his sudden spark of anger gone as he said, "You weren't there. I needed you and all I got was your voicemail."

"I know. And I am so, so sorry." Trying to contain his surprise at the change in Niall's attitude, Liam, acting purely on instinct, opened his arms in time for Niall to collapse into them. Hiding his face in Liam's neck, Niall ignored the little voice in his head telling him that it was really not a good idea and didn't pull away, hiding his face in Liam's neck and trying not to embarrass himself further as Liam muttered, "I'm really sorry." 

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I just want to give Niall a hug. 

This isn't how I originally pictured this chapter going but I think I like it better this way. 

Liam finally knows (took long enough, right?) and Niall isn't taking any of his shit. Niall needs a hug, though. 

Or is that just me?