GREEN (RL Harry Styles fanfic)

78. Ink

"So you've had a busy few months since you were here last, haven't you?," Anne asked as we sipped tea in her garden.

My eyes widened and I unintentionally inhaled a sip into my throat. I managed to recover with just a quick cough or two, but it still didn't buy me enough time to figure out how to answer a question about having sex with her son.

"Um...," I stalled.

"Oh!," Anne said embarrassed. "I didn't mean it like that." She patted my knee and chuckled to herself. "I just meant a lot going on in general. Seems the attention always comes after dating rumors are confirmed. It's never easy." Anne gave me a sympathetic look and I imagined she had seen many girls come and go over the years.

"Yeah, it's been a bit nuts at times, but we've managed," I said while my mind played through some of the crazier moments. It stopped and festered on Rhiannon for longer than I would've liked. It had been just over a month since she sold the story about me and I had completely cut her out of my life. I considered giving her a piece of my mind, but I wouldn't dare give her anything she could use to sell another story and profit off being a back-stabbing bitch. I swallowed down the rising hurt and anger to make way for more words to Anne. "It's been eye-opening for sure. I've seen some people's true colors. That's been tough to deal with."

Anne's expression fell and her lips landed in a straight line. I could see her scan the surroundings for the words she wanted to say. I had found Anne to be insightful in her advice and thoughtful with her words, I assumed she was about to display both characteristics.

"Sometimes it's not people's true colors that you're seeing, it's that people don't know what they want."

I took in Anne's comment and couldn't make the connection on how Rhiannon's blatant betrayal could be seen as her not knowing what she wanted. Suddenly I realized Anne must've thought I had been talking about Harry. She had been there to see things unfold the other day when Harry so openly declared he didn't want to get married. Although that still didn't sit well with me, I didn't want Anne to get the wrong idea about my thoughts on her son. Before I had a chance to set her straight on what I meant, she continued.

"A person's actions will show you who they are much more than their words will. I think you and Harry have dealt with all the challenges you've faced quite well," Anne added with a soft smile and a sip of her tea.

"Thank you. I know he and I will be alright. I've just learned who my true friends were along the way," I clarified.

"Ahh, I see. It's better to find out now than before more damage is done. Toxic people like that need to be removed from your life before they spread like mold." My mind visualized Anne's words literally and I pictured physically removing Rhiannon from a tiny bathroom with a sledgehammer while wearing a plastic suit and mask. I chuckled to myself before returning my attention to Anne. "Anyways, how are you feeling? How is your pregnancy going so far?"

"I've been feeling just fine, well except for when I fainted the other day," I paused and continued on with symptoms I was just now realizing, "and really hungry, and kinda tired."

"And emotional," Harry added as he stepped out into view with a grin on his face. Anne glanced his way with a turned up brow that I appreciated.

"And all of that is to be expected," Anne said. Harry took a seat at the foot of my lounge chair and lightly rubbed the front of my shin with his left hand. He gave me a sweet closed-mouth smile that let me know there was no ill intent with his latest comment, just a relapse of idiot perhaps. "And things seem to be progressing well," Anne added with a smile.

"Yeah. Everything looked great at the checkup," Harry answered enthusiastically. His excitement over our pregnancy was always endearing.

Harry was actively interested in what I would be going through over the next nine months and he even bought me a book for the plane, particularly to help control my need to google. Pregnancy was something I felt in the dark about. I didn't have much experience with it, obviously never being pregnant before, and none of my close friends had taken that step in their lives. I didn't realize how little I knew until I got lost in a downward google spiral of "pregnancy worst case scenarios." Terrible search idea. Terrible.