About You ✸ Paul Mescal, discontinued

O57'

Orla had woken up to the sound of Paul spitting a mixture of toothpaste and water from his mouth in the adjoining bathroom. Paul was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, wearing just a pair of pajama bottoms, his hair still damp from the shower he had just taken. He looked up as he heard her stir

"Sorry, love," he said apologetically. "Did I wake you?"

"It's fine, I need to get up anyway." She said as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed to meet the wooden flooring. Paul rinsed his mouth and turned to her, watching as she got out of bed. He noticed how exhausted she still looked, despite the night of sleep they had just had.

"You don't look like you slept much," he commented, his voice laced with concern."Thanks." She chuckled softly, Paul smiled at her, appreciating her attempt at humor.

"You know what I mean," he said, more seriously this time. "You look like you didn't get a wink of sleep."

"I got some, I'm gonna order some stuff from the corner shop, you want anything?" She asked, Paul thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Nah, I'm good," he said. "I think we've got most everything we need, right?"

"Yeah, I'm just ordering chocolate and drinks and stuff, I need to thank my mam for staying with us this long." She said, Paul nodded, knowing how much she appreciated her mom being there for them. He was grateful too, but he also knew that her mother couldn't stay forever.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," he said. "She's been a lifesaver, really."

"Who are we going to tell today? I kind of want to get it over with." She admitted, Paul's expression darkened at the thought. It wasn't something he was particularly looking forward to, but he knew they couldn't keep it to themselves forever.

"Yeah, me too," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I guess we should start with our closest friends first, right?"

"Do you wanna sit and type up a message together and then send it to everyone we're close to?" She asked. Paul nodded, feeling relieved that she had suggested it. The thought of having to tell everyone individually made his stomach twist into knots.

"Yeah, that's probably the best way to do it," he agreed. "That way we don't have to repeat ourselves over and over again." She nodded, Paul walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. He opened his laptop and turned it on.

"Let's get this over with, then," he said, his voice lacking enthusiasm. Orla types for a few minutes before turning to Paul and reading what she's said aloud.

"Hi." She stops "I've left a gap for us to add their name, we've been quiet for the past two days, we were expecting a baby and had found out quite early on, unfortunately, we lost the baby late the other night, and have been recovering in hospital and at home since." She continued "I don't know what else to say."

Paul listened to what she had written out loud, feeling a lump form in his throat. It was so concise and to the point, but it said everything they needed it to say.

"I think that's good," he said softly. "It's not too much, but it covers all the important stuff. Do you want me to proof read it before we send it?" She nodded, handing him her phone.

Paul took the phone from her and read over what she had written carefully. After a few moments, he looked up at her. "I think it's perfect," he said, handing her the phone back. "Short and to the point. It's gonna be hard no matter what we say, though." *Orla sighed and nodded, knowing he was right. She took a deep breath, gathering herself.*

"Okay," she said, mustering up as much courage as she could. "Let's send it out."

They sent the messages to all of their friends, after personalising the message with the friends names and such. Once they were done she looked up at him "Do you want to wait up here for a bit or go downstairs?" Paul leaned back against the headboard, feeling a mixture of exhaustion and anxiety. He looked at her, trying to gauge her mood.