Little [Harry Styles]

[38]

2nd September 2015

***

"I've got everything under control, don't worry Miss Richards I promise I'll take excellent care of her."

"I know you do Lauren, it's just the first time I'm leaving her properly and-" My eyes widened as I caught sight of the clock and realised it was later than I thought and that I was supposed to leave to catch the tube ten minutes ago. "Okay, I really have got to go...be good for Lauren, Mummy will be back later. I'll phone to check up on my lunch break...call me if you need anything."

I pressed a kiss to Isabella's forehead and waved a quick goodbye to Lauren before dashing out of the front door before my emotions got the better of me and I burst into tears. I knew it would be difficult, but I didn't expect to feel so damn emotional about the whole thing, heck I'd be back later that afternoon. Is this how Harry felt every time he left?

I'd forgotten how busy the tube was in the early mornings. People were packed into the carriages like a tin of sardines and, regardless of how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to escape being pressed against a complete stranger. I ended up spending half of the journey with someones elbow pressed into my side and my face nearly in someone's armpit, what a way to spend a morning.

London on a mid-week morning was something else. So many people with so many places to be, all desperate to keep moving without the chance to sit by and take everything in. A year ago I would have been one of them, living life in the fast lane with so much hope to keep moving up the ladder of life, always desperate to take the next step to success. These days I didn't care so much, I was happy taking life at my pace, I had everything I needed so anything else was simply a bonus.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I stepped back into the familiarity of the office space I'd come to love in the time I spent before I went on maternity leave. It felt like a breathe of fresh air, everyone here just knew me as Marnie, I wasn't Harry Styles' 'girlfriend' or a Mum, I was just Marnie.

I collapsed with a deep breathe onto the chair of my office room that was exactly how I'd left it, right down to the same smell of cheap air freshener mixed with the coffee that filled the cups of just about every employee here, I swear this company practically ran on caffeine.

The company I worked for was very 'up and coming' when I was first hired. Fresh out of college with a young and niave dream to live in the big city. I had stars in my eyes, Nora and I had found a dingy little apartment in the outskirts of the city where we could just about afford the rent, even if the hot water didn't always work and the lift in the apartment building was constantly broken. 

I'd jumped at the job when I was offered it, saw it as a step in the right direction, I still do. The office was trendy with bean bags in the lobby and social spaces to spend breaks in and a strange green colour on the walls that they claimed helped you focus, although I'm pretty sure that's bullshit. 

The place felt nostalgic, so much in my life had changed since I'd last sat in the same chair and looked at the same wall; yet, everything here had stayed the same. I found a sense of comfort in that.

"I heard you were coming back today!" I lifted my eyes from the small stack of papers that had been left on my desk consisting of things I needed to catch up on to find Megan leaning against the door. "How've you been? It seems like forever since you left, how's the little one?"

I nodded with a smile at the sight of the friendly, familiar face. I'd always gotten along well with Megan, she'd been here a lot longer than me and had shown me the ropes when I'd first started working at the company. She was a lot like an older sister to me in some ways, always looking out for me and providing the help I needed.