"I can't do it because I'm pregnant, okay?" My voice was an octave higher than usual and I was breathing heavily, my chest rising and falling with every breath. My outburst was met with three pairs of shocked eyes and a stunned silence. In the background I saw Liam and Sophia exchanging a look, Liam's face slightly shocked as well, while the other reacted more loudly to the news. "But... how?" Lottie asked with wide eyes which earned her an amused look from Lou who seemed to be the only one not surprised about my announcement.
"Well congratulations, hun, I knew there was something going on with you." She said with a smirk and pulled me into a tight hug which I returned. My eyes, however, were still fixed on Harry who hadn't said a word yet and who looked very pale. I gently pulled away from Lou and took a hesitant step in his direction. "Harry?" I asked hesitantly and lightly touched his arm. This seemed to make him snap out of his shock because he instantly pulled me into a tight hug and buried his face in my hair. "Harry, are you okay?" I asked again and lightly patted his back while he held onto me.
Instead of replying he pulled back a little bit and looked down at me, a determined look on his face. "Who do I have to beat up?" My eyes widened at his words and I quickly threw a look in Liam and Sophia's direction, hoping for their support with this situation. "Harry, I..." I started off, but his grip around my arms tightened a little bit. "Who is the father, Abby?" He growled and his green eyes seemed to be sending out sparks. "Harry, I can't tell you, okay? He doesn't know yet and I don't want him to know, alright?" I put a hand on Harry's chest to calm him down, but he brushed it off and took a step back.
"Abby, he has a right to know. This is his kid as much as it's yours!" Harry shouted at me and I jumped, automatically taking a step back from him, my hand wandering down to my stomach. "Is it Niall's?" He suddenly asked and my eyes widened, but I shook my head. "No, it's not Niall's, for fuck's sake Harry! It's none of your bloody business, okay?" Now I was shouting as well and from the corner of my eyes I could see the others exchanging looks. "Of course it's my fucking business, as well, you idiot! You're like a sister to me and whoever did this to you needs to be put into place!" Harry was fuming and he was starting to scare me a little bit. I had never seen him this angry and now I was even more scared that he would find out about the father's identity.
"But I am not your sister, okay? News flash, Styles, it takes two to tango so this is as much my fault as it is his. So don't go and fucking blame someone else for something that is just as much my fault just because you have some big brother issues." Harry looked like he had been punched in the face and all of the tension seemed to have left his body. "Fine, you know what, I think I know whose child it is anyway. Fuck, I mean the line between love and hate is pretty damn thin, isn't it? And the way that you guys have jumped at every opportunity to hurt each other right from the start makes this situation so much more fucked up than it already is."
My heart was hammering in my chest and when I met his eyes, I knew that he had just put the pieces together. "So, Abby, who's gonna tell him, hm? The mother of his child or his best friend, hm?" Next to me, I heard Lottie let out a gasp, but all I wanted to do is punch Harry or make him shut up in some way. "Harry, please, don't do this." I begged him, but he seemed to be determined that he was right and judging by the look on his face he wasn't going to stop now.
"So, tell us, Abby. I mean, judging by the lack of reaction, Soph already knew about this, so why only her? Why not us, as well? Why not me?" Harry's tone was bitter and in this moment I understood why he was freaking out so much, but I was to angry at him to care much about his hurt feelings. "You know what, Harry? We are done being friends. If you make me say it right now, we're done." My voice was very calm and quiet, but on the inside I was screaming. Something flashed across Harry's face, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, leaving a blank look on his face, masking his real emotions.
"Well at least L-" He started off but I clapped my hand over his mouth with such force that he stumbled back and had to hold onto a table to stabilise himself. "Okay, fine, I'll say it: I am pregnant with Louis' baby, okay? Are you happy? Now that I have just effectively destroyed your best friend's life as well as mine?" I screamed at him, but his eyes weren't fixed on me. The deafening silence which followed my words told me who was standing in the room behind me.
Slowly, almost as if I was in some sick dream, I turned around. Louis and Niall were both standing in front of the door, both wearing a look of shock and hurt on their faces, but my eyes were fixed on Louis. He didn't say anything, but his eyes immediately wandered down to my stomach and then back to my face as if he wanted some sort of quiet confirmation that I was speaking the truth. When I nodded, he wordlessly turned around and walked out, the door slamming shut behind him.
****
An hour later I was lying in my hotel room where Niall had taken me after I had broken down crying. I had spent the last hours silently crying into his chest while he simply held me, whispering quiet words of comfort into my ear. "I messed up, I am such a horrible person." I blubbered and wiped my eyes with my hands. "Shhhh, no you're not. I am sure Harry will get over it and Louis-" He interrupted himself and took a deep breath, before he continued. "Louis will get used to this to. I mean, like you said, it always takes two to tango."
There was a longer silence during which the only thing that could be heard was our breathing. "When did it, um, I mean did you and Louis... did you sleep with him while we were kind of fooling around?" Niall asked quietly and I felt his muscles stiffen slightly underneath my touch. "I, um... It happened during the party at the start of the American leg." My voice was barely more than a whisper, but he had heard me anyway. "So that's where you disappeared to." His voice was barely more than a whisper either and his grip around me tightened a bit. "I am so sorry, Niall." I apologised quietly and I felt him press a light kiss to the top of my head. There was a longer silence, stretching out between the two of us like an invisible wall.
"Why did you never want to sleep with me?" He suddenly asked out of the blue and I froze next to him. "Sorry, that was a stupid question, forget that I asked." I didn't have to look at him to know that he was embarrassed. Slowly, I felt for his hand and gave it a light squeeze once I had found it. "I just... I didn't want to be another one of these girls, you know? Not just another one night stand." I admitted quietly and I felt him squeeze my hand back, which he was somehow still holding. "Abby?" His tone made me look up and I was met with a pair of blue eyes. "You were never just 'another one of these girls' to me, okay?"
We looked at each other for a couple of seconds before it finally clicked for me. "Oh Niall, I..." Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and I heard his breath hitch next to me. "I am so sorry, I didn't know and now we're in this mess and I-" A finger cut me off and I opened my eyes again. Carefully, almost as if he was scared he was going to break me, Niall cupped my face and gently stroked my cheek with his thumb. "I didn't want you to know, I didn't feel like I was good enough." When I opened my mouth he held up a finger and continued.
"You are this amazing girl, Abby, and you being pregnant with... with Louis' baby doesn't change that for me. I know we said 'no commitment' and everything and trust me, I really, really tried..."He let out a dry chuckle and then moved on. "But you make it pretty much impossible not to like you, Abby, never forget that." He gently wiped away a tear that I hadn't even noticed escaping my eyes. "I am sorry for making such a mess of it all." I whispered and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, before I turned around and buried my face in one of the pillows.
"Hey, it's not your fault, love. Shhh..." Gently hands were rubbing soothing circles on my back, making the whole situation so much worse. "But it is my fault, Niall! I was stupid enough to sleep with Louis out of all people and get myself pregnant and now I am here dealing with the consequences and you have been nothing but sweet and amazingly supportive so far when I probably broke your heart. I'm a horrible person." I sobbed into my pillow and heard Niall chuckle behind me.
"You are not a horrible person, love, trust me. You are one of the most amazing people I know and I am a hundred percent sure that you're gonna be a wonderful mum. And honestly, the kid couldn't have a better dad than Louis. And he or she will have the most amazing uncles in the world, as well." He added and I heard a hint of amusement in his voice. After a couple of seconds, I emerged from my pillow, attempting to wipe the smeared mascara off my face. "So, are we good? As friends, I mean? I don't want to be your friend if that hurts you, Ni, because the last thing I want to do is make it even worse for you. But I can't see anyone right now, I think I gotta take care of myself, of us."
I rested a hand on my stomach and Niall's gaze wandered downwards as well, before he met my eyes again. "Friends." He agreed with a small smile and when he saw my eyes tearing up again, he pulled me closer to him and let me rest my head on his chest, gently rubbing my arm. "You are pretty amazing, you know that right?" I asked shyly after a couple of seconds and I could feel him laugh underneath me. "Thanks, love, you aren't too shabby yourself."
A.N. Hi everyone, as promised the next chapter already. :) I hope you enjoyed the little bit of drama, I certainly enjoyed writing it. :D I'm looking forward to see where this story will take me in the next few weeks and, once again, thank you so much for your patience with me, it's very much appreciated. All the love, Summer xxx