look at me | wroetoshaw

Chapter 33

"No! No I haven't told him yet because you keep calling and texting me!" I say, a little frustrated as I take yet another call from Harry, who is anxiously waiting for Simon's reaction to our pregnancy. He was over at Ethan's flat, purely because I did not want the drama of Simon playing the overprotective big brother today. 

"Okay...okay, sorry. But you'll definitely text me how it goes, yeah?" He asks, for what feels like the tenth time today. 

"Yes, Harry. Like I told you the last time, and the time before that, okay?" I promise him, saying goodbye and hanging up. It would be a miracle if Simon wasn't suspicious by now. 

"Oh look! She's back again...you're popular today," he comments, looking up from his phone as I walk back into the living room. 

I still haven't given him any indication of why I invited him round today...but now is the moment to tell him everything. 

"Yeah...sorry. Work calls and that. Heavy load when tour gets cancelled and the media has a field day with you," I say sarcastically, enjoying watching him squirm at the awkwardness.

"I'm kidding, Simon. Just some friends checking up on me, no idea why they all chose today," I lied, but at least it was a harmless one. 

"Oh right...well, anyway, how come you invited me over? Not that I'm not glad...because I am, it's nice to catchup, but it was just kinda sudden."

"Well, I actually have something important to tell yo," I start, sitting down next to him on the sofa. 

"Oh yeah? What is it? You're not moving back up to Manchester again, are you? Oh god, are you moving" He asked, his tone panicked. 

"No! No, no! We aren't moving anywhere, stop freaking out! No, we're staying in London. Indefinitely. What I was going to tell you was that I'm actually pregnant-" I start, but interrupted by a gasp from him and a strangled what! 

"You're pregnant?! Like, congrats, but I thought you were waiting?" He said, and I could tell that he was unsure of how to react. Like he hadn't made his mind up whether or not this was a good or a bad thing. 

"Well, yeah, that was the plan but it kind of just unexpectedly hap-"

"He got you pregnant by mistake?" He asked, standing up now. 

"Sit down, stop the dramatics and listen. I don't need you to be angry at Harry, I need you to be supportive of this and to be here with me, because I want you here. I need you here."

His expression softened at my words. "How many weeks are you?"

"Crap, I don't know, not many. All I know is that they're due in March," I tell him, watching as a small smile starts to form on his face. 

"I'm gonna be an uncle?"

"You sure are," I grin, taken aback as he reaches over to hug me. 

"Are you - are you gonna tell Mum and Dad?" He asked, and he was hesitant to even ask. 

I stiffened, pulling out of the hug, feeling awkward now. "Why would I tell them? We don't talk," I say plainly. 

"Soph...I know you guys don't always get on, but you're having their grandkid! They'd love to be involved, and I know they're willing to try again if you would be...Nick and Johnny too!"

"I don't have a problem with Nick and Johnny?"

"But you have a problem with Mum and Dad? What even happened for you to hate them so much?" He questioned. 

It never occurred to me that I had never really told Simon the whole extent of it. I'd always just labelled the distance as a problem, and clearly Simon had interpreted that as me hating them. 

"We just - we just don't connect, you know? We didn't agree on anything, we always argued, and it felt so unnatural. Everything was awkward at home all the time and I hated being there. I hated living at home. Why'd you think I stayed at my friends' houses for long periods of time? I felt like I couldn't be myself in their house and it made my teenage years hell! It was one of the worst points of my life and if I connect with them again I'm scared I'll fall back into it! And this is honestly none of your business so I'd appreciate it if we could just - move on!"

"Why did you never tell me any of this? How you were feeling?" He asks, his shoulders slumping and falling back. 

"Because I didn't want your view of them to change! Plus, half the time you were out with JJ or whoever, it's not like you were at home a lot when it happened - not that I'm blaming you for it! Because I don't. You have your own life, I wasn't going to stop you from living it," I tell him calmly. 

"Sophie - I wish you would've told me this back then. We could've sorted all of this out," he said sadly. 

"It's fine. All the family I need I have down here. Harry, you, Talia, Freya...all the guys. I've got you lot, and you're the best people to be around. Stop stressing?"

"Fine. I promise I will stop stressing now. Back onto the happy stuff...yay! You're pregnant!" He said, his mood more cheerful now, thankfully. 

-

Simon had left an hour or so ago. We had facetimed Talia together to tell her the news and she had been over the moon. 

Harry was due to be back any minute now...he had text me around fifteen minutes ago that he was leaving Ethan's. 

I had told Simon not to text Harry, or be rude, but at the end of the day there was nothing I could do to stop him if he wanted to. I just prayed that he'd listen to me and not play the part of the overprotective big brother. 

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, and as I looked up, Harry was walking in, his face looking a little pale. Why was I getting the feeling he had spoken to Simon?

"What happened?" I asked, my tone dry, pre-empting that something had gone down. 

"Just a...very interesting call from your brother," he said quietly, scratching his head and making a beeline for the sofa. I groaned. 

"Fuck sake...what did he say?"

"Oh, let me see...how the fuck did you manage to get her pregnant, you better not fuck it up, if you hurt her you're dead...it just felt like twenty fifteen again if I was to be completely honest with you."

I groaned. That was exactly what I didn't want to happen. "I'm sorry," I said softly, holding my arms out, motioning for him to let me hug him. His face brightened up, and soon enough he was in my arms, where I was able to run my hands through his hair. 

"He'll get over it. Once the overprotectiveness wears off and he realises I'm an adult too," I grinned. "I'm sorry if I've made things awkward."

"You haven't. Besides, I thought about all this when I first thought about asking you to be my girlfriend. Being the sister of my best mate was always gonna be a tricky one, but I'd say we've done well."

"I'd be inclined to agree with that...my first proper relationship and now I'm getting married to you and having a baby too...that's pretty impressive," I smile, the last four or so years flickering through my mind. 

"We've had a good run of it, haven't we, bubs?" He mumbled into my shoulder, and I hold him there, for a minute, because for that singular moment everything stops and it's just me, him, and the tiny little human starting to grow in my stomach. 

sorry that i made y'all wait 4 days! hope it was worth it :)))