Heartbeats || H.S. [ONGOING]

{thirty-five}

Getting her brain to shut off was another story. Niko laid in bed for what seemed like forever going over their whole situation in her head. What they've been through and where they were with each other. All the things with Julia and his kids, and all the things with Max. It had been a long road.

Max.

Panic swelled inside of her as she began thinking about her ex. About how she and Harry slept together while she and Max were still together... and... and she conceived around the same time. What if...? Oh, god. What if Max was the father of her child? A panic attack rose from deep within her chest. She could barely breathe. What if?

Oh, god.

"Baby?" Harry asked, rolling over to face her as her ragged breathing was almost choking her.

Niko sat up quickly in bed, suddenly feeling nauseous as she pressed her hand tightly to her chest. Harry turned on the light, looking over at her, entirely concerned.

"Oh my god," she whimpered and pulled herself up out of bed when she felt her mouth start to salivate. She was going to throw up.

She threw the blanket off of her body before quickly dashing to the bathroom, making it to the toilet just in time. Everything she just ate a few hours before came up with a vengeance. She was crying and hyperventilating when Harry came in, immediately pulling her hair back to keep it out of the vomit.

"Baby, are you okay?" Harry asked as he sat down next to her and rubbed her back with his free hand.

Niko just sobbed into the toilet bowl. She really messed up. She really messed this up.

"Baby, please tell me what's the matter. You didn't sound okay when you were in bed," Harry cooed.

It took Niko a few moments, but she finally looked up into his concerned eyes. It broke her heart that the baby might not be his and it made her choke out an agonizing sob.

"Baby, please. You're scaring me," Harry said, looking pained.

"What if... what if-if the baby isn't yours?" She cried, scrunching her face up in anguish.

"What?" He choked out. His face fell and noticeably turned pale from her words, causing Niko to sob harder.

"No, no. It's mine. I know it," he said confidently as he shook his head.

"Harry, how can you be so sure? I-I was with Max around that same time," she told him and he cringed noticeably.

He took a deep breath and shook his head again, like it hurt him to even think about her with Max.

"I have faith, Niko. God wouldn't do this to us," Harry told her with a sigh.

"But, what if he would? We were apart for two years and he let that happen. What if..." Niko cried.

"Were you... did you... did you use condoms with Max?" Harry asked, looking more than a little uncomfortable talking about her sleeping with another man.

"Y-yeah," she stammered.

"Well, you didn't with me. Now tell me which one of us you think is the father," Harry offered as a look of relief flashed across his face.

She really thought about it — the odds of the baby being Max's slimming significantly in her mind. She was sure her birth control hadn't worn off by the last time she slept with Max. Plus, he always wore a condom. Always. He wouldn't have sex if he didn't have a condom, which was a little odd to Niko because they were in a committed relationship with each other. But he was truly concerned with having children too soon. He wanted to establish his career before he even thought about having a family.

"It's gotta be you," she replied, letting herself calm down some as she finally flushed the toilet. She wasn't entirely sure. She wasn't confident. But it was enough for her in that moment.

Harry snickered, causing her vision to snap to his.

"Sorry," he said, trying to bite back his smile.

"What?" She asked, feeling confused but amused at the same time. What could he possibly be laughing at?

"'It's gotta be you'," he repeated her words, confusing her even more.

"It was one of our songs. 'It's gotta be yooouuuu,'" he sang in a high pitched tone, causing her to giggle because it sounded vaguely familiar.

"It was on our first album. It's not important. Forget about it," he said, waving his hand through the air.

"No. I know it. I've heard it. I was just confused for a moment," she told him honestly and Harry let out another laugh.

"'Can we fall, one more time? Stop the tape and rewind...'" She sang a little bit of the song, causing Harry to smile from ear-to-ear.

"Nikola..." He cooed animatedly.

"Does it surprise you? I listened to all your music quite a bit in the last two years," she explained, which only made Harry's expression become more fond.

"I adore you," he chuckled, leaning in to kiss her cheek. She giggled as he pulled back, looking at her.

The two of them stared at one another long enough for Harry's smile to fade and it caused a bit of anxiety inside her until he began to speak again.

"Even if the baby isn't mine, Niko, I'm not going anywhere and you can count on that. Do you hear me?" Harry told her sincerely, bringing his hands up to cradle her face. She nodded as his thumbs wiped away her lingering tears.

A moment later, Harry sweetly kissed her forehead, making her feel a rush of appreciation for him. He was always there to make her feel better.

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up," Harry said, standing up before closing the lid of the toilet.

A moment later, he held out his hands and helped her up from the floor, guiding her toward the bathroom sink. Niko washed her face and brushed her teeth before Harry got her back in bed.

He held her in his arms for the rest of the night, which soothed her quite a bit. His confidence that the baby was his really did help, but the subject still nagged at her because she didn't know for sure and it would be a long time until she did. Sleep wasn't easy to come by that night and she woke up completely exhausted in the morning.