The Heartbreak Factor - Part Three

Chapter Fifty-Four.

“Right, do you honestly need all these clothes?” George laughed, looking at my two suitcases that were bursting to the brim with my clothes. “We’re only there for five days.”

“George,” I said, looking at him with a serious glare as I sat down on the bed beside him. “Do you realise how hard it is hiding a baby bump? I’m six months and already getting huge.”

I stood up from the bed and stood in front of the mirror, admiring the bump that had magically grown in the past week. Lifting my hoodie up, I put my hand on it and patted it gently. “Yeah, but your baby bump is just so cute,” George grinned, throwing a pillow at me.

I turned to look at him, still patting my bump. “Did you feel that baby?” I joking asked my bump. “Daddy’s going to be grounded if he doesn’t pack it in.”

“Whatever,” he laughed, throwing another pillow at me.

“Hey!” I screeched. “If this baby is born with attitude, I’m blaming you.”

“Just shut up and get ready,” George grinned to me, picking the pillows up from the floor and placing them back down on the bed. “We’re meeting everyone at the airport in an hour.”

“An hour?” I asked. “We have plenty of time.”

“You still need to decide on what you’re wearing to the airport yet,” George laughed, walking out the room to finish sorting his stuff out.

“Oh,” I said, looking at the huge pile of clothes by the wardrobe door.

*

“I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and my cardigan,” Chloe began to sing as we walked down the corridor towards the airport’s main terminal. “Welcome to the land of fame excess, am I gonna fit in?”

*

“I jumped in the cab here I am for the first time, look to my right and I see the Hollywood sign,” I continued to sing as the taxi that was driving us to our hotel drove through the streets of Los Angeles. “This is all so crazy. Everybody seems so famous.”

“My tummy’s turning and I’m feeling kinda homesick. Too much pressure and I’m nervous,” Chloe grinned as we sat next to each other in the back of the taxi, swaying in unison. “That’s when the taxi man turned on the radio and the Jay Z song was on.”

“And the Jay Z song was on,” Elle joined in.

“And the Jay Z song was on!”

“So I put my hands up, they’re playing’ my song and the butterflies fly away,” me, Elle and Chloe carried on singing. “I’m nodding my head like yeah.. moving my hips like..”

Jaymi interrupted us all before we had chance to finish singing the line from the song. “No, just no.”

*

As the taxi finally pulled up to the entrance of the hotel where we were going to be staying, I looked up at the sunshine that was shining down on Los Angeles. Even though none of us had had any sleep for the past 24 hours, we all couldn’t wait to get out and explore California as none of us had ever been here before.

Once we got checked in and had our luggage taken up to our hotel rooms, I stood on the balcony and looked over the side at the view of the city below us. “Wow,” I said as I smiled at the different buildings and the breath-taking views.

In the distance you could see the Hollywood sign, clearly standing proudly on the side of the Hollywood hills. Wrapping his arms around my waist and putting his hands on my bump, George hugged us both. We stood on the balcony, taking the amazing view in, for a few more moments until a knock at the door interrupted us.

“I’ll get it,” George grinned, kissing me on my forehead.

I watching him walk through the hotel room to the door and open it. A few moments later, Josh, Chloe, JJ, Elle, Jaymi and Olly walked into our room and sat on the sofas. “What’s up guys?” I asked, walking into the hotel room and leaving the view of Los Angeles behind me.

“Girls, we’re going to go shopping while the boys go rehearse for their performance,” Olly grinned.

“Shopping? I hope they do tent shops on Rodeo Drive,” Chloe joked, poking my baby bump gently.

*

Walking down Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles’ most prestigious shopping street, I couldn’t help but admire all the dresses in the shop windows. I also couldn’t help but feel silly walking through Los Angeles in the middle of August when it was about 40 degrees in a baggy jumper and skinny jeans.

“Have you even decided what dress you’re wearing for the awards?” Elle asked me as we continued to walk past all the shop windows, glaring at every dress on display.

“Yeah,” I smiled. “It hides my bump so well.”

“When are you telling everyone?” Olly asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I have no idea,” I smiled. “I suppose we’ll have to do it soon but it’s just finding that right time, you know.”

“You do want people to know, don’t you?” Chloe asked me as we walked past another shop with another beautiful dress in the window.

I shrugged my shoulders again.

“What’s wrong, Sammy?” Olly asked, putting his arm around my shoulder.

“Telling everyone means that we’ll get media attention and I really don’t want that,” I said. “I want this baby without the media knowing because the media can ruin things and I won’t let them ruin this baby for me.”

“But people will be happy for you,” Elle smiled. “The media can twist things – yeah, but come on, people love you two as a couple and look at what they were like when you two said you were calling off the engagement.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “We’ll see,” I smiled.