Captive (Sequel to Infatuation)

Chapter 32

SONG(s) FOR CHAPTER:

♬ Devil May Cry by The Weeknd ♬

♬ Art of War by We The Kings ♬

CHAPTER 32

♕ HARRY STYLES ♕

THE NEXT MORNING, I woke to Grace laughing quietly to herself. A bit dazed and nearly certain my craziness had rubbed off on her, I peeled my eyes open, lazily rolling over to face her. She was leaning over the edge of the bed, her phone in her hands.

"Look," she said in a soft tone when she felt my lips brush against her shoulder. "The baby is giving you the middle finger."

Frowning, I peered over her shoulder at the picture displayed on her phone. An ultrasound picture, to be precise. There was indeed a child, one of their hands further extended than the other, and it did appear to be an obscene gesture.

"It's going to be one little ray of sunshine, isn't it?" I teased.

Grace was grinning from ear-to-ear. "I wish I could've been there to hear the heartbeat. God, how beautiful. I went with Mom when she was pregnant with Noah and I cried because of how excited I was. I'm feeling the same excitement all over again." She stared at the picture for a long moment, simply smiling.

I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it: I thought about our future kids. I'd go to every appointment with Grace and gawk over the tiny being in her belly. I'd listen to it's heartbeat and, hell, I might cry with her. I don't think I'd ever treasure anything more than my own child, aside from Grace. I'd show that child the love every kid deserves to experience. The kind I never really received.

She must have been reading my mind. "It makes me excited to have a kid, you know?" she whispered, as if it were a secret she was sharing. "My grandma always says the greatest gift from a man is a child." She laughed a little. "Then she said you might as well throw the men away. Less aggravation."

"What great advice." I kissed her cheek. "Your grandma seemed to like me when she met me. She hasn't told you to throw me away, has she?"

Grace turned to look at me, smirking a little. "Maybe once or twice," she joked. Or at least I hoped she was.

I pressed my lips to hers for a brief moment before sliding out from under the covers, stretching my arms above my head. Grace tucked her phone away, then ran a hand through her knotted hair, groaning about how much of a pain it was.

"Sometimes I want to chop it all off," she grumbled.

"I like your hair."

"You don't have to deal with it every morning."

"Touché."

Grace was quiet for a moment, her eyes still locked on mine before she said, "How're you feeling, Harry?"

I looked down to my toes. No matter how many times I had an episode in front of her, I was always embarrassed afterwards. "I'm fine."

"You'd tell me if you weren't?"

Peeking up at her, I forced a smile. "I would. Promise."

She seemed content with the answer, or at least didn't push the subject further. We headed into the kitchen, making plans for the day. Go see Jacob, go get lunch that wasn't nasty hospital food, and probably go see Jacob. He was both of our top priorities at the time.

After hailing a taxi, we stopped by Grace's place so she could freshen up before making our way to the hospital. My phone rang in the middle of the ride, Josh's number popping up on the screen. I chewed the inside of my cheek for a short moment, then answered.