Daddy Unknown

Chapter 16

“Are you scared?”

Moira shook her head, staring down at her lap. It was the 16th of January, which meant there were 11 days left until the 27th: her due date. She’d already packed a hospital bag, just in case Ollie decided to make his first ever appearance earlier than planned. Better be safe than sorry.

“I wouldn’t say I’m scared, just a little nervous,” She shrugged. “I mean, what if I turn out to be a bad mom?”

It had kept her mind busy; the possibility of not being ready. The what if’s were endless. And she did feel scared, terrified even. But she’d never let that on. Harraël would become even more protective of her if he knew the truth.

He rose from his seat opposite Moira and dropped down beside her. He lets one of his large hands gently enclose around her much smaller hand and used the other to lift her head up. She meet his determined eyes. She hesitantly stared back at him, not sure of his intentions.

“If there’s anyone who’s born to be a mother, it’s you.” He told her firmly, leaving no room for argument. The intense look he was shooting her made a shiver run down her spine.

Before she had the chance to thank him, a little elbow or perhaps a foot knocked against her ribs painfully. She paused briefly with a wince, sharply inhaling. The baby seemed to move the most in the evenings before she went to sleep, or when she was unlucky; at night, making it impossible to sleep. Recently, he had seemed to find a fascination with sticking whatever appendage was nearest, into her ribs.

The quick little jab was followed by a rolling sensation that made her a bit light headed for a moment, causing her to hunch over. The feeling could only be described as Ollie turning a somersault. Moira was amazed by his sudden frenetic movements in her womb. It went on and on and was very different than anything she’d ever felt before.

“What’s wrong?” The panic look on Harry’s face was clear as day. He grabbed her shoulders, trying to capture her attention. “Moira, what’s wrong?”

“I-I don’t know.” She stuttered, “But it-it hurts, Harry.”

He jumped into action, hurrying to the other side of the living room to grab Moira’s phone from her purse. Moira however, was too busy wondering what the hell was going on to even realise he no longer sat beside her.

“Do you want me to call your doctor?” He asked her, unlocking her phone.

His question pulled her from her thoughts. Shaking her head, she took the iPhone from his outstretched hand. Harraël stared at her as she selected a number and held the device to her ear, waiting. A soft murmur was heard, indicating someone had answered. “Umm, yeah hi this is Moira King. I’d like to speak to Dr. Patel, it’s an emergency.”

He frowned. Dr. Patel? Surely they didn’t have the same doctor? Her office was close by so it wouldn’t be that much of a coincidence… He made a mental note to ask her about it later.

And as he was standing there, listening to Moira’s conversation with the doctor, he heard the doorbell ring. Now was not the time—really, he thought to himself.

He was going to just ignore the doorbell until it rang again, he ran his fingers hands through his curls and decided to get it over with. He opened the front door to reveal his best mate.

“Sup, Haz!” Finn greeted, patting his shoulder affectionately before inviting himself in. Instantly making his way to the fridge to grab a beer. He popped it open with his teeth and began gulping the liquid down.

Burping loudly, he chuckled. “I needed that.”

Harraël pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling slightly stressed out. He loved Finn like a brother, but he wasn’t in the mood for his company right now. “Mate, now is really no-“

“Oh hello babe!” Finn waved cheerfully as Moira came hobbling into the kitchen. The worried expression on her face made Harraël’s stomach churn uncomfortably. “I didn’t know Hazza had company.” He threw his friend an accusing glare

“Hi Finn, it’s nice seeing you again.” She greeted him back with a soft yet pained smile. Putting her phone back in her purse and picking it up. “I’m just leaving now, don’t worry.”

“Where are you going? Is Ollie alright?” Harry asked quickly as she reached for her coat that was slung over one of the bar stools, and pulled it on.

“To the hospital, my doctor’s going to check up on him,” She explained, clearly in a rush.

“I’m taking you.” He announced, lunging for his own coat.

“No, that’s fine. There’s a cab waiting downstairs.”

“I’m not letting you go on your own, Moira.”

“No, I have to do this on my own.” She started making way for the door.

Her answer stilled his heart. Everything had been going so well these past few weeks, and hearing her talk to him like that made him feel like she was detaching herself again. He panicked. In attempt to stop her from leaving, he grabbed her wrist, “Wait, sweetheart, I-“

“Harraël, I don’t want you to come okay?” She ripped her wrist loose from his grip, as if burned by his touch. Shocked by her cold tone and her use of his real name, he let her go, momentarily freezing in place.

And just like that, she was gone. The door slamming behind her and the sound of it echoing through the penthouse.

There was an awkward silence. The two of them staring at where Moira had just hurried out. Harry looked deep in thought, his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed. All warmth had escaped his body the minute she disappeared behind the door, the air felt frosty without her presence. Especially since she had departed so sudden and he had no idea what was wrong with Ollie.

Finn was the first to speak. "She treats you like shit, mate." He frowned.

Annoyance bubbled up inside him. How dare he talk about her in such negative manner, he doesn’t even know her. "She's worried about Ollie, give her fucking a break."

His movements were rigid as he rummaged through the fridge, pulling out something a little stronger than beer, desperately needing it. Finn’s eyes turned concerned as he watched Harry gulp down the alcohol directly from the bottle.

"You can't use that as an excuse forever, soon she won't be pregnant anymore and I doubt her behaviour is going to change.” He voiced his blunt opinion.

This caused Harraël’s anger to flare even more. "For fuck’s sake, Finn. She’s trying to protect herself, okay? There's a very strong wall around her, she's been through a lot."

Not bothered by his sharp reaction, Finn casually continued infuriating him. "Oh, like what?"

"Well, besides her father leaving, she didn't tell me much but I just know it," Harraël snapped. "It’s obvious from the way she acts."

“Whatever, man. I just don’t want you to get your heart broken again.”

Harry was reminded of all the women that had used him, hurt him. He shook his head, “Moira isn’t like them.”

********

Moira stepped out of the elevator, she’d come to Harraël’s penthouse to inform him on the results of the check-up. Fortunately, nothing seemed to be up with her baby. Ollie was as healthy as ever, just a little restless. Presumably because the due date was coming up. The doctor understood her concerns but told her not to worry after she checked up on him with a quick ultrasound. It wasn’t uncommon for babies to be this active inside their mother’s womb.

Aware of how unfairly she’d treated Harry earlier that day, the guilt was eating her alive.

His kind nature and protectiveness warmed her heart, but she didn’t want a repeat of the last time he blew her off. And even though the chances of that happening again were small, she still didn’t want to take the risk. At the time, the only way she figured for Harry not to come along was for her to make him feel unwanted. So she did, and regretted doing so the minute she existed his door; remembering the defeated look on his face when she told him off, not to mention Finn’s constant glaring. But there was no going back then, it’d only show how weak she truly is.

She’d paid his warmth with ice, and she despised herself for it.

Coming to a halt, she was about to ring the bell when she hesitated.
He’d told her numerous of times that there was no need for her to ring the doorbell and wait for him to open up when she could just as easily walk in herself. Nonetheless, it felt a little odd to let herself into someone else’s home. She rang the doorbell, once, twice, when after the third time it finally dawned on her that nobody was going to open up.

That’s strange.

Just earlier when they’d asked each other about tonight’s plans, neither of them had mentioned anything. Perhaps Finn was still here and they were playing Fifa like they usually did, the television’s volume too loud to hear the doorbell ring?

Forcing herself to put on her big girls panties and go against her own values, she reached for the door and opened it, finding that it was unlocked.

Entering the living room, she spotted Harry near the couch, tightly clutching onto an unfamiliar young woman with his face buried in her hair. She didn’t expect the sight to hurt so much.

But it did, and she felt like the air was punched from her lungs.