Butterfly Effect

“They chose you two.”

My bottom lip twisted up in anticipation at the statement, I took a swift sip of my water before asking the lawyer to elaborate.

“Chose us to do what exactly?” The obnoxious curly haired boy that was the bane of my existence stole the words right out of my mouth; I refrain from rolling my eyes and turned back to the woman that determined our fate. Her vibrant crimson coated lips pursed as she looked at the papers for confirmation and then collected them and tapped them on the table in a neat pile. Her palms were pressed in a ball as she leaned towards us. I shifted uneasily in my seat and waited in anticipation for her continue on speaking.

“They chose you two to be Laney’s guardians.” The water sprayed out of my mouth the moment those words emerged. The lawyer’s lips pursed up in disgust and I smiled apologetically.

“Oh, how very smart of you,” The obnoxious curly haired boy said directed at me, laced with sheer sarcasm; I rolled my eyes at him, refraining to curse profanities at him. I tried to process in my mind why Melaine and Nathan had chosen us, was it some sort of sick joke or twisted reality?

Me and him?

Together?

Seriously?

I laugh. Hard. How informal of me, but it was ridiculous; me and Harry as Laney’s parents?

Even in the same sentence, caused bile to form in my throat and it was not at all a pleasant feeling.

“With this asshole that made a booty call on our first date? You’ve got to being kidding me.”

His deep hearty, but sarcastic laugh fills the room.

“Sorry to say, love. But you were a straight turn off the moment I met you.”

“Ugh, my God, you are a piece of work, Harry Styles. You are not even worth the calories I burn talking to you.”

“So stop talking and do us all a favour.” He mellowed, that smug grin plays his face. He knows that he has gotten under my skin. I groan in deep frustration, looking for a sensible comeback to throw him off, but the attempt is futile.

“I hate you, Styles!” I crossed my arms like a little child and sulked, drooping in my seat.

“The feeling’s mutual right here, darling.”

“Enough!” The lawyer banged her fist on the table and stood up from her seat, towering over us, both of our eyes as wide as the moon as we shut our mouths immediately intimidated by her.

“Y’all need to clean up your act.” Her ghetto accent is as thick as those girls caked in fake tan. “It ain’t about y’all anymore, you need to set aside your differences because a baby girl is involved and she needs a family and they chose you two. So you need to get your shit together and care for that little girl because you are all she has left. Do it for her, for Laney.”