ALWAYS

Enola rested her head on my shoulder and caressed Darcy's cheek lightly. I sighed a bit. This is what my life was supposed to be. Enola was supposed to cuddle into me with Darcy sleeping. There were only two things I found wrong with the scenario I had been placed in. Darcy was supposed to be my daughter and Enola was meant to have a ring on her finger, a ring that said she was mine.
Enola looked up at me after I kissed her hair, "I should take Darcy home. She needs a nap obviously."
I shook my head, "No. You guys can stay here."
"Harry, come on, honey. We'll be at home when you're done." Enola sighed like she was annoyed with me. I looked down at Darcy then nodded. She was very tired. As I tried to move Darcy into Enola's arms, she woke.
Darcy cried, "Harry." My heart nearly broke. I hated when she cried my name. I wanted to give her everything she asked for. Enola put her foot down every time. I looked at Enola with pleading eyes.
"Harry." Enola glowered at me.
"But listen to her..." I whined as Darcy hugged me tighter and murmured that she didn't want to go. Enola kept her stern gaze on me. I groaned and leaned my head back against the sofa. I hated being in the middle. I didn't want Enola to be mad at me but I wanted Darcy to love being with me. "Baby, you have to go home with Mummy." I informed Darcy with a sad voice.
She looked at me with tears in her eyes, "But why?"
"Because, you need to take a nap, baby girl. You're exhausted." I explained. She sniffled and her bottom lip quivered. "Believe me, I want you and Mummy to stay."
"Then why can't we? I wanna take a nap with you." She balled.
"I know but if you go home and take a nap, I'll be there when you get up." I promised her. Enola giggled quietly as Darcy's tears stopped.
Darcy cleared her face, "You mean it?"
I nodded, "Yes. When you get up from your nap, I'll be home."
"Is Harry coming over tonight?" Darcy asked looking to Enola.
Enola grinned, "That's what he said. Come on, we'll go get stuff to make Harry dinner before you take a nap." Darcy beamed brightly at Enola and I. "Let's go, baby. Kiss Uncle Louis and NiNi. Give Liam a hug. Say goodbye to Julian." Darcy wiggled off my lap and ran to Liam. She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
"Bye bye, Liam." Darcy smiled before bouncing off to Niall. She hugged him close and kissed his cheek. She did the same to Louis. Darcy shied away from Julian a little bit. "Bye bye." She murmured.
"Bye sweetie. I'm glad I got to meet you today." Julian smiled warmly at her to ease her. Darcy smiled a little but I could tell that she still wasn't too fond of Julian. I stood from the sofa and went to her side. I took her hand in mine gently. I rubbed her knuckles with my thumb lightly like Enola had always done to me. Darcy relaxed a little, leaning against my leg. "Maybe one of these days, Mommy and Harry can bring you over to my house so you can play with my little girls." Julian offered. Darcy's eyes lit up. She didn't get to see other kids very often, what with Enola's brothers living in Ireland and Louis only having Freddie less than half of the time.
Darcy looked up at me, "Can we do that? I wanna do that."
I nodded, "Sure. Mummy and I will talk about it." Darcy beamed at me and rested her cheek on my wrist. I smiled down at her. "Come on. You and Mummy are going to go home." I informed her. I looked over at Enola, "Do you want me to walk you out?" She nodded. I picked Darcy up and walked out of the room with Enola after she said her own goodbyes.

I closed Enola's car door gently after putting Darcy into her car seat. I smiled nervously at Enola. She stood with her hands in her back pockets. I smiled liking the way that the stance made her shoulders drop back, pushing her breasts forward. I bit down on my bottom lip and forced my eyes to stay on hers and not explore her body.
"So, I'll see you when you're done?" Enola asked softly.
I nodded, "Yeah. I shouldn't be late or anything. WE got here kind of early." Enola just nodded and peeked into the car for a moment. I sighed, "I'm sorry about Julian. He's just..."
She held her hand up, "Harry, please don't apologize. You can't control other people's actions." I gazed down at my feet. "Harry, they love you. They don't want to see you get hurt again. I don't blame him for being less that friendly. But we're all adults and can handle it. I mean, he invited Darcy and I to come to his home with you."
"Yeah, his girls are about the same age. The oldest is three and the youngest just turned one. Darcy would like playing with them. Although, I think it would be a bit stressful for her." I was basically thinking out loud.
Enola lifted her eyebrow, "Why is that?"
"Phoebe is still very small and Mia is high strung. Everything has to be just so for her. Darcy is so laid back and free spirited that I think she may get annoyed with Mia." I explained. I laughed, "But Darcy can make anyone relax."
Enola nodded, "She's like someone else I know." My heart dropped a little even though Enola was smiling. I hated that she saw Charles in Darcy. It nearly infuriated me. But it was all my fault. I was the one that told her to leave. I was the one that said it was done. Enola's smile faded and she shook her head for a moment. She placed her hands on my chest and kissed my cheek, "I'll see you in a few hours."
"Bye." I murmured wondering what she was thinking as she climbed into the car.

I entered the studio room thinking about the way Enola reacted to my mood change. I knew that I had to get over the fact that Darcy wasn't mine but I didn't want her making comparisons to Charles either. Was she mad that I was mad? Did one of the girls tell her about the break down I had over not being Darcy's father? Did she even notice that I longed for her daughter to be mine as well? Why was she shaking her head at me? Why did she dislike my reaction so much?
I sat down on the sofa and stared off into space, thinking of the way Enola looked. She was always amazingly gorgeous. Her blonde waves flowing down her back, bangs pinned back with a flower pin. Her tank top was loose but let everyone know that she had an amazing body. The way her jeans clung to her thighs and bum made me weak in the knees. I expected her attitude to match her outfit, but there was something a little different about her. She seemed a little more tense than the day before. While at the zoo and the park, she was so relaxed and carefree. WE spoke the way we always used to. She was affectionate towards me, but not like we were a couple. While in the studio she barely even looked at me. She focused on Darcy and Louis. I sighed in aggravation. I pulled my phone from my pocket and started to look through the pictures I took the day before.
"Harry, are you alright?" Julian asked sitting down beside me.
I glanced at him, smiling briefly, "Yeah. I'm fine."
Julian looked at me blankly, "Come on, Haz. WE can all see that you aren't as happy as you were a few minutes ago."
"I like having them around." I stated with a shrug as I continued to swipe through the photos on my phone.
"What are you looking at?" Julian asked leaning over a little more.
"We went to the zoo and the park yesterday." I answered moving my phone so he could see the pictures.
Julian appeared shocked, "You skipped out yesterday to take your ex's little girl to the zoo?" I nodded and smiled brightly. "You are trying really hard to get her back, huh?" Julian inquired. I shook my head slowly. Julian gave me another blank stare.
I sighed a bit, "If we do end up together, I'll be over the moon, but I'm not aiming for that and neither is she. We're just trying to be in each others lives. We're working on being friends. I'm...I'd rather her be a friend than not in my life. I just want her around." I informed everyone in the room a second time.


I knocked on Enola's door gently. I was late. I was really late getting back to her house. I knew that Darcy was going to be upset because I wasn't sitting in the living room when she got up from her nap. THE door opened to show an amused Enola.
"I'm late." I sighed heavily when she smirked. She nodded and opened the door for me to come in. I stepped in slowly. "Is she upset?" I inquired as Enola closed the door.
Enola nodded, "Yeah. She cried for a while. What took you so long anyway?" I smiled and held up a pink sparkly bag with the little girl's name on it. "What is that?" Enola laughed loudly.
"I won't be here for her birthday. So, I figured I'd get her gift a little bit early." I stated with a wide grin.
"Harry, her birthday is over two months away." Enola sighed quietly.
"Exactly, I'll be gone for over a month by the time it rolls around. I'd like her to have it now." I asserted knowing that Enola was upset with me.
"But you could've given it to her before you left not now." Enola stated matter of factly.
I grinned again, "Wouldn't be able to watch her play with any of it." Enola shook her head and smiled at me. I moved passed her into the living room. Darcy sat on the floor with her doll in one arm and her bear on the floor next to her. She was looking at a book of animals. I smiled and sat down beside her, placing the pink bag out of her view. "Hi baby girl." I murmured to her.
"You weren't here when I got up." She stated not looking away from the book.
I sighed, "I know."
"You said you would be here when I got up. You promised." Darcy nearly mumbled turning the page of her book.
I stroked her hair gently, "I know baby. But I have a really good reason for being late." She gazed up at me with questioning eyes. I smiled then grabbed the pink bag, covered in glitter with her name written on it in purple.
Her eyes lit up as she asked, "Is that for me?" I nodded quickly. She reached out for it. I placed it in her hands with a bright smile. She looked up at me again, "Why do I get this?"
I frowned, "I won't be here for your birthday. We're going to be on tour again." Darcy frowned as well and looked at the bag.
"For how long?" Darcy inquired softly.
"A while." I replied honestly.
"Are you going to come home to visit?" Darcy asked.
I shook my head, "I can't. I have to be in a different city almost every night." I answered. Darcy nodded sadly as she looked at the pink bag. I kissed her forehead softly, "But you can call me all you want and we can face time on Mummy's phone. I won't go without talking to you." Darcy agreed quietly. "Hey, let's worry about it when the time comes. I'm going to be right here, everyday, for the next few weeks, okay?" Darcy nodded but her face stayed sad. "Come on, let's open this." I smiled picking her up. She giggled as I sat her on my lap. I pulled the bag closer so she could open it. Darcy pulled all of the tissue paper from the bag and let it fly around the room.

Notes

I meant what I said. No more posts for a while after tonight. But I thought I'd brave the pain a little longer to give you this and one more chapter.

I hope you guys understand how much I like you...

Peace&Love