A Storm Is Brewing

More Than Family

"Bet you can't do it!" Liv shouted as Leah took her third attempt at this game.

Leah took a sharp breath in, dramatically raising her shoulders and winking in the direction of Liv before she tried again. She was calling this her third attempt; we won't mention that she had previously had six attempts before we gave up and moved to another stall. Liv had been obsessed with this bear from the moment she laid eyes on it. The stall owner had offered to give it to her anyway, but Leah was determined to give the youngster the memory of it being won for her, probably driven by the screams and excitement of Liv every time Leah got close to winning.

"Ready?" The stall owner asked.
"She's ready!" Liv shouted, jumping up and down on the spot.

Within ten seconds, Leah practically had a sweat on; her eyes were fixed on the target as she took her last dart into her hand and took another deep breath.

"You did it! You did it! She did it! Auntie Sophie, she did it!" Liv screamed, attracting the attention of others walking by us.

Liv hugged Leah's side, her face nuzzling into her stomach, as the stall owner stood up on a ladder to get the excessively large teddy bear. He set it on the counter, and Liv chuckled as she realised it was the same size as her. I picked it up, wrapping its arms around my shoulders and letting it hang over my back, prompting Liv to ask Leah if she could do the same with her.

"Liv, Leah's still recovering, mate." I said quietly.
"Oh yeah, sorry!"
"No, I'm sorry. I wish I could." Leah sighed.

Liv clearly noticed the disappointment on Leah's face at not being able to carry out the request, knowing how Leah would usually do anything for her. She carefully placed her hand into Leah's, smiling up at her with a loving gaze, before uttering the words that brought the smile straight back onto Leah's face.

"I can just hold your hand instead, like the time we went to the park when you were our visitor for Christmas." Liv said affectionately.
"That sounds good to me. Candy floss before we go?" Leah smiled.

Watching Leah and Liv felt like no other feeling. I had often wondered if the person I ended up with would understand my closeness to Liv. Without knowing it, Liv had gotten me through some of the darkest times in my life, and I had been there for her when things weren't good between Rhys and her mum. It was important to me that Liv was comfortable around anyone that I was with and that they gave her the place in my life that I did. That fact had caused multiple arguments between myself and Hannah. Hannah felt that I needed to stop taking responsibility for Rhys' child in the way that I did, and she felt that Rhys needed to learn to stand on his own two feet. I suppose, in a way, that was true; back then, Rhys was a bit of a liability, but if only Hannah had taken the time to get to know him in the way that Leah had, she would've known that deep down he was soft; he was upset that he didn't have the perfect family unit with Liv and her mum; he hated that she had to adapt to that level of difference from the other kids in her class. Sometimes I wonder if that's why I felt how I felt about children—if I feared that I would end up like Rhys, only seeing my child at the weekends—but seeing him now, cherishing those moments instead of wishing they were different, makes me realise that things don't have to conform to stereotypes to be perfect.

It wasn't long until we were sitting in the stands of Meadow Park, only this time with Leah beside us instead of waiting for her to walk onto the pitch. Swarms of fans gathered around her, all hoping to receive autographs, pictures, and video messages for their friends. Liv watched on, her mouth opening wide as she took in just how well-known her auntie Leah was. I cuddled Liv into my side, wanting to face in the opposite direction so she wouldn't accidentally be shared thousands of times on social media. It wasn't Rhys I was worried about, it was Liv's mum; it wasn't unfair to say that any opportunity she got to brand Rhys a bad father was music to her ears, and Liv plastered all over social media was certainly going to play into her hands. I also knew that Liv was coming to the age of seeing things on the internet, and the last thing I wanted was for her to see a comment from a troll under a picture of herself. Kids don't realise that, though; they wanted to be the first to get a picture of Leah's fiancé's niece.