Night Changes [N.H]

Chapter 70

Chapter 70

"You're right," I said. "I was just thinking we should look at them before we send them off, you know. But there's no reason to."

I still had that nervous feeling of being tense in my gut, or maybe that was just the absence of a placenta, or both. 

Niall sat back in his chair, relaxing, but I was still digging my nails into my thighs. It didn't matter anymore. The baby belonged to Niall and me.

Lucky for me, that was the exact moment that there was somebody at the door. My doctor opened the door on her way out, and I couldn't have been happier with who I saw. 

"Mom!" I said. "You made it!"

My mom was so still, so quiet. She walked closer to me and Niall, and her eyes were drawn to the baby that was sleeping next to me. 

"Hey grandma," Niall said. 

I was happy to see that she didn't bring the "friend" she was living with back in New York. It wouldn't have been appropriate. Not to mention extremely awkward. 

"Congratulations you two!" My mom said, giving Niall a hug.

"Niall, how would you feel about grabbing us some food or something?" I asked. "I'd like a minute alone with my mom."

Niall nodded, and then left the room. I'm sure there was plenty of security outside the room, he would be fine.

I saw how desperately my mom was looking at Owen, so I gave her an offer. 

"You can hold him if you want," I said. "There's a chair right here."

My mom was taken aback by the offer. She was the grandma after all, did she think I wasn't going to let her hold him?

There was a look in her eyes that I had never seen before. She was obsessed with the baby in her arms. She looked so calm and content. So happy.

"His name is Owen," I said. She finally broke eye contact with the baby and looked up at me. "Owen James Horan."

My mom bit down on her lip. There was a worriedness in her eyes, like something had just snapped in her memory. 

I felt uneasy telling her his name, like it was a secret. I wasn't sure how she was going to react.

"I know that it's dad's name, but it's also Niall's middle name," I added to make her feel more comfortable. "Even though I have no memory of him, at least Owen can give it some purpose."

I folded my hands on my lap, and my mom began to observe Owen even more. His tiny fingers began to clench as he woke up from his slumber. 

"He has blue eyes," my mom said. 

"He opened his eyes already?" I asked, shooting up in my seat.

"I thought you would've known by now," my mom said, acting like it was no big deal.

"This is his first time seeing the world!" I said. "You know that baby's eyes change color most of the time. They'll probably turn brown."

Although Niall's family all had blue eyes, my mom and I both had brown eyes. Brown was dominant, so there was a greater chance they would turn brown. 

"I don't know about that," my mom replied. Then she was quiet for a second.

When I looked over, Owen's eyes were closed. They weren't open for more than a second or so at a time before being closed again. They were flickering like candlelight.

"Your dad had blue eyes," she said. 

My chest clenched up.

My mom never talked about my dad.