Alone (#wattys2016)

Chapter 8

"Daddy, lookie! I drew a picture!" A little girl, who I'd say is my daughter, says as she runs toward me.

I smile and squat down so I'm face to face with her. "What did you draw, Darcy?" I ask her.

She holds up a picture of three people and a house. "Its me, you, and Papa. See?" She says as she points to the three people.

"You did a good job, Darcy. Do you want me to hang it in the fridge so Papa can see it when he gets home?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

She hands me the picture and jumps up and down. "Hang it up, Daddy! Hang it up!" She tells me.

I stand up with the picture in hand and make my way to to the kitchen, Darcy following close behind.

I walk up to the fridge, grab a few magnets, and put the picture up on the fridge for her. "There. Now Papa and anyone else can see the pretty picture you drew." I tell her.

Then I hear the front door open and close. "Papa!" Darcy calls and runs into the living room where he would be.

A familiar voice rings in my ears, but it's not a voice I wanted to ever hear again.

"Hey, baby girl. Were you good for Daddy while I was gone?" I hear Jake say.

I walk towards the living room abd pray that it wasn't Jake that I heard. I hope that it's my mind just playing tricks on me. I don't want to see Jake again.

To my dismay, he was standing right there in the middle of the room, Darcy in his arms. "Jake?" I ask.

"What is it, Hazza?" He asks me. I clench my jaw at the nickname.

"Can I talk to you in private?" I ask him.

He nods and puts Darcy down before following me to another room.

I shut the door and lock it so Darcy can't wander in. "What are you doing here with me and my daughter? You didn't give a fuck when I was pregnant with her, why do you now?" I ask him, anger evident in my voice.

He pushes me against the wall and holds me by my collar. "Look, that is my baby. I will live a happy life with you and her like nothing ever happened. You will not take my daughter from me. She belongs to me." He growls. "And you can't stop me. You run, I find you."

I wake up with a gasp. That dream startled me. "Will Jake really try to find me?" I ask myself in a whisper.

"Who is Jake, Harry?" I hear Liam ask close to my ear. Right. I fell asleep on his chest with his arms around me. I forgot.

I look up a little so I can see his face. "He's my ex boyfriend. Jake is the one who got me pregnant and kicked me out when I told him." I say softly, wishing it wasn't true.

"Oh." Is all Liam says. He tightens his grip on me a little in a protective way. I snuggle into him, feeling protected in his arms.

"I had a dream where I had a little girl...and he was there... He told me that he was going to be in her life and that we were going to pretend that nothing happened between us..." I say solemnly.

"I promise that won't happen." Laim says. "I won't let him come around you and demand that he be apart of your family. If he didn't want to deal with you during your pregnancy, then he never wants anything to do with you or your baby. If I see him around, sayin he wants you back, I'll change his mind really quick. You need someone you know you can count on. Someone who won't let you be alone during times like these, when you need someone most."

"Someone like you." I say aloud without thinking.

"Yeah. Someoe like me." He says without hesitating. "But don't let it get to you, okay? It was just a dream. He may not come around. Think about it that way don't don't stress about the fact that he might. We don't want you and the baby to be stressed out."

"Yeah. You're right. I just won't think about the fact that he might do that. He hasn't done that yet, so I won't worry about it." I say. "But I'm hungry. What do you have to eat?"

"Whatever you want. Are you craving anything right now?" Liam asks me.

"Well, some pickles and ice cream do sound good. Chocolate ice cream. Can I have some?" I ask.

"Of course." He tells me. I think he is going to just sit up and slide me off of his lap, but he doesn't. He picks me up and carries me with him to the kitchen.

"Liam, you don't have to carry me. I know I'm pretty heavy." I say.

"Nah, you're not that bad. I've lifted heavier. Trust me, you're not too heavy for me." He tells me is a small smile on his face, which causes me to smile as well.

When we reach the kitchen, he sets me down on the table, goes to the fridge, pulls out the jar of pickles before going to the freezer and pulling out a tub of ice cream. It was chocolate like I had specified. He then makes his way to the cabinets and grabs a bowl.

I sit there and watch him as he puts the ice cream in the bowl, and the pickles following after. My stomach growls and I feel my mouth water a bit. It looks so good right now.

Even though only a few minutes pass before I get the bowl, it feels like years. Liam had s me the bowl and I say "Finally. What took you so long." I immediately start to dig into the chocolate ice cream and pickle mix.

Liam chuckles a little. "It wasn't that long, Harry. Maybe five minutes you had to wait." He says with a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Well it felt like forever, Li. I'm starving." I say to him. Within a few minutes, all of the food is gone and I am satisfied. "That was good."

"That's good, Harry." He says to me. "Now, how about we get you some clothes and other things tomorrow? Well, after I get off of work." He offers.

I smile. "Sounds good to me." I say.

For the rest of the day, I talk to Liam about what my pregnancy has been like and what I hope to happen in the near future.