She's Not Afraid

"I've Faced The Truth"

"No, I understood that part," Liam growled on the phone, "I just don't understand why! You can't just have Danny call and say that you're staying. I need you here! Louis, don't you dare –"

Liam slammed his phone down on the counter, scaring both Danielle and Ella.

"That fucker hung up on me!" Liam hissed.

"Liam, language, please," Danielle said, as she sat down with a heated bottle and David.

"Sorry babe," Liam growled, as Eleanor and Emily walked into the kitchen.

"I'll get you some water," Emily said, as Eleanor sat at the table, with her head in her hands.

"Did you husband tell you anything?" Liam barked at Eleanor, ignoring the fact that she wasn't feeling well.

"Anything about what?" Eleanor asked

"About why he would be staying in that god forsaken town for another day, especially when he made the deal happen. Did you ask him to do something? Did he tell you why?"

"No, Liam," Eleanor sighed, "He just told me that he was staying, but he expected to be home within the next few days..."

"And you weren't curious?!" Liam barked, "What if he's having an affair?!"

"He's not having an affair," Eleanor said, her tone bored, as she took the glass of water from Emily's hands.

"Well you should call him and tell him that you aren't feeling well, and that he should come home now..." Liam said.

"You're the boss," Eleanor said.

"Yes, but you are the wife! He'll listen to you!"

"Liam, he knows I'm not feeling well. He's known for the past 2 weeks, this is what happens when you're pregnant. Morning sickness. He won't rush home..."

"Well, he should," Liam growled, just as Niall and Zayn came into the kitchen.

"Morning boys," Ella said, "Hungry?"

"Yes," Niall said, kissing Ella gently.

"I'll get you a plate," she said, moving towards the stove. Zayn sat down, next to Emily, grabbing her hand, and she stiffened at the touch, before turning to Danielle and David.

"Do either of you know why Louis would be staying another day?"

"Nope," Niall said, shrugging, "He didn't even tell me..."

"Me neither," Zayn said, "Can't you just force him to tell you? You are the boss..."

"I don't really know if that means anything anymore!" Liam snapped, "People leaving, people not telling me things, people not obeying orders... everything has just gone to hell hasn't it?!"

"Liam, relax," Danielle said, softly, "I'm sure if Louis is staying, he has a good reason..."

"And I'm sure he's coming back," Eleanor said.

"You said that about Sofia too," Zayn snapped at her, and Eleanor
sighed at him, shaking her head.

"I haven't given up on her," Eleanor snapped back, "And it would be nice if you stopped snapping at everyone!"

"Whatever," Zayn hissed, "I bet if anyone knows why Lou is staying it's –"

Just then Harry walked through the back door, his eyes had bags under them, just like they had every other morning over the last few months. He looked tired and crazed, and said nothing as he closed the back door.

"Speak of the devil –" Niall said, taking in Harry's appearance.

"Only good things I hope," Harry said, "Liam, it's been taken care of..."

"Thanks Haz," Liam said, "Look, uh... Harry..."

"Yes?" Harry asked, kissing Danielle on the cheek, and moving towards the fridge.

"Harry, I thought I told you to call off the search..." Liam said, his voice quieter now – he spoke gently.

"You did, two weeks ago," Harry said, his voice also quiet.

"So, did you send Lou somewhere on one of your leads?" Liam asked, "Harry, none of the leads have led to anything... she didn't leave a trace..."

"I know that Liam," Harry growled, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Louis isn't home, he was supposed to come home. But he called, said he was staying longer. But, that doesn't make sense – unless he's doing you a favor..."

"He's not," Harry said, "I didn't know he was staying. And I didn't send him to do me any favors, if I had found anything I would have gone myself..."

"Then what the hell could he be doing?" Liam snapped, as Harry sat at the kitchen table.

"I don't know," Harry said, shrugging, "Why are you so worked up about it?"

"I feel like I've lost control of everything," Liam hissed, staring blankly at the people around him, "Nothing makes sense anymore..."

"Liam..." Danielle tried to sooth him, but Liam just put his hand up to stop her, before walking out of the kitchen.


***


"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Zayn asked Emily, as she put away their laundry.

"What makes you think anything is wrong?" Emily asked, not looking at him.

"The way you're acting. At breakfast you basically ripped your hand away from me, you've barely spoken to me, you were out of bed this morning before I woke up, and you won't look at me now!" Zayn growled, "What the hell is going on with you?"

"Oh, you want me to act like everything is okay between us?" Emily growled, turning to him, "After months of coldness and harshness and you taking every God damn thing out on me, I'm supposed to act like none of it happened?!"

"Look, I know the last few months have been hard..." Zayn started

"HARD?!" Emily screeched, "NO ZAYN! HARD is fighting over where we should go for dinner, HARD is when two people can't agree on what's next in their relationship, THIS HASN'T BEEN HARD, IT HASN'T BEEN ANYTHING!"

"I'm trying here..." Zayn growled, "I know I've been difficult..."

"I WOULDN'T KNOW!" Emily yelled, "BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T TALKED TO ME IN MONTHS, OR LOOKED AT ME, OR TOUCHED ME, UNLESS OF COURSE YOU'RE YELLING AT ME OVER SOMETHING THAT ISNT EVEN MY FAULT!"

"Emily, please..." Zayn growled, "With the whole Sofia thing... I just ..."

"WHAT?" Emily screamed, "You missed her!? We all did, Zayn! We're all as lost and confused and hurt and angry over her fucking disappearing! I lost my best friend! She didn't say goodbye to me either, Zayn! But I tried so hard to make sure that you were okay, and that we were going to make it through this. I tried to be there for you, and to keep our relationship going, and you just disappeared!"

"I was trying to bring her home!" Zayn yelled, "I'm sorry I couldn't cater to you while I was trying to help Harry and Liam and find Sofia! I was trying to do the right thing, Emily!"

"The right thing would've been to let her go – and to have been grateful and there for the one who still here, and that's me..." Emily said, tears running down her face.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Zayn said, as he reached out to Emily, grabbing her arms and forcing her to look at him, "I just didn't know how to handle any of it... I was so..."

"We all were," Emily said, "And now this relationship is so broken, I don't even know if we can fix it... or if I want to..."

"Don't say that!" Zayn snapped, shoving her back, "Don't fucking say shit like that! Of course we can fix this..."

"Not if another girl controls all your thoughts and actions, Zayn!" Emily said, "I need you to be here with me, and work on this with me, and love me..."

"I know," Zayn said, "I understand..."

"I don't know if she's coming back, Zayn..." Emily said, her voice cracking, "And I don't want to lose you to someone who isn't even here..."

"You're not losing me to anyone," Zayn said, "I'm back... I promise..."

"I missed you," Emily said, as she allowed him to pull her into him.


***


Harry was at Liam's desk going over notes on Sofia's disappearance when Niall walked in.

"What are you doing?" Niall asked, sitting across from him.

"Just going over..." Harry started, before stopping, "It just doesn't make sense... none of it. I woke up, she was there. I went back to sleep, she was gone..."

"Harry, she was really worked up that weekend," Niall said, "She wasn't herself. She wasn't sleeping, she was acting crazy. The thought of you not waking up put her over the edge, I think she blamed herself..."

"It wasn't her fault!" Harry growled, "I approached the guy..."

"Because he was flirting with Sofia," Niall said, "And you two were bickering, you called her a flirt, she went to flirt, she flirted with the wrong guy... and..."

"He had a gun," Harry hissed, "And I got shot. But, that can happen all the time in this. She knows it, it's not enough to make her run away..."

"You're driving yourself crazy, Haz," Niall said, gently, "You're never going to know what happened..."

"Do you think she'll come back, Niall?" Harry asked, looking up at his friend, "Or do you think someone got her? You think she's dead? Tell me what you think..."

"I think she's alive, Harry," Niall said, "And for awhile, I kept thinking she would walk through the door and tell us all she just 'needed space' and 'to get over it' but ... it's been four months... if she was coming back, she'd be back by now, wouldn't she?"

"No," a voice came from the door way, both boys looked up to see Eleanor, "No, you can't throw in the towel. First Dani did, then Ella. Then Emily, then Daisy, then Danny. Then Zayn, he thinks she's dead. Louis gave up all hope 2 weeks ago when Liam called off the search. Us three are the only three that still have hope that she'll come home, you cannot throw in the towel!"

"El..." Harry said calmly, "Don't get worked up, it's not good for you or the baby..."

"Don't tell me what to do, Harry Styles!" Eleanor snapped, "Sofia is a lot of things. She's crazy, and she's hot headed, and she makes a lot of impulsive moves. She doesn't think, and she can be really selfish. But she loves this family, more then anything. She loves you, more then anything. I saw her that weekend, nothing changed. She was terrified of losing you, she was terrified of losing her family... I know she's going to come home. She's going to come home, and she's going to apologize, and we're going to be mad at her, and then we're going to forgive her. And she's going to marry you, and she's going to meet my baby. I know she's going to come home. I know that wherever she is, she's not happy. She's missing us."

"How do you know any of this El?" Niall asked, "I know you want to believe it..."

"I just know that she's not done..." Eleanor said, "I just have a feeling that whatever it is that drove her away... it's not enough to keep her away..."

"That's a lot of feelings, El," Harry said, quietly, "Especially with no proof..."

"You're not allowed to give up on her, Harry Styles," Eleanor said, "And neither are you, Niall. I'm not giving up on her, we're not throwing in the towel."

"Why?!" Liam growled, surprising them all, "Why not throw in the towel?! She did on us. She left us, El! She's not coming back!"

"Liam..." Harry warned, watching as Eleanor got upset

"What?!" Liam snapped, "You think I want it this way? You think I want tension in my marriage? You think I want Zayn and Emily fighting? And you drinking every night? You think I want to stay up till all hours worrying about her? Wondering how she is and if she's all right? You think I wanted to call off our search?! NO! I didn't want any of this! But we can't just keep putting everything on hold, and having everything fall apart because my sister chose to be selfish and leave. Maybe she just didn't want to be here anymore..."

"That's not true!" Eleanor hissed, "Liam, you know it's not true! I know that something happened, something made her feel like she had to leave!"

"OR MAYBE SHE'S JUST AS SELFISH AS WE ALL THOUGHT SHE WAS," Liam roared, "MY SISTER'S SMART EL, IF SHE WANTED TO BE FOUND... WE WOULD'VE FOUND HER. SHE DOESN'T WANT TO BE FOUND, SHE DOESN'T WANT TO BE HERE..."

"Liam," Niall said gently, as he watched the man get more and more upset.

"I've faced the truth, and it's about damn time the three of you did too," Liam said, "Sofia Payne isn't coming home, and as far as I'm concerned, she no longer exists. It's time we move on."

And with that, Liam turned and walked out of his office leaving Eleanor, Niall, and Harry in a stunned silence.

"He's wrong..." Harry whispered, breaking the silence, "I feel it too... something's gonna change..."

"She's going to come home," Eleanor said, "I know it."


***


"You know I'm not good at these jobs," Daisy whined, as Liam and Zayn stood in front of her.

"Yeah, well, you don't have a choice," snapped Zayn, "Just act like a slut, make him think he's getting some, and then we'll come in..."

"I just... I'm never convincing," Daisy said, "It was always better when
Sof—"

"Well, she's not here, and I need you to step up to the plate, Daisy," Liam snapped, "Or else, we're going to have a problem. So, don't screw this up, or you will seriously regret it. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Daisy said quietly, as Liam stomped out of the office, leaving her and Zayn behind.

"Look, he's just upset. I'm sure you'll do fine tonight, but if you don't, and something goes wrong..." Zayn said, "You don't have to worry about Liam..."

"I know," Daisy said.

"What do you mean?" Zayn asked

"I mean, every time one of you snaps at one of us, or threatens us, it's not really us your threatening, is it?" Daisy asked, "It's not us your mad at? It's Sofia..."

"I suppose that's true..." Zayn said, looking away from Daisy.

"I never knew how much of a difference one person could make on a family," Daisy said quietly, "But she made one hell of a difference didn't she..."

"Yeah," Zayn growled, "But I guess it didn't matter to her. She certainly wasn't thinking about us when she left."

"I don't think that was it," Daisy said, "I know Sofia. I think if she saw how broken everyone had become, she'd back in heart beat..."

"Then why isn't she here?" snapped Zayn, "If she cared that much, why did she leave?"

"I don't why she left, but I think the reason she hasn't come back is because she doesn't realize how much we all miss her..." Daisy said, "We were so mad at her that weekend..."

"She was stupid!" Zayn growled, "She got Harry shot!"

"No, a gun got Harry shot. And yeah, she was stupid. But, we were all so angry and so ... mean..." Daisy said, "She was about to lose Harry, we all were. We just took everything out on her. We all did."

"And we didn't even think that it wasn't Harry we'd all be living without..." Zayn said, his voice going quiet.

"We didn't think she'd leave," Daisy said, "But she did. And she left thinking that it was what we wanted, because we blamed her for something that wasn't really her fault..."

"I didn't think she would leave, Harry," Zayn said quietly, as he stared out the window

"Who are you kidding, Zayn?" Daisy asked, "You didn't think she would leave you either. Maybe that's why it hurts so much. None of us thought she would leave us..."

"Well, we just have to move on..." Zayn said, "Because she did leave..."

"I just wish I knew if she was alright," Daisy said.

"And happy," Zayn said, agreeing.

"No," Daisy said, "I know she's not happy. Maybe content, maybe safe,
but not happy..."

"Why do you say that?" Zayn asked

"Because she could never be happy without you guys," Daisy said, "Not really, anyway. And she certainly couldn't be happy without Harry."