18
«5 Years Later»
"Please tell me you're kidding." I stare at Harry with wide eyes.
"Come on! It's adorable!" he cries. Hunter just sits in his lap giggling at his dad's weirdness.
"I don't know..." He's trying to convince me that Hunt should go as him for Halloween this year. He's four now, so Harry is all excited his son is finally old enough to really participate in Halloween. The last three years, he didn't seem too into it. Although he did have a good time with his Uncle Mikey spray painting his hair neon green to go with his Ninja Turtle costume last year.
"Well I think it'll be adorable," Hailee says, appearing through the kitchen door and coming to kiss her son's chubby cheek. "We can get him one of those shirts that has all of your tattoos on it and wrap a bandana around his head."
"Ugh, fine that would be pretty freaking adorable," I succumb.
"Told ya." Harry has his smug look he gets when he convinces himself he's the most clever being to ever walk to the planet.
"Yeah, whatever," I grumble, looking down at my freshly manicured nails Hails and I had gone out to get done yesterday, for our own little celebration.
"Hey babe! Can you give me a hand?!" Louis' voice calls out from the front door. I stand up from my seat and hurry to the entrance. We bought this house a few months ago when we started talking about the prospect of marriage. I mean, we have been together for almost six years and already almost had a child together.
After my miscarriage, things were touch and go for a little while. No one has heard from or seen Brad since then, which made things easier than they could have been. We never made the pregnancy public so we didn't have to deal with the fans, figuring we would just tell people if and when we got pregnant again, but they did pick up on Louis' lack of spirit in the few months following. About a month into the whole ordeal, a fan photographed a little breakdown Louis had on stage one time in the middle of Half a Heart. They played it off well enough, hoping no one would notice why Niall took over Louis' parts. But one of the fans took a picture of him tear-stricken, hiding off to the side of the stage.
#CHEERUPLOUIS was trending worldwide on Twitter for the next forty-eight hours, among others like #LouisBreakdown and #TheOtherHalfOfLouisHeart. There were so many edits of things like wanted posters, claiming the other half of Louis' heart was missing, desperate to know where his broken heart went. It took a good six months before we could look at each other without a tinge of sadness or guilt that losing our baby left us with. We never gave up, though. Many times, a loss like that becomes an unbearable element in a relationship and inevitably is too much for them to handle. But we refused to be torn apart. We promised each other that even if we did end up splitting eventually, it wouldn't be because of that. But knowing it would still be hard, we decided we would give it at least a year before we reconsidered how much of a scar it left on our relationship. A year later, we came back to it and found we would indeed be able to move on from the whole ordeal. Of course it will always be painful and hard to deal with at times, but going through that together ended up strengthening the both of us.
We were never the unsure insecure couple, after that. We knew who we were with each other and a feeling of safety came with sticking by someone through a tragedy like that. We proved how much we cared and how dedicated we were so we could just be ourselves and comfortable in the relationship.
Spending almost every hour of our lives together didn't hurt much either, seeing as I was still touring with the boys. The difference was that I had fulfilled my role as the assistant; I'd done my time and finished all I needed to accomplish--professionally and personally. It gave me a chance to settle things in my life I needed to and figure things out for myself and the people in my life. I had accomplished what I needed to, and I was their official head stylist now, after Caroline decided to downgrade to a less demanding job when Brooklyn began kindergarten. Being together all the time did mean getting on each other's nerves, but we were good about figuring out how to just step back and take a break when we needed one.
Once Hailee finished school and decided to wait to begin her career and use her teaching credential, she stayed home to take care of the baby, so I didn't get to see her as much as I would like. Being on tour with One Direction is a full-time gig, even after all these years. Although their careers have slowed down a bit, it's not enough to slow down their schedules all that much. It was still near constant tours and interviews and promotions.
It was easier for me, I think, being on the road with them. Sure, Harry flew home every chance he got and Hails visited us for a few days at a time fairly often, but she always told me about how hard it got at times raising Hunter without Harry around. Even after they got married three years ago, the constant time apart was straining. They were good about it though and made the best of the situation. I mean, Harry spent a good hour almost every night video chatting her. Even on days when he didn't have time for a lengthy conversation, he texted her before and after every show and any minute he had in between events. She always sent him pictures of Hunter and every time he got a new one he would make sure we all saw it. Not that minded, of course. I myself have an entire folder of pictures of my godson on my phone and laptop. My current lock screen photo was of Louis and I on either side of Hunter, kissing his cheeks, with Harry and Hailee's orange kitten, Ed, resting on his lap. Hunter was absolutely obsessed with the four month old pussy cat. Harry claimed it was genetic, seeing as both of his parents were very much cat people, as well.
I'd just point out how infatuated he was with Louis and I's puppy, Hana. He loved running around the backyard with the small black dog every time he came over.
"What in the world do you have in here?" I ask as Louis hands off one of the cardboard boxes he has stacked in his arms, kicking the front door shut with his foot.
"You'll see." He smirks and leads me back into the kitchen. I set the box alongside his on the counter and move to get a knife to cut the tape.
"Hey! No opening it yet!" Louis scolds and blocks me from the boxes.
"What? Why?"
"Wait until everyone gets here to open your birthday present." He smirks. I smile.
"So that's what those are?"
"What else would they be? It's your birthday," he laughs.
"I don't know! You're a weird person! I've learned to expect the unexpected!" I laugh along with him.
"Zayn, Niall, and Liam are almost here, and once they get here you can open all of your gifts!"
"I told everyone not to get me anything," I groan.
"Well tough shit, you're getting them."
"Hey!" Harry cries, covering Hunter's ears. "This is a child appropriate environment." Louis shrugs it off with a laugh before the sound of the doorbell resonates through the house.
"I got it!" Hails says, leaving to open the door for the boys.
Gen, Annie, and Katie were supposed to fly in to celebrate today, but ever since Gen and Annie's book that they wrote together got published, they've been extremely busy. I mean, they were only eighteen, and already published successful authors. It was an impressive accomplishment that was almost unheard of, but the demand for them took up a lot of their time. And any of their free time went to writing their next book. They're weird and obnoxious, but it worked for them and I kind of missed it.
As for Katie, she told me the other day that she got the part she wanted in a new sitcom set to air next year. She had been wanting to get into acting since her second year in modeling. She still models, but after four years, she was dying to get into something more; challenge herself with something new.
Still, I was incredibly happy that they all got so successful so young. Guess it runs in the family.
"Can you give me a hint?" I smirk teasingly, wrapping my arms around his waist.
"Nope." He smiles, knowing exactly what I'm trying to do.
"Please?" I beg, trailing my hands to thread through his hair.
"Never." I pout but he leans forward to kiss me sweetly. I give in happily and kiss him back, still keeping it light and gentle.
Harry groans and we break away to see him rolling his eyes and begrudgingly covering Hunter's own view.
"What is it now, mate?" Liam laughs and walks into the kitchen, Zayn, Niall, and Hailee following.
"These two don't seem to grasp the idea of being appropriate in front of the innocent eyes of my son."
"Oh, please. Innocent isn't a possibility with you as a father," I laugh.
"Sorry, mate. No point in denying it," Louis agrees, still holding me close.
"Whatever," he mutters and turns Hunter around on his lap so he's resting his head on Harry's chest.
"So everyone's here. Can I open my present now?" I ask, hopeful. I know I said I didn't want the boys to get me presents and I stand by that, but when Louis brings in two big brown boxes I am going to get curious.
"Of course. Just open the one on the right first."
"Yes!" I squeal, more girly than I would have liked.
I retrieve the knife once again and move to the two boxes. I can see the boys exchanging looks from the corner of my eye, which makes me feel all the more lost. I finally pull the top open of the first box and rid of the bubble wrap layer covering it.
Quickly diving in to explore the contents, I pull out a binder filled with maybe hundreds of different fabric and color swatches. While normally I would find this immensely cool and thoughtful, given my job and all, I know Louis well enough to know there's more to it than a simple material gift, judging by his suspicious actions and smug expression. Furrowing my brow and shooting Louis a confused look, I set the binder down and continue going through the box. Next is a box of decorative ribbons and various colored thread spools. At the bottom is a new sketchbook, a large packet of colored drawing pencils, and a set of professional measuring tools. The only thing left in the cardboard box is a sealed manila envelope, the words 'Avery Williams' written in bold across the center.
Tentatively, I pick it up and begin opening the seal. I pull out the decently thick packet of paper and skim over the top page. It's a contract.
"Lou, what is this?" I ask, thoroughly confused at this point. He grins.
"A few weeks ago I spoke to Caroline," he begins. "We had discussed the idea briefly a few times before she left, but with her new job, the opportunity was made even more possible. Given her stature and connections in the field, and her new position working in design, we figured there was no better time. Plus, you could work on it on the road and around your own schedule, doing it whenever you find time and energy, taking your time and doing it how you want to do it. She can pull the right strings to give you an open deadline with the same benefits and promotions, so you'll have plenty of time to work out every little detail until they are all perfect, knowing how much you love that."
I shake my head, not grasping what he's talking about.
"I don't get it. What am I doing?"
He smiles with warm eyes and walks closer to me, putting both of his hands firmly on my hips and looking me dead in the eye.
"You always said you'd love to be able to design your own line, one day."
Well shit. After a moment of shock, I let my jaw fly open and feel my eyes go wide, piecing together all the gifts and paperwork.
I was getting to design my own fashion line.
"Are you shitting me?" I gawk.
"Come on guys! I get it's a big moment but there is a child here!" Harry complains. Hailee just smacks his head and draws her attention back to us.
"It's both of your dream jobs rolled into one," he says, beaming.
"I love you so much," I mumble before crashing my lips against his. We're both smiling too much to get very into it, but that doesn't seem to matter to us.
"There's another box," he giggles as we pull away. I cock my head to the side and bite my lip in confusion. His smile hasn't left his face since the moment he walked through the door, hands full of the boxes. "Just open it."
Warily, I turn and move to open the second box. Severing the tape easily, I open the top just as the other.
This box is a lot less full, bubble wrap filling most of the space. I remove all the plastic poppers.
Once cleared, the first thing I see is a thick magazine. Its cover; a portrait of a woman smiling, a white veil cascading down behind her. Not giving myself time to process, I numbly move to the next object: a hand written letter. Too stunned to thoroughly comprehend it, I gather that it's from my dad. He's going on about how good Louis is for me and how he couldn't be happier than to give us his approval. The last thing in the box is an unopened package of pregnancy tests.
Before I can say a word, I feel Louis' arms wrap around me from behind. One of his hands comes up in front of my face, holding a small, red velvet box. He uses his thumb to pop it open, revealing a yellow-gold diamond ring. My breath catches in my throat as I take in the shine of the flawlessly cut jewel.
Louis rests his head on my shoulder lovingly to whisper in my ear, "I know you always wanted to wait until you were twenty-eight to get married and have children. I figure two years gives us enough time to plan a wedding and set up a nice little nursery."
Tears prickle behind my eyes, not believing all that just happened. I turn around to face him in his arms. He's smiling gently at me and I can't believe how perfect he is.
"What do you say? You wanna do this?"
I laugh through the happy tears streaming down my face and nod frantically, not able to find my voice to tell him how much I want this life with him.
He laughs and pulls me in for another kiss, pressing his lips hard against mine. I chuckle and cry through the kiss, my emotions running too high for me to handle without letting some of it out.
"So I'm guessing you say yes?" he laughs, leaning his forehead against mine. I chuckle again, too overcome with happiness to do much else.
"Yeah. I do."
Hooting and howling comes from all around the room. I laugh and take in the moment of what just happened. Louis pulls back for a moment to slip the ring on my finger before pulling me back in, wrapping his arms around my waist to pick me up and spinning me around. I wrap my arms around his neck, nuzzling my face in the crook. I close my eyes and acknowledge the smile relaxing against my lips, enjoying the feeling of it becoming comfortable on my face and letting me know... it will be there for a while.