(Just a warning in advance, this update is REALLLLLY short. The way I planned it was to either have everything crammed into one chapter, or to spread it out a little. So I apologize, this chapter is unusually small. But that also means that I should be updating more frequently :)
~ Juli's P.O.V. ~
I sat there on the couch, speechless. My eyes gazed out the window as Niall slumped down onto his suitcase and pull out his phone. I almost run after him, but my feet won't move.
It's every piece of me not to break down. Our reunion was the polar opposite of what I had expected. For some reason, I had pictured us finally ready to embrace one another. Instead, I pushed him out once again.
"Juli, you okay?" Louis mutters from the hallway.
I gulp. Nodding, I say, "I'm fine."
He doesn't respond but walks over to sit next to me. His eyes much catch on to Niall outside because he puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into him. "It's alright. Like you said, everything happens for a reason. This will all work out."
I turn my head to look him in the eyes. A small smile plays over his mouth. "I hope you're right." I mutter.
"El and I were thinking about taking a walk. Do you want to go?" He calmly asks. "Of course, I have to disguise myself but it could get your mind off things."
I nod. "That would be nice." A cab pulls into my front yard and Niall starts packing his bags into it. I wait til the car is gone, then I look back to Louis. "Let's go."
The park we end up at is beautiful. You can see the city from here, but it's still full of trees and birds. I'm only dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants. My body still isn't fully recovered from giving birth, so every few minutes I have to stop and take a breath.
"It's so pretty in America." El sighs.
I nod. "I came here with my mum when I was really little. We went to a beach somewhere in Florida." I pause, recalling the memory. "I wanted to move there so bad."
Louis trails behind us. He volunteered to push Maddie's stroller when it became too much for me. "It's always rainy in England."
I scoff. "Yeah but in the winter, Chicago might as well be Antarctica. Grandma told me this past year there were like, six blizzards in the same month."
El turns to me. "Speaking of, where is you Grandma?"
I shrug. "She had to work today. Sometimes she doesn't get home til late at night."
My Grandma works at a little grocery store in downtown Chicago. Although her shift ends around six, she usually isn't home til eight, depending on the traffic.
"I can't wait to see her! I haven't seen Grandma in years." El squeals.
I nod. "Yeah, she moved here right after I moved in with Carter."
I look up at the Chicago skyline. It's barely peeking over the trees. "Are you going back to London?" Louis asks, being incredibly blunt.
I sit down on a bench next to the path. "I don't know. Maybe I will eventually, but right now, there's nothing left for me in the UK."
El takes a seat next to me. "What so you mean?"
"I have a restraining order against Carter, and it's not like I ever plan to see him again."
Louis's eyes widen slightly. "You're not going to tell him he has a daughter?"
I sit up straight, trying to show that I am independent. "He doesn't deserve to meet Maddie. She's not his child. Biologically, yes. But Carter will never be Maddie's father." I look into the stroller to my sleeping infant. "I already promised her that I would find someone ten thousand times better." I mumble.
