"New dad?" The receptionist asks as I rub my eyes waiting for my appointment time. The shadows under my eyes became bags as nights had gone by with maybe a few hours here and there of sleep. Shifts between Keaton, Niall, and I had been rotating through the week. Whenever Keaton wasn't in class she was with Lilah and vise versa. The night was a different story though since it was just me and her most of the time. By most of the time, I mean all of the time.
"Possibly," I reply, "what was the giveaway?" I ask curiously as I rock Lilah's car seat with my foot.
"If exhausted was a living person I think you would be him," the receptionist says peeking down to see the car seat placed in front of me. Her auburn hair is tied into a Kim Kardashian while her porcelain face airs on the more natural side.
"I maybe get 3 to 4 hours a night give or take, my sleep schedule has seen better days," I say cracking a grin at her observation. I'm sure I looked strung out, and unruly with my appearance since the level of care had drastically fallen. The fact that I put on fresh clothes was an achievement on its own.
"Harry?" A nurse voices over the near-empty waiting room. She stands at the door to the office with a clipboard in hand, her blue scrubs reminding me of the doctor's shows on tv.
"Hey!" I greet standing up and grabbing the car seat to bring along with me. I look down at Lilah smiling at me with a toothless grin, her little dimples carving into her cheeks.
"How are you today?" The nurse asks, she can't be much older than I was. Her black high ponytail swings side to side as she takes us back to an exam room.
"I'm alright, a little tired," I respond looking around at the plaques plastered all over the walls.
"I feel you, I've got two of my own! Trust me it gets better after the 6-month mark!" She reassures me as we come into an exam room that is stark white. Clinical.
"That's encouraging, given I have her for much longer," I say setting the car seat down as she coos and makes loud playful noises smiling at me. She sucks on her hand grinning and kicking.
"That's right, I see you are here for the paternity test today! We've got a blood test ordered so to make this quick and painless let's just get started!" The nurse says peeking in the car seat as she sets down the clipboard to grab her supplies.
"Hello, Princess!" She talks to Lilah who smiles back at her giggling making my heart warm at her surprisingly good mood. "Hi! You are going to hate me in a few minutes but you have such a pretty smile!"
I unbuckle her and lift her up into my arms. She snuggled into my arms as if she was custom-made to lay in them.
I went first, the kind nurse pricking me with the needle to secure my sample. The blood rushes into the tube, spurts of crimson red splatter around in the tube.
"There was so much blood...." She weeps looking at me with those Hollywood eyes. "I've never seen that much blood before and I didn't know what to do I-"
"Hey, it's okay! I'm here! I'm here with you now." I pull her into my arms as her small body shakes. She's like an earthquake within herself as she bawls uncontrollably.
"Harry, I did something bad. I did it... it's my fault!" She wailed shaking her head and sniffling, peeking away from me to look at me with her dark brown eyes.
Her tears cracked down her face like glass on a window. Emotion bleeding through her skin like watercolors on a painting. She couldn't stop her crystal tears that fell furiously.
"We've all done bad things Pen, that doesn't mean you have to give yourself a life sentence of pain," I say as her head falls into her hands.
YOU ARE READING
7
FanfictionHarry Styles is a California silver spooned college kid who has had his life planned out for him before he was even born. As soon as he gets on track to follow in the family footsteps by going to med school, one, seven minute phone call changes ever...
