𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖 • 𝕞.𝕔

chapter 32

•••

    I woke up this morning with a headache, wondering how long it would be until this goddamn baby would decide to pop out of the womb. It was getting tiring; and I knew I repeated myself a hell of a lot, but that was the only way there was to describe it. The thirty six weeks appointment was yet to attend. And I was so happy that Michael had kept his promise. Not once had he disappointed me; but I felt as if work was taking more and more of his time.

The album was nearly finished, and the recording of the last songs were also taking days. And days. And days. I would fall asleep on my own, and wake up alone as well, wondering where he was. But he'd come home, kiss my forehead, and tell me that he was trying his hardest. And I believed him, because how could you resist to him?

"Michael," I groaned, and when he felt me moving him slightly, he opened of of his eyes. "Love, time to get up. The appointment."

"I don't want to," he replied.

"I know, neither do I," I sighed. "But we have to go, then you can go home and sleep all day, if you feel like it. But please, get up, baby."

   He pulled the duvet over his head, as he always did, and I didn't question it. Instead, I got up, got ready, ate breakfast, and when I was ready to go, only then he decided to get up and get dressed; eating biscuits for breakfast as he started the car to go to the doctor's.

"You know," he said, mouth full. "I have to go to work straight after."

"Do you?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I'll drop you home, and then go."

"That's totally fine. You've been so busy, I appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to come with me to the appointments. You're great at daddy duties."

"You're great, dude."

"Did you just dude me? Thanks for saying I'm great, bro."

"This got awkward."

"You bet it did," I chuckled.

•••

   I muttered a shy thanks to Ashton holding the door for me as we all entered the same pub we'd gone to a few weeks ago. Ashton and I had gotten very few interaction, but it was just as cold as before, unsurprisingly. I wasn't so angry about him anymore, though, because although he wanted to make me believe it, he did not hate me, and I didn't hate him.

Maybe we even wanted to be friends with each other, but it was too tense between the both of us to be friendly quite yet. Maybe later, I thought.

   We all took place around the table, with extra room for me and my belly, which was enormous by now. I was more than aware that from now on, it could be here anytime, and considered early term. I was just hoping that it would not, and that it'd wait a little bit more, just a little bit more. This couldn't be it quite yet.

   Our friends didn't say much about the baby, else than asking when it was due. I would reply shyly, and Michael would just smile. I didn't want to talk about it too much, because I felt as if people would think that I was just here to talk about myself, and I didn't want to. The conversation soon deviated on Luke and Calum.

"Did Michael tell you about our roadtrip, Lee?" Luke asked. "We are going to Scotland."

"To Scotland?" I asked enthusiastically. "When?"

"In two weeks," Calum replied. "For three days."

I glanced at Michael. In two weeks, the very last appointment with the doctor would take place, and I had asked him to go with me. "Oh, right. That's convenient."

"I'll be back for your appointment," he said. "Don't worry, please. I'll be here."

"I hope you will," I answered, trying to look pleased and carefree, when I really wasn't. "I want you to be here."

"Pregnant women are so needy," Ashton just said, smirking. "Annoying."

"Shut up," I just muttered under my breath. "I'm not being needy, I just need someone by my side."

"Of course, you do, I understand," Ashton replied sarcastically.

   I didn't say anything for the rest of the evening.

•••