‹ Prequel: More Than This
Over Again
1
I was awoken by the 2 small people jumping up and down on my bed. I groaned and stuck my arm out, grabbing the first suspect by the waist and pulling her down into me.
“It’s too early, you crazy munchkins, go back to sleep.” I mumbled.
“Wanna talk to Daddy!” Daisy yelled, squirming in my arms.
Her three year old twin, Bella nodded vigorously, still jumping up and down on the bed.
“Well, first of all, Bella needs to stop jumping.” I said, staring at her.
She immediately plopped down next to me, and I got a glimpse of the clock. 7 in the morning.
“Okay, tell you what, I’ll see if you can talk to your daddy on the computer, but first, we need to have breakfast, okay. Pancakes?”
Both girls nodded and cheered, and I smiled despite the early hour.
I got up and picked the girls up, a girl on each hip, and made my way downstairs.
“I need you to play right here where I can see you while I make breakfast, okay?”
The girls ran off and started to play with their barbies on the floor while I went into the kitchen, putting a pot of coffee on and sending out a text.
Your girls wanna skype with you if at all possible.
Then, I put the phone down and pulled out the ingredients to make pancakes and bacon.
Just as I was putting the food on three separate plates, my laptop began making the noise of an incoming skype call.
Daisy and Bella came running into the room and I smiled, sitting them up on the counter and putting their food in front of them before hitting accept on the call.
“Daddy!!” Bella cheered as his face filled the screen.
“Hey, my lovely girls! Did Auntie Bay make you breakfast?” Liam asked, grinning from ear to ear.
“Bacon!” Daisy declared, trying to shove the whole strip of bacon into her mouth.
“I see you learned that lovely habit from your aunt.” Liam commented, scrunching up his nose. I stuck my tongue out at him.
“Auntie Bay said we go to park!” Bella told her dad happily as she chewed on a pancake.
“You’re going to the park? That’s going to be so fun! What are you going to do?” Liam asked, and I smiled, watching him interact with his kids as I ate my breakfast quietly.
“Swing!” Bella replied.
“Slide!” Daisy chimed in.
Liam nodded his head vigorously, and I could tell he was genuinely interested that his daughters were going to the park and going on the swings and the slide, because as a parent, he was missing out on being there to take them to the park.
“I need you to be good for Auntie Bay though, okay?” He asked.
He sounded sad, and I immediately knew I needed to get him off of this conversation.
“We will, Daddy!” Bella said.
“Good.” Liam replied.
“Hey, girls, can I talk to your daddy alone for just one second, and then you can come back?” I asked.
Daisy pouted, but Bella grabbed her hand and pulled her back toward the other room, where I could still see them, but they couldn’t hear. I watched them play with their dolls and talk to each other for a minute before I looked at Liam on the screen.
“How are you holding up, Li?” I asked gently.
I watched as Liam ran a hand through the little hair that he had.
“It just sucks, you know? I’m wondering if I made the right choice in going back on tour. I’m missing so much. And I hate that I’m taking over your life, too. You should be out having fun, not stuck watching my kids.” He groaned, frustrated. I sighed.
“Liam Payne.” I said sternly. “Your kids are my nieces and I love them to pieces and I will be happy to watch them until you come home, okay? I agreed to it and I will do it. Don’t stress about that. Also, going on tour was absolutely the right decision.” My voice softened and became quieter. “It’s been a year, Li, and I know it still hurts and I know it sucks, but we have to try to move on from what happened. We all do. And the best way to do that is you going back to doing what you love.”
Liam sighed and shot me a weak smile.
“You’re the best, you know that right?”
“I try.” I replied, grinning back at him. “Now I’m going to go get your kids back so you can talk to them with that smile on your face, okay?”
Liam nodded once, and I smiled.
“Oh, and by the way, can you tell the curly headed one to call me when he gets his butt out of bed?”
Liam shot me a thumbs up and I saluted him, calling the girls back into the room. They instantly sat down in front of the laptop and continued their conversation with their dad.
I started doing the dishes, and smiled as I listened to the interaction between the three of them talking in happy tones, realizing how much I had really missed listening to happy tones in this household.
“It’s too early, you crazy munchkins, go back to sleep.” I mumbled.
“Wanna talk to Daddy!” Daisy yelled, squirming in my arms.
Her three year old twin, Bella nodded vigorously, still jumping up and down on the bed.
“Well, first of all, Bella needs to stop jumping.” I said, staring at her.
She immediately plopped down next to me, and I got a glimpse of the clock. 7 in the morning.
“Okay, tell you what, I’ll see if you can talk to your daddy on the computer, but first, we need to have breakfast, okay. Pancakes?”
Both girls nodded and cheered, and I smiled despite the early hour.
I got up and picked the girls up, a girl on each hip, and made my way downstairs.
“I need you to play right here where I can see you while I make breakfast, okay?”
The girls ran off and started to play with their barbies on the floor while I went into the kitchen, putting a pot of coffee on and sending out a text.
Your girls wanna skype with you if at all possible.
Then, I put the phone down and pulled out the ingredients to make pancakes and bacon.
Just as I was putting the food on three separate plates, my laptop began making the noise of an incoming skype call.
Daisy and Bella came running into the room and I smiled, sitting them up on the counter and putting their food in front of them before hitting accept on the call.
“Daddy!!” Bella cheered as his face filled the screen.
“Hey, my lovely girls! Did Auntie Bay make you breakfast?” Liam asked, grinning from ear to ear.
“Bacon!” Daisy declared, trying to shove the whole strip of bacon into her mouth.
“I see you learned that lovely habit from your aunt.” Liam commented, scrunching up his nose. I stuck my tongue out at him.
“Auntie Bay said we go to park!” Bella told her dad happily as she chewed on a pancake.
“You’re going to the park? That’s going to be so fun! What are you going to do?” Liam asked, and I smiled, watching him interact with his kids as I ate my breakfast quietly.
“Swing!” Bella replied.
“Slide!” Daisy chimed in.
Liam nodded his head vigorously, and I could tell he was genuinely interested that his daughters were going to the park and going on the swings and the slide, because as a parent, he was missing out on being there to take them to the park.
“I need you to be good for Auntie Bay though, okay?” He asked.
He sounded sad, and I immediately knew I needed to get him off of this conversation.
“We will, Daddy!” Bella said.
“Good.” Liam replied.
“Hey, girls, can I talk to your daddy alone for just one second, and then you can come back?” I asked.
Daisy pouted, but Bella grabbed her hand and pulled her back toward the other room, where I could still see them, but they couldn’t hear. I watched them play with their dolls and talk to each other for a minute before I looked at Liam on the screen.
“How are you holding up, Li?” I asked gently.
I watched as Liam ran a hand through the little hair that he had.
“It just sucks, you know? I’m wondering if I made the right choice in going back on tour. I’m missing so much. And I hate that I’m taking over your life, too. You should be out having fun, not stuck watching my kids.” He groaned, frustrated. I sighed.
“Liam Payne.” I said sternly. “Your kids are my nieces and I love them to pieces and I will be happy to watch them until you come home, okay? I agreed to it and I will do it. Don’t stress about that. Also, going on tour was absolutely the right decision.” My voice softened and became quieter. “It’s been a year, Li, and I know it still hurts and I know it sucks, but we have to try to move on from what happened. We all do. And the best way to do that is you going back to doing what you love.”
Liam sighed and shot me a weak smile.
“You’re the best, you know that right?”
“I try.” I replied, grinning back at him. “Now I’m going to go get your kids back so you can talk to them with that smile on your face, okay?”
Liam nodded once, and I smiled.
“Oh, and by the way, can you tell the curly headed one to call me when he gets his butt out of bed?”
Liam shot me a thumbs up and I saluted him, calling the girls back into the room. They instantly sat down in front of the laptop and continued their conversation with their dad.
I started doing the dishes, and smiled as I listened to the interaction between the three of them talking in happy tones, realizing how much I had really missed listening to happy tones in this household.