Wish You Were Here - Part 3

Chapter 28

HARRY'S POV

I struggle to keep a grip on the boxes and garment bags in my hands as I fiddle with unlocking the front door, silently cursing myself for not taking Tyler's advice and getting everything delivered.

I'm a little more tense about Will's art show opening tonight than maybe I should be. Tyler has warned me that the media are aware of my intention to attend and although I'm so happy that I can use the exposure to help Will out, knowing this kind of attention is exactly what he needs to promote his show, I'm anxious about Liv and I being there together in such an open environment.

"Guys, I know this is a personal event for you but there will be paparazzi there and you won't be able to avoid each other the whole night." Tyler told Liv and I last week.

"Honestly, I get you don't want to feed the media beast, but the reality is you will be photographed, honey." He directed his line of fire at Liv and I was grateful this warning was coming from him not me. "At least let me get you a fucking amazing dress," he joked and Liv smiled politely as she reluctantly nodded and bit the side of her lip nervously.

Stylists bombarded the house a couple of days ago with racks of clothing and boxes of shoes and accessories for the both of us. Liv had insisted she wanted to dye her hair back to its natural colour the day before and this had her confidence on an upward slope a tiny amount.

I could tell she was completely overwhelmed by the amount of people in our house, usually and deliberately, a private sanctuary, but she put on a brave face as they prodded and poked her, pulled clothes over her head and talked about things she had no idea about.

I finally get my key in the door and fling it open, letting it slam behind me as I dump the contents of my arms on the closest surface.

"Liv? Babe?" I yell into the empty rooms as I make my way into the lounge and kitchen, peering around each wall to try and find her. Maybe if we are quick, we can get in a little romp before the hair and makeup people arrive for her.

I shrug my coat off as I walk down the hallway to our bedroom, pouting a little when she's not there and proceed to hang my coat up despite the urge to throw it on the bed or floor.

My rings dropping when I deposit them onto the bedside table nearly drowns out the sound that echos through the adjoining bathroom and my scalp prickles as I stop moving to listen again, praying to god that my ears are playing tricks on me.

My heart slams into my chest when I hear the pained noise again and I move as quickly as possible to push open the bathroom door, trying to catch the breath that seems to have escaped me as my eyes search for the worst case scenario.

My gaze falls on Olivia immediately as she sits on the floor in front of the toilet, hugging her knees into her chest.

A chunky white knit covers the top half of her body as her jeans lay on the floor beside her, clearly she was about to have a shower and something stopped her.

Her head snaps up when she hears the door fly open, a little gasp pulling into her lungs and the sight of her tear stained face and blood shot eyes cracks a jagged edge down the center of my heart.

"Baby," I manage to choke out as my knees hit the cold, hard tiles beside her and I pull her body into mine, my heart pounding in my chest and Liv's delicate fingers clawing into the fabric of my sweatshirt.

My mind swirls with possibilities that could have caused this, is it because of the pressure of tonight? Is it having stylists and make up artists making her feel like she's not good enough? Is it the enviability of the abuse she is going to get from my fans and the general public for being seen holding my hand tonight? Is it all too much?

"I. got. my. period," she gulps between gasps for air and my stomach plunges down with so much force I feel like I've been kicked. My body slumps back in shock as my bottom hits the tiles and I try and process what's going on.

She whispers an almost inaudible, "I'm so sorry," that is so guilt ridden and filled with defeat that it physically hurts.

I can't help the whimper that escapes the back of my throat and Liv's cries escalate in volume at the small sign of my comprehension of what that actually means.

I was so sure this month was different.

The lump in my throat is swelling by the second and my chest hurts with an inexplicable pressure that feels like it's on the verge of suffocating me with every painful breathe I suck in.

I shake my head, not ready to let go as I blurt out the first thing that comes into my head.

"I read sometimes you can still get your period even when you are..." I start, denial washing my brain clear of logic and maybe a little sensitivity for the broken woman beside me.

She pulls away abruptly and is on her feet within a fraction of a second and I am so taken aback that I follow instinctively, rising up just in time to see her snatch a pregnancy test off the countertop.

She holds it up in front of me momentarily, her eyes distressed and her face hysterical before haste and pure agony causes her to hurl the plastic into the wall with a gut wrenching sob.

I didn't need to see the result to understand the devastation that the obviously negative, test has caused and I fight back the tears burning my nose as I try and console my distraught wife.

My heart is pounding and my breath short as I reach an arm out to her but she snaps it away, her hands coving her eyes as she struggles to deal with anything more than the pain.

She's been hiding all of this from me. Hiding how much this is affecting her, how emotionally depleted she is, staggering through our lives with a fake smile on her face and false sense of hope on her tongue.

The last eight months of negative tests have been nothing like this, unless she had been hiding that too. She had been disappointed and clearly a little upset but the minute I would join her in the misery she snapped out of it, telling me that it was fine, speaking with an odd sense of optimism and positivity and reassuring me that it will happen when it's meant to.

Looking at her now, standing before me as she wails into her palms, I know the last eight months have been an act, a completely fabricated response to protect herself... or is it to protect me?

Fuck.

A/N:

Hey guys!

Thanks for being patient for this chapter!

Are we all ok? :( poor H&O :( 

PLEASE VOTE if you are loving it

Love Ruby

x