Drop Dead | Sam Fender

Chapter One Hundred and Seventy

"Am I missing sommat?" Tom inquired, staring at me in confusion as Joe parted from Rory.

"Rory's pregnant, mate," I chuckled, rubbing my girlfriend's back gently.

"Pregnant?" he spluttered, staring at Rory in shock, mouth gaping.

"Mhmm," Rory hummed as she pressed her hand to her barely-there bump, a wide smile pulling at her lips. "You're gan be an uncle, Tommy."

"Fuck," he whispered under his breath, raising a hand to cover his mouth as his eyes filled with tears that threatened to spill. "Come 'ere."

Tom pulled Rory into a tight hug, whispering his congratulations in her ear. I watched as he buried his head in her shoulder, likely to muffle the soft cries I could hear.

"Are yer crying, Tom?" Rory giggled softly as she reciprocated the embrace, rubbing his back soothingly.

"I'm emotional," he sniffled as he pulled away, wiping his tears with the back of his sleeve. "My lil' sister's gan be a mam... god, now I feel old."

"Yer were old anyway," she teased.

"Cheeky git," he scowled playfully.

"How far along are yer?" Jess asked.

"About fifteen weeks," Rory told her as she nestled into my side, my arm instinctively wrapping around her waist. "I'm due at the start of December."

"I can't believe yous are gan be parents like," Heidi grinned.

"Is it really that unbelievable, poppet?" she snorted, letting her head loll against my shoulder.

"I just didn't think yous would be the first oot of the group!" she exclaimed. "I thought it would be Harls or Jess that had a bairn first."

"Me?!" Jess gaped. "Nee chance, your brother's enough for me for now."

"I dunna, I can see it," I shrugged.

"Shut your mouth, Samuel," she scowled, earning a chorus of laughter from our friends.

Aurora

"Hey," Harlow smiled, cornering me in the kitchen as I made myself a drink.

"Y'alreet?" I hummed.

"Aye," she nodded. "Congratulations, pet. I'm proper happy for yer."

"Cheers, Harls," I beamed, letting her pull me into a tight hug.

My best friend had been oddly quiet when everyone was offering their congratulatory messages, standing back and watching with a soft smile. It wasn't something I commented on. I knew she was happy for me but I could tell she wanted to offer her congratulations in a more private setting. To be fair, I had a gut feeling that she knew already.

My suspicions were peaked when she announced that she wanted to stay in for her hen night and didn't touch a drop of alcohol all night. It was her way of making me feel comfortable, taking away all the pressure of having to awkwardly explain that I couldn't drink. I was grateful for the fact but I felt awful that she felt she had to massively scale down her hen party because of me.

"You're gan be such a canny mam, that bairn's already so lucky to have yer and Sam as parents," she told me fondly.

"Aw, don't," I sniffed. "You're gan make us cry now."

"I've dealt with enough tears over the years, I can handle it," she teased, rubbing my arm comfortingly.

"I can't," I cried. "These bloody hormones! I'm crying all the fuckin' time lately."

"I bet Sam's loving that," she chuckled lightly.

"I feel proper awful, my mood swings are so bad!" I groaned. "I'm trying so hard not to snap at him, he's taking it like a bloody champ, bless him."

"Eh... he probably deserves it," she grinned.

"You're so horrible to him," I giggled. "He's actually been good as gold."

"Oh, I don't doubt it," she smiled. "He's gan be such a good dad."

"I caught him singing to my bump last week," I told her with a wide smile. "He thought I was sleeping."

"Soft cunt," she grunted although I could see the twinkle in her eyes.

"He's so excited," I laughed.

"Bless him," she commented. "When did yer find oot?"

"Just before we left for Zurich," I explained, taking a sip of the water I made myself. "Told Sam when we were in Amsterdam."

"What was he like?" she snorted.

"Shocked at first but he was so excited," I told her. "Wanna see the sonogram?"

"Er, of course I do... Oh my god!" she gasped as I handed her the photo that I pulled from my pocket, raising a hand to her mouth. "D'ya reckon it's gan be a boy or a girl?"

"Sam reckons girl but I've got a feeling it's a boy," I smiled, rubbing a hand over my small bump.

"Well, whatever they turn oot to be, Aunty Harls can't wait to meet 'em," she grinned.

"They're gan have so many babysitters, that's for sure!" I giggled.

"Too reet," she laughed.