Do I Wanna Know?

Chapter 36

FIVE MONTHS LATER

Being pregnant was fun, I thought. Sure, it was hard in the beginning once my body had to start adjusting to all the changes, but then I was amazed by how it settled into the idea that there was a human inside of me, and it needed to adjust accordingly to keep growing that human.

I liked taking pictures of my belly as it grew every week, I liked waiting for Harry to come home after a long day to talk to me and her in bed, I liked having Adam around more so he could make all the ridiculous meals I was craving, I liked sending Harry on an ice cream run at 3 AM and then eating it in bed with him.

That was all great and fun, until now.

My due date was in three days and my belly was currently practically bigger than my entire body as a whole. I never gained much weight anywhere else so I was still a twig without the strength I needed to get around like a functioning human, I was having mood swings that even started to scare Harry a little bit, and that was saying something.

But although the nursery was all set up, I had read the books and articles, and my hospital bag was ready to go, I was in denial over everything that was about to happen to me. The idea of having the baby didn't scare me half as much as physically giving birth to it.

And that's why I was trying to act like nothing was wrong when in reality, my uterus was trying to kill me from the inside out. The contractions were worse than any pain I had ever felt in my life, and I wondered if that was normal while still being too scared to speak up.

Maria was currently watching me like a hawk as I insisted on pouring my own glass of orange juice, when doing so might as well have been running a marathon.

"Miss Grace..."

"Uh-uh," I grunted. "I'm fine."

"You don't...look fine," she practically whispered, probably scared of my mood swings too.

"No," I closed my eyes and breathed slowly. "See? I'm good."

She nodded but left her gaze fixed on me as I raised the glass to my lips and attempted to drink it. A minute later, the next contraction hit and I nearly choked trying to finish the glass.

"Okay, I'm just gonna go get Mr. Styles now–"

"No!" I slapped my hand on the counter just to help me bend over. "No, I'm okay. They're busy in a meeting."

"Miss Grace," she sighed. "The whole reason he's been working from home was so he could be here if you went into labor, and you're going into labor."

My eyes started to water, and I began to sob out of nowhere. I didn't even have to try and cry these days, it just happened against my will. "I don't want to."

"I'm sorry, but if I don't go get him now he's going to be very angry with both of us."

Those were her parting words for me as I swiped at the glass of orange juice until it shattered in the sink, stomping my right foot into the kitchen floor as I tried breathing again.

Harry came running in ten seconds later, followed by Louis, Zayn, and Niall. "What the fuck is happening?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," I breathed through my mouth, but standing up straight was apparently not an option when I attempted it.