ALWAYS

I stared at the little girl in Louis' arms curiously. She obviously knew him well, loved him. She clung to him like she'd done it everyday of her life. She smiled at him and giggled as Louis brushed her hair behind her ears.
Louis smiled, "Where's Mummy?" The little girl smiled and shrugged. Louis rolled his eyes like he was annoyed. "You know you're not supposed to leave your mother's side at these things." The little girl kept smiling, then she looked at me. She reached for me. I was uncomfortable but at the same time it felt...right. Louis turned a bit, seeing it was me she wanted. She made a whining sound. Louis lifted his eyebrow at me, "Would you?" I took her nervously. Her smile returned as I held her against me. My arms folded under her rear, keeping her legs against my abs. The little girl rested her hands on my face and looked into my eyes. I gazed right back into hers. They were green and I felt like I had seen them before but differently. I noticed her smile was dimpled. It made my heart feel lighter. I pushed her small curls away from her face. Why was this child so familiar to me? I felt like I had known her all her life.
"What's your name?" I asked her quietly., admiring her angelic face.
"Darcy." She giggled. Her laugh was amazing, like the angel's bells.
"That's one of my favorite names." I murmured to her.
"My daddy's too." She beamed. I couldn't help but smile at the pride she spoke with. She touched my chest, "You? Who are you?"
"Harry." I answered plainly.
She smiled, "Harry." I nodded and continued to stare at her sweet, innocent face. There was a feeling inside me that I couldn't explain as I held the little girl in my arms.
"DARCY ANNE!" That voice. I knew that voice like I knew my mother's. My heart stopped as I looked into the little girls eyes. It was her daughter. This little girl was hers. A life she had carried. I couldn't bear to turn my eyes when I heard her voice again. "Darcy, how many times have I told you not to run away in these places?" Just then I heard a small gasp come from her lips. I finally turned my eyes away from the dark haired girl in my arms. There she was, blue eyes filled with shock and fear, trembling lips that I still wanted to caress. She quickly shook off her emotions then looked at Louis, "I'm glad she was just running to find you." She kissed his cheek softly before he hugged her. I felt a rage build in my heart. My best friend; how could he know about this? How could he know what she's doing? How long has he been speaking to her? "Hi Ni." She leaned over and kissed his cheek as well.
"This is amazing, Enola." Niall praised her. I grew angry with Niall as well.
"It truly is. I've been wondering when you'd use all of this stuff." Louis smiled putting his arm over her shoulder. He gently rubbed her arm to comfort her. I used to do that. That was my thing to do to soothe her. Why was he doing it?
"Thanks guys." She smiled warmly. She flicked her eyes over to me with nervousness again. It felt like she was eyeing me like I was a test subject. She seemed to be measuring every reaction I had.
"Hi. I'm Brynn!" Brynn stuck her hand out to Enola quickly.
Enola chuckled, "Hi. Enola Grace. You're Niall's girlfriend?" Brynn nodded with a proud smile. "I've heard a lot of good things about you. I'm happy to finally meet you." Her manners were still impeccable. Enola turned to Sophia, "Hey Soph." They kissed each other on the cheek. "Liam." She greeted him the way she always had. He kissed her cheek and she hugged him gently. Finally her eyes landed on Darcy and I. "Hi Harry." She exhaled with a smile.
"Hello." I choked out. I couldn't breathe having her smile directed at me once again. Even though she was just being polite, it made that fire start within my heart again. Her icy blue eyes staring into mine with a nervous happiness.
"And I see you've all met my trouble maker." Enola smiled at Darcy. "Come on you, you're supposed to be with Nana." Enola spoke gently to her daughter, holding her arms out to the toddler.
"But Mommy!" Darcy whined wrapping her arms around my neck, holding me tightly.
"Nope. Nana has a snack for you. You need to be with Nana." Enola stated firmly.
Darcy clapped her hands, "Snack!"
"Yes, a snack. Nana and Papa have grapes and cheese for you." Enola grinned at her daughter. Darcy bounced up and down in my arms with excitement. I laughed loudly creating a giggle in the little girl and startling all of my friends. "Come on. Let's go, little miss." Enola held her arms out to the sweetheart in my arms. Darcy shook her head. "I thought you wanted a snack?"
"Wanna stay with Harry." Darcy murmured with a bit of disappointment.
Enola frowned, "Honey, Harry can't go back by Nana and Papa. It's not allowed."
"Go with your mother. I will see you after you have your snack." I murmured to Darcy.
Darcy gazed at me sadly, "You promise?"
I nodded with a smile, "I promise. Go with Mummy." I carefully shifted her into Enola's arms. I tried my hardest not to let my hands touch Enola's. I wasn't sure of what would happen if I felt her skin on mine.
Enola's eyes still held fear and nervousness, "Thanks. I'll come back once she's with my parents." Enola kissed Louis' cheek once again before walking away.
"I like Harry, mommy." Darcy smiled at Enola. Her excitement was genuine but I could see in Enola's face that she was intensely distraught.
"I know, sweetie. Harry's very nice." Enola sounded quite uncomfortable. Once they were out of ear shot, I turned fiery eyes to the boys and Sophia. Sophia and Liam were instantly scared. Niall gripped Brynn a bit tighter and Louis just stared into my eyes.
"What the fuck?" I asked grinding my teeth. I was seething with anger now that the girls had left our small circle.
"She asked me not to tell you. She wanted you to be surprised that it was her stuff when you got here. You were always her biggest supporter." Louis stated quietly. He didn't want to cause a scene.
"Not this. I always knew she'd make it into a major gallery. I'm talking about you, and Niall and even you two." I pointed at Liam and Sophia, "You're still friends with her?" I nearly screamed.
Sophia touched my arm, "Harry, lower your voice. Everyone can hear you."
I pulled my arm away quickly, "No. Not until I get an honest answer." I turned to Louis and Niall with mean eyes, "You saw how us breaking up effected me. You knew I was dying to see her, to hear her voice and you never told me that you knew what she was doing. You never bothered to mention that she was pregnant?" I shouted. "This is absolutely fucking ridiculous!" Angry tears burned within my eyes.
"Harry, close your mouth. This is not the time nor is it the place. We'll talk about it later." Louis growled. Then I saw blonde hair moving our way again. I pulled back from the group and folded my arms over my chest. I was seeing red. How could they do this to me? Enola returned to Louis' side with a weak smile.
"Sorry. She's a bit hyper tonight. My dad and mom put her down for a nap a little later than normal." Enola seemed a bit embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed red and her breathing a bit off. I thought back to the time when I would make her look that way.
Brynn giggled, "No, she's incredibly cute. I'd like to actually meet her when she comes back out."
Enola laughed, "I'm sure she'd love that. She loves meeting new people." Louis put his arm around Enola making my blood boil again. My girl. He was touching my girl. I scolded myself quickly: she's not your girl anymore.
"She sure did seem taken with Harry." Brynn smiled brightly at me. I shrugged when everyone looked at me.
"I've always been good with Lux and Freddie." I mumbled. The boys and Sophia all agreed.
Brynn turned her eyes to Enola, "She's just so cute. How old is she?"
"Almost four." Enola grinned a bit more. Louis dropped his head a bit.
"She seems so intelligent for a three year old. And she speaks very well." Brynn complimented.
Enola's eyes lit up, "Thank you. My parents and I try. But she picks things up very easily." She was absolutely grateful for the praise her daughter was getting.
"She has a bit off an accent." Liam observed, laughing a bit.
Enola giggled, "Yeah, since we've been living here I've noticed that she's picking it up." My jaw fell to the floor. They were living in London? How long had they been here? "And all the time that she spends with my dad and brothers."
"Let her hang around us more. She'll have a full blown one." Liam joked. Enola shook her head and tried not to laugh. I couldn't help but stare at her as she and the boys continued to talk. The way she moved and the way she spoke hadn't changed. She still moved gracefully and with a kind of elegance that I had never seen in another woman in my life. But I noticed that her smile had changed, the light didn't reach her eyes like it used to, only when her daughter was mentioned did it do so.
"So how have you been doing?" Sophia asked.
Enola shrugged, "We're doing okay. I mean, being a mom and trying to work isn't the easiest but with a child like Darcy, I don't think life could ever be easy."
Brynn looked concerned, "Is there something wrong with her?" She was Enola's daughter. What could possibly be wrong with her? Her mother was the epitome of perfection.
Enola shook her head furiously, "No, absolutely not. She's just a very...inquisitive child. She can't handle answers that aren't straight forward."
"What does she ask about?" Sophia seemed a bit upset, like she was worried for Enola. What could a three year old possibly say to harm Enola?
Enola chuckled, "Everything from why water is wet to where her dad is." I sighed and walked away from the group. I didn't want to hear about Darcy's attatchement to her father, to Enola's husband. I couldn't hear it. I walked over to the hospitality area and asked for another beer.

Notes