I'll Look After You
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"Well, how much longer is this going to go on?" I was currently on the phone with my mother, having a conversation about the current living situations in the family. Louis took Liam, Danielle, and Niall to the airport and I was home with Zayn and Harry. "Not that I don't wanna help, but I do have a life. I have things to do, mom."
"I know, Aria. I'm sorry about this whole mess. I just don't know what to tell your sister. But if you want, the girls can come home today. I don't want to be a burden on you." Mom said, making me feel instantly guilty. "I know Louis is in town and you haven't seen him in a while. Just tell Natalie to bring Annabelle home after school."
"What exactly are you gonna tell Belle? Dad's away on business and isn't coming back for a while?"
"I don't know, Aria." Mom said.
I sighed and opened the sliding doors that led to my back deck. I ran my hand through my hair in frustration as Zayn gave me a nod. I saw his pack of cigarettes lying on the table and I suddenly had an urge to light one up. Maybe I needed something to deal with the stress in my life. I figured it was either this or drinking. I really didn't have the time to become an alcoholic.
So I did it. I grabbed Zayn's cigarette pack and lighter from the table. Before I knew it, I had the thing lit up and I was taking a drag. Zayn's eyes went wide when he saw what I had done. What? It wasn't exactly my first ever cigarette, but I wasn't a smoker either. "Mom. You and dad need to sort this out. If not for yourselves, then for Annabelle and your unborn baby."
"I can't even look at him, Aria. How am I supposed to speak to him?"
"I don't know, mom. You're the parent, I'm the one who's supposed to be asking you these questions. Not the other way around." I said, taking another drag of the cigarette.
"I know, I know. I'm not doing very well in the parenting department at the moment. Neither is your father, and you're right. We need to talk about this, not speaking isn't going to make Caleb go away."
"For the record, we refer to him as 'Prick'" I chuckled a bit as I sat next to Zayn on the step.
"Don't be like that, Aria." Mom scolded me. "It's not his fault, he didn't ask for any of this, he didn't ask to be born."
"Oh yeah?" I asked. "Well, we didn't ask for any of this either! If it wasn't for him, we'd all be happy and normal right now. You and dad wouldn't be living in separate houses, you'd be happy, in love, and picking out color palettes for your nursery. We wouldn't have the media hounding us and watching our every move. Surely Belle and Natalie would be having a better time in school as well. But you and dad wouldn't know about that, would you? Because I've been the one handling everything."
I went silent very quickly, thinking I might of crossed a line with that last comment. Was I too harsh on her? I mean, sure, it was true. But my mother's pregnant and is already stressed out enough. Shit.
"You cannot blame Caleb for a mistake your father made almost 20 years ago. Do not blame that boy for the mess your father created. But you are right about one thing, we've been absentee parents to your sisters and-"
"No, mom." I stopped her. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean that, I'm just stressed about a lot of things. I know you are too and you're pregnant, so it's harder on you. I'm glad to help you out in anyway I can, truly."
"Your father and I will figure this out soon, okay?"
"Okay. I'll come visit before we leave for New York."
After I ended that conversation, I grabbed another cigarette and quickly lit it up. I know this probably isn't working, but it weirdly feels good.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Zayn finally asked. "Since when do you smoke??"
"Since 10 minutes ago." I stated bluntly.
"So, just like that huh?"
"No. I'm just trying to cope with stress the best way I can." I shrugged my shoulders. "Think your parents will adopt me? I'm loveable and I'd much rather have you for a brother than Caleb."
Zayn laughed and nodded his head, wrapping his arms a little too tightly around me. "I'll see what I can do. But seriously, your family's gonna get through this. Things always get worse before they get better."
Just like clock work, my phone went off again. This time it was Natalie, who should be in class right now. "Natalie, what are you doing?"
"Hey, can you pick me up early?" She asked.
"Why? Everything okay?"
"I'm just having a shitty day and need to get out of here. Please?"
"I'm on my way." I said before hanging up and walking inside. I grabbed my car keys and headed towards the door. "When Louis gets back, tell him I went to get my sister."
"Or you can tell me yourself." I spun around to see Louis standing there.
"I'm going to pick up Natalie, I'll be back." I smiled before giving him a quick kiss. The face he made was priceless. Oops, I forgot about the whole cigarette thing.
"Have you been making out with Zayn?" Louis asked, it almost sounded as if he was serious.
"What?" I laughed. "Of course not. Love you!"
As soon as Natalie got in my car, she started to cry, which actually shocked me. I just thought she was having a bad day. "What the fuck happened?"
"People fucking suck!" She yelled as she wiped her eyes. "Everyone needs to just mind their own business and get a life. My life is not that exciting!"
"What happened today?" I asked for the second time.
"There's a lot of assholes going around school, asking how many other bastard siblings I have or how many times dad's cheated on mom."
"Ouch."
"Then there's the nasty, sexual comments being made about mom that I'm not even gonna get into. Let's just say, she's very popular among teenage boys."
"That's mom for ya." I laughed. "Seems nothings changed since I was in high school."
"Then some of the girls started talking about Harry." She said. "I keep telling them I don't wanna talk about him and it's rude to speak about him. It wasn't good enough for them! Even if I tell the truth and say we're just friends, they still aren't satisfied and make up some stupid rumor about us."
"Come on, Nat, they're just jealous." I assured her.
"Well, that sucks for them. I'm a person and I have feelings too! It doesn't feel very good being the talk of third period EVERYDAY."
"Want some Pinkberry to make you feel better?"
"I'd rather go to In-N-Out." She frowned.
"No problem." I said as I headed to the nearest one. "Kids are assholes, you just gotta learn how to either ignore them or make them eat their words."
"Aria, this is me we're talking about. I'm not as strong as you! There's only so many mean and clever things I can think of on the spot. Being a bitch is not in my nature."
"Natalie, you're an Alexander. Yes it is, its in all our nature."
"I wanna crawl in bed and hide from the world." Natalie said.
I really felt bad for Natalie, she wasn't used to dealing with this kind of stuff. She usually crumbles under pressure, fame is not her thing. I stopped at the convenience store for my own pack of cigarettes before heading home. These pictures were sure to be up at least by the end of the day. I lit one up before heading home. "I think you'll feel better once you see Harry."
"What the hell are you doing?" Natalie asked
"Smoking." I answered.
"I can see that. Why?"
"Because I just want to." I stated. "Now stop asking questions."
"No, seriously." Natalie pressed the issue.
"Look, I'm gonna be the bigger, hypocritical sister now and tell you to do as I say and not as I do. Don't smoke. Don't tell Belle I'm smoking, got it?" I told her. "Don't think anything of it, I'm just taking the edge off."
"You got it. But what will Louis say?"
"Nothing, I suppose. He smokes with Zayn sometimes. But again, no big deal." I said as we went into the house. Louis, Zayn, and Harry were just sitting around in the living room. I brought all the food into the kitchen and called them in. "Come on guys, I bought you lunch!"
"Aw, you shouldn't have." Zayn said.
"But thanks, babe." Louis said after.
Harry didn't bother saying anything because we was too concerned with Natalie and her feelings, which I thought was pretty sweet. "You're welcome boys." I said before stepping outside to take Asher's call.
"Don't forget, your flight is tomorrow afternoon at 12." He said. "Your father also called me."
"My father called you?" I asked as Louis came outside to join me. "For what?"
"He wanted me to inform you that he's taking Annabelle for the week since you'll be in New York with Haley. He said you'd rather not speak to him right now, so he figured this way was better."
"So he's just gonna take her? I mean, sure, that's a good thing because I was just gonna take her with me and have her miss school all week." I said. "And I'll talk to my father when he quits being a douche."
"Hey now, don't shoot the messenger. I'm sending all the info for tomorrow to your phone, have a safe flight!"
"Thanks Ash, I'll call you tomorrow night. Or I'm sure you'll call me, depending on what trouble I get into in New York."
"Aria!" Asher yelled before I hung up the phone. I turned to face Louis and gave him a smile.
"Hey you." I smiled
"Zayn swears up and down that you weren't making out." Louis said as wrapped his arms around me, bringing me in closer. "But I told him I don't believe him."
He went in for a kiss and grabbed a hold of my hands. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, babe." Louis said. "I drop the lads off at the airport, come back and you're M.I.A."
"Sorry, my sister needed me. But I'm here now!"
"Yeah, looks like she doesn't need you anymore anyway. Harry's got it under control."
I peaked in through the sliding doors and saw the two of them sitting closely in the kitchen, talking. The two of them seem to stare at each other more than anything though. "Harry looks at her with such intensity. Like he wants to devour her, it's a bit weird."
"Harry looks at her and thinks it's dinner time." Louis laughed.
"Ew!" I yelled as I lightly smacked him in the chest. Then the two of us joined Zayn in the living room, cuddling on the couch under a blanket.
"It's like I'm the fifth wheel." Zayn laughed
"Why didn't you go to New York with Haley, mate?" Lou asked.
"What was I gonna do there while she was doing her modeling shit?"
"Be there for support." I laughed. "So, when are you guys gonna start dating?"
"Shut up, Aria." Zayn laughed. "We're just friends."
"I hate when people say they're just friends when clearly they're not." Louis said. "Don't pass up a good thing, bro."
"We don't even want to date each other."
"Lies!" I yelled. "That's bullshit and you know it."
"Not everyone can handle the long distance thing." Zayn said. "Nobody can do it as gracefully as you two."
"So you admit it!" I yelled. "You wanna be with each other!"
"Sod off, both of you. I'm going outside!" Zayn said, getting up and heading towards the kitchen. The two of us laughed a bit, I think we may have embarrassed him a bit.
"I know, Aria. I'm sorry about this whole mess. I just don't know what to tell your sister. But if you want, the girls can come home today. I don't want to be a burden on you." Mom said, making me feel instantly guilty. "I know Louis is in town and you haven't seen him in a while. Just tell Natalie to bring Annabelle home after school."
"What exactly are you gonna tell Belle? Dad's away on business and isn't coming back for a while?"
"I don't know, Aria." Mom said.
I sighed and opened the sliding doors that led to my back deck. I ran my hand through my hair in frustration as Zayn gave me a nod. I saw his pack of cigarettes lying on the table and I suddenly had an urge to light one up. Maybe I needed something to deal with the stress in my life. I figured it was either this or drinking. I really didn't have the time to become an alcoholic.
So I did it. I grabbed Zayn's cigarette pack and lighter from the table. Before I knew it, I had the thing lit up and I was taking a drag. Zayn's eyes went wide when he saw what I had done. What? It wasn't exactly my first ever cigarette, but I wasn't a smoker either. "Mom. You and dad need to sort this out. If not for yourselves, then for Annabelle and your unborn baby."
"I can't even look at him, Aria. How am I supposed to speak to him?"
"I don't know, mom. You're the parent, I'm the one who's supposed to be asking you these questions. Not the other way around." I said, taking another drag of the cigarette.
"I know, I know. I'm not doing very well in the parenting department at the moment. Neither is your father, and you're right. We need to talk about this, not speaking isn't going to make Caleb go away."
"For the record, we refer to him as 'Prick'" I chuckled a bit as I sat next to Zayn on the step.
"Don't be like that, Aria." Mom scolded me. "It's not his fault, he didn't ask for any of this, he didn't ask to be born."
"Oh yeah?" I asked. "Well, we didn't ask for any of this either! If it wasn't for him, we'd all be happy and normal right now. You and dad wouldn't be living in separate houses, you'd be happy, in love, and picking out color palettes for your nursery. We wouldn't have the media hounding us and watching our every move. Surely Belle and Natalie would be having a better time in school as well. But you and dad wouldn't know about that, would you? Because I've been the one handling everything."
I went silent very quickly, thinking I might of crossed a line with that last comment. Was I too harsh on her? I mean, sure, it was true. But my mother's pregnant and is already stressed out enough. Shit.
"You cannot blame Caleb for a mistake your father made almost 20 years ago. Do not blame that boy for the mess your father created. But you are right about one thing, we've been absentee parents to your sisters and-"
"No, mom." I stopped her. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean that, I'm just stressed about a lot of things. I know you are too and you're pregnant, so it's harder on you. I'm glad to help you out in anyway I can, truly."
"Your father and I will figure this out soon, okay?"
"Okay. I'll come visit before we leave for New York."
After I ended that conversation, I grabbed another cigarette and quickly lit it up. I know this probably isn't working, but it weirdly feels good.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Zayn finally asked. "Since when do you smoke??"
"Since 10 minutes ago." I stated bluntly.
"So, just like that huh?"
"No. I'm just trying to cope with stress the best way I can." I shrugged my shoulders. "Think your parents will adopt me? I'm loveable and I'd much rather have you for a brother than Caleb."
Zayn laughed and nodded his head, wrapping his arms a little too tightly around me. "I'll see what I can do. But seriously, your family's gonna get through this. Things always get worse before they get better."
Just like clock work, my phone went off again. This time it was Natalie, who should be in class right now. "Natalie, what are you doing?"
"Hey, can you pick me up early?" She asked.
"Why? Everything okay?"
"I'm just having a shitty day and need to get out of here. Please?"
"I'm on my way." I said before hanging up and walking inside. I grabbed my car keys and headed towards the door. "When Louis gets back, tell him I went to get my sister."
"Or you can tell me yourself." I spun around to see Louis standing there.
"I'm going to pick up Natalie, I'll be back." I smiled before giving him a quick kiss. The face he made was priceless. Oops, I forgot about the whole cigarette thing.
"Have you been making out with Zayn?" Louis asked, it almost sounded as if he was serious.
"What?" I laughed. "Of course not. Love you!"
As soon as Natalie got in my car, she started to cry, which actually shocked me. I just thought she was having a bad day. "What the fuck happened?"
"People fucking suck!" She yelled as she wiped her eyes. "Everyone needs to just mind their own business and get a life. My life is not that exciting!"
"What happened today?" I asked for the second time.
"There's a lot of assholes going around school, asking how many other bastard siblings I have or how many times dad's cheated on mom."
"Ouch."
"Then there's the nasty, sexual comments being made about mom that I'm not even gonna get into. Let's just say, she's very popular among teenage boys."
"That's mom for ya." I laughed. "Seems nothings changed since I was in high school."
"Then some of the girls started talking about Harry." She said. "I keep telling them I don't wanna talk about him and it's rude to speak about him. It wasn't good enough for them! Even if I tell the truth and say we're just friends, they still aren't satisfied and make up some stupid rumor about us."
"Come on, Nat, they're just jealous." I assured her.
"Well, that sucks for them. I'm a person and I have feelings too! It doesn't feel very good being the talk of third period EVERYDAY."
"Want some Pinkberry to make you feel better?"
"I'd rather go to In-N-Out." She frowned.
"No problem." I said as I headed to the nearest one. "Kids are assholes, you just gotta learn how to either ignore them or make them eat their words."
"Aria, this is me we're talking about. I'm not as strong as you! There's only so many mean and clever things I can think of on the spot. Being a bitch is not in my nature."
"Natalie, you're an Alexander. Yes it is, its in all our nature."
"I wanna crawl in bed and hide from the world." Natalie said.
I really felt bad for Natalie, she wasn't used to dealing with this kind of stuff. She usually crumbles under pressure, fame is not her thing. I stopped at the convenience store for my own pack of cigarettes before heading home. These pictures were sure to be up at least by the end of the day. I lit one up before heading home. "I think you'll feel better once you see Harry."
"What the hell are you doing?" Natalie asked
"Smoking." I answered.
"I can see that. Why?"
"Because I just want to." I stated. "Now stop asking questions."
"No, seriously." Natalie pressed the issue.
"Look, I'm gonna be the bigger, hypocritical sister now and tell you to do as I say and not as I do. Don't smoke. Don't tell Belle I'm smoking, got it?" I told her. "Don't think anything of it, I'm just taking the edge off."
"You got it. But what will Louis say?"
"Nothing, I suppose. He smokes with Zayn sometimes. But again, no big deal." I said as we went into the house. Louis, Zayn, and Harry were just sitting around in the living room. I brought all the food into the kitchen and called them in. "Come on guys, I bought you lunch!"
"Aw, you shouldn't have." Zayn said.
"But thanks, babe." Louis said after.
Harry didn't bother saying anything because we was too concerned with Natalie and her feelings, which I thought was pretty sweet. "You're welcome boys." I said before stepping outside to take Asher's call.
"Don't forget, your flight is tomorrow afternoon at 12." He said. "Your father also called me."
"My father called you?" I asked as Louis came outside to join me. "For what?"
"He wanted me to inform you that he's taking Annabelle for the week since you'll be in New York with Haley. He said you'd rather not speak to him right now, so he figured this way was better."
"So he's just gonna take her? I mean, sure, that's a good thing because I was just gonna take her with me and have her miss school all week." I said. "And I'll talk to my father when he quits being a douche."
"Hey now, don't shoot the messenger. I'm sending all the info for tomorrow to your phone, have a safe flight!"
"Thanks Ash, I'll call you tomorrow night. Or I'm sure you'll call me, depending on what trouble I get into in New York."
"Aria!" Asher yelled before I hung up the phone. I turned to face Louis and gave him a smile.
"Hey you." I smiled
"Zayn swears up and down that you weren't making out." Louis said as wrapped his arms around me, bringing me in closer. "But I told him I don't believe him."
He went in for a kiss and grabbed a hold of my hands. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, babe." Louis said. "I drop the lads off at the airport, come back and you're M.I.A."
"Sorry, my sister needed me. But I'm here now!"
"Yeah, looks like she doesn't need you anymore anyway. Harry's got it under control."
I peaked in through the sliding doors and saw the two of them sitting closely in the kitchen, talking. The two of them seem to stare at each other more than anything though. "Harry looks at her with such intensity. Like he wants to devour her, it's a bit weird."
"Harry looks at her and thinks it's dinner time." Louis laughed.
"Ew!" I yelled as I lightly smacked him in the chest. Then the two of us joined Zayn in the living room, cuddling on the couch under a blanket.
"It's like I'm the fifth wheel." Zayn laughed
"Why didn't you go to New York with Haley, mate?" Lou asked.
"What was I gonna do there while she was doing her modeling shit?"
"Be there for support." I laughed. "So, when are you guys gonna start dating?"
"Shut up, Aria." Zayn laughed. "We're just friends."
"I hate when people say they're just friends when clearly they're not." Louis said. "Don't pass up a good thing, bro."
"We don't even want to date each other."
"Lies!" I yelled. "That's bullshit and you know it."
"Not everyone can handle the long distance thing." Zayn said. "Nobody can do it as gracefully as you two."
"So you admit it!" I yelled. "You wanna be with each other!"
"Sod off, both of you. I'm going outside!" Zayn said, getting up and heading towards the kitchen. The two of us laughed a bit, I think we may have embarrassed him a bit.