Cheryl & Liam - I've Tried Everything

Chapter 13

Cheryl wiped her tears as she cradled Amelia in her arms. She couldn't believe that her life had come to this. She really had lived a roller coaster of a life and when she finally thought she was settled it was turned upside again. It took her a long time to find happiness, the type of happiness that makes your heart flutter and your smile to never leave your face. She had found that. When her daughters were born, each of them bringing such light into her life. Of course her previous boyfriends and husbands had brought her happiness but they weren't anywhere near the type of happiness that her daughters brought her. Maybe that should have been a warning sign for her, after all of those years of heartbreak and misery, maybe she should have read the signs more closely and not been so reluctant to give someone her heart. 

She'd been hurt many times before, from family, from friends, from partners, but the type of hurt she was feeling now could never compare to any of those feelings. She can vividly remember getting that dreaded phone call from Sundraj telling her a girl had come forward saying she had slept with Ashley and her heart shattering into a thousand pieces. That was the first time Ashley had broke her heart. After the first allegations, a year later she got a call from Hillary telling her more girls had come forward claiming to have slept with her husband but this time they had pictures. She can remember getting her driver to get her the newspaper the next morning and seeing the pictures he had sent of himself to a girl. She couldn't describe the pain she felt to her friends or family, but they supported her and helped her get back to the girl she was before all that pain. 

It's a different sort of pain now. A pain that hurts so deeply that its just a dull dry ache of her soul. This time she blames herself. She put her children in danger, hell they could still be in danger. She had married a man that she hadn't recognised for a while now. She knew he had a temper but yet she still let her children be around him. Why? 

She hated herself for it.

"And performing his second solo single for the first time back on this stage alone, please welcome Liam Payne" Cheryl was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Liam's name being called on TV. She couldn't help but feel slightly nervous for him, she knew how much of a deal this was for him. But she knew that if his first single was anything to go by then he'd definitely rock the stage.

It felt like Cheryl was transported into a whole other world as she listened to his soft voice sing his new song. If this song was from experience then she didn't know that he was slowly breaking inside. She prayed that the song wasn't about her, had she really been so blind for so long to see that she meant more to him than anyone?

"Don't wanna be stone cold,
Stone.
I wish I could mean this,
But here's my goodbye."

The words cut her like a knife. If she hadn't had walked back into his life today,  would he have said goodbye to her forever and never spoke to her again? She didn't realise she'd been crying until the song had finished and Liam was long gone off the stage. She was not looking forward to the conversation that was to come when he got home.

---

"Wow son that was amazing" Geoff Payne complimented Liam as he greeted his parents and Ruby backstage.

"Thank you" Liam smiled back, his stomach being in even more knots now that he had to go home and see Cheryl.

"I LOVED IT SO MUCH LIAM" Ruby screamed as she jumped into his awaiting arms, squealing as he spun her around and kissed her cheek.

"I'm so glad you did little miss" He laughed as he set her down on the floor before pulling his mum into a hug, his mother knowing he needed to take a few minutes before he could talk to anyone. 

"Do you need to stay for any interviews son or are we going straight back to yours?" Geoff asked as the 4 of them made their way back to his dressing room.