2 7 1 |Noorhelm|

DAY 59: AUGUST 2ND

It was still too early for the sun to rise, leaving the living-room in smooth darkness. Even though the storm never really  hit the shore, this morning after, seemed to be like the silence after the storm. Perhaps the storm had been all in her head, heart and gut, tormenting her for the past week. The two had fallen asleep on the couch after a very long, hard but also very liberating night. Though the very dramatic essence of the situation hadn't lasted for much longer than a week, all the feelings Noora had inside made her feel like it'd been months. William held her all night, never letting go of her. Not even when she explained the whole sneaky Chris-situation.

"So when I realised that I had to tell you, and that I would never feel any more ready, I walked out to talk to you..."

"And Chris was there. Alone," William had finished her sentence, understanding where the story was going. He remembered going out that night, and how she'd been all sick and weird.

"Yeah," taking a pause, considering how she would form her sentence, Noora gently bit into her bottom lip. The feeling of William's firm chest and heart beating underneath it kept her from panicking. He was here.

"I was so lost in thought that it hit me real hard that you weren't there. I didn't mean to tell him first. Really, I wanted to tell you. But he noticed how off I was, started asking question - just being nice, you know - and I just broke down. There was so much pressure on me and I couldn't stand it for another second. It all poured out of me. But then after the quick feeling of relief, I got from telling someone, almost like this emotional high, you came back and I instantly shut down again. I felt even worse, because I knew I'd told Chris first. I'm so sorry."

His arms tightened around her.

"Shh, Noora. Fuck that. Doesn't matter anymore."

Then Noora remembered the doctor's appointment, and instantly felt bad again. She had to lay out all of her cards. No secrets. It'd only come back later on and bite her.

"William?"

"Uhum?" He mumbled into her hair.

"That day you saw us come back together? Where you'd been out grocery shopping?"

She felt his muscles tense beneath her, transferring the anxious feeling to her body.

"Yeah?"

Noora turned her head to look up at him. She had to look him in the eyes, even if it'd kill her or be the last time.

"I went to a doctor's appointment. To make sure that I was actually pregnant."

William, who hadn't moved for hours, somehow managed to freeze again. Their stares were locked, for better and for worse, as Noora continued to explain.

"Since Chris was the only one to know, and I couldn't get myself to say it aloud again, he drove me there."

William took a deep breath, holding back the huge mess of emotions inside of him. He couldn't deny that he was disappointed. Disappointed in her for not telling him first, but also disappointed in himself for intimidating her to the point, where it took her multiple days to tell him this.

"He stayed outside in the car, while I went in there. Then afterwards, he drove me home and the rest is history..." She trailed off, not knowing whether or not she should expect some sort of reply from him. His eyes had trailed away from hers, now staring into the couch. Suddenly he snapped back to look at her.

"Why didn't you bring Chris to the appointment with you?"

At first, Noora was very taken back by the question, trying to figure out if he was being curious or just petty. Replaying it in her head, there was no sign of anger in his voice. She swallowed.

"If you couldn't be the one to be there, I didn't want to do it with anyone else. Please don't be mad at Chris, okay? I accidentally dragged him into this, and he was just being a good friend to me."

William nodded, staring into her eyes, looking surprisingly calm even though his face was very stern still. The couple sat in another, one of many, silence. A gentle breeze came in through the slightly open window, spewing life and freshness into the dark room. Everything did seem to be okay. Perhaps it actually was.

"So... You're definitely pregnant?"

The blonde nodded, looking down in what seemed like shame. Smoothly, like only he could, William placed his index finger under her chin, tipping her head up to look at him. This allowed him to carefully lean in and peck her forehead, then the bridge of her nose and lastly her lips. When he pulled back, he was met by the sight of a very surprised Noora. Raised eyebrows, slightly parted lips and glowing eyes.

"I'm not saying that this couldn't have been handled better, and that I'm not hurt," he looked down for a brief moment, his bangs falling in front of his face, before he looked at her again. "But I can't let my emotions run off and fuck us up again. I need you and you need me. More than ever now, okay? Please just... Don't ever be afraid to tell me stuff in the future? I'm not as insane as I used to be," his lips curled into a tiny, crooked smile. Hers followed along, as she nodded before leaning in to peck his lips back. When she pulled back, the little smile was gone again.

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

She frowned.

"You didn't do it on purpose. You're human."

He pulled her back in for a tight hug, placing his lips against her temple and keeping them there. For the remaining of the night, they held onto each other, just like they used to. Few words were exchanged, but they'd all been filled with adoration and confirming the love they had for each other. When Noora fell asleep on his chest, completely exhausted from everything that'd happened, he couldn't bear to wake her up. Deciding that the couch would do just fine for the night, he placed his head on top of hers, drifting off as well, as he looked out the window and into the clear, starry night. This was the first time this week that he felt somewhat calm.

He already knew, but this just confirmed it. William Magnusson could never live without this woman.