"Mom, can we please not do this right now?"

"I'm only asking," she says innocently, taking another piece of clothing off a hanger. I roll my eyes and stand beside her to help pick out some more pieces for the floorset for the store.

"You ask every time. The answer is still the same. I promise, if Harry and I get back together you will be the first to know," I assure her. She smiles and I know this isn't the end of the conversation like I hoped it would be.

"Savannah, I only bring it up because I'm not sure why you're so set on keeping your distance."

"I'm not, mother. We have a child together, I can't really keep my distance from him."

"You know what I mean. If you still love him just tell him and get back together! Any fool could see that you both still love each other."

"Mom," I groan, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I really don't want to talk about this."

I'm more confused than ever about where Harry and I stand. Well, that's not true. I know where we stand, I just don't know if I want to change that place or not. Should we try and take things further or just try to be okay with the way things are? It's so hard to tell what Harry thinks about all of this and that makes it ten times harder for me. What if he's completely over me and I say something and make a fool of myself? I would never get over that and Harry would always be around to remind me of what I let slip from my fingers.

"Sophie would love it," she continues, careless to my objections on the subject. Using Sophie is a low blow, she knows Harry and I would do anything for that little girl. "The three of you in one apartment, eating dinner together. Why don't you want that, Savannah?"

"I never said that I-" I stop yelling and take a deep breath to try and calm down. I can't yell at her, not here. She's not trying to upset me. "Can we please not talk about this anymore?"

"Fine," she finally agrees. She holds up a pale pink dress. "Do you like this one."

"Hell no," I protest. "It looks like it belongs in a middle school graduation."

She laughs and continues to sift through the items. We decide on about four pieces and I realize that it's almost time for the meeting with the new designer. She has also decided to be involved in that process, much to my annoyance. I want her to trust me with these things. I am going to be running the company after all.

"He is talented," my mother says, reviewing his portfolio for the fourth time this morning while we sit in my office. "Do you have any idea what you're going to do?"

"Honestly, no. I feel like adding another designer into this mix makes for too many, so then we might have to let another one go. I just don't know which one it should be."

"Maybe he should be the sole designer," she suggests, peering at me over her glasses with her chin leant on her knuckles. This is a test, I know it.

"No, he's too new to the business," I argue. "He doesn't have enough experience and I haven't seen enough of his work to know if he's right for the brand."

"Good," she says, smiling approvingly. Pride swarms inside me at my small victory. My relationship with my mother is ten times easier than it use to be. "When will he be here?"

"Any minute."

After about five minutes of discussing his drawings Madison comes in to announce that he just entered the lobby downstairs. My mother takes out her compact to make sure she's ready and I just take one final look at his portfolio while she rambles on about wrinkles or some shit like that. When Madison walks in we both stand and I try not to react to the man that walks in behind her.

"Tenley and Savannah Williams," she says gesturing to us, "This is Zayn Malik." He steps forward and my mother does as well so they can shake hands.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me," he says, his deep voice holding an accent I wasn't expecting. It's British, but it's not like Harry's. I snap out of my daze and walk around the desk to him to shake his hand as well. "It's great to meet both of you."

"You as well," my mother chirps. She looks at Madison. "Thank you, Madison. We'll let you know if we need anything."

She nods and walks out of the room, leaving the three of us to chat. My mother and I sit on the light grey leather couch while Zayn takes one of the chairs placed opposite it. Zayn Malik is as young as his resume says he is, definitely fresh in the business but probably hovering around Harry's age. He has intriguing golden brown eyes shaped by dark and defined eyebrows. The hair on his face has been allowed time to grow, though it doesn't look unkept or unprofessional. He pulls it off well. His hair is jet black and the definition of his jaw and cheekbones is flawless. He's quite handsome. Maybe he should be modelling clothes instead of designing them.

"Well then," my mother says happily. "Shall we get started?"

---

"Thank you so much again," Zayn says, shaking both our hands once more. His smile is genuine and he seems like a really good guy. His talent in undeniable and the vision he has for the brand was surprisingly close to what my mother and I had discussed.

"We'll definitely call you," I assure him, adjusting my blazer as we walk towards the door. My mother steps towards the window to answer a phone call, leaving us alone to chat.

"It's really cool that you work with your mother," he says. "I don't think a lot of people would be able to handle that."

"She wasn't really around when I was younger, so I'm not quite sick of her yet." I'm not sure why I said that. "Wow, I'm sorry. That was really personal and you didn't need to know that."

My cheeks heat as he laughs softly, politely and not at me.

"No worries," he says. "It was really nice to meet you, Savannah."

"You too, Zayn. We'll call you probably later today or tomorrow," I assure him. I'm positive I want him working here, but I just want to discuss it with my mother first.

"Thank you so much," he says happily, his perfect smile widening. "I really appreciate this."

"Savannah, you have visitors!" Madison says happily as my office door swings open. She steps to the side as Sophie comes running through the door towards me. I scoop her up in my arms, confused with how and why she came here. When I'm about to ask Madison Harry steps around her. His smile fades when he sees Zayn.

"Who are you?" he asks rudely.

"Harry," I scold. He looks at me and I raise my eyebrows. He sighs. "Harry, this is Zayn Malik, the new designer I was telling you about. Zayn, this is Harry, my..."

What even is he?

"Sophie's father," he finishes for me, shaking Zayn's hand a little too firmly for my liking.

"Sophie..." Zayn prompts.

"Me!" she squeals from my arms. I laugh with her and Zayn looks between the three of us.

"Sophie is our daughter," I finally explain. Zayn nods, his mouth forming an O shape as he connects the dots. Harry's hard gaze hasn't left him and I find myself wondering what the hell his problem is.

"Anyway, I'm going to get going," Zayn says. "Thank you, Savannah."

"Have a nice day!" I call as he walks out. Sophie tugs on my necklace and Harry shoots daggers at Zayn's back as he walks away. "Harry, what is your deal?"

"Who the fuck is that?" he spits. He instantly covers his mouth, his eyes darting to Sophie. She didn't notice the word, only the silence that followed as we both stare to see what she'll do. She looks up at me, then Harry, silently asking what's going on.

"Why aren't you at daycare, princess?" I ask.

"Daddy got me," she says happily. "So I can see Gamma."

"Is that my favourite girl?" my mother coos behind me. Sophie bounces a little in my arms and my mother comes to take her. "I missed you, Sophie!"

She takes her over to the couch and I walk up to Harry to finish our conversation, desperately hoping my mother doesn't make any unnecessary comments about us.

"Sorry, that was dumb," he gushes. "It just slipped out, I never cuss in front of her, I swear."

"Harry, it's fine. She didn't repeat you so don't get all worked up about it. What was all that with Zayn? Why were you so rude?"

"Who the hell is he?"

"The new designer, I told you." He looks behind him out the door, his hands on his hips. "What?"

"He's..." he turns back around and I raise my eyebrows so he continues, but he shakes his head and runs his hand over his stubbly jaw. "Nevermind."

Normally I would press further, but I can already feel my mother's eyes on us and I don't want her to think we're having private and intimate moments, because I know that's what she's thinking right now.

"You're not working?" I ask, walking over to the sitting are where my mother and Sophie are sitting.

"I took the afternoon off," he says, shrugging his shoulders. "I thought we could all get some lunch together."

"We can do that," my mother agrees. "Right, Savannah?"

"Well, we need to talk about Zayn first but yeah, we can. Soph, you want to go for lunch?" I ask her. She smiles and claps her hands.

"We can talk about the designer during lunch," she says dismissively. "I'm starved. Where should we go?"

---

"So, Harry, how's your job at the gym? Sure you don't want to work for Savannah at the office?"

"Mother," I groan. Harry chuckles and shakes his head.

"I'm not really an office kind of guy," he says simply. "Besides, I do like my job."

"It must not pay very well, though," my mother prods.

"Mom! You can't say things like that!" I scold. She shrugs and takes a sip of her wine.

"It's fine," Harry says, laughing again. He's used to my mother's lack of tact. I'm really not sure where it came from because growing up she was always obsessed with appearances. Maybe it was divorcing my Dad that helped her out of that.

"Me is hungry," Sophie whines.

"I know, Soph. The food will be here any minute, okay? Do you want some crayons?"

She nods her head, blonde curls bouncing around. I may have curled her hair a little while I was doing mine this morning. I couldn't help it, I wanted to see how cute she would look. The curls make her look ten times more like her father. Harry leans forward from his seat across from me and picks up a crayon so he can colour with her.

"So what about Zayn, Mom?" I ask for the hundredth time. She keeps changing the subject.

"Savannah, I'm not answering that. I've been ignoring the question for a reason. I want you to make the decision on your own, it's not mine to make. You're running the company and you're in charge of the brand. If you want him you are free to hire him," she says. Wow.

"Really?" I look at Harry across from me and he smiles fondly. It makes my heart skip for a moment and I look away before anyone notices what his dimples do to me.

"Yes," my mother laughs. "Sophie, what are you drawing?"

"Shirt for mummy's store," she says happily. She holds the paper up for us and we all smile fondly at her. She's so spoiled.

"I love it princess," I coo.

"I would wear that," Harry says in agreement.

"Is pink Daddy," Sophie says, giggling at the silly statement.

"I love pink," he says, placing a hand on his chest.

Sophie just laughs and continues to colour on the paper spread in front of her. The waiter comes and brings all of our food and Harry takes the liberty of cutting up Sophie's food for her so she can eat by herself. Parenting is a natural thing for both of us by now, but Harry has always just been a Dad. He has that instinct buried deep inside him. I can picture him running around in the park with a handful of kids playing football and being completely content with that. He wouldn't need anything else.

"What?" he asks, wiping the corner of his mouth. "Is there something on my face?"

"What?" Shit. I'm staring. My face heats and I look down to eat my pasta. "No, nothing."

"Harry, how is your mother doing?" my Mom asks him.

"She's really good, she's going to be coming on Friday to stay for a week," he says happily.

"Oh, that's great! Is she staying with you?"

"Yeah, she'll be taking over Sophie's room I think. I was actually going to talk to you about that," he says, looking at me next. "Soph might have to just stay with you while my mother is in town. I won't have room for everyone."

"Savannah has an extra room, why don't you just stay with her and your mother could have your place to herself," my mother suggests. I look at her with wide eyes, too surprised with her suggestion to glare. She doesn't even realize what she's doing.

I'm not even sure what to say. Of course Harry is always welcome to stay in my guest room, but that would also mean Anne spending a lot of time at my house and I don't know how I feel about that. Being around Harry all the time is hard enough, but Anne became like a second mother to me, well for a while the only mother-figure I had, and seeing her is another painful reminder of what I lost. Harry's family is so close I can almost be part of it, but that's only because of my daughter. Without her I wouldn't have them. I'm not sure if them being just out of reach is worse than not having them at all.

"I probably shouldn't leave her alone," Harry says. I mentally thank him for refusing.

"We can figure it out later," I suggest, not wanting to have this discussion with my mother. I know she's going to find a way to get Harry and I to spend extra time together. I didn't tell her about our new 'family night' arrangement to avoid conversations about where our relationship is. We've just barely figured it out as of now and adding all this extra stuff is just going to confuse the already blurred lines we've set in place.

"I just wish I was staying long enough to see her," my mom continues. "Anne is such a wonderful woman, it's always nice to spend time with her."

"I'm sure she'd like to see you," Harry says kindly. I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. Anne wasn't exactly a huge fan of my parents, but I think she has warmed up a bit to my mother. Though, she would never admit to not liking them. She's to kind for that.

"Oh! I have a great idea!" my mother says, clapping her hands. Oh boy. "I'm going to be going back to Los Angeles anyway, why don't all four of you just stay at my penthouse? It's got five bedrooms, there's plenty of room for you all to stay together. You can have a big family week!"

"Mother-"

"It's closer to work for you, anyway," she says to me. "It'll be simple. Plus, it's right on Central Park so I'm sure your mother would love the view of the city."

Harry is considering it, I can tell. When I look across the table at him he gives me a timid smile and shrugs his shoulders. I guess it would be nice but...

"Wouldn't that be confusing for her?" I ask him, looking at Sophie who is happily chewing on her spaghetti. "To have us all in one place for a short time, she'll be upset when we have to go home again."

"It'll be like a mini vacation," Harry says. "She'd probably love it."

"She'd love it so much that she'd throw a tantrum when we go back to my apartment."

"My mother would love it," Harry continues. "My place is pretty small and your mother's place is right near all the tourist stuff. It'd be convenient."

"It's settled!" She chirps. What is she getting me into? "I'll give Savannah my keys tomorrow before I leave the city."

When lunch is over my mother insists on both of us taking the rest of the afternoon off to spend time all together. Harry taking time off work confuses me since he doesn't make a lot and he refuses any financial help from me. He's usually taking all the hours he can so he can afford to live and put some savings away.

We all go together to the small park near my building so Sophie can play on the playground there. Harry and I sit down on a bench while my Mom pushes her on the swings.

"Are you sure staying at her apartment is a good idea?" I ask. He shrugs.

"I don't see why it should be a problem. Soph will love it and my mum just wants to spend time with all of us. It's just a week, Savannah." He looks at me, one arm placed along the back of the bench behind me. I bite my bottom lip and look away from him. "Unless you're not comfortable with it. If you don't want to, that's completely fine."

The little girl giggling with delight on the swing catches my eye and I imagine what it would be like for us to be living as a family all the time, all three of us in one place. Almost every time we're all together she asks why it can't be like that all the time and it absolutely breaks my heart. Trying to be a family shouldn't be this difficult and it makes me sad that it came to this.

"You know what," I sigh, "Let's do it."

"Really?" He smiles widely at me and I nod my head. "You sure?"

"Yeah, it's just for a week, right?"

He nods and brings his arm from behind me, patting my leg a few times before gathering his hands in his lap. It's a new sight for me to see Harry with split knuckles, but that's one of the results of his job. What I don't usually see though, are bruises. He's just a trainer and from what I've seen his students never actually him him, only the pads. So why is there a huge bruise on his arm?

"What's this from?" I ask, gently touching the light purple skin with the tips of my fingers. He looks down at it, then eyes me carefully.

"Work," he says simply.

"Did someone hit you? I thought that didn't happen?"

"It umm...yeah, it was a new student. He got a little caught up in the training and hit me by accident," he says quickly. A little too quickly.

I decide to let it go for now, even though his nervous ticks are all on display for me. He's hiding something, but I have no idea what it could be. There's nothing shady about his job, so what could he possibly get bruises from?

"You're being careful, right?" I ask after a few minutes of silence. I know the look on my face is too caring, too intimate, but I don't care. The thought of Harry getting hurt physically pains me. He sighs and looks over at me.

"Yes, Savannah."

"Promise?"

He smiles and lets out a breathy laugh. One pinky finger is extended to me and I smile as I lock it with mine.

"Pinky," he says quietly. "Don't worry so much."

"It's my job to worry." Except it isn't. Not anymore. Not about him, at least.

Flashback

"Harry, you need to get better bandages or something," I plead with him. He sighs and doesn't respond as he lets the water run over his busted knuckles. His lack of response irritates me but I still take a washcloth to help him. I hop up on the counter beside the sink and pull him in front of me so he's standing between my legs, his busted hands held up between us.

"I don't like this," I murmur without looking at him.

"I know," he sighs.

"Why do you have to do boxing?"

"Can we please not do this right now," he says. I can hear the irritation in his tone, though I know he's trying not to be impatient with me. "I'm exhausted and I don't feel like arguing with you."

"I'm not trying to start an argument," I bite back. "I just don't like it that you come home every day with blood dripping from your knuckles."

"I'm a grown man, I can take care of myself. I don't need you constantly mothering me."

"I don't mother you, Harry, I love you! I don't like that this job is so rough on you!"

"Well I don't really have much of a choice, do I?" he says louder, stepping back from me. "It's not like I can actually do what I l-"

He stops and closes his eyes, his hands clenched into fists while he takes a deep breath to calm down. I know exactly where that statement was headed.

"Go ahead," I taunt, hopping down. "Blame me. I know you resent me for everything, so go ahead, Harry. Yell at me and tell me how much I fucked up your life."

"Did I say that?" he yells, his irritation no longer kept at bay.

"You didn't have to!"

"Why do you always need to pick a fight with me?" He runs a frustrated hand through his hair and shakes his head.

Down the hall I hear the beginnings of a cry while we just stare at each other. This isn't working and we both know that, but the sudden wails from our daughter break up the conversation. I shake my head and walk away from him to get Sophie back down. She seems to be waking up a lot lately because of our yelling. When did we start yelling so much? I'm just worried about him. I didn't realize that was so wrong.

End of Flashback.

"Did you want to have dinner with us?" I ask, changing the subject and wiping the memories from my mind.

"No, I should get home. You can have some time with her and your mother tonight."

"You can come over for dinner, Harry." Part of me hopes he won't agree and the other part is begging him to join us. I'm so confused.

"It's fine," he says.

There's a little disappointment hanging in my stomach but I choose to ignore it. This is the way things need to be now. I guess I just have to accept that.

Notes

okay so...i dont really know how to feel about this chapter. its super long so thats good but im struggling hard core with the beginning of this story :P i have ideas for later on but i need to get shit going first so it might be a little rough right now :S i dont like it.

i hope you guys do?

them staying together should be interesting...wink wink.

comment, vote, subscribe :) hopefully update later today, that's my goal. im sorry i haven't updated in a while!

thakns for readinggg :)