Make Me Break (n.h. + h.s.)(Punk!Niall)

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Five

"What if she doesn't like me?" Niall whispered from the passenger seat of my car. We were on our way to my mum's to pick up Lizzie after a long weekend without her. I was excited to see my baby girl, but at the same time I wanted to spend more time with Niall alone.

I'd just barely got him back...

"She'll be a little shy at first, but she's like that with everyone... She'll love you Ni... How can she not?"

"Oh I don't know... Maybe the fact that I abandoned her?"

"She doesn't even know who you are Ni..."

"Exactly." 

"I'm failing to see your point Ni..."

"I just feel like I'm gonna be a failure of a dad... She's not gonna like me Haz... I just have that feeling." 

"You don't know that Ni.... You're her dad." 

"No... You're her dad, I'm just a stranger who helped make her. I am nowhere close to being her dad." I sighed, thinking about pulling off the road to talk some sense into him. 

"You're not going to be a stranger anymore... You're gonna be a permanent figure in her life now. You're gonna be her other dad... You're not planning on leaving right?" I felt a small lump form in my throat near the end of my sentence. The mere thought of Niall leaving again making my heart stop beating.

"No! I swear I'm not leaving again Harry..."

"Good... I don't want you to..." 

"I know you don't, and neither do I..." He grabbed my hand, offering me a small reassuring smile. It didn't really assure me, but I offered a smile back. The rest of the drive was silent between the two of us, the only sound coming from the radio. I only partially focused on the fact his fingers were intertwined with mine. When we pulled up to my street, Niall's grip on my hand tightened, and I could've sworn he stopped breathing for a moment. 

"I can't do this.... I thought I could... I can-"

"Ni... You can."

"No... I'm not ready... I can't."

"You're a little too late for that now Ni, c'mon."

"Don't make me do this..."

"I'm not making you, but I will tell you this... You can't keep running from this. If you're sticking around and we're going to be together, you need to get past this... She's your daughter." 

"I'm not running... Just shitting my pants is all..." He whispered, pulling his hand out of mine. 

"She won't hate you... I promise." The "I promise" hung in the air for what seemed to be forever until Niall's lips went into a small smile. He stuck out his pinkie, meeting my eyes.

"Pinkie promise?" 

"Pinkie promise." I hooked my pinkie with his, smiling wider than I had for a long time. 

"Let's do this then..." 

_____________

We knocked on the front door, and it was only a moment before my mum's smiling face appeared before us. It faltered for a moment when she saw Niall, but it was back to it's normal radiance in a matter of seconds. 

"It's about time you came! I was starting to think I was going to be in charge of her for the rest of my life! Not that I would mind, she's absolutely precious." My mum stepped out of the doorway, letting us walk in. Almost subconsciously, my hand grabbed Niall's. I didn't miss my mum's frown at that, but I chose to ignore it.