The minute the front door swung open, I was engulfed in a tight hug by bulky arms.

"Hey, kiddo! I've missed you."

"I missed you too, dad." I chuckled, hugging him back before pulling away so I could come in and shut the door. It wasn't exactly sunny and warm outside and it won't be for a while. I slip my boots off and leave them by the door before walking deeper into the house.

"Maddie!" My future step-mom squealed as she stood up from the couch and sprinted over to me, excitement clear on her face.

"Faith!" I exclaimed in the same tone, accepting her comforting hug. I love Faith to death because she is everything my mom wasn't. She is sweet, she's extremely nice, she has a sense of humor, and she acts more like a mom to me than my actual mother does, and I've only known her for two years.

"Where are the girls?" I asked her, noticing the house was quieter than it should be.

"Taylor is giving City a bath upstairs. You should go surprise them." My dad popped in.

"Okay. I'll come to the basement after." I tell him, walking up the stairs. I go into the first bathroom where I heard water running and I saw Taylor's brunette head and her back facing me.

I bring my hands to her ears and slam them together to create a loud clap. She shrieked and squeezed the shampoo bottle in her hands, making bubbles fly out.

She stands up and her eyes widen when she sees me. "Holy crap, Madison." She wraps her arms around my waist, and I notice how tall she has gotten.

"Hey, Taylor." I snickered at her reaction. I know I'm short but now I'm almost the same height as a seventeen year old. I guess that's what I get for drinking almond milk instead of regular milk. Taylor goes back to her two year old sister and wraps a towel around her before pulling her out to dry her off.

"Are you helping your dad paint?" She asked as I followed her to City's room.

"Yeah. How've you guys been?" I asked, grabbing the towel and drying City's body while Taylor grabbed her clothes.

"Good. I finally got my driving permit." She told me, sitting next to me in front of our sister to help her get dressed.

"Dede!" City squeals loudly when I bring the towel down her face. She smiled brightly, showing her little teeth that were growing in.

I match her smile and tickle her sides. "Hi! Did you miss me?"

She nodded vigorously as Taylor slid a shirt over her head, putting her pants on soon after.

"Alright. I've gotta go help my dad." I grunt as I push myself off of the floor and stand back up.

"Bye bye." City waves as I walk out and I turn around back around.

"I'm not going anywhere." I chuckle, going back downstairs. I met my dad in the basement and saw he had already started taping the walls.

"Hey, do we have plaster to cover the small holes in the wall?" My dad asked, handing me a roll of painting tape so I could do the trim at the bottom.

"No but I think Zayn has some." My voice came out muffled since I was biting the plastic on the tape, trying to rip it off.

"Can you ask him to bring it if he isn't busy?"

I hum and pull my phone out, searching for Zayn's number and calling him. Someone answers after a couple rings, but it wasn't Zayn.

"Hello?" Harry's voice filled my ears.

"Harry?"

"Yeah. Zayn is driving but I'll put it on speaker." He replied.

"Sup Mads?" This time it was Zayn.

"Hey. Do you still have that wall plaster?" I asked, taking the tape out of my mouth and tearing the rest of the plastic off. "My dad needs some."

"Yeah it's in my car, actually. I'm on my way back from Ikea so I'll drop it off."

"Great. Thanks."

"No problem." He sang before hanging up. I put my phone down on the kitchen counter and started to drag the tape along the trim. "He's bringing it." I told my dad.

By the time we finished taping the walls, I heard a knock on the front door upstairs and a dog start barking. A dog?

"You didn't tell me Baby was here!" I exclaimed in realization, dropping the tape and dashing up the stairs. Faith was opening the door while I spot my beautiful Pitbull waiting behind the door, his tail wagging furiously.

When he hears my footsteps, he barks again and runs towards me. I crouch down and let him lick my face while I rub his head. "Hi, Baby." I cooed in a way you talk to actual babies. That's why I named him Baby - because I talk to him like he is one.

"Hi, can I help you?" I hear Faith speak.

"I'm dropping this off for Maddie." That was definitely not Zayn's voice. I stand up and let Baby follow me towards the front door.

Faith opens the door wider when I approached asking me if I knew who this was. "Hey." I greeted Harry as he smiled.

"Oh, good. You know him." Faith says out of relief. "Is this your boyfriend?"

My eyes widen and I shake my head. "No, he's not my boyfriend. He's a friend." I tell her, not knowing what else to call him at this point.

"You're a handsome young man. Are you single?" She asked, and I look at her weirdly.

"Um, aren't you marrying my dad?" I question skeptically. She looks at me and bursts out laughing.

"Honey, I'm not asking for me. I'm asking for you. You haven't had a boyfriend in years." She pats the back of my shoulder and I practically choke on my own spit.

"I think I'm okay without one." Please stop.

"Anyways, Zayn said to give you this." Harry hands me the small container of spackle, saving the both of us for an even weirder conversation with Faith.

"Thanks."

We both stand there for a minute, neither of us knowing what to do until he spoke eventually. "I should go." He says, pointing to the car where Zayn was waiting.

"Right. See you later, I guess." I muttered, smiling for less than a second before closing the door when he walked away. I let out a relaxed breath and leaned against the door with my eyes closed.

"What the hell was that?" Faith folds her arms and smirks at me.

"Nothing." I mumbled, pushing off of the door and walking towards the basement door.

"Honey, they was not nothing. That was some heavy sexual tension I was sensing." She nudged me with her shoulder in a suggestive way and I shake my head.

"The only thing that was, was uncomfortable."

"Why was it uncomfortable? He's clearly into you." Faith said, leaning against the arm of the kitchen island while I stood next to the basement door a few feet away.

I dramatically exhale. "He is not into me, Faith. We used to date."

Both of her eyebrows raised shock. "When was this?"

"Around three years ago. We broke up a month before I met you."

She gasped and pointed to the door as if Harry was still on the other side. "Was he the one from England?"

"Yes, he was."

"He's very good looking. Have you two talked things out?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, but I didn't think being friends with him would be this hard." I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

Faith pouts and brushes her own fingers through my hair. "You still care about him." It wasn't a question, and it bothered me because I couldn't even deny it.

"I wish I didn't." I slide my hand down my face and drag myself towards the counter, sitting on one of the three chairs and putting my head down. "My life would be so much easier if I didn't."

"I know." She says softly. "If he is as great as you make him out to be, I am sure it will work out."

I lift my head up and blow my hair out of my face so I can see Faith more clearly. "You're the millionth person to tell me this."

"Trust me on this one Maddie. It will get easier."

I think back to what Riley said yesterday in the car, and I hate to say she has point. How am I supposed to do this? How can I be friends with someone I used to love so much? How can we go from being in a loving, happy, committed relationship to being friends? It seems impossible just thinking about it.

He was my everything once, and now I can barely be in the same room as him for more than a few minutes without things feeling weird. I want to be okay with him being here so everything can just go a little smoother, but I'm not.

Just a month ago I was living a perfectly normal life, not even thinking about him, and now here I am.

"Are you going to tell your dad about him?" She asked. "I mean, they met each other but he doesn't know he's your ex."

"I don't think it is necessary." I shrugged, standing back up when I remembered my dad was waiting for me downstairs.

"Alright. Let me know if you need anything else. I'm gonna go check on the baby." She kissed the side of my head and wandered off. If my dad doesn't marry her, I will.

I grab the spackle and walk back downstairs to the basement, finding my dad already starting to paint the corners.

"There you are. I thought you ran away." He chuckles, setting the paint brush down on the tray and grabbing the container I handed him. "The wall next to the kitchen doesn't need any patching so you can start painting that one with the light grey."

I do as he says and grab one of the extra trays, dumping some paint into it and grabbing one of the small rollers since the wall wasn't that big.

"So, how have you been? Anything new happening?" He started, speaking a little louder so I could hear him from the other side of the basement.

"I've been okay. Nothing new that's worth talking about." I say, lowering my voice towards the end.

"So that Harry boy isn't the same young man that you dated a while back? That's not what I heard." He mentions, and I let out a strangled breath. He noticed I went silent and let out a chuckle. "The door was open a crack and you aren't exactly a quiet talker."

"So you heard everything?" I asked him, keeping my eyes on the wall as the grey color was spread across the smooth texture.

"Yeah. I am glad you and Faith are close but you do know you can talk to me too, Madison." He says softly, stopping his painting to face me.

"I know, but there is nothing left to talk about if you heard my conversation with Faith." I continue painting, waiting for his response.

"Fine. Answer this question and then we can talk about something else." He demanded carefully.

"Shoot it."

"Do I need to beat his ass?"

My hand freezes and turn my head to look at him. "No! Nobody's ass will be getting beat. He and I are fine."

"That's all I needed to know." I could tell he was smirking and I so badly wanted to run this paint roller down his face. Instead, I just shake my head and go back to painting.

• • •