Chapter 10 ~ Liam

And there she is, apologising again for something that has nothing to do with her. These are the consequences of the life we chose, it has nothing to do with her, but she feels sorry that it’s hard for us, she sees that side of our lives that others fail to see. It surprises me how thoughtful she is even when she barely knows us. It is the thing that caught my attention the day we met and it keeps fascinating me. I can’t get over the fact that without even knowing us she can know so much already, she can see those things that we try to hide from the rest.

But now she’s hiding something.

This time, I can see there’s something wrong and she’s not happy. Even though she says she’s fine, her eyes don’t shine like before, like the other days we’ve seen each other. She looks at Lizzie and her smile is honest, but her eyes still look sad and I wish she could trust me to tell me what is wrong. I want her to be as open as the day she told me about her father and how she couldn’t forgive him. I want her to trust me like that again. I don’t like seeing her like that, I like her smile, because it’s honest and kind and it’s sad that she can’t smile like she normally does. I want to know what is bothering her, and during the ride to the zoo, it is all that I have in mind.

We finally get to the zoo, and Darcy looks even sadder now, and that pains me as well. I want to do something to make her smile again, I want to see her eyes shining like I’ve seen them before. I really want to know what is wrong with her.

Lizzie knows her sister is not happy because she looks at her and I know they are communicating without words. Darcy just smiles, the little dimples in her cheeks showing off and Lizzie grabs her hand like encouraging her.

“Hey, Lizzie. Wanna see the giraffes? Niall asked me to get him a stuffed animal of a giraffe. Will you help me find one?” Harry asks Lizzie, taking her other hand and just then the eye contact between the two sisters is broken.

Lizzie smiles widely and looks at Darcy completely different this time. Now she’s asking for permission. “Can I?” She asks in a high voice and Darcy chuckles.

“Have fun. Harry, don’t make her run too much, and I’ll be nearby in case something happens, okay?” Darcy replies and Harry salutes her which makes both of the girls laugh.

“Liam, take care of Darcy, okay?” Lizzie asks me very seriously, and I take a glimpse of the older girl. She’s blushing.

“Will do, Lizzie. Do not worry,” I tell her ,kneeling so we are eye-to-eye.

Lizzie hugs me, letting go of Harry’s hand, and I hug her back. I’m about to let her go when she whispers something in my ear. “Carter told me that Darcy doesn’t like zoos. Please, make her smile.”

She breaks the embrace and looks me in the eyes. I’m impressed and how concerned she sounds and I realise that their relationship is strong, really strong. Both of them care deeply about the other and that is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.

“Will do,” I whisper, and she smiles before taking Harry’s hand again. I rise to my feet and Harry is looking at me, I just nod to let him know everything is fine. Like that, they turn around and walk ahead to see the giraffes with Paul closely behind. “She’s very special,” I comment, looking at Darcy whose eyes keep following her little sister.

“I love her more than anything,” she confesses, and that doesn’t surprise me. It’s evident.

“Lizzie is very lucky to have you,” I add, and this time her eyes meet mine. I want to be closer, I want to take her hand and cup her face whilst looking into her eyes. I want to hold her close because I can see so powerful emotions in her eyes and something tells me she really needs a hug.

“I’m lucky to have her. I’d do anything for her,” Darcy replies and I stay silent for a few seconds, just looking her in the eyes.

“Like coming to the zoo even if you don’t like it?” I inquire, and her eyes widen in surprise. She even steps back. “You look even sadder when we got here and I assume it’s because you don’t want to be here. I hope it’s because of the zoo and not the fact that you have to spend time with me.”

“Oh no, I swear it’s not you! I really enjoy being around you,” she hurries to confess and her cheeks burn bright. I can’t help smiling like I’ve just won something really important. “I don’t like zoos, that’s true. I think it’s cruel to have animals trapped here for the amusement of some people. They don’t deserve that, they deserve to be free. It breaks my heart to see them in cages, no matter how big and natural they look. They are still trapped. The first time I went to a zoo, I ended up crying. Since then, I haven’t visited one again,” she explains and I look at her, impressed.

What she says it’s true. But I never stopped to think of that. I always enjoyed coming to the zoo, watching all those exotic animals. I had fun and that’s all I cared about when I was a kid. But Darcy thought of the animals, their pain and she felt it as well.

“I guess you are right,” I agree. “I’m sorry, you should’ve told me that you don’t like zoos. We could’ve gone somewhere else,” I carry on and she shakes her head.

“Lizzie has never come to a zoo, she always wanted to, and even if I don’t like zoos, she has the right to have her own opinion about them. I can’t keep her away from that because of what I believe,” Darcy says and I look at her feeling, somehow, proud of her. She’s so selfless, not even caring of her own pain just to give her sister an opportunity.

“That’s really noble of you. We can go somewhere else if you don’t want to see the animals. Harry will take care of Lizzie with his life, I can tell you that. He’s excellent with kids, Lou –our stylist– really trusts him to look after Lux, her daughter. Harry is her godfather,” I tell her to put her at ease in that aspect.

She looks uncertain about it, so I take her hand and squeeze it gently. She looks at me immediately, surprise written all over her features. “Trust me, Harry will keep her safe,” I add and we stay there in silence for a few seconds, just looking at each other.

“Okay,” she finally agrees and I smile.

I’m happy she trusted me to tell me why she doesn’t like zoos and that she trusts me enough to believe what I’m telling her. I know Lizzie is the most important thing in her life and that she is letting Harry look after her because I told her he’ll keep her safe… that means a lot.

Without letting go of her hand, I lead her to a little shop where we can have some coffee. I smile at her when we are in front of the barista and her cheeks are red but, she looks so cute I feel my chest tightening at the sight of her. She’s so lovely and natural. Anyone could think she’s plain, but if you really look at her you can see other things, like the kindness in her eyes, the honesty in her smile, the cuteness in her dimples. She’s beautiful in her own and lovely way.

Is it crazy that every time I see her again I find her even more beautiful?

I’m so comfortable like this that I don’t notice I’m still holding her hand. It just fits so perfectly in mine, the ways her skin feels against mine is like it’s meant to be, like her little and feminine hands belongs there in mine. She doesn’t feel that comfortable though, I can see it by the way her cheeks burn and how she keeps looking at our hands tangled together, but she doesn’t do anything to set her hand free from mine. On the contrary, her fingers wrap around my hand just like mine do to her’s.

“What do you want?” I ask her and she looks at me, her cheeks still adorably rosy.

“Tea is fine for me,” she replies in a sweet voice and turns to look at the barista.

“Two teas and some cookies,” I tell her, and the girl, probably a twenty-five-year-old girl, is smiling at us.

“No problem,” she says  as she writes down what I asked for. “By the way, you two look so adorable together,” she adds and Darcy makes a weird nose, her cheeks even redder.

I smile at the barista and gently squeeze Darcy’s hand. Maybe if I ask her out again this time she will accept. Maybe she just needs to know me a bit better.

Then I remember what Lizzie told us, that Darcy doesn’t want a boyfriend and said she doesn’t have time for a relationship. Could I change her mind about that? Maybe I have to wait a bit more to know whether she feels the same way towards me before asking her out again.

“Thanks,” I tell the barista and she keeps smiling.

“Go and have a seat. I’ll bring your order in a little while,” she replies and I nod, leading Darcy to a spot in the shop with two small couches around a coffee table.

The shop is nice and cosy, zoo related decoration, and there are just a few people in there. Greg is one of them, close in case we need him but giving us the space to have a private conversation. I finally let go of Darcy’s hand and I look at her, she’s still blushing and avoiding my gaze.

“You okay? Are you still worried for Lizzie?” I ask her and she shakes her head.

“I trust you, I know she’ll be fine with Harry,” she answers but she still is incapable of looking me in the eyes.

“Then what’s wrong?” I insist and her cheeks turn redder.

“Nothing. I’m just being silly, don’t mind me. So, tell me about your week,” she asks me to change the subject. I let her, because I don’t want to make her feel more uncomfortable.

We start talking about the things we did during the week and she seems really interested. She asks me a lot of things related to how we work and the people that are with us. She asks me about my relationship with the boys and how we manage to keep our feet on the ground. She also tells me about her, though she is a bit reluctant at the beginning, telling me that her life is really boring in comparison with mine, but I’m still interested in knowing more about her. I even ask her about Carter.

“Carter is my best friend and he works at the music shop we met in. That’s why we could get there; he helped us. We’ve known eachother since we were little kids as we are neighbours, though we never were classmates. He’s older. Lizzie and Mum adore him, he’s like part of the family. I know Lizzie sees him as an older brother,” Darcy tells me and I can’t help a wave of jealousy to run through my body. I don’t know him and even though he sounds like a really good guy, he’s so close to Darcy. I know her mum wants them to get together, so I feel threatened with his presence in her life.

She also tells me about her mum and this time I ask her to explain me what a geologist does. She laughs and I blush, but she tells me that it’s okay. Most of the people don’t know what a geologist is and she’s used to explain that.

Like that, we spend a lot of time talking about our lives and getting to know each other more deeply. The tea and cookies are great and we even have to ask for another teapot, as we drank the first already. We are really into our conversation, having a great time by when Harry and Lizzie walk into the shop.

Lizzie is crying.

The little girl run towards Darcy and throws her arms around her big sister. I look at Harry worried and so does Darcy, but even Harry looks sad.

What the hell?

“Darcy, please promise me we’ll never come back to a zoo. Please!” Lizzie begs, still crying. Darcy is hugging her tight. “It’s terrible! All the animals are so sad, the don’t look like in the telly!” The little girl trails off. I look at Harry and I see he’s as equally affected as Lizzie. This time, due to the little girl, he saw the cruelty of the zoos.

“Oh, Lizzie!” Darcy says hugging her even tighter. “It’s okay. I have you, we’ll never come back to a zoo,” she assures her little sister and in a moment she looks at me.

“I’m sorry,” I apologise and she smiles shaking her head.

“Not your fault,” she mouths. “She needed this experience,” she adds and I nod, but I can’t take my eyes off of them. Both sisters have such a big heart and are so compassionate. They are incredible. And I feel so bad Lizzie is crying.

-:-:-:-

The ship name for Liam and Darcy is Larcy. That was the most voted option.

Dedication goes to @snapbacknialler because yesterday was her birthday. Hope you had a lovely day.

Bel, xx