Back to You

“Are you sure?” Liam asked, trying to contain his excitement. A weak smile was tugging at his lips as he looked at Blair. She closed her eyes and nodded.

As much as it killed her to let him be a part of this, she knew she had to do it. She wasn’t being fair to him or to Jordie. She allowing her feelings for Liam to overshadow what was best for her son, which was wrong.

But it wouldn’t be the same. They wouldn’t be the same people that were so in love all that time ago.

Liam’s palms were sweating as he watched his girlfriend laugh with their friends. They had been together for three amazing months and he had never been happier. She was perfect. Absolutely everything he needed to complete him.

Tonight was the night he was going to tell her he was in love with her. He had been trying and trying to muster up the courage to tell her for weeks. He always chickened out but tonight that want going to happen.

They were at a party that one of the kids from school threw for Blair. She was celebrating her 16th birthday. He was going to walk her home afterwards. The entire night he kept looking at the clock, waiting for an appropriate time to pull her away.

It was finally almost midnight, so Liam went to his Blair and asked her if she was ready to leave. She smiled at the sound of his voice whispering in her ear. She nodded and took his hand, allowing him to pull her out the door.

The night was crisp and Blair shivered against the cool breeze. Neither had brought a jumper, so Liam wrapped his arms around her, hoping to create some heat. They walked in a comfortable silence. Granted, Liam’s heart was beating out of his chest.

They were soon at the walkway that lead up to her front door. Liam pulled her into a kiss and they stayed like that for a few minutes, basking in the feeling. When they pulled apart, Liam looked into her light brown eyes and smiled.

“Happy Birthday.” He whispered, resting his forehead against hers.

“Thank you.” She replied. Their faces were so close together, that he could feel her warm breath as she spoke.

He cupped her face in his hands and looked at her again. “Blair…” He began, breaking off. His hands were shaking he was so nervous. “I think I’m in love with you.” Was the best he could manage after a long pause?

He felt her cheeks warm up as a blush worked its way across her face. “Good.” She said with a smile. “Because I think I’m in love with you, too.”

Liam chuckled. It felt so good to tell her, even though it sounded a little unsure when he said it out loud, he knew he meant it. “Yeah?” He whispered against her lips.

“Yeah.” She responded, pushing their mouths together for yet another perfect kiss.

“Wow…” Liam said, not believing what he was hearing. After all this time he was prepared for a long fight. He didn’t expect her to concede so easily. Blair sighed softly and pulled something from her purse.

“I brought this for you.” She told him as she offered a thick book out to him. I looked to be a photo album. He took it from her, studying the black leather cover of the book. “I uh,” She cleared her throat. “I thought you might like to catch up…” She looked away.

Liam opened the book and smiled at the first picture. Blair was sitting up in a hospital bed, a smile gracing her exhausted looking face, holding a small figure in her arms. He bit his lip, wondering what it was like to be there in that room at the time of the photo.

Blair stood and started going to the door. “Thanks.” He said, referring to the book.

“You’re welcome. You can come by the house tomorrow…I that would be easiest.” She handed him a piece of paper with her address written. “This is really hard for me, Liam. Please understand that.” She said, her eyes still glistening with tears.

“I know.” He said, putting a warm hand on her shoulder. She flinched away. Without another word, she was gone. And Liam was standing alone in the apartment again. Still confused at the events, he went back to the book.

He flipped through the pages and studied every picture carefully. He grew bigger and bigger the farther he went in the book. There was all sorts of pictures, some of him in the bath, eating, sleeping, laughing. They were simple candid shots, and Liam couldn’t understand why it was so hard for him to look at.

He felt like he was looking at himself. The little boy in the pictures looked more like him the bigger he got. It was odd for him to look at a life that was so familiar, and not know a thing about it.

Then it hit him. He had no idea how to be a father. Blair had two years of parenting experience and he had none. He didn’t know anything about two year olds, or any age for that matter.

What was he suppose to say? What was he supposed to do? He found him self staring at nothing in particular, his mind reeling with questions until Zayn returned home.

“Hey, mate.” Zayn said, coming through the door. “How’d it go?”

“Alright.” He replied, shaking out of his thoughts. “Sorry for taking over your flat. I’ll start looking for my own place tomorrow.”

“No worries. Take your time. You’ve got bigger problems to worry about.” He told his friend, referring to Blair and Jordie. “What’s that?” He asked, pointing to the book that was still open in Liam’s lap.

“Just some photos. Blair gave it to me.” He closed it and offered it to Zayn. “You can have a look if you want.” Zayn took it from Liam, settling onto the couch to look through the book. They were silent as he flipped through the pages.

“That’s cool.” Zayn said as he closed the book.

“Do you think I made a mistake? Going on the show instead of staying there?” Liam asked. Zayn had his judgmental look on his face, and Liam was curious about what he was thinking.

Zayn shrugged. “I don’t think it really matters what I think. Do you think you did?”

Liam shrugged as well. “I have a hard time believing that things would be any different between me and Blair.” He confided in his friend. “Do you think any less of me now?”

“Honestly?” Zayn said then hesitated. “Yeah.” He finally breathed out. “I mean I’m not going to hit you like Lou did. But two years is a long time to keep a secret like that from us, from Dani. I know you realize how fucked up that is.”

Zayn tried to be understanding, but it was hard to wrap his head around Liam’s revelation. He had wanted to hit him at first, just like Louis did but he refrained. He knew it wouldn’t accomplish anything.

Liam stood and left the room, giving no reply. Finally facing the reality of what he had been hiding from all this time was difficult. While he understood why Zayn was having trouble coping with this, it wasn’t easy to deal with all the judgment.