Unexpected
Chapter 32
*Harry’s POV*
I woke up early the next morning long before Chloe should be up. The curtains were drawn but I could tell by the amount of noise in the hospital and traffic sounds outside the window that it was somewhere between 4 and 6 in the morning.
I looked up at Chloe, who was still sleeping peacefully. Her head had fallen a little to one side and her arm was draped behind me from when she was playing with my hair the night before. I noticed my hand was still resting on her stomach and quickly remembered why I had fallen asleep next to her.
Slowly and quietly I shifted my position so I was sitting up without waking Chloe. I looked down at her stomach and back at Chloe’s peaceful face.
“Hi,” I whispered. “I’m your daddy.” I rested both of my hands on either side of her stomach and began talking to my unborn baby. “I’m going to take care of you. When you’re born, I’m going to be the best dad in the world.”
Every once in a while I would look up at Chloe and make sure she was still asleep. No one has ever seen me act this way and I’m not ready for anyone to see it.
“You’re going to be a wonderful child,” I told it. “You’re going to have an amazing life. Your mommy and I will be here for you forever. You’re my little angel.”
I rubbed her stomach for a while before I decided I’d go find everyone else and see where they’d slept. Carefully, I got out of bed and walked to the door. Stepping out into the hallway, I shut the door quietly behind me, and made my way down to the lobby. Doors were closed and there were nurses opening and closing them, making their early morning rounds.
“Can I help you with anything?” A nurse with light brown hair pulled back into a ponytail stopped me in the hallway.
“No, thank you. I’m just going to find my friends.”
She nodded and hurried off in the opposite direction.
I made my way to the lobby and saw only a few elderly patients and some sleeping people in one corner. I exited the building and saw the bus parked in the lot. There were some lights on inside so I figured there was someone awake. I tried the door and was somewhat surprised when it opened right away.
I stepped onto the bus and looked around. There was no one in the driver’s area so I went to the kitchen. No one. I went to the media room and saw Zayn and Niall sitting on the couch watching a movie. They looked up when I walked in and rushed over to me.
“How is she?” Niall asked.
“Is she alright?” Zayn added.
I nodded. “They’ve gotten all of the bullet out, she’ll be fine.” I wanted so badly to tell them about the baby but I knew I’d have to wait until Chloe was ready and let her tell them herself.
“We saw you two sleeping together last night. You looked so peaceful,” Niall told me, sitting back down on the couch. “I took a picture, look.” He grabbed his phone off the table and showed me a picture he’d taken of Chloe and me the night before. He was right. We did look peaceful. I smiled at the picture and wished I was back in the room with her.
“Do you know how long it’ll be before she gets up?” Zayn asked, shutting the T.V. off.
I shook my head. “No idea, but I’m starving. Wanna get hospital breakfast?”
The boys nodded and we entered the hospital again. No one else was awake so we left a note for when they wake up. We walked down a few hallways and entered the cafeteria. There were only a few people in there, most likely family of patients, and we jumped into the short line. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten so I piled my plate high with pancakes, eggs, toast, bacon, and anything else they had that looked relatively appetizing. Niall and Zayn didn’t even have as much on their plates as I did.
We found a table away from everyone and sat down to eat our breakfast. I looked out the window we were seated next to and saw the sun begin to rise in the distance. I couldn’t stop thinking about what it’d be like to watch the sun rise with my child in less than a year.
“Are you okay?” Niall’s voice brought me out of my daydream and I looked away from the window. He and Zayn were watching me, waiting for an answer.
“Yeah, why?”
“Well I asked you a question and you were just spaced out,” Niall told me. “Is there something on your mind?”
I shook my head. “Nope, I’m good. What was your question?”
“Did you enjoy the concert last night?”
I thought back to the concert we’d performed the night before. There were hundreds of girls in the crowd with homemade signs and T-shirts. I’ve gotten used to the noise and excitement of crowds but I still love seeing the fans’ creative sides.
“Yeah, it was fun. Just like always.”
Zayn nodded in agreement.
“It kind of took my mind off of Chloe for a little while,” I added.
“Does she look alright today?” Zayn asked, shoving a fork full of eggs into his mouth.
I nodded. “There’s no more bleeding from her arm and she seems to be in less pain than yesterday.”
“That’s good. I hope we get to leave soon, I hate hospitals,” Zayn responded.
“Me too,” I told him. “They creep me out. All the needles and sick patients are definitely not my cup of tea.”
We ate our breakfast and sat making small talk for a little while longer and went back out to the bus. When we got there, everyone else was awake.
“Hey!” Aleanbh shouted when we climbed on. “How are you?”
“I’m alright,” I muttered. I really didn’t want to have to go through all of these questions again.
“How is she?” Louis asked.
“She’s fine,” I told him, sliding into the booth in the kitchen.
“When will we be able to see her?” Tess asked.
“Whenever she wakes up, I guess.”
“When will that be?” Liam asked.
“Dunno.”
“Did you sleep alright?”
“Yup.”
“Any news we should know about?”
The last question made me think for a moment but I shook my head. No way was I going to tell them without Chloe.
Paul walked into the room and told us we should go see if Chloe’s up. I looked at the clock and agreed. It was almost 7 and even if she wasn’t up on her own a nurse had probably woken her up to make sure she was alright.
We got off the bus and walked into the hospital, down the hall, and into Chloe’s room. A nurse was leaving just as we arrived so it was safe to assume Chloe was awake.
“Hey,” she said with a smile when she saw me enter.
“Morning, love,” I answered, giving her a kiss.
“How are you feeling?” Tess asked, rushing to her bed.
“I’m alright. Have you called my mom?”
Tess nodded and told her about the conversation she’d had with her mom last night. I sat down in my spot on Chloe’s bed and had to try to refrain myself from putting my hand on her stomach. Chloe was tense next to me so I knew she was hoping I wouldn’t do anything to make them suspicious before she got a chance to tell everyone.
When she was finished talking to everyone she looked at me. Her face was questioning, as if she was asking me if it was okay to tell everyone. I nodded and listened as the room grew silent and we were surrounded by weird and confused looks.
“What’s going on?” Liam asked.
Chloe sighed and I rested my arm on her shoulders.
“We have something we need to tell you guys,” I told them and looked at Chloe.
She looked back at me with worried eyes. I could tell she was afraid to tell them. What if they hated her? What if they wanted her to get rid of it? What if they kicked me out of the band?
“Go ahead,” I whispered.
She nodded and looked down at the white blanket laying across her body.
*Louis’ POV*
We all watched anxiously as Chloe and Harry had a moment. Chloe was staring down at the blanket on her bed, obviously having trouble telling us whatever secret she had bottled up inside.
I heard her mumble something but couldn’t quite make out what she’d said.
“Louder, Chloe,” Harry ordered quietly.
Chloe took a deep breath and looked at each of us. “I’m pregnant.”
I felt like I’d been hit by a bus. My stomach dropped to the floor, my throat closed up, my mouth went dry, my heart stopped. I couldn’t breathe. The next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor of the room, everything was black.
I woke up early the next morning long before Chloe should be up. The curtains were drawn but I could tell by the amount of noise in the hospital and traffic sounds outside the window that it was somewhere between 4 and 6 in the morning.
I looked up at Chloe, who was still sleeping peacefully. Her head had fallen a little to one side and her arm was draped behind me from when she was playing with my hair the night before. I noticed my hand was still resting on her stomach and quickly remembered why I had fallen asleep next to her.
Slowly and quietly I shifted my position so I was sitting up without waking Chloe. I looked down at her stomach and back at Chloe’s peaceful face.
“Hi,” I whispered. “I’m your daddy.” I rested both of my hands on either side of her stomach and began talking to my unborn baby. “I’m going to take care of you. When you’re born, I’m going to be the best dad in the world.”
Every once in a while I would look up at Chloe and make sure she was still asleep. No one has ever seen me act this way and I’m not ready for anyone to see it.
“You’re going to be a wonderful child,” I told it. “You’re going to have an amazing life. Your mommy and I will be here for you forever. You’re my little angel.”
I rubbed her stomach for a while before I decided I’d go find everyone else and see where they’d slept. Carefully, I got out of bed and walked to the door. Stepping out into the hallway, I shut the door quietly behind me, and made my way down to the lobby. Doors were closed and there were nurses opening and closing them, making their early morning rounds.
“Can I help you with anything?” A nurse with light brown hair pulled back into a ponytail stopped me in the hallway.
“No, thank you. I’m just going to find my friends.”
She nodded and hurried off in the opposite direction.
I made my way to the lobby and saw only a few elderly patients and some sleeping people in one corner. I exited the building and saw the bus parked in the lot. There were some lights on inside so I figured there was someone awake. I tried the door and was somewhat surprised when it opened right away.
I stepped onto the bus and looked around. There was no one in the driver’s area so I went to the kitchen. No one. I went to the media room and saw Zayn and Niall sitting on the couch watching a movie. They looked up when I walked in and rushed over to me.
“How is she?” Niall asked.
“Is she alright?” Zayn added.
I nodded. “They’ve gotten all of the bullet out, she’ll be fine.” I wanted so badly to tell them about the baby but I knew I’d have to wait until Chloe was ready and let her tell them herself.
“We saw you two sleeping together last night. You looked so peaceful,” Niall told me, sitting back down on the couch. “I took a picture, look.” He grabbed his phone off the table and showed me a picture he’d taken of Chloe and me the night before. He was right. We did look peaceful. I smiled at the picture and wished I was back in the room with her.
“Do you know how long it’ll be before she gets up?” Zayn asked, shutting the T.V. off.
I shook my head. “No idea, but I’m starving. Wanna get hospital breakfast?”
The boys nodded and we entered the hospital again. No one else was awake so we left a note for when they wake up. We walked down a few hallways and entered the cafeteria. There were only a few people in there, most likely family of patients, and we jumped into the short line. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten so I piled my plate high with pancakes, eggs, toast, bacon, and anything else they had that looked relatively appetizing. Niall and Zayn didn’t even have as much on their plates as I did.
We found a table away from everyone and sat down to eat our breakfast. I looked out the window we were seated next to and saw the sun begin to rise in the distance. I couldn’t stop thinking about what it’d be like to watch the sun rise with my child in less than a year.
“Are you okay?” Niall’s voice brought me out of my daydream and I looked away from the window. He and Zayn were watching me, waiting for an answer.
“Yeah, why?”
“Well I asked you a question and you were just spaced out,” Niall told me. “Is there something on your mind?”
I shook my head. “Nope, I’m good. What was your question?”
“Did you enjoy the concert last night?”
I thought back to the concert we’d performed the night before. There were hundreds of girls in the crowd with homemade signs and T-shirts. I’ve gotten used to the noise and excitement of crowds but I still love seeing the fans’ creative sides.
“Yeah, it was fun. Just like always.”
Zayn nodded in agreement.
“It kind of took my mind off of Chloe for a little while,” I added.
“Does she look alright today?” Zayn asked, shoving a fork full of eggs into his mouth.
I nodded. “There’s no more bleeding from her arm and she seems to be in less pain than yesterday.”
“That’s good. I hope we get to leave soon, I hate hospitals,” Zayn responded.
“Me too,” I told him. “They creep me out. All the needles and sick patients are definitely not my cup of tea.”
We ate our breakfast and sat making small talk for a little while longer and went back out to the bus. When we got there, everyone else was awake.
“Hey!” Aleanbh shouted when we climbed on. “How are you?”
“I’m alright,” I muttered. I really didn’t want to have to go through all of these questions again.
“How is she?” Louis asked.
“She’s fine,” I told him, sliding into the booth in the kitchen.
“When will we be able to see her?” Tess asked.
“Whenever she wakes up, I guess.”
“When will that be?” Liam asked.
“Dunno.”
“Did you sleep alright?”
“Yup.”
“Any news we should know about?”
The last question made me think for a moment but I shook my head. No way was I going to tell them without Chloe.
Paul walked into the room and told us we should go see if Chloe’s up. I looked at the clock and agreed. It was almost 7 and even if she wasn’t up on her own a nurse had probably woken her up to make sure she was alright.
We got off the bus and walked into the hospital, down the hall, and into Chloe’s room. A nurse was leaving just as we arrived so it was safe to assume Chloe was awake.
“Hey,” she said with a smile when she saw me enter.
“Morning, love,” I answered, giving her a kiss.
“How are you feeling?” Tess asked, rushing to her bed.
“I’m alright. Have you called my mom?”
Tess nodded and told her about the conversation she’d had with her mom last night. I sat down in my spot on Chloe’s bed and had to try to refrain myself from putting my hand on her stomach. Chloe was tense next to me so I knew she was hoping I wouldn’t do anything to make them suspicious before she got a chance to tell everyone.
When she was finished talking to everyone she looked at me. Her face was questioning, as if she was asking me if it was okay to tell everyone. I nodded and listened as the room grew silent and we were surrounded by weird and confused looks.
“What’s going on?” Liam asked.
Chloe sighed and I rested my arm on her shoulders.
“We have something we need to tell you guys,” I told them and looked at Chloe.
She looked back at me with worried eyes. I could tell she was afraid to tell them. What if they hated her? What if they wanted her to get rid of it? What if they kicked me out of the band?
“Go ahead,” I whispered.
She nodded and looked down at the white blanket laying across her body.
*Louis’ POV*
We all watched anxiously as Chloe and Harry had a moment. Chloe was staring down at the blanket on her bed, obviously having trouble telling us whatever secret she had bottled up inside.
I heard her mumble something but couldn’t quite make out what she’d said.
“Louder, Chloe,” Harry ordered quietly.
Chloe took a deep breath and looked at each of us. “I’m pregnant.”
I felt like I’d been hit by a bus. My stomach dropped to the floor, my throat closed up, my mouth went dry, my heart stopped. I couldn’t breathe. The next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor of the room, everything was black.
6/16/13