*somethings gotta change,

[piper harrison]

The park in Manhattan beach was almost as gorgeous as the beach itself. The pathways were lined with age old trees and open green fields stretched off in every direction. There was a play area in the centre and right now, the ground was littered with fallen leaves, leaving the trees bare and skeletal looking. It wasn't the warmest of days but Piper had wanted to get out and about. She'd had a terrible night, a headache and the baby keeping her awake and then this morning she'd been violently sick repeatedly. She was completely worn out but she knew the fresh air would do her good and would hopefully help her to sleep and make her feel better. She loved to be outdoors, in pretty much any weather except rain. The puddles were always fun to jump in but she hated being wet. It made her uncomfortable. Not so much in the shower but just rain in general. It was miserable weather and she feeling miserable.

She wore a long black coat, unbuttoned to reveal a plain white tee with D & G scrawled across it in silver gems. Her pregnant stomach protruded from her normally slim body, making the tee slightly short. She wasn’t huge, not yet anyway but recently, within the last month or so, she’d noticed a drastic change to her stomach. She hadn’t really showed until about three months which was good since she didn’t want her parents to know but her bump had grown a lot in the last month. Luckily, she hadn’t been graced with a visit from either of her parents in the last four weeks and they hadn’t invited her to see them either so they were still none the wiser even though she knew she was going to have to tell them soon. But just knowing how disappointed they were going to be just put her off every time she thought about it. Laura, her sister knew and she’d been pretty pissed off when she found out and Summer and Taylor knew too, but both of them had been pretty happy. She’d made them swear to secrecy but thinking about it, it could be better if one of them maybe let it slip accidentally.

Despite what other people thought, she was fairly happy that she was pregnant. Yes, she was terrified about being a single parent but she knew she’d make a brilliant mom. She did love kids, and knew it would be completely different with her own but she’d already started preparing the nursery for the baby, got a few clothes, asked a friend to paint it white and yellow, started looking at some furniture but it wasn’t going to be easy. She wasn’t exactly loaded, she got what she earned from her part time job at a restaurant and she earned some money at university by helping out at a magazine journalist thing. Laura was sending her some money to help her get by since she didn’t exactly need it now she was working at some prestigious modelling company and was living with her millionaire boyfriend who paid for more or less everything.

Looking around, there were loads of kids around, mainly toddlers since it was a Monday afternoon and most other children were in school. Except the ones who threw it all away and sat around trading their education for an afternoon in a cold park smoking weed and drinking beer. What a waste of time. Her child would never grow up to be like that. She’d experimented with all that when she was younger and she would never blame a kid for trying it out but that was as far as it would go with any of her children. Just a little experiment and then they’d know and would know never to do it again.

Feeling a tug on her coat, she looked down to see a watery eyed little girl looking up at her, rubbing her one eye with her fist as she cried. ”Oh, what’s wrong sweetheart?” She said, bending down to the child’s height, a hand on her stomach as she got a slight twinge. ”I’ve lost my daddy.” The girl cried, her bottom lip quivering. Piper stood back up again, this time getting a pretty violent twinge as if the baby was telling her to stop juggling it around so much. She bit her lip, looking around for anyone who seemed to be looking for a child. Not seeing one, she took her hand and lead her towards a bench, sitting the girl on her lap and comforting her, rubbing her back gently through her coat. ”Daddy’s probably looking for you right now, he’ll be here in a minute.” She soothed, fixing the child’s coat properly to keep her warm. She still couldn’t see anyone who looked like they were in a panic over anything so she figured she’d just sit here with her a little while longer incase someone came looking for her.


{Mehh sorry that was pretty crappy I didn’t really have any thread starting ideas =P hopefully they’ll get a little longer once we get going!}

[chris abely]

chris

Daddy, stop! The toddler squealed, squirming and thrashing every which way. Make me, Chris replied, grinning. He put his hands against her stomach and started tickling her again. Once again the screeching and squirming started up. He laughed and picked her up off of the grass where they had been sitting on. Holding her in one arm, he bent down to pick up the juice bottle that she had been drinking. Tucking it in the pocket of his faded Levi's, he brushed off his pants with his free hand. Emma had gotten bored, and yanked a fistful of his hair. Chris firmly but carefully removed her tiny hand. Come on baby, lets go. He said, kissing her head softly before he began making his way down the hill. Chris had on a comfy flannel jacket and a black tee shirt. His daughter had on a pair of pink pants and a white wool sweater to keep her warm. She was in an especially good mood today, which was good for Chris. Often times, she'd start screaming and crying. Today she hadn't. Yet. They day was still young...

Ten minutes later, Chris's cell phone rang. Hold on Emma, I'll be right back. Don't move. He said, bending down to her level for a moment before kissing her lightly on the forehead. In return, she placed a sloppy kiss on his cheek. He smiled and stood up, opening the phone and walking a few feet away. But he couldn't find signal... So he had to walk even further away than intended. Hello? He spoke into the phone, shifting from foot to foot. It was Child Services... Biting his lip, he sighed. This week? 'Bout 550. Yeah, she's fine. I got her some new clothes the other day... Chris said, running his hand through his hair.

Meanwhile, the toddler had other plans than staying anywhere. As soon as he turned around, she hopped off the swing she had been perched on and started running down the hill again. About ten minutes later, she couldn't find her father. Seeing a woman sitting on a bench, she went over to her and tugged on her coat. I’ve lost my daddy. She whimpered. She let the woman fix her coat, and nodded. Just like the girl had said, Chris was there in a few minutes. Emma! He called, eyes swimming with worry.

Bending down to his daughter's height, he frowned. Emma, I told you to stay put. He said, but saw her lip tremble, and sighed. Picking the child up, he looked at Piper for the first time. I'm sorry... I'm Chris, and this is Emma.

[OH MY LORDY IT SUCKS.]

[piper harrison]

She sat with the little girl for about 10 minutes, learning that her name was Emma and that her daddy was well, just daddy. She helped to comfort her and she got a few weird looks for sitting with a girl on her knee who was crying for her daddy. Eventually she stopped crying and just sat cuddling into Piper. At first it weirded her out a little but after a while she kind of got used to it and it all felt very natural. Her maternal instincts were kicking in and she realised that talking to the child would keep her calm. So they talked about dolls and babies and favourite colours and books. By the end of it, she knew a lot about Emma, and then what she figured was her father came over, looking completely guilt ridden. She smiled as Emma jumped back into her daddy's arms and she stood up as he introduced himself. "Really, its fine." She said, dismissing his apology and tugging the bottom of her shirt over her bump.

"I'm Piper. Nice to meet you Chris. She's really gorgeous. We had a very cosy chat didn't we?" She said with a grin, running her finger over Emma's cheek and then taking hold of her hand in a friendly sort of way and shaking it gently. Emma was such a cute child. She could only hope her baby, boy or girl would be that sweet and polite. She hoped maybe it would know better than to wonder off from her but hey, kids were inquisitive, it was a known thing. They loved to explore and she knew that when she was little, she loved to push her parents buttons, see how far she could go without them flipping their lids at her. Sure, it got you angry but it was all just a part of the growing up thing. If it didn't experiment and explore, she'd probably be pretty worried.

She looked at Chris properly for the first time and smiled gently as she caught his eye before looking down. He was quite cute, bright blue eyes, messy chocolate brown hair. She was into the more muscular guys but he was still gorgeous. He knew how to dress too which was always good. ”So, Chris, I don’t suppose you’d want to go grab a coffee or something? And some juice for the little princess.” She said, smiling at Emma once again. She just couldn’t believe how adorable she was. She looked a lot like her dad. The same dark hair, the same blue eyes. He was pretty young to have a child of that age. She was at least 3 she’d figured and he didn’t look much older than her, if not younger since he had a very babyish face. But there were always reasons, as she knew very well, circumstances weren’t always ideal even if they were great. She wondered as well if he was single. Perhaps Emma’s mom was at home waiting for them to come back from their nice day at the park.

It made her kind of jealous sometimes to think some people had things to go home to, someone to cuddle them and make them dinner. She hated being single and alone. And she needed a guy at a time like this too. It just terrified her. The thought of bringing up a baby alone. No one to share all the firsts with, no one to take turns at getting up in the night with. It was petty little things but all things that mattered a lot to her. Things that she worried about often.

But anyway, that had nothing to do with what was going on now. She stood looking at him, waiting for a reply, her finger still in Emma’s closed fist.

{mehh i'm so sorry again, i need to get off for a bit though!}

[chris abely]

chris

Good. He replied, flashing her one of his melt-worthy grins. Despite what had happened to him, the boy still sure knew how to smile. He actually stopped for a while, until Emma was born. The only time in his life that he’d cried was when she was born. Alexa had enough decency to let him come to the hospital to see her have birth. Which he always would be grateful for. He didn’t know what he’d do if he hadn’t seen his baby take her first breath of air… She’s alright. Chris joked, another hint of a smile crossing over his face. Shifting Emma in his arms slightly as she kicked him in the side, he looked down at Piper. She was pretty, he’d give her that… Running his free hand through his messy brown locks as she took Emma’s hand, he set her down on the grassy ground carefully. Taking the child’s other hair in his, he looked down at the toddler.

He looked up as Piper spoke, and hesitated for a moment. Emma would start to get cranky soon, she was supposed to go take her nap, but what would this hurt? Sure. There’s a café around here somewhere. Buttoning the top of the young child’s coat as she pulled it out, he straightened up again. Taking the girl’s hand again, he led Emma carefully along the edge of the playground, waiting for Piper to follow. Emma tried to yank her hand away, protesting, but he held her tight. No Em, you already ran away once today. He teased her, getting a growl in response. Lately he’d had Tyra on his mind. She’d wanted to marry him? Just the thought of commitment, so unfamiliar and new to him, scared him. He wasn’t used to having someone there, see Alexa.

Ever since he’d moved back here, money had been hard for him to get ahold of. He had moved to get away from his problems, but had been presented with a whole set of new ones. Life was cruel like that. Sometimes Chris wondered why he couldn’t catch a break, but then would feel guilty if he looked at Emma. She had next to nothing and she was the happiest little girl he knew. He had everything he could ever want with her.

[piper harrison]

As he walked away, she followed, walking on the other side of Emma. The girl reached up to take her hand so Piper took it, looking towards Chris for approval. She knew some people were pretty protective and seeing as she was a complete stranger, she'd understand if Chris didn't want her getting too close. Not that she was some sort of weirdo but these days you could never be too careful. She knew she'd be stupidly protective when the baby was born. In fact, she hated it now, the way completely random people in the street thought it was ok for them to come and feel her bump and she remembered when a friend of hers had a baby and people just came and stuck their hands in the pram and stuff, just complete strangers off the street while she was shopping or something. She knew she'd absolutely hate it. But then she felt sorry for those people who were just genuinely being nice, but there were also those freaky people who got pleasure from it or something. Ew. It grossed her out just thinking about it.

"So do you work? Go to the University or what?" She asked, thinking he was probably too old to go to high school. He didn't look like a high school kid and at least she couldn't offend him by asking him. If he did, it'd be a compliment that he looked old enough to be working or at university right? Whatever, she thought too far into things. Looking down at Emma she smiled again at how cute she was. "And I bet you're big enough to be at pre-school right?" She asked her, hunching up her shoulders in the way people did when they talked to children. She'd done an essay on that while in school for English about how people spoke to children and about the language and body language they used. It had been quite interesting and she still had a copy somewhere.

As they reached the end of the park she looked to the left and saw a little café on the end of the next street so she started walking in that direction, ensuring Emma was on the inside of her, not near the road. She seemed pretty boistrous and adventurous and she didn't want to risk anything happening to her. As they reached the café she went in and found them a table, putting her coat on a chair and leaving her bag there to reserve the table. "Want me to go get something while you settle her down?" She asked, taking her purse out of her bag, leaning against the back of the chair, inspecting the board to see what she fancied.