HARRY’S P.O.V.


I don’t know what scared me more: the fact that Piper was pregnant or the fact that she didn’t tell me. She obviously thought it was possible if she took the test in the first place. Why didn’t she tell me it was on her mind? I could have been there when she found out.

But, no. She felt like she couldn’t trust me to handle it the right way. After everything we had been through, I expected things to have changed. I thought that we trusted each other and that we were going to work on communicating our feelings. This was even bigger than all of that. It’s a child! Our child.

“Harry, is everything okay?”

I walked swiftly past the table full of our families. My mum, Robin, and Gemma had joined while I was in the bedroom. It was Liam who asked, though, and instead of responding, I walked faster. I heard Piper calling after me, but it was faint and seemed distant. She couldn’t be that far off, though, since we were in the same hotel suite. I didn’t grab anything before leaving the suite altogether, ignoring at least ten people calling after me. I didn’t care. I couldn’t. I needed space to think and make peace with the way I was feeling. I needed time.


PIPER’S P.O.V.


To my surprise, it was Cory who ran after Harry when I collapsed with a choked sob. I couldn’t bare to hold myself up any longer and I knew it wouldn’t help for me to chase him. Anne and my mom hurried to my side and pulled me off of the ground immediately. I had gone so long without a panic attack that I forgot what it felt like. I had been warding one off all morning, but after Riley found the pregnancy test and after Harry made an inopportune appearance, I couldn’t fight it any longer. It washed over me like a tidal wave and I knew immediately that the relief efforts would be ineffective.

Gemma and Riley hovered near the table where Liam, my dad, and Robin were still sitting. Karen was holding her wailing daughter in her arms, carrying her to the other bedroom and trying to comfort her and assure her that everything was okay. I couldn’t control the tears falling from my eyes and I was hiccuping, trying to gasp for air, as Anne and my mom helped me into my room. Riley and Gemma began to follow, but I noticed my mom mouthing, “wait a minute,” before closing the door. Anne straightened the covers and pulled them down so that I could climb into bed. Everything had happened so fast and it all felt like deja vu. It felt like the old me. The me without Harry.

“Sweetheart, just breathe, alright?”

Anne sat on Harry’s side of the bed on top of the sheets, rubbing my back while my mom knelt beside me. My face was buried in my hands as I cried, on the verge of hyperventilating. Anne was trying to be comforting, but no words were going to help the situation. How could I breathe? Harry hated me. He was going to leave me and never see our child. What if he wanted me to get an abortion? God, could I do that?

“Piper, where are your pills?”
Mom’s words were clear and precise. I couldn’t respond, but I pointed to the bathroom, hoping she could find the bottle among the plethora of products and makeup in my bags. I felt my body shaking, though, and it seemed like I was reaching a point of no return; a point that my medication couldn’t get me back from.

Anne stayed by my side, rubbing small circles on my back like Harry does when this sort of thing happens to me. It hadn’t in so long, though, and thinking about that just made it worse. I wasn’t prepared for a panic attack. It had been forever.

“Piper, sweetie. Breathe, okay? Talk to me. I promise, I can help. That’s my son who just stormed off and believe me it isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last.”

I tried to listen to her and I tried to breathe, but both were difficult to do. I focused carefully on her words, trying to distract myself. Her calmness is comforting in itself.

“You don’t have to tell me what happened, alright? Just listen to what I’m saying and try to put everything into perspective. I know what it’s like, alright? I’ve had anxiety my whole life and it seems like everything that is happening right now is the worst thing that has or will ever happen. But, deep down, you know that isn’t true. I used to freak out when Harry did this sort of thing. Like, when he was little, and I mean little, his father and I would fight a lot and the second I realized him or his sister were within earshot, my heart absolutely sank. I hated that they had to witness that. Anyway, Gemma was always so mature and matter-of-fact about it all; she’d run to my side and hug my waist while their dad stormed off or whatever. She’d say, ‘mum, don’t worry. We’re going to be alright.’ It was precious but also heartbreaking. Harry, though, he always ran off. He had a special spot on the other side of our property where there was a little log and he would just plop himself down there and cross his arms with a big scowl on his face. The first few times, I followed him out there and he just asked me to leave him alone. It killed me to think that he didn’t want to see me. However, in time, I realized that he wasn’t angry, Piper; he was just thinking. And, you know what? Every single time he did that, from the time he was five, until he left home for good, he always came back with good advice.”

I found myself smiling softly, thinking of Harry as a small child, thinking of the best way to handle his mother’s problems. It wasn’t until then that I realized I was breathing normally. I glanced over toward the bathroom and saw my mom leaning against the wall, my medication in her hand. She was smiling, though, listening to Anne just like I was.

“He’d come back to the house after about an hour,” Anne continued, “and he’d ask me to sit down on the couch with him, after I got him a snack, of course,” we both chuckled and I sat back against the pillows. Anne took my hand in hers and proceeded with her story, “He’d sit down with me and say something like, ‘Mum, I don’t think that all of this is dad’s fault, but it isn’t all yours either. I think you need to talk to each other like grown-ups and figure out what’s wrong’ and I would just pull him into my arms and run my fingers through his little curls and tell him just how right he was. He was always right about that sort of thing, Piper, and I promise you that whatever is going on right now, he’s out there thinking about how he can make it right and make you happy.”
My mind snapped back to the present and I remembered exactly why we were there; why Anne was calming me down and telling me all of this.

“Anne, I’m so sorry.”

She cooed when I started to cry again, pulling me into a hug. I laid on her shoulder and contemplated what I should do.

“I want to tell you, but I don’t want to see you upset.”

She shook her head and stroked my hair. My mom joined us, sitting at the foot of the bed and gently clutching my leg.

“Sweetheart, you can tell me anything. It’s not likely going to shock me too much.”

I sniffed and sat up, wiping away a few tears.

“That’s the thing. It’s probably going to be a bit too familiar.”

Anne was confused, but my mom wasn’t; she was on to me earlier. She gasped quietly and stood up, moving back to my other side. She was smiling, though, and encouraged me with a nod.

“It’s just that, um,” I dared to look at Anne and knew that I had to be brave about this. I had to be an adult and just tell her, “I’m pregnant.”

The room was filled with sighs of relief and happy tears from both of our moms and I couldn’t have been more confused.

“Dear lord, Piper,” Anne hugged me for the millionth time, “I thought someone was dying or someone cheated or something.”

“You’re not mad?” I asked just to be sure.

“God, no!” Anne glanced at my mom and smiled brightly, “We’re going to be grandmums!”

They both chuckled, hugging me and then each other.

Noticing my confusion, Anne cleared her throat and grabbed my hand, “Honey, he’s not sixteen like he was last time. He’s an adult and you love each other so much. I could never be mad about that.”

I finally found the strength to smile and while I received hugs and kisses from our moms, I just hoped that Harry could be on board soon enough.


CORY’S P.O.V.


I didn’t know why I was the one to run after Harry. It’s not like we had been close recently, but I’ve always been protective of my sister. Even if I didn’t like Harry, which I did, I knew how much my sister loved him and that was enough for me to want to make things right.

I paced the hallways, trying to figure out where he could have gone. Whenever I’ve stormed off, I try to find the quietest, most secluded place to be alone.

There was only one place I could think of that a superstar could escape to in a large hotel in the middle of New York City: the roof.

I made it to the elevator and pressed the largest number, knowing I’d have to take stairs from there. Eventually, after walking down about ten hallways, I found the stairs to the roof access. The door was ajar and the staircase wasn’t that large. It was more like a ladder, really. I lifted the hatch and lifted myself onto the roof, shivering immediately in my sweater. Harry wasn’t wearing a coat either so I knew I had to make this fast and get us both inside.

“Harry?”

I glanced around and finally saw the top of his head next to a flagpole. He turned and looked at me, but didn’t get up. I walked over and silently sat next to him, following his gaze along he skyline.

Surprisingly, it was Harry who spoke first, “You know there are 235 skyscrapers in this city? Only Hong Kong has more.”

I nodded, only slightly intrigued by his fact. It wasn’t the time to talk about skyscrapers, but he was trying to distract from the real situation.

“What happened, Harry?”

He sighed and pushed his long hair back with both of his hands before looking at me, “She’s pregnant, Cory. We’re going to have a kid.”

His tone wasn’t one of disappointment. If I wasn’t mistaken, he sounded happy about it. He had a faint smile on his lips and his eyes were glassy.

“Then, why did you run off like that?”

He shrugged and looked back at the city. There were faint noises of horns honking and sirens blaring.

“I just needed to think. That’s what I do when something big happens. I know it isn’t ideal, but if I’m around everyone in a situation like that, I don’t get a good grip on how I really feel. I let everyone else’s emotions cloud my own.”

I nodded, realizing how much sense it made.

“Well, I’m glad that you’re taking it seriously and didn’t just like, blow up then and there, but-“

“God, is Piper freaking out right now?”

There was genuine concern written on his face and I could tell that he really didn’t escape to be selfish. Not on purpose, at least.

“A bit. You know how she is with her anxiety and stuff. Your mom and mine were taking her back to bed and she was like about to hyperventilate. I’ve seen it happen a lot. I’m sure mom got her Xanax. She always makes the worst of situations, though, you know? She’s probably thinking you hate her and don’t want the baby or something. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s how she thinks. She blows it all up out of proportion.”

Harry nodded and stood up immediately.

“I need to start reacting differently. Your sister isn’t like my mom. She doesn’t know what I’m doing. I have to talk to her because she’s fragile and she’s so so precious to me, Cory. I can’t even explain how much she means to me.”

I opened my arms and pulled him into a brief hug.

“Trust me, if I didn’t know that, I wouldn’t want you anywhere near her.”

Harry chuckled and wiped away a few tears from the corners of his eyes.

“Come on. I’ll go talk to her and then hopefully we can enjoy Christmas. I can’t believe I’m going to be a dad again!”

I smiled as we walked back to the hatch. Harry was giddy at that point and I was happy for them. It still only made me feel worse about myself, though. Everything did and I hated that the happiness of those I loved could make me so down.

I hated how selfish I could be.

Notes

AHHH i hate myself for taking so long to update, so I understand if you hate me too. I gotta rush to work, but I would love to hear what you all think! Wish I could write more here right now...
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