Hold My Girl

Chapter 18

April
35 Weeks

We stayed at Anne's for only another night before Harry decided we should head back down to London. He had a few recording sessions to get under his belt before he stopped working for a couple of months for the baby's arrival. I was overjoyed when he told me he was taking a solid 2 months off when the baby was born. It proves to me just how committed he is to making our situation work. The only problem with him taking so much time off was he had to get a lot of work done in the next few weeks. Which meant, when I wasn't in work I was starting to get mighty bored. I had spent the previous day, gutting the house and cleaning it from top to bottom. Both Harry and my mum said I was nesting, a common occurrence when a woman is weeks away from having a baby. What neither of them knew was I was secretly getting the place ready for the new tenant that was due to move in in a few weeks. While in Manchester with Harry I had decided moving in with him made the most sense. Taking my undecided feelings out of the equation, it made sense to do this whole 'newborn stage' together, if that meant sharing night feeds or dirty nappies or just having someone there to watch the baby so I could take a shower, it made sense to have the support. I didn't need to be a martyr and prove that I could do this alone. Harry's support was unwavering, I might as well make the most of it. I just hadn't broken the news to Harry that he was getting a lodger for the next few months.

I woke up the next morning to the realisation that my cleaning spree might have been too much for my heavily pregnant body. My body ached all over, my muscles felt like they'd been stretched in all the wrong directions and my head was pounding. I took the opportunity to stay in bed as I didn't have work to go to.

"S'only me" Allison's sing song voice called pulling me out of my slumber.

"I'm in bed" I called, clearing my throat trying to rid the raspy sound of sleep.

"Everything ok?" Allison's blonde head popped round my wooden door and concern laced her face as she took me in.

"Fine" I huffed as I pushed myself into a sitting position and my hand immediately went to my bump as a pain shot through my tummy. I winced as the pain slowly subsided.

"You don't look so hot, Nor'" Allison came to sit on the edge of my bed. Her mothering instincts took over as her hand immediately went to my forehead. "You feel a bit warm" She commented, confirming the reason why I felt a bit clammy. She flattened my wayward curls on top of my head and tucked my hair behind my ears.

"I think I overdid it yesterday with the cleaning" I let out a sigh as I gingerly arranged my body on my pillows.

"I did think the place smelled amazing" Allison attempted to mask her concern with a smile but I could see she wasn't convinced. "Is that you starting to nest? I don't think I've ever seen it so tidy in here" Her eyes floated round the room, appreciating all my hard work.

"Something like that" I let out tightly as I grimaced, my hand massaging my bump as if it would iron out the shooting pain I felt in my belly.

"What's wrong Nor'?" Allison's hand caressed my arm gently as I tried to fix my features.

"It's nothing" I tried to dismiss but I could see in Allison's face she wasn't convinced. "I just keep getting a pain, a weird shooting pain around my bump"

"Are you in labour?" Allison's eyes widened. "It's too early!"

"I don't think so. It's just mighty uncomfy" I rubbed my bump affectionately as realisation slowly dawned on me: I couldn't remember when I'd last felt the baby move. My heart beat immediately kicked up a gear as I sucked in a sharp breath.

"Should I call Harry?"

"No he's working" I dismissed shaking my head. "I think I just need to rest" My gaze fixed on the white fluffy clouds I could see out my bedroom window as I tried to recall if I'd felt baby move this morning. I was so exhausted that I couldn't remember. Surely I had. I usually feel the baby moving every morning. I must have.