The day of the shower came all too quickly. Everyday I would be about ready to tell Niall I couldn't come, but Harry would reassure me that everything was going to be alright. I really hoped so.
The drive to Niall and Laura's felt never ending. Harry held my hand as he drove, trying to calm my nerves. Part of me was excited for this. I'd never seen their house and I always knew Niall would be a great dad. I was mostly concerned of how Laura would try to kill me this time.
When we finally arrived, I saw so many cars parked outside I couldn't even count. Good. If there's enough people I might not have to see Laura. To be honest though, I was kind of looking forward to seeing her all fat and pregnant.
Harry got out first and opened my door, offering his hand as I got out of the car. Could he be any more perfect? I took his hand as we walked to the door of the house. Balloons lined the driveway and cars filled the street. We weren't the only people walking in a bit late, so maybe we'd be able to sneak in unnoticed.
We followed 2 other couples into the foyer. Woah. This place is huge and completely filled with people. My chances of running into Laura were looking even more slim, but I'll probably run into Niall at some point. Knowing I wanted to stay out of the spotlight and attract as little attention as possible, Harry led me to a couch by the fireplace, which was almost hidden by the towering stack of gifts. I added my present to the pile and sat down next to Harry.
"You alright so far, babe?" he asked.
"Of course," I replied, trying to sound as confident as possible.
"We can leave whenever you'd like," he said. "I'd like to see Niall for a minute before, though. So maybe if you don't want to talk to him you can wait in the car."
Just as he said that, I caught a glimpse of Niall's bright blonde hair making its way through the crowd and towards the pile of gifts. Shit. Before I could even think I was crouched on the floor behind the couch in an attempt to stay out of Niall's view.
Harry seemed confused. "Mindy, what are you-"
"Harry! What a surprise! How've you been?" Niall said, Laura coming up right behind him. Holy shit she was huge! Please don't see me. Please don't see me.
"Oh, hey Niall! Congratulations! Wow, Laura, you look amazing!" Harry covered up well.
I peeked over the couch to see Harry take Niall into a hug. This was my chance to run.
There were enough people in the house that I could potentially get away without being seen. I quickly stood up and walked back into the foyer, pushing my way through all of the guests. There had to be at least 200 people there, and that's just counting the people inside the house.
I found a space to stand right by the door, where I could consider my options. Ugh, so many possible directions to go. I opted for the staircase, hoping to find a bathroom or something where I could freshen up and give myself a pep talk before facing Niall.
Upstairs consisted of a long hallway, lined with at least 10 doors and leading to a balcony. One of those doors had to lead to a bathroom. The only way to find out was to open each one.
The first 3 doors disappointed me. Wow, a house with 3 guest bedrooms. That's such a waste of space.
Door number 4 was a closet.
The 5th door....YES a bathroom! Just as I was about to close the door I heard a footsteps outside. Shit. I jumped behind the shower curtain, hoping the passerby wasn't looking for a bathroom. Thankfully, the footsteps continued on and into the next room. I wonder who it was?
I climbed back out of the shower and stared at myself in the mirror.
"You can do this." I said to myself. "He was your best friend, and probably still is. Grudges don't last forever."
Suddenly I heard a thump from the room next door, followed by a yelp. I could hear a woman's voice cussing. She probably dropped something. But the cussing continued, and I could hear a few sniffs and possibly even a wail. Was she crying? I needed to check.
I cracked open the bathroom door. The coast was clear. Time to investigate.
The woman's voice led me to the door across the hall. As I twisted the handle and walked in, my jaw dropped.
"Oh my God!" Laura screamed, running into the closet as she saw me. "What the hell are you doing in here?!"
"I was just checking-"
Oh my goodness. Lying there on the floor next to the bed was a bump. Not just any bump....a fake baby bump. I thought this was only something you see in the movies. This could mean only one thing...She'd been faking the whole pregnancy.
"Go away!" Laura yelled. She was crying again.
"I...What's going o-"
Suddenly the door flew open behind me.
"Baby! Are you alri-" Niall stood in the doorway with Harry close behind him. Both of them were stunned.
"Niall, it's not what it looks like." Laura cried.
"Well then what is it?" he said, tears streaming down his face. Oh God, I really wanted to just hug him.
"I should probably get go-"
"No," Niall said to me. "Stay here, Mindy. Laura, what's going on?" I couldn't tell whether he was more angry or sad. Either way, Laura was screwed.
"I.....I had to," she cried, burrying her head into her hands. "I had to do it to save us."
"WE were perfectly fine," Niall yelled. "WE didn't need to be saved."
"You were so worried about HER that you were hurting our marriage!" Laura replied, pointing an angry finger at me. "Do you know what it's like to see your husband in love with someone else? It's devastating!"
Niall just stood there in awe. I looked at Harry and he looked back, tears coming to his eyes. He knew how this was going to end.
