Harper

Chapter Six: A little Songbird

She looks deeply into my eyes, awaiting my reply and my mouth opens but words are a little late to the party. I feel her fingers reach up either side of my cheeks and softly stroke my hair back behind my ears, her thumbs running over my ear tips. "Well are you" she asks me a little more intensely, her eyes starting to wonder over my features, squinting a little at my silence.

"Yes I'm fine" I reply, knowing I have so much to tell her and little want to actually break the news I've been avoiding.

She steps back a little checking on Jay before returning her gaze back to me "Did you ever hear from that jerk again" she whispers.

I shake my head "No and I never want to talk about him ever again"

Her lips press together firmly like the thought of him is pissing her off. "Good" she returns "he's best left in the trash where he belongs... let's forget it ever happened" she says "thank god he didn't get you pregnant with his spawn" she adds with a relieved laugh.

I think that's when my face falls.

I walk away back to the kitchen, grabbing a water and taking a large gulp, leaving Teddy coming behind me with confusion written all over her face.

"Harper" she calls after me.

Willa and my mama turn with Jay to see what was occurring "everything okay" Willa asks.

Teddy and I stand in the middle of the kitchen staring at each other like it's a shoot off but with raised eyebrows instead of guns drawn.

I turn back to them all with a smile "Absolutely fine"

Teddy shoots me with her cocked eyebrow, and if looks could kill, Teddy's were attempting to assassinate me for walking away from her.

"Let's eat" Mama suggests.

We all walk slowly into the dining room and take our seats. Its taking me a while to get used to Jays booming voice, it's deep but velvety and his accent is southern.

Willa and Jay talk basketball as my mama rolls her eyes a little towards me, we smile amused at the way Willa can get sucked into any conversation on ball, leaving us all a little bored.

Teddy who is sat beside Jay joins in the ball chat but every so often she looks at me with a confident annoyance, like as soon as she gets me alone she's going to pounce and pull the information from me that she knows I'm hiding.

"Harps you want some of this shrimp" she asks me with a look of satisfaction, her fork thrust forward across the table, she knew I loved it... but she also knew I would most probably avoid it if I was indeed pregnant. Sea food and the smell of it, gosh it was a little too much for my sensitive nose to withstand. I try and hold back the wave of nausea that rolls through me and I cough a little and push my chair back urgently.

Willa pushes the fork aside and nudges Teddy "she doesn't want it Ted" she says, trying to help me out as she notes the familiar way I place my hand across my mouth, covering my nose.

"I will be right back" I say standing and walking away as calmly as possible.

I get a few steps up the staircase before I start to run, making it in a nano second before I throw up into the toilet, sinking down onto the floor, my head resting on the toilet seat, mouth agape, wondering when the hell this pregnancy sickness would finally leave me.

***
I have been back in Manchester from Utah for a couple months now. I am twelve weeks pregnant but don't feel much different, no obvious bump yet, a little bloated looking but nothing noticeable if you didn't know. I had wanted to keep it quiet until my twelve week scan, which was tomorrow, so nobody knew other than Willa, my Mama and my dad.