Damaged Goods. (A Harry Styles Fanic)

Chapter Twenty-Six

The beeping of the alarm clock caused an irritable groan to escape Lola's closed mouth. Her face was squashed up against the soft white pillow, her hair messily sprawled across it.

"Go away" she grumbled to the inanimate object, reaching an arm out and smacking anywhere on the desk she could to shut the damn thing up. She had forgotten to turn the alarm off, she didn't need to wake up, and would regret it just like this on those mornings.

Her tight eyes began to loosen up and adjust to the daylight peaking through the curtains. Her brain quickly tried to jumble itself back into order and figure out what day it was. Sunday. 

She sat up and rubbed her face vigorously, sweeping her hair away from her forehead. It was 8.46am. Too early. But probably a good thing that she'd woken up at this time, because there were things she had to get done. Nothing she voluntarily wanted to do, but she'd been thinking about it for the past couple of days.

Lola rolled herself off the mattress and stood up, taking a long stretch before glancing at her phone. It had been a week since the eventful weekend of the night out which resulted in Lola and Harrys heated night tangled together on his sofa bed, and also the harsh reality of what her feelings had become. 

She'd not really had a serious conversation with him since then, as his Mum requested he spent a little more time at home with her to see how he felt. Anne wanted to help her son get over his healing grief in the healthiest way possible and keep an eye on him. After all, he'd been behaving in a reckless manner regarding his use of alcohol and resulting in the weight he'd lost. His thick lustrous curls that she loved so much didn't have as much life in them anymore, and were more of a shaggy mop swept across his head.

Lola stepped out onto the landing and shivered slightly as a cold dip in the air washed over her bare legs and arms. She grabbed a forrest green hoodie and pulled it on with her pyjama shorts and walked over to Jakes room. She pushed the door open gently to see him sitting upright in his bed, an action figure in one hand and a teddy in the other. His short limbs crossed legged and his tired eyes dropping a little.

"Hey little man" Lola said, perching herself on the edge of his bed. Jake smiled at his sister, reaching out to her as she gave him a hug. She loved the way he seeked her out for comfort, and felt guilty when she realised how little bonding time she spent with him lately. Too caught up in her own problems to pay attention to the only source of blood family she had.

But luckily it made her realise even more how much she needed to proceed with the plan going on in the back of her head. She knew they couldn't rely on John forever, even if he didn't mind, Lola felt bad for being a burden.

"What's this hey?" she said, noticing a piece of green card poking out underneath the mattress into her leg. Jakes small mouth parted as he watched her view the hand drawn wax crayon illustration on the card. 

Lola opened it up and saw only three words inside. The names hadn't been filled in. 

Happy Fathers Day

"We made them at school" Jake said quietly, twiddling the arm of his action figure

"But Fathers Day was a month ago?" 

"I know, I didn't know what to do with it" Jake shrugged. Lola cocked her head to the side and felt a small wave of guilt and empathy for him, that he didn't understand why his friends had proper families and he didn't. Why his parents never stayed with him, and he had to go to strangers. Why he could only rely on his sister to not leave him.

"I said to Miss that I didnt have a Dad and she said I must but I teld her I don't. Then she said I could give it to the person who looks after me and I didnt want to give it to John because he's not my Daddy? And you're supposed to give them to the Father on Fathers Day" Jake rambled on confused, his shiny eyed facial expression telling Lola that to a six year old, it was the biggest dilemma in the world. He had no idea.