Wish You Were Here - Part 3

Chapter 12

HARRY'S POV

I turn to the waiter and order two bottles of eye-wateringly expensive French champagne to celebrate Will and Xander's news and everyone cheers loudly at the gesture.

Our glasses are full as Frankie makes a heart felt toast and we all take a sip of our drinks.

"Hey! The best part is, you aren't actually pregnant and you can still drink champagne to celebrate!" Nathan says carelessly to Will and Xander and I see Bec hit his shoulder to stop as her eyes naturally drift to Liv who is softly licking the bubbles from her lips and looking straight down at the table.

I want to pull her into me and kiss her temple, tell her I love her and it will be our turn when it's meant to happen, but I can't. I know she would hate everyone looking at us and feeling sorry for her and more so, taking the attention off the happy couple.

I squeeze her hand a little tighter under the table and my head snaps up when I feel her push her chair out.

"Anyone know where there bathrooms are?" She says casually, trying to not make it seem like she's trying to run away.

I wait a handful of seconds after she has gone before standing to go find her and I see the five sympathetic smiles before me and Mel looking a little confused at the change of mood.

The corridor to the bathrooms is thankfully empty as I wait for Liv and I breathe a sigh of relief when she reappears soon after.

Her eyes are a little bleary and although I can tell she's been crying, it's not enough to make everyone else worry.

"Come here, darling," I whisper and she is hesitant when she sees me, maybe because one of the people she is hiding her tears from is me or maybe it's in case any one sees our public display of affection.

When I pull her towards me she immediately buries her face into my neck. My arm holds her close to me as my other hand smoothes down the hair at the back of her head in comfort.

I don't really give a fuck who sees or takes a photo right now, she needs this and truthfully, so do I.

I hold her back to scan over her distressed face, my hands cup her cheeks and my fingers tangle into the hair by her ears as I talk quietly, "Baby, it's ok to be upset, it's so tough I know, but this is a happy time."

She nods softly and when she sniffles a little my heart feels like it's bleeding.

"Tell me," I say hopefully, trying to get anything out of her to indicate what she is going through.

The look in her eyes is so broken, so defeated and I can tell she is finally, finally, starting to open back up to me and on the verge of telling me how she is feeling or what she is thinking.

I stroke her cheek with my thumb and she leans ever so slightly into my hand. I wish I could take the weight off her shoulders, help carry the load but I can't if she doesn't let me in.

Her mouth opens to speak at the same moment I hear a voice from behind us and my eyes squeeze shut in frustration.

"Excuse me, Harry, sorry to interrupt but can we have a photo?" One girl says politely while her friend and the other three and four girls behind them start to all talk at the same time on top of each other.

I feel Liv wipe her eyes and straighten up as I reluctantly clear my throat and say, "um, just a sec, yeah?"

I turn back to my girl who suddenly looks like the stranger in our kitchen this morning and I feel the wind get knocked from my lungs. Her shield's back up and her armour firmly in place. She's shut down and shut me out...again.

She smiles politely like she has no idea who I am and rattles off a little, "I'm fine," before nodding hello to the group of fans who all but hiss at her and walks back out into the restaurant.

Fucking hell.

I get through the fan photos and excuse myself as quickly as possible, giving a stern look to my security standing at the front door.

It's a royal pain in the arse having to have them around every time we are in public these days but unfortunately it's becoming necessary.

I get back to the table and see her already engaged in friendly conversation with Frankie and Mel and Xander speaks up when I sit down.

"Was like a bloody female stampede to the loo all of a sudden," he jokes and I take in a deep breath before wrapping my arm around Liv's shoulders who immediately sits forward a little so it drops away from her. Fucking camera phones and fucking paparazzi.

There are times these days when my job and the things that come with it really start to effect my life in ways they haven't in the past. Since the success of the last album being even bigger than anyone could have expected, we now have to travel with an excessive number of people and take security precautions literally everywhere.

Sometimes it's easier just to stay home and times I just want to get away from it, to hibernate and gain some perspective back.

To be honest, if I'm feeling this way, god only knows how the fuck Liv is coping with it. I don't think she is.

All of a sudden, I just want to go home.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, I feel a tap on my shoulder as another fan approaches and a waiter kindly asks her to leave the restaurant as she isn't actually a patron. That's usually the telltale sign that a mob is forming outside.

I watch Olivia's eyes glance to the front door as she has the same thought and our friends quickly understand that unfortunately we have to go.

I gesture to security after we have said our goodbyes and they escort Liv out first before coming back to get me.

"HARRY! HOW WAS YOUR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY?"

"HARRY! OVER HERE HARRY!"

"HARRY! CAN YOU SIGN THIS?"

"HARRY! CAN YOU SAY HI TO MY SISTER LAUREN?"

"HARRY! DID YOU GET MARRIED?"

"HARRY! WHEN ARE YOU HAVING A BABY?"

"HARRY! WHAT WERE YOU CELEBRATING TODAY?"

"HARRY! I LOVE YOU!"

The questions are screamed from photographers and fans from a million different angles as cameras flash and things are shoved into my face and pathway before I'm pulled into the safety of the car by my team.