Night Changes [N.H]

Chapter 90

Chapter 90

We kept things on the DL. Briana knew a spot just outside of the city, which was still a bit crowded, but not to the point where it was overwhelming. Just like any LA lunch spot at rush hour. 

The first cameras came when we were walking inside to restaurant. Briana let me and Owen go in first. I had called in advance, getting us a table near the back. Apparently the restaurant was used to celebrity guests and had a strict no-paps policy, which reassured me.

This lifestyle was still new to me, and in my mind, I was in no way considered a celebrity. Briana was the one who would be hunted down by the cameras, and we both knew what we were getting into.

We brought security with us, an advantage that I didn't have when I was alone. 

Cameras still haunted me, and I knew they always were. I could feel my stomach drop to my feet when I saw the first paparazzi. 

And then they would just keep coming. 

I made it inside the restaurant and Briana followed shortly after. And then it was over. Once we were inside the restaurant, things began to quiet down. 

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" I reassured Briana as I rested Owen's carrier on the seat next to me. She smiled at me, but I could tell she wasn't whole.

There were still other customers seated around circular tables tightly squeezed together to fit as many people as possible in the urban joint. 

The walls were murky and windowless, but there were lights strung around the room to liven things up. 

We placed our orders and then got right back to business.

"We did it!" I said. "We made it out of the house and didn't die!" I managed a small laugh out of her. She let her hands rest on her stomach, and it brought back all of the memories of how I used to do the same thing when I was pregnant. 

"We did enough talking about me," Briana said. "I want to hear about your life. Things mustn't have been easy for you either."

I sighed. "Nothing that's good comes easy," I said, looking into her eyes. "It's so worth it, though. I wouldn't change it for anything."

I gave her a little background on my life, like how I grew up with my mother and how I was distant from the rest of my family. I described how Niall and I met and how I got pregnant, and the journey I've had between now and then. I left myself as an open book, which I can't say I do for most people. 

However, I did leave out the complications that I had during my delivery, like the fact that I waited until the very last minute and was refused the epidural and faced pain worse than death itself.

Wouldn't want to scare her or anything...

"It makes me realize how lucky I am to have such a close family," Briana said, sipping on her glass of water. 

"How did they interpret the news?" I asked. "Were they supportive, surprised..."

"Both," she said, laughing to herself. "I am so grateful that they've been so supportive across everything. Even though it feels like the entire world is against me, I know that I have them."

"That's nice," I responded. 

As we talked, it was obvious that we both had pretty shitty pregnancies. But they were different in many aspects. She was lucky to have a family to rely on, which is more than I could say for myself. However, I had Niall with me at the end of the day, and Louis had already moved on before the baby was even born.