He Came Back

10: Louis

It had been about two weeks since my last visit with Maryn. Harry told me that Maryn asked if she had to see me again, which I'll admit broke my heart. I know she's upset. She has every right to be. I want to tell her so bad that what I did was the worst thing I've ever done and how sorry I am. I've tried telling her that so many times before, but she doesn't believe me. I don't blame her either.

"Give it some time, Louis." Charlie says. Charlie is one of my best friends. She was a pro female footie player before she broke her leg a few years back. Now she helps manage mine and Niall's team. "I remember when my dad came back, I wanted nothing to do with him. Just... don't do what my dad did and leave again." She tells me.

Holy shit. I totally forgot about her dad. Charlie and Maryn are very similar, actually. Charlie's dad left when she was barely a year old. Once Charlie started gaining fame for her football skills in high school, her father came back.

"I just had a crazy idea. What if next time I saw Maryn, you came? Maybe if she heard your story, if it's okay with you, she'll understand what I'm trying to do!" I say.

Charlie looks at me like I'm insane.

"What? It's not that bad of an idea, if you think about it." I say.

"Louis, I don't think I could do that. I'm not great with kids." She replies.

It's my turn to look at her as if she's insane. She's amazing with kids! During those meet and greets with some of our younger fans, she's always entertaining them. I tell her this, too. "Lou, that's my job. I don't like being around kids unless I have to."

"You owe me! I'm the one who got you and Niall together, remember?" I remind her.

When Charlie first joined the management team for work, Niall had the biggest crush on her. Charlie, she did too but she was really shy. This is where I came in. I gained Charlie's friendship almost instantly. She told me all about her crush on Niall. So I finally told her how he felt. They've been together ever since, and the rest is history.

"I don't owe you for that! If anything, you owe me for all the times you've skipped on practice and I bailed you out!" She says.

"I still had to pay a fine for skipping, Charlie. Please, if you do this one thing for me, I won't ever ask for anything ever again." I beg.

"Okay, fine! If it goes terrible, don't get mad at me. I told you I'm bad with kids." Charlie says.

I roll my eyes. She's not bad with kids. She says that because she never really had a childhood. After her dad left, her mum passed away. With no other relatives, she bounced from foster home to foster home. Unfortunately, she aged out of the system, so she had to grow up kind of fast. She had a rough time growing up, but you wouldn't tell by the amazing adult she became.

I text Harry, asking him if next time I see Maryn, I could bring a friend. He wanted to meet her before Maryn did, which Charlie agrees to. We set up a time and day, and that's the end of the conversation.

I really hope my plan works. I want Maryn to know I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. I just hope she doesn't lash out at me for somewhat ambushing her.

"Before you meet her, I have to warn you. She has the tendency to sass everyone. It's not just me, she's sassy towards Harry, too."

"Ok, so we know she's your child. Awesome." She laughs.

Hey, I tried to warn her.