When I Come Around

Chapter 16

I woke up early the next morning, my nerves preventing me from sleeping any longer. I took a shower, changing to sweat pants and a vintage AC-DC t-shirt. I didn't do much to my hair, simply putting it in a messy bun. I would wear something else, but my baby bump was getting much bigger so it was hard to wear skinny jeans like I used to wear. Instead, I wore the loosest clothing in my wardrobe. When I walked out of my bedroom, Harry was awake and eating cereal.

"Good morning," I said with a smile.

"Morning," Harry said, grinning towards me, "you feeling good this morning?"

"Feeling refreshed after that shower," I said, pouring a bowl of cereal.

"So am I," he said, "we could have saved water and showered together." He wiggled his eyebrows, making me laugh. Harry was definitely one to crack cheeky jokes. For a few moments, my mind was off the ultrasound appointment and Harry's meeting.

"I'll pass," I said, giggling. He smirked, eating more cereal.

Later that day, Harry and I sat inside a white room with a large table. There were only three other people in the room excluding us, and they seemed like big-shots to me based on their suits and dialogue.

"We realise you want to announce your relationship as soon as possible, but we need to take what is offered to us. If we wait for the birth, the media will go crazy," a middle-aged man explained.

"That is five months away! You expect us to hide our relationship for five months?" Harry said.

"Five months isn't that long, Harry, and that is saying her pregnancy is full-term. Let's say the baby is pre-mature, that will be beneficial to the both of us. Sooner to announce your relationship, and more press for us! The media will love it! Harry Styles coming out with a new girlfriend and fathering a pre-mature baby, the struggle of being a new father!" Another man said, waving his arms around while he spoke.

"I am not going to hope for a premature birth to announce our relationship. Can't Harry control his relationship himself? It is your job to help him, not control him," I spoke up.

"Valerie, we understand you are not familiar with the way this management works, let alone any production company works, so we prefer to only speak to Harry for now," the first man said, and I fell quiet. I glanced away, looking down at my thumbs.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that! I brought her here to share her opinion, she is my girlfriend, so you can listen to her," Harry said.

"Ms. Kidd, your point is valid, but we don't necessarily control him. We try to manage him, just as our titles call for. How can we manage him if he doesn't listen to us?" The same man responded.

"A human is not meant to be managed, he isn't some sort of property. We are both people, we aren't something you bought," I said softly.

"We can't stay here all-day, we have an appointment for the baby. I will e-mail you guys later, this isn't over," Harry said, standing up. I stood, following a fuming Harry out of the building. Harry got into the car, starting it.

"Sorry I pulled you into this all," Harry said, pulling out of the parking lot.

"I'll be there from the beginning to the end," I said lightly, buckling my seatbelt. Harry glanced over to me, and even though what I had said was nonchalant, it seemed to mean a big deal to Harry.

"So will I," he said with a small smile. I smiled towards him, holding his hand while he drove.

Later that day, I laid on the ultrasound table while Harry held my hand. I was holding my t-shirt up with my spare hand, watching the screen as the nurse rubbed the cold gel on my stomach.

"There's the little girl!" The nurse said with a smile as my baby popped onto the screen, "everything is looking good still." I smiled softly, unable to take my eyes off the screen. I couldn't tell much about her appearance from the screen, but I tried to imagine what she would look like once he was born. Would she have my eyes and nose? Or will she favour Andrew? I was excited to finally hold my little girl.

"How is her heartbeat?" Harry asked, glancing towards the nurse. The nurse moved the machine around a bit, and a heartbeat filled the room.

"Still irregular, not how we would want it," the nurse said. I felt disappointed, my shoulders slumping slightly. "But don't worry, we have a fetal cardiologist on site today, she will hear it and determine if it is something we need to work on," the nurse said, exiting the room. I glanced up towards Harry, dropping his hand just to wipe my eye. My eyes were slightly watery as I dwelled on the fact that something may be wrong with my Baby Girl.

"It will be okay, Valerie. We can get through anything, especially you," Harry said, rubbing my arm.

"What did I do wrong? I stopped drinking when I found out I was pregnant, I stopped smoking when I found out I was pregnant, i have taken all the vitamins, I have done everything, Harry, absolutely everything," I said, staring up at the ceiling.

"We don't even know yet, Val. Everything may be alright, just wait, okay? Just wait," Harry said. I nodded, sniffing before the nurse and cardiologist came in. Almost instantly upon hearing the heart-beat, the cardiologist diagnosed it as infant tachycardia.

"For most babies it resolves itself in the first year or so, but if it doesn't we have other methods to clear it up. We will monitor the heart-beat from now on to make sure it doesn't worsen, but overall we just have to wait it out," the cardiologist explained to Harry and I.

"That's all? We just have to monitor the heart-beat? What happens if it changes?" Harry asked.

"We can give medications to regulate the heartbeat, and if the problem doesn't subside by her first birthday, we will look into pacemakers," the nurse said, "are you familiar with pacemakers, Valerie?"

"My dad used a pacemaker," I said, looking towards the nurse.

"Heart problems may be genetic, if your father had heart issues aswell," the nurse said, "but I wouldn't worry about the pacemaker. Only a handful of thousands of babies end up needing a pacemaker, but your baby is overall healthy despite her heart. Tachycardia will most likely heal itself over time." I felt slightly relieved, glancing over to Harry.

"I would like to give you this packet, it basically explains everything about tachycardia and how it works and all that good stuff, so once you get home, take a few minutes to look through this. It can help you even after she is born," the cardiologist said, handing Harry a few papers, "any questions?" Harry an I both shook our heads.

"Thank you, this makes me feel much better," I said.

"It is what we are here for," the nurse said, "if you have any questions, you can call us anytime and we can help you out." I nodded, sitting up. Harry took my hand, standing up with me. We left the doctor's office, silently walking to the car. I know I had said I felt better, but I was stressed. I couldn't help but imagine scenarios where her heartbeat simply stopped, or after she was born and I couldn't afford a pacemaker to be set. This made me realise I had to get my act together quickly, because no matter how I sliced it, this baby depended on me. I was her mother, and even if Harry wanted to father the baby, I already learned that sometimes fathers don't stick around by Andy's actions.