Ignorance ➵ h.s. au

ninety ninth

Harry swallowed the little bit of strength left in his body, slowly releasing her from his grip, but not entirely, Danielle's body falling onto his as soon as he did. She didn't need to say it, her arms still wrapped around him as her head rested on his shoulder letting her body tremble in exhaustion. They didn't speak, the muffled honks outside a distant reminder of the reality they momentarily left behind. The previous fire in the car replaced with a chill again, goosebumps rising from her exposed legs, chills shooting up her back. 

It was times like these he comes to his senses; how wrong everything was, how deep the hole he dug has become. It wasn't the fact that it was wrong that made him scared. It was the fact he didn't care. 

Belinda's icy blue eyes flashed before him . . It was like the little girl he left behind at the apartment complex was carved in his head as a permanent dent. She was frozen in time, still with the wet face and the wet hair when she got out of the shower; but now there were two of her; the little girl he corrupted, and the girl . . woman who stood in front of him in the bathroom, unfreezing everything.

He traces circles on Danielle's back, planting a kiss on her shoulder. “It's okay, baby, I'm here . .” He mumbles, hugging her tighter. 

Danielle picked on the fabric of his blazer, eyes droopy as she breathed. Whenever she was surrounded by people, she wanted to be alone with Harry, so she can be herself and tell him everything she needed to say. But now she was alone with him, and she still couldn't open her mouth. And she has the feeling absolutely nothing would change no matter how much she prepares, for there's always going to be something going wrong. She was supposed to tell him tonight, she was supposed explain Louis everything, get all she could do was watch him disappear in the horizons as they drove away, and remain silent whilst Harry brushed his fingers on her back.

“Harry . .” Her voice cracked, pushing herself up from his chest, the previous darkness in his eyes subsiding as he looked up at her. Was her baby going to look like him? His eyes, his lips, his hair . . Is it going to have the idiosyncratic details of his face? Or is it going to look like her? Her stomach squeezed from the thought. “Would you get mad at me if I kept secrets from you?” she continues, tingles on her fingertips in anxiety.

Harry's eyebrows furrowed, a small smile curling his lips. “Depends what the secret is.” He shrugged, pushing the stray strands of her hair behind her ear. “If the secret is you don't like me anymore, then yes I would be disappointed.”

Dani couldn't even laugh. Not because it wasn't funny, but because that wasn't even possible. And that's one of the things that scared her the most. “N-No, not that.”

“What is it then?” 

She looks at him, the tattoos peeking through his open buttons. She's been lying to herself this entire time when she thought she could live without him. She just said that to convince herself it will be okay. It won't be. It was too late. All too late. 

The familiar weight on Harry's chest resurfaces, the quiet surrounding them deafening his ears. Does she know something he doesn't? “Danielle, talk.”

Dani took a deep breath, letting her eyes fall away from his. “I'm pregnant.”

A flash of hot air burned down his back, his body frozen, her weight on his lap heavier now as his heart ceases to beat. Perhaps it was just his anxiety making him hear things.”Wait wait, what?” He could still see the unknown number flashing on his screen even when he was far away from it. He could still see Belinda in the bathroom. Maybe he has to ask her to repeat it to clarify what he heard was wrong, nonetheless, part of him was scared it wasn't. She was looking down, mouth firmly shut. He takes her chin between his fingers and tilted her head, meeting her brown eyes. “Danielle?”