Chapter 7 - I Won't Give Up. (18&MS)
After a long night of explaining why Harry couldn't come home with us last night, Darcy finally fell asleep with a smile on her face because I promised her, Harry would be at the announcement tonight. He promised he'll be there.. if he fuck up, I don't know what I'll do. The one thing I would never want to happen is to see my daughter get hurt because of him.. I just don't want to see her get hurt in general.
I took a deep breath in and prepared myself mentally for the announcement. I'm in one of the luxurious rooms of The Somers Hotel. Dad's holding the party here and I heard everything's set up. Mom arrived earlier but I still haven't seen her because I'm still not prepared for this whole thing. Drew and Darcy are both in his room, playing dolls. I told them I needed some time alone and they're both ready anyways so everyone's okay now.. except for me.
Still not sure if I'm doing the right thing here.
Am I even ready for this? Well, clearly not. But I have to do this.. I can't hide forever. Darcy deserves a better life. Better than hiding. I guess it's true, you'd do anything for your kid. I'd go to hell and back for her, that's for sure.
"Ey bitch, you ready?" Drew's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I quickly straightened out my black and white cocktail dress and turned around to face him. I sighed and nodded my head, "Yes."
"Well, then.. the fuck are you still doing here? Lhesss go! Move, move, move!" He said clapping his hands together at the last part. My head whipped in his direction and I snapped, "Don't clam yo' hands at me."
He raised his eyebrows, "Oh no you didn't."
"You shouldn't have said that because now, Drew the bitch is even sassier." He exclaimed, his pointer finger sticking out. "Whatever. Where's Darcy?" I asked as I made my way towards the bed to pick up my purse. "With her grandma."
Drew sat down on the bed, watching my every move. I stopped and closed my eyes for a minute, "What about Harry? Where is he?" The party starts in 30 minutes and I don't think he's here yet. Darcy's been bugging me about him ever since she woke up. Harry didn't even bother to text me. I mean, if he's gonna be late.. he should at least send me a message or something.
He shrugged his shoulders, "Don't know." I let out a frustrated sigh and collapsed on the bed. This is going to be the longest 2 weeks of my life. You see that? It's basically Day 1 of trying to be a family and he's already doing pretty shit.
I also invited the rest of One Direction and Danielle. They all wanted to meet Darcy. Especially, Danielle. She's been DMing me on twitter about how bad she wants to meet Darcy. Louis still hasn't spoken to me but I'm glad he's coming tonight. He's still mad.. I mean, he's got the right to be. I mean, we were kind of best friends and he liked me before. So, he feels pretty shit too about the whole fake death scheme, I'm pretty sure.
I think half of the UK's coming. Dad's been busy planning this whole party for our "come back." The TV people are getting ready as we speak. "Ugh! Get up! You're ruining your dress!" Drew scolded, pulling me up from the bed.
He grabbed me by my shoulders and looked me in the eyes, "We can do this. We're in this together, aight? I helped you hide, I'm gonna help you reveal the truth."
I nodded my head and he groaned when he saw tears forming, "Don't you dare cry!" he warned, "I will cut you." He threatened, his eyes are already filled with his own tears. "Bitch, now you makin' me cry."
We both laughed and hugged each other. He wiped my tears away and shook his head, "We shouldn't be crying. Now go. Everyone's waiting for you." He smiled and lead me out of the room.
My knees felt weak but I kept on walking 'til we came to meet my dad and mom with Darcy at the back of the mini stage where nobody was allowed but the Somers and friends. As soon as we walked in, Darcy ran up to me and I gave her a tight hug. I greeted my mother and father but I didn't talk that much.
Mom and dad were talking to me about what they wanna do with Drew and I's hotel in Madrid but I wasn't really paying any attention. All I was thinking about was Harry. He's still nowhere to be found! Drew said the rest of One Direction's here with Danielle and Eleanor.
"Honey? Honey!" My mom shook me back to reality. "Yeah?"
"Are you ready? Your dad's about to tell the people outside. Come here.." She fixed my make up and added some color to my now pale lips. My whole body began shaking and Darcy was looking up to me with her eyebrows furrowed. I shot her a sweet smile, letting her now everything's alright. I took her hand and Drew placed a hand on the small of my back. "Y'all ready?"
We all can hear dad's voice booming through out the whole venue. It made my heart race. I closed my eyes and waited for him to tell the truth.
"Thank you all for coming tonight. My wife and I appreciate you all for showing up." He paused for a minute and then spoke again, " Now, you all know my daughter, Taylor Styles." The crowd answered with, "May she rest in peace."
My stomach twitched and my hands became clammy. Darcy held onto me and I gave her tiny hand a little squeeze letting her know, everything's okay. Dad cleared her throat and spoke again, "After 5 years of mourning.." I held my breath, hoping this was just a dream.
But even in my dreams, Harry is still missing in action.
"We found out that she's alive."
I heard gasps and murmurs. It took my dad a minute or two get their attention again, "Taylor Styles and her daughter are both safe and alive." I heard camera shutters and I just wanted to break down but I couldn't. I need to do this. Questions from different directions were thrown, my mom and dad were doing all they can to hush everyone. Moments later the noise died down, "Our daughter will be glad to face all of you and answer some of your questions."
I felt a hand on my back, pushing me forward to go on stage. I was about to step out when I realized, Darcy was still holding my hand. "Wait!" I stopped on my tracks and turned to face Andrew. "I don't want my daughter's face to be all over the mags and telly, she-"
"I understand." Drew gave me a smile and took Darcy from me. Taking a deep breath, I stepped out to be faced by strangers taking pictures of me and asking different questions. My parents stepped aside and gave me the mic. I was about to greet them all but they won't stop asking questions.
"What happened, Ms. Taylor?"
"What's the reason you didn't show up for five years?"
"Did you hide on purpose?"
"Did you fake your death?"
"Are you and Harry still married?"
I couldn't speak. I wanted Harry to be by my side.. to help me answer these questions but no.. once again, he hurt me. And not just me! Darcy! He said he'll be here for our daughter.. but no, where the hell is he? "I-uh.." I stuttered. My eyes landed on a group of people.
Danielle and Eleanor with the rest of One Direction.
They all gave me a reassuring smile and motioned for me to speak up. I cleared my throat, trying to focus on the people asking questions. "I- I can't" Before I could even say that I really can't do this, I felt a hand on the small of my back. I turned my head to see Harry, he smiled down at me and took the mic from my hand. "Sorry, I'm late."
He flashed the crowd his famous smile and I heard some girls breathing heavily, some girls were fake fainting. I couldn't take my eyes off of him tho, I smiled and said, "You came."
"Told you, I'll be with you and help you with this."
Suddenly, the questions about my fake death were gone in a blink of an eye. Questions about Harry and I were coming from all directions and the security had to calm the people down.
Harry kept his cool on and handled everything for me. "First of all, I would like to thank all of you for coming. We're glad to announce that my wife and daughter are both safe.. alive. There are some things that we can't really tell you about but we're glad to say that everything's fine now."
"Are you still together?"
Our eyes met for a second and he turned his head to speak again. I'm not gonna lie.. I still want to be with him. No matter how bad I hated him.. I just can't forget about him. About my feelings for him.
This is all just for Darcy, that's all. Only for our daughter.
"Are you all living together? When are we going to meet World's luckiest child?"
"Actually, we are moving back into our old house tonight." Harry announced. I gave him a confused look, "We are?"
"Yes, babe. We are." He turned to face the crowd again, "And soon enough, you'll meet our daughter." He smiled, pulling me close to him. The crowd, "awwed" and I couldn't help but blush. "It's like they just got married!" Somebody cooed.
"Are you both still in love with each other?"
My heart stopped for a moment. Do I lie or just kill myself now? Wait.. I'm not going to lie. I can't lie.. I really am in love with him, still. I don't know about him. "Yes." Harry and I said in unison.
Our eyes locked and I wanted to tell him, "I hope you mean it." but I couldn't! I'm chicken. I'm a fucking chicken.. who's pretending to be tough. "We are very much in love." Harry said. "I love her." He said, looking straight into my eyes.
The crowd "awwed" and gave us a round of applause. "Thank you all very much, that's it for to-"
"Kiss, kiss, kiss!" The crowd chanted.
"I- we don-" I was cut off by his lips.
The feelings.. everything came back with just a simple kiss. I'm deeply in love with him all over again. We pulled away and the crowd went wild. Harry lead me backstage, his hand resting on the small of my back.
"Mummy! Daddy!" Darcy beamed, running up to us. Harry and I got down on her level and she wrapped her tiny arms around our necks. We ended up group hugging, seconds later more people joined us.
Drew, the rest of 1D, Danielle, and Eleanor.
"We're glad to have you back." Louis finally said. We all pulled apart and I faced Louis, "Sorry and thank you." I engulfed him in a bone crushing hug.
Somebody cleared their throat and we pulled away, "Uh.. well, Guys. This is Darcy, Harry and I's daughter."
Darcy hid behind her father's legs and everyone "awwed" at her. "She's so cute!" Danielle expressed, squeezing Liam's hand at the same time.
Harry took Darcy in his arms and introduced her properly to everyone. She gave Louis and Niall high fives, Danielle asked for a kiss, Liam kissed her cheek, and Zayn got a kiss on the cheek. Eleanor gave her a hug. I was pulled away from the crowd by my parents.
Dad was about to talk but I cut him off, "I really don't want to talk right now, Dad. I need to go home because apparently.. we're moving back to our old house."
I didn't wait for him to talk, I kissed him on the cheek and gave mom a hug. I told everyone how exhausted I am so they said we'll just catch up tomorrow. Harry pulled me aside and stared at me. "Stop that."
He rolled his eyes and said, "You're coming home with me."
"What if I don't want to?"
"We're still married, so you're meant to live with me. I don't care if you're dating some Spaniard punk, You're mine." He stopped mid sentence to rephrase what he just said, "I mean, you're still my wife."
"Yeah, well.. I don't care if you're dating some bitch. Maybe that's why you were late. You met up with some slut." I hissed at him, trying to not get Darcy's attention. "You're jealous." He accused.
"Sure, whatever. You're coming home with me. I was late because I had to check our old house and paid some people to clean everything. I also bought some toys for Darcy. Everything's set."
That made my heart swell. I couldn't argue no more, I just nodded. "I'm driving. Let's go and pretend to be happy." He took my hand in his and intertwined them. He pulled me towards the rest of the guys, "Let's go sweetie, we're going home!" Harry cheered.
Darcy's eyes widened, "You're coming with us?" Harry nodded and Darcy jumped up to hug his dad. I let out a soft laugh. We all said our goodbyes, Drew gave me a look but he told me he'll send our stuff tomorrow morning.
Darcy fell asleep on our way here, Harry tucked her in her bed. She's got a princess themed bedroom. Very pink. Harry probably asked Eleanor because Darcy's room is full of her favorite things.
I sneakily tip toed back to our room. Watching Harry tuck in Darcy is a bit creepy, I think. I made it in our room without being caught. Yes, our room. We're sharing a bed because we don't want Darcy asking why her parents aren't sleeping in the same bed.
"Fuck." I cussed out loud without even thinking that I have a sleeping daughter 2 doors down. I don't have any spare clothes and this dress ain't comfortable to sleep in.
"You do know Darcy's 2 doors down from us, right?"
I rolled my eyes and turned to see Harry removing his clothes already. My eyes landed on his toned abs.. so that's what I missed.
"Like what you see?" He smirked. I quickly closed my mouth, I didn't even noticed it was open. shit. "Uh.." I tore my eyes from his abs and stared at the bed, "So, Darcy's asleep, yeah?"
"Yeah, I thought you already know that. You were watching us." He stated, by now.. his clothes were thrown on the floor. Same old, Harry. He was only wearing his calvin klein boxers and I immediately took my eyes off of him. I felt my face getting red so I changed the subject. "I don't have any cloth-"
"You can borrow some of my stuff." He said, walking towards his closet and grabbing an over sized V-neck. "Do you want a pair of boxers?" He asked. I shook my head, "Nah, I'm wearing panties." He smirked again.
"You know what? A pair of boxers' actually a good idea."
He handed me the clothes and plopped down on the bed. I went to change in the en suite and removed my make up and brushed my teeth. The door swung open when I was about to get out. "Ever heard of knocking?"
"I was hoping to see you naked." He grinned, I rolled my eyes and brushed past him. "Just kidding, I need to brush my teeth!" He called back. I unclasped my bra and tossed it on the love seat about six feet away from our bed, completely ignoring him.
I slid under the duvet and laid on my left side. I was trying to fall asleep when I felt the other side of the bed sunk down. My body was close to the very edge, just one move and I'll be falling on the floor face flat.
"I'm not going to rape you, you're going to fall if you sleep like that." Harry's voice cracked, it's deep and it's turning me on. This is not right at all. "You know what." I sat up, "I'm going to sleep on the-"
He sighed, "Please, don't make this LA all over again." I turned my body to face him, he was lying on his back with his eyes wide open. "Okay." I said, lying back down.
I saw him turn to face me in the corner of my eye. He just laid there staring at me and it's making me feel uncomfortable. I sighed and rolled onto my side to meet his gaze. We just stared into each others eyes, not talking or blinking.
I was about to turn my back on him when he spoke, "I'm sorry." What? The last time I checked, I was the one who hid for five years. Why is he apologizing now? "I'm sorry for cheating on you. I never meant to hurt you, you know I loved you so much Taylor. I'm so sorry." He left me speechless.
I knew he was sorry but for him to bring it up now? Wow. Something inside me pushed me to jump on him and kiss him but my mind was saying, no. This is all just for Darcy.. but this time my heart spoke and for the first time in years, I followed it.
I took his face in my hands and kissed him passionately. He seemed shock for a moment but kissed me back seconds later. His hands found my waist and pulled me on top of him without breaking the kiss. My knees were on either side of him, I was straddling him. I deepened the kiss as his hand slid under my shirt to caress my back.
My skin was on fire, electric current running through me with every touch. Our tongues began to battle. He jerked his hips forward so I could feel his erection that's hardening underneath his boxers. With one swift motion, he flipped me over and hovered over me. He crashed his lips onto mine again and began tracing hungry kisses on my jawline and neck, sucking on my sweet spot. A moan escaped my lips when he found it.
I grabbed a fistful of his curls and pulled him closer to me, kissing him desperately. I wanted every inch of him, I just want to touch all of him. I need him. We pulled away for a moment to breathe but his lips landed on my neck, "Uh, Harry." I moaned, arching my back and squeezing my eyes shut. I just wanted to feel his touch. I wanted to remember everything.
Harry's fingers ran down my sides, shocking me with every twirl he traced. Our mouths smashed together as he slid his hand underneath my shirt and began kneading my left boob. "I'm so glad you aren't wearing any bra right now." He growled. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in for another hungry kiss.
He was kissing me eagerly and my desire for him to be in me's increasing by the second. He pulled away to look in my eyes and said, "I've missed you." With that he placed his lips on top mine again. I felt his hand, sliding down my stomach but he stopped before he could even touch me. I knew he was teasing me so I grabbed his hand and shoved it inside my panties. He smirked and just when he was about to touch my clit the door swung open.
I gasped and pushed Harry off of me. "Mummy?"
"Oh my god" I sat up, straightening out my shirt. Harry landed on the other side of the bed, "I'm going to hell." I mumbled. I felt my face turning red and Harry laughed at me. I sneakily smack his arm and he groaned.
"Mummy.. what are you doing?" She asked innocently, looking at me then at Harry. "Uh.." shit, think of something Taylor! I glared at Harry because he just laid there smiling like an idiot.
"We were .. just.. playing." I pathetically said, Harry burst out in laughter and I felt smokes coming out of my ears. Darcy walked towards us and began climbing up on the bed and sliding inside the duvet between Harry and I. "I had a bad dream.." She said, tears forming in her eyes.
"Oh sweetie." I cooed, wrapping my arms around her. Harry gave her a kiss and we all snuggled up. After calming her down, she finally fell asleep again. Harry silently sniggered, "Playing."
I reached over Darcy and smacked his arm.
Oh good lord, forgive me.