“So what happened after camp? Did you two start to date?” Aaliyah anxiously asked me. Before I answered her I glanced at the clock sitting on my night stand and saw it was past her bedtime.

“As much as I would love to continue telling you stories, its past your bed time. So we will have to continue this tomorrow, okay?” I told her, and a look of disappointment showed on her face.

“Promise?” She asked.

“Pinky promise,” I told her and pulled her into a hug.

“Goodnight mum, I love you,” Aaliyah said as she walked out of my room and walked down the hall towards hers.

“I love you too, baby,” I yelled out after her. I got up and shut the door and leaned against it afterwards. I let out a long sigh before sliding down the door to where I was seated on the ground.

“Why did I agree to tell her about him?” I said to myself as I let my head rest on my knees. Just as I was sitting in peace I heard my mobile start to ring. Who could be calling at this hour? I got up and walked over to where it was plugged into its charger and when I saw the name flashing across the screen I couldn’t help but let a smile take over my face as I answered the call.

“Hello sir,” I said into the receiver.

“Hey m’lady!” Niall Horan said on the other side of the phone. “How are you?” He asked.

“I’m good, stressed, but I’m good. How are you? How’s the solo touring going?” I asked him as I lay down on my bed.

“It’s goin’ great, love! I’m already writing for my fourth album, can you believe that?” He said and I just knew he was smiling. Yes, I still talk to Niall from my ex-boyfriend/baby daddy’s band. I was always closest with him when I was dating Zayn, and we wouldn’t let a secret baby ruin that friendship, no matter how hard I tried to let it, at least.

“I can’t. But, I’ll buy it just like I’ve bought all the others,” I told him, a smile taking over my face.

“So why ya stressed?” He asked, and I knew it was coming. He always cared about me.

“Well, work is a pain the arse for one, and Aaliyah wants to know about Zayn. It’s for a school project,” I mindlessly told him as I played with a loose strand on my shirt.

“What kind of school project?” Niall asked.

“An essay over something she wants to know more about and she chose to learn about her father,” I told him, a hint of annoyance in my voice.

“She deserves to know about him, ya know,” Niall hesitantly said and I knew he was just trying to help.

“I know. I’m just scared,” I admitted.

“Why ya scared?” He asked me.

“What if she tries to look for him? He isn’t hard to find you know.”

“True, but would that be such a bad thing?” Niall pondered.

“I don’t think I could handle seeing him again, Nialler,” I opened up to him, using his old nickname from the One Direction days.

“Why not?”

“It would just open up too many old wounds. He really hurt me, I don’t want him to do the same to Aaliyah,” I told him, growing angrier thinking about what Zayn did to me.

“I can see that. But you won’t know if you don’t try. It’s been sixteen years, love. I still hang out with Zayn and I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep her a secret to him. We got lunch the other day and he brought you up,” Niall admitted and confusion set on my face.

“Why did he bring me up?” I asked him as I sat up.

“Our waitress looked just like ya, and he pointed it out.”

“Yeah? That’s weird,” I mindlessly said as I thought more about it. He still thinks about me, and that made me smile.

“I know he misses you,” Niall said.

“How do you know that?” I asked him.

“I could tell by the way his face fell when he said the waitress looked like you. It hurt him too ya know, what he did to you, he didn’t want to,” Niall confessed to me.

“Then why did he do it?” I asked him.

“Management forced him to, it was all about image and he didn’t want to ruin the band for the rest of us before it even started, Kace.”

“Still, he could have told me that. I knew he wanted to keep us a secret but he didn’t have to keep it for so long,” I admitted, growing frustrated.

“You’re so stubborn. Anyways, how is Aaliyah? She doing well with friends and school?” Niall asked, and that brought a smile to my face. He’s only met her when she was a baby and small toddler, and it’s been twelve years since he last saw her. So, for him to still be curious to how she’s doing, makes me smile.

“She’s good. She’s got friends coming over all the time and she’s so focused on school. She excels in her English classes every year. In fact, she’s in two advanced English classes this year,” I told him, with the feeling of being a proud mother over taking me.

“Just like her father, yeah?” Niall said and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Just like him. He would be proud of her, I know it. Her writing is just phenomenal. Her favorite type of writing is poetry. She wants to be a teacher,” I opened up, making me smile because that’s what Zayn wanted to be.

“So, for this project have you started it yet?” Niall asked.

“Yeah, we started it today.”

“You using his name?” Niall asked.

“No, I just say ‘your dad’ or ‘he’ I don’t want her finding him. I mean I say Zayn in my head, but I don’t know Ni,” I told him.

“I know, I know. Had she known anything about him before today?” He asked.

“Yeah. She knows he is a Muslim British Paki and the same age as me. She also knows how he would act in some situations because I’ll tell her,” I admitted to him.

“I know it’s none of my business. But if she wants to pursue in finding him, don’t stop her. You never know what might come of it, Zayn could be thrilled because he’s older now, or he could be mad but at least she could say she’s met her father.”

“You’re right,” I told him. “How is Zayn doing?” I asked Niall.

“He’s single, if that’s what you wanted to know,” Niall told me. He could read me like a book. “And no, he isn’t interested in anyone at the moment. He told me he was focusing on his solo career.”

“That’s good, his songs are so good. I can’t help but have them on repeat. How are the rest of the lads?” I asked him.

“Well Liam and Dani are expecting another child, another boy. Dani isn’t too thrilled about it because Liam, Henry and Charles are all over the place now.”

“That’s too cute! I’m so happy for them, I wish I could have been at the wedding,” I admitted. “Now how’s Harry and that petite brunette of his?”

“Abby? Oh they’re great! Going really strong, as you know Harry does a lot of music for charity but he does some for his own. Abby has shot every single one of his album covers since they’ve been dating and married. He took up photography and they both travel the world now. They are thinking about adopting since Abby has had some fertility troubles, poor Darcy needs a brother. Although we suspect she’s pregnant but after all the miscarriages and the one stillbirth, they don’t want to tell us.” Niall said, a hint of sadness in his voice as he talked of his friends.

“They deserve another child, they’re the sweetest couple ever. Now, how’s my Louis?” I asked him, a smile gracing my face as I heard of my friends’ successes.

“He’s crazy still. He’s going to be a judge on the X-Factor. He still hasn’t proposed to Eleanor. Too many trust issues going on right now, but I think it’s coming,” Niall said.

“Good, good. Now how are you, Ni?” I asked him, waiting for his response.

“I’ve been better. I’ll get there, it won’t be easy, but I’ll get there. I’ve got my best mate Kacey to help me, yeah?” He asked, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah. I’m always here,” I told him. “When am I going to see you next?”

“Actually! That’s mainly why I was calling! I’ll be near Bradford in a week or so, how’s about we meet up for lunch?” He asked.

“Sounds wonderful! Just let me know the dates you’ll be here and I’ll arrange everything,” I told him.

“Can I see Aaliyah, too?” He asked, hopeful apparent in his voice.

“I don’t know, Niall. Let me think about it, okay?” I told him.

“Yeah, okay. I understand. I’ll talk to you later, Kace. Love ya,” Niall said.

“Love ya too, Ni,” I replied before hanging up the phone. I’ve got a lot to think about.

Notes

Comments would be lovely!

XOXO,
Jade