Burning desires ~ Here At Last

Chapter forty

( Paris' POV )

The first night in Paris was a dream. Spending the night in bars under the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower with my new found family, everything felt perfect. Even despite the unavoidable tension of James' presence, everything felt fine.

The following morning, however, the same couldn't be said. The boys had a show that afternoon, so everyone had left early for the sound check. Although James and I were booked into the same room, we'd slept with our backs to eachother last night. But still, right now I needed company. I rested my elbows against the toilet bowl with a huff, my eyes burning as I was finally done. I flushed the toilet, wiped my mouth on the back of my hand and stood up to brush my teeth, however a wave of dizziness made this more difficult.
"Paris? You alright?" A familiar voice called, banging on my room door.
"Absolutely not, I'm never drinking again. Come in," I hiccuped, steadying myself on the sink whilst instructing Starr to enter.
"How much did you drink?! I literally feel fine," She shrugged, clicking the bathroom door open and almost skipping in. She had a spring in her step like none other since Ryan came into her life, her body cozily covered by his tracksuit.
"I hardly even drank, it must be something I ate aswell," My stomach turned at the thought of food, immediately feeling my palms begin to get clammy and my heart race.
"Urgh, im gunna-" I let go of the sink, racing back across to the toilet, Starr following with her hands holding my hair out of my face.

A hangover typically lasts an hour or two. Food poisoning typically a day or two. So a week later and I was no better, I was beginning to worry. Ben had booked us into the hotel for an extra week as everyone was having such an amazing time in Paris, even between episodes of vomiting, I was having the time of my life. But I wasn't well, that couldn't be avoided. I'd hardly kept anything down all week and felt my weight dropping, my skin paler than usual, even James had stayed up most nights to look after me, knowing I couldn't function by myself.

It was Friday morning and I found myself sat cross legged on Starr's bed, watching as she did her makeup in the mirror. The boys had all gone down for breakfast already, but I couldn't face it.
"And then Tommy turned up but it wasn't really Tommy, it was Ben with Tommys hair and voice, it was the weirdest dream," Starr waffled, giggling to herself as she did.
"God I miss sleeping enough to have dreams," I chuckled with a tired sniff. Starr stopped what she was doing, turning to me with a sympathetic look.
"What?" I asked her, her concerned face worrying me.
"I think it's more than just a bug, or food poisoning, Pas," She told me, causing me to gulp.
"I guess I'll go to the doctors when we're back," I shrugged, not wanting to admit how unwell I truly felt.
"Paris, I think you should do a test," Starr quickly spoke.
"A test?! As in, like, a pregnancy test?!" I snapped immediately, almost laughing at the suggestion.
"Just to be safe?" Starr raised her eyebrows. I sighed, rolling my eyes.
"Fine, but it'll be a waste of money."

( Starr's POV )

I pressed the button for the lift, impatiently tapping my foot against the floor as I waited for it to arrive. Finally, the metal contraption opened infront of me and I stepped inside.

When I reached the lobby, I noticed the boys were all sat around the breakfast bar.
"Starry eyes!" Zach shouted, raising his hand to gesture me.
"Where you off to, honey?" Ryan asked as I reached the group.
"Oh, Im just going to the pharmacy to get some tablets for Paris," I shrugged. I knew he could see through me; that man knew me better than I knew myself.
"I'll come with you if you like," He offered.
"It's okay, you stay here with everyone, the more people on hand for her the better I think. But I'll be back soon," I placed a kiss on his lips before he could argue anymore, and sped to the front revolving door.

"Surely it's ready now?!" I sat against the bathroom door, impatiently waiting for Paris to emerge with the results of her test.
"Yeah, it is," She replied. "I don't know why I'm so scared to look at it, I know it'll be negative," She giggled anxiously, opening the bathroom door with the test to the floor.
"Shall we look together?" I offered. Paris simply nodded, taking a deep breath.

"3,2,1" She flipped the test in her hand, showing us both the screen.

Pregnant.

"No, it's a mistake. It can't be," She dropped the test, throwing her hands to her face.
"Hey, calm down! It's okay, it's going to be okay," I reassured her, wrapping my arms around my best friend as she sobbed into my shoulder. We stood in silence for a moment, although it felt like an hour, before Paris pulled away to wipe her eyes.
"How are you going to tell James?" I sensitively asked. Her eyes slowly raised from the floor, her skin paper white as they locked with mine.
"I, I haven't had sex with James since my last period," Her voice shook, her lip quivering as the words processed out loud.
"So, it's not James'?!" I couldn't hide the shock in my voice, watching her gaze drop to the ground as she slowly shook her head.

"Then, who's the dad?"

Paris took a deep breath.

"Pedro."