baby love (h.s.)

one

"Harry, I'm pregnant."

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, hoping the words might get easier to say the tenth time around. Unfortunately, they were still something I wasn't used to, especially not with the extra name attached to them. Harry. I barely even knew the guy, and now...I was having his baby.

I tried to recall everything I had been told about him, prior to our first meeting. According to my friends, he was charming, funny, and handsome. Unfortunately, the only thing that had proven to be true was the final one.

And yet you still slept with him, the annoying voice in the back of my head reminded me.

It wasn't like I had slept with him because of his winning personality. It was more of the handsome part. Also, I had been desperate. Being stuck in a sex rut was definitely easier said than done, that was for sure.

"I'm pregnant," I repeated to myself. "I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant." The more I said the words, the less real they felt. I had no idea how I was going to break the news to anyone, let alone Harry. He wasn't my boyfriend, he wasn't my friend--hell, he wasn't even my acquaintance. What the hell was I going to do?

I needed a plan. The one I had sustained for the past six years of my life had fallen apart the second that pregnancy test came back pink, so now it was time for a new one. And the first step in said plan was to text Harry.

Hi, Harry. It's Grace—Niall's friend. We spent the night together a month ago, remember? It's okay if you don't. But you probably should, because, well...we need to talk. Call me when you get this.

I didn't allow myself to waste time overthinking my word choice before pressing send. The way I phrased my sentence should be the last thing on my mind right now, and I guaranteed when he heard my big news, it wouldn't even cross his.

I wondered how he would react. I was guessing badly. From the little I knew about Harry, he wasn't the relationship type--I had no idea how he was going to handle being a father. Or maybe he wouldn't handle it all. Maybe he would tell me he didn't want to have any part in this child's life. I wasn't sure what to think of that, and so I decided not to think about it at all, and instead chose to rip open a bag of Cheetos.

My cravings had officially started. Or at least I thought they were from pregnancy--I always wanted Cheetos, so I couldn't exactly tell. Before my mind could dwell on what was to come, however, I was interrupted by the buzzing of my phone. Harry was calling.

How had he seen the message so quickly? I had only sent it a couple of minutes ago! I quickly swallowed a Cheeto before picking up the phone, hoping my fears would go down with the snack.

"Hello?"

I had forgotten how posh his accent was. He sounded like he had just walked straight out of The Crown. That's when it dawned on me that I had no idea where Harry worked, or what he even did. This just kept on getting worse and worse.

"Harry!" I squeaked. I hadn't intended for my voice to come out sounding so high-pitched, and I could practically envision him wincing on the other line. "Um, hi, it's Grace. From last month?"

"Do you really think I could forget you?" he smirked. (Well, at least I assumed he was smirking.) "We had quite a night, didn't we?"

Quite a night, indeed. "Um...about that," I said nervously. "Do you think we could meet somewhere to talk? It's important."

Harry paused for a moment before saying, "Yeah, sure. Where do you wanna meet?"

"We could meet at The Grind," I suggested, referring to the local coffeehouse. The only thing I knew about Harry was that he lived in the same building as my friend Niall, who had set us up, so at least I knew his place was nearby. That would certainly make things easier--once again, if he wanted to be a part of the baby's life, of course.