Count On Me | Niam

Chapter Nineteen

Niall

Liam had called twice in the day and a half since their talk at the cafe.

The first time, Niall had just finished cleaning the carpet where Chloe had thrown up, having missed the toilet, and had been in no mood to talk to Liam. He'd ended up cutting him off and ignoring everything Liam had had to say, apologising after a second before hanging up. The second time he called, right after Niall had finally gotten Chloe to stop crying and take the medicine that would eventually make her feel better, he hadn't even answered the phone, simply hitting the decline button before going back to his daughter and trying to think of a way to bring her temperature down.

Liam hadn't called a third time.

Eventually, three days after they'd ended up talking, Niall found himself calling Liam. Chloe was asleep on the sofa, having fallen asleep in front of the DVD Niall had let her watch as a reward for swallowing the Calpol he'd given her without puking it straight back up, allowing Niall five minutes to himself to think and the privacy to finally call Liam back.

Leaning against one of the cabinets in his kitchen, Niall finally dialled Liam's number, gripping the old Nokia tighter and drumming his fingers against the scratched case as he waited for Liam to pick up, exhaling quietly when the singer finally answered.

"Niall... Hey. I was going. To call you. But you seemed... to be busy." Liam's hesitation causing him to frown and clutch his phone tighter, Niall had the decency to feel slightly guilty for having screened Liam so easily. Looking over to the sofa as he heard his daughter cough, Niall took a second to reply, watching Chloe for a sign that she was awake before he said, "Sorry about that. I. It wasn't intentional, not really. I've been... I've had to deal with... Chloe's ill. I've been busy, up to my neck in carpet cleaner."

"Oh. Okay. Is she alright? Chloe, I mean, it's nothing serious, right?"Any hesitancy in his voice disappearing, Liam caught Niall off guard with how genuinely concerned he sounded, the memory of how worried Liam had been whenever Niall had been ill all those years ago popping into Niall's head, the way Liam would bring over soup and the two of them would stay curled up in bed together distracting him as he said, "I don't think it is, no. There's been something like it going around her school, probably just a bug. She'll be fine. I have the world's supply of infant paracetamol and Disney films on repeat. "

"Do you need anything else? I can... I don't know. Send you guys whatever you need. Soup or something. I could stop by—" Being cut off by someone Niall couldn't quite hear, Liam fell silent, leaving Niall with more time to get lost in three years worth of memories, including the time that fifteen-year-old Liam had fallen ill and the two of them ended up spending a weekend curled up on the sofa together, with Niall catching whatever it was off of Liam and needing an extra week to recover.

Trying to ignore the little voice in his head reminding him of the way sixteen-year-old Liam had snuck in through his bedroom window in the middle of the night, after he heard Niall was ill, just to bring him soup and check that he was alright, Niall bit his lip, leaning his head against a cupboard door and closing his eyes before he shook his head. "No. You don't have to. We... I can manage fine. Chloe's asleep anyway. It's great of you to offer, but it's not necessary, Liam."

The two of them falling silent, Niall ignored the person he could hear on Liam's end of the line, looking over at Chloe as she slept, the seven-year-old squirming and coughing every so often as she slept, wondering if Liam would actually have called him back had he not caved and called him before he eventually grew tired of the silence and spoke. "Thanks, for offering, though. It's really nice of you... Was there a reason that you called me? The first time."

"I was just wondering how you were. Curiosity." Silencing the person next to him, Liam sighed as he heard Niall snort, the other boy managing to turn in into a cough but not before Liam heard. "Really. I've told you. You interest me, Niall. More than anyone I know. But that's not it, not completely. I was wondering how you and Chloe were. I mean it when I said I want a chance. You're my family, Niall. I know about her and I want a chance. With the both you."

"I know, Liam. I know you want a chance and you can have one. It's just... It's weird, for me. Kind of. This is... You'll get a chance, I promise, it just might take a while." His voice softening, Niall loosened his grip on his phone, leaning back against the worktop and looking over the picture Chloe had drawn of the two of them, his hair was bright yellow and her curls were more extreme than even on the wildest days, but the picture was still one of his favourites. Wandering over to his fridge and sticking the picture next some of the others Chloe had drawn, he took a deep breath before he said, "You will get a chance with Chloe. As I've said, she's ill right now but... Once she's better, we can... You can meet her. If she wants to meet you. I'll ask her, tell her about you and we can arrange something. A trip to the park or just something, yeah? There are still things we need to talk about, but you can meet her."

"Okay... Thank you. I meant it, though, if you need anything. Call me. If there's anything I can do to help. I mean it, you know." Shaking his head again, Niall could practically hear the smile on Liam's face, the gratitude in his tone once again catching Niall off guard, the twenty-five-year-old taking a moment to recover before he said, "Don't thank me. It's only if Chlo wants to see you, remember. I'll call you soon, Liam. I have to go."

Hanging up the phone without letting Liam reply, Niall set his phone down on the worktop, shooting a glare its way before shoving it to one side and going to check on Chloe, running a hand through his daughters hair and checking her temperature before pulling her blanket up closer around her and sliding a cushion beneath her head.

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So... Finally an update.

I'm not 100% happy with this chapter but I've been struggling to get it written and phrased right for long enough so I'm publishing it anyway. It's basically a filler chapter between last chapter and chapter twenty but I think it's kind of important and it just about gets my idea for the chapter across. 

But it's nearly midnight where I am so let's roll with it.

Side note: this book is going to be really long, I think. I know the chapters are quite short but we're now at twenty and Liam hasn't even met so Chloe so we're gonna be here for a while. 

Sorry this took me so long, guys, next chapter should be up pretty soon.

I'd love to see what you guys thought....