Pretend (Harry Styles) - Book 3

Chapter 56: Seven Words

27 Weeks Along

-Ava's POV-

I'm not even sure how it happened.

It's all still a bit of a blur as I walk through the dark blue door of Poppy's apartment.

I thought maybe I'd imagined it till I saw my reflection in the mirror just inside the front door.

Red eyes. Wet cheeks. Sadness.

That's all I see staring back at me.

I somehow managed to hold it together until then. Finally completely breaking down the second I saw this person staring back at me.

She looked like me. But the worst version of me.

As I stepped back and slid down the wall onto the floor, I lost it.

I cried, sobs coming in between gasping for breath.

I cried because life was unfair. Because I knew I'd been overly emotional, not thinking rationally.

I cried for us.

I cried cause there was no longer an 'us'.

I'm not sure how long I sat there. On the floor, legs stretched out in front of me and hands resting on my belly.

But I was still there when Poppy got home. The door hitting my feet as she opened it.

"What?...Ava..." Her eyes widen when she sees me on the floor. "What's wrong?! Is it the baby?! Are you hurt?!"

I continuously shake my head as she asks question after question, kneeling beside me and resting her hand on my arm.

The comfort she gives me only makes me cry harder.

She pulls me into a full on hug, holding me as I cry, trying to calm me down.

"Shhhhhh." She says in a hushed voice. "Just calm down love. It will be alright. Just calm down."

When I'm finally breathing somewhat normally, she leans back and looks into my eyes.

"Ava what happened?"

I wipe my eyes, hiccuping a bit. "I... I don't know. I... And then he..."

"Harry?"

I nod, the sound of his name making more tears sting my eyes. I would of thought I'd of run out of them by now, but they seem to be endless.

"You had a fight?"

I nod again as her concerned look turns into a confused one. Harry and I fighting at all is a rare occurrence. A fight big enough to leave me crying on the floor is a first.

"Everything will be fine alright? We'll get this all sorted out." She gives me a small smile but it doesn't reach her eyes.

She's worried. Trying to calm me down. Afraid of how much stress my emotions are putting my body and my baby through.

I let her help me up and lead me to the couch. I sit there like a statue, staring at the wall across from me blankly as she makes us each a cup of tea.

When she hands me my cup, I realize how badly I'm shaking. Hot tea spills over the side of the cup, burning my hand before I'm able to set it down on the coffee table.

I almost welcome the pain. It seems so much easier to deal with then the pain I feel in my heart.

It seems forever since I've felt this way. When I nearly looked forward to the harsh slaps I'd receive for doing the smallest thing wrong.