March
33 Weeks
"Hello?" I woke with a dazed start to the sound of my phone vibrating on my pillow, only inches from my face. My voice didn't sound like my own, it was husky and scratchy from lack of use in the past couple of hours.
"Nora? Where are you?" Harry's voice sounded frantic and urgent and immediately I felt like someone had plunged me into an ice bath. My body ran cold as my mind reeled at the possibilities.
"In my room. I was napping" I looked at the clock on my wall and realised it was a little past noon but I'd been asleep since 10:30 after a really crappy night sleep.
"I just came by your place. There was no answer." The wind whooshing through the phone around Harry's voice made me think he was running which filled me with more dread.
"Sorry, I was out cold. Is everything okay?" I asked pushing myself into a sitting position and trying to straighten my T-shirt around my body.
"No. Not really. I need to go up to Manchester. It's my mum..." His voice choked and my heart lurched at the prospect.
"Oh shit Harry, is she okay?" I didn't know what else to say. My brain was frantic with sudden worry.
"She's in hospital. I don't really know much. I need to go and see her. Will you... will you come with me?"
"Of course, Harry" I didn't even consider my answer.
"I'll be back round in 20 minutes" and suddenly the line went dead. I lay back against the headboard, staring at my phone before my body kicked into action.
I pulled out a leather, overnight bag from the bottom of my wardrobe and packed it with enough stuff to do me a few days. I didn't know what the hell was happening and who or what we were going to meet in Manchester but I didn't have time to plan outfits, I just grabbed the necessities.
I pulled off the leggings and T-shirt I'd went to sleep in and exchanged them for a clean grey T-shirt and khaki cargo pants. They were over-bump trousers which just made them about the smartest, comfy trousers I had. I pulled a brush through my hair which was getting ridiculously long, threw on a skip hat that I'd picked up in TopShop a few days ago and before I knew it I heard Harry thumping on the door.
I unlocked it unsure what I would find on the other side and I was shocked to see how dreadful he looked. His eyes were red and puffy, an indication that he'd been crying which meant this situation could be a lot worse than I was hoping. He had on a black T-shirt and black track pants. He immediately reached for my bag as I opened the door. Without saying a word he headed back to the car that was idling by the curb. I grabbed my grey duster coat, locked the door behind me and headed for the car.
The weather had started to brighten up as we headed in to the end of March. The air wasn't quite so nippy and the sun tried to make more of an appearance but it was still cold and I was happy to see Harry had the air conditioning on warm when I opened the car door. He closed the boot and got in the front. He didn't say anything for a long minute and I didn't know how to comfort him. I wanted to ask what happened and how his mum was but I was so scared it wasn't good news and I'd upset him more. He pulled away from the curb and into the traffic and we drove in silence for a few minutes before I finally picked up the courage to speak.
"What's happened Harry? Is your mum ok?" I asked quietly. I watched his eyes for his honest reaction. I knew if things were bad he'd sugarcoat it for me so as not to upset me. But his eyes would tell me the truth. Immediately his eyes looked for me. I could see the pain and uncertainty before the darted back to the road in front of us.
"I don't know Nor" He exhaled a breath he sounded like he'd been holding for a while. "Gemma phoned half an hour before I phoned you. When Mum woke up this morning she wasn't feeling well, she lost sight in part of her eye and said her arm was tingling, Gemma phoned an ambulance, the doctors don't know if it's a stroke or not."
My eyes widened at the word stroke. I know I've gone through most of my life believing nothing bad will ever happen to my parents but as I get older I have to accept that some day something will happen, accident, illness or hopefully just old age, but they will leave this world one day. And hearing of Harry's mum reminds me that day could be any day.
"No use in worrying about it till we get there. It could be something or nothing" I tried to keep my voice upbeat as I wiggled around in my seat. I guess it was around a 4 hour drive to Manchester and despite Harry's Range Rover having the comfiest car seats I've ever sat in, growing a tiny human and sitting in a confined space for 4 hours wasn't going to be easy.
Harry glanced over and for a moment I worried I'd voiced my discomfort out loud. He looked concerned. "Sorry. It was selfish of me to ask you to come. 4 hours in a car won't be comfortable for you"
"It's ok, Harry. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else" I tried my most convincing smile and I attempted to stay as still as I could. Until the numbness in my thighs got too much.
"Jesus, I should have sat in the back" I laughed as I footered with all the different seat dials and moved the seat as far back as I could. I toed my shoes off and propped my feet up on the cream dashboard.
"Much better" I grinned at Harry as he eyed my red, woolly socks, crossed on his pristine, leather interior. "You've forced me to sit in this metal box for 4 hours. You will not complain about my sweaty, swollen feet on your dash" Pretending to bicker with him was the easiest way, I could think of, to lighten the mood.
He grimaced with a twinkle in his eye. "It's not the fact they're on my dash that bothers me, it's the smell!"
"I beg your pardon" I screeched in mock offence. "I had a shower this morning before I went back to bed and these socks are clean. Look!" I twisted my foot around so he could see the sole of my sock.
"Doesn't mean they don't smell" A wicked grin covered Harry's face and it lightened my heart to see him smile, even if it was at my expense.
*
Three hours passed surprisingly quickly as Harry made quick progress along the motorway. I had snoozed for only an hour, the other 2 we'd spent chatting about everything and nothing. Both avoiding the topic of our living situation after the baby was born. It was too deep a conversation when we didn't know what we were headed into when we eventually arrived at the accident and emergency department at Leighton Hospital.
Harry checked his phone when we got out the car then rounded the car to wait on me as I groaned and stretched my way out of the car. He quietly took my hand and lead my towards the main entrance. I followed him, relishing in the warmth of my hand in his, hoping he was taking some comfort from my touch. We walked past the main reception and I silently followed Harry through a maze of corridors till we approached a set of double doors with an intercom.
"Hello?" A voice suddenly answered.
"Harry Styles for Anne Twist" Harry sighed as he brought his free hand up to rub his forehead in frustration. I gave his hand a little squeeze and I felt his fingers tighten in response.
"Yes, just come through" The voice answered and the door buzzed then clicked to signal it was unlocked. Harry took a deep breath before pushing on one of the doors. He held it open as I followed through, never letting go of my hand. Cautiously Harry approached a desk where a nurse was seated, deep in paperwork.
"Hi, Sorry" Harry fumbled shyly and it was unusual to see him in a surrounding where he wasn't in control. "I'm looking for Anne Twist"
The nurse glanced at paper work in front of her then at Harry again then at the paper work then at Harry again as if she couldn't quite understand who was in front of her. I always assumed Harry's appeal was a generational thing. I assumed every female between the ages of 6 and 26 would know Harry Styles in an instant but anyone out with that bracket wouldn't recognise him in such a casual circumstance but the more time I spent with him the more I realised, he was known universally. He'd been stopped by 10 year old boys, 70 year old grandma's and everyone in between. He was a household name, adored by many different people. It also made for awkward circumstances like now, while this middle-aged nurse tried to compose herself.
"Are you family?" She asked hesitantly. I could feel Harry trying to control his irritation. All he wanted to do was see his mum and although she was only doing her job, the nurse was elongating the process.
"Yes, I'm her son, this is my girlfriend" Harry tugged on my hand to pull me closer. I didn't know if it was to present me to the nurse or just for support. Either way I cosied in to the arm I was holding on to as the nurse looked me up and down.
"She's in room 4. Just down the corridor and on your right" She stood and pointed down the corridor.
Harry turned abruptly pulling me with him.
"Thank you so much" I smiled at the nurse as Harry headed down the corridor, reading the numbers on all the doors. As we approached Anne's door I spotted a door opposite labelled Family Room.
"I'll just wait in there, to give you a bit of privacy" I tried to slip my hand from Harry's grasp, but he wouldn't allow it.
"No, come with me" His green eyes looked lost and forlorn and I couldn't imagine leaving him on his own for a second. "Please?" He added.
I nodded as he knocked lightly on the door and gingerly opened it. I could feel the tension escape from his shoulders as he clocked his mum, sitting up in bed.
"Oh there you are sweetheart" Anne smiled. Harry rushed to her side, finally letting go of my hand.
"You're okay?" He mumbled into her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm fine, darling" She smiled, catching my eye over Harry's shoulder. "Gemma shouldn't have worried you. It was nothing"
"When I phoned an ambulance they mentioned the word stroke, how was I supposed to not worry?" Gemma asked sarcastically, folding the magazine she had on her lap as she sat in a big leather reclining chair in the corner. She smiled at me in greeting.
"Oh and look, you dragged that beautiful girl all the way up here" Anne pushed Harry away as she beckoned me over. Harry pretended to be offended but he took a seat at the side of Anne's bed. She beckoned me closer and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I got as close as I could and inhaled her strangely familiar scent.
"Thanks for coming Nora"
"Don't worry about it" I straightened up and smiled as I took the chair beside Harry. "I'm just glad you're okay"
"You are ok? Aren't you?" Harry asked as he pulled my hand into his lap, holding it firmly in his own hand. I was super aware of how both Anne and Gemma's eyes darted to our intertwined hands in his Harry's lap and they both averted their eyes, Harry seemed oblivious to their sudden attention.
Anne cleared her throat and smiled. "Get this: the doctor thinks it was a migraine!"
"A migraine?" Harry barked in disbelief. "From a stroke to a migraine?"
"They took her for a CT scan to confirm it wasn't a stroke and the only other decent explaination is a migraine" Gemma raised her eyebrows in equal disbelief.
"A migraine that can make you go blind?" Harry frowned clearly struggling to believe that it was only a migraine that had caused him so much upset.
"Well I've never suffered from them before" Anne told us, more for my benefit than her children. "But yes, supposedly pretty severe ones can cause temporary blindness and tingling in limbs similar to a stroke"
"Jesus, so we raced up here to find out it's just a bloody migraine!" Harry shook his head. I'm pretty sure he was attempting humour to try and mask the utter relief.
"Oi" I smacked his bicep with my free hand. "That was rude" I chastised and Anne smiled in appreciation.
"Thank you Nora. But you're right, you didn't have to come all this way. But I'm glad to see you both, and my darling grandchild" Anne grinned towards my tummy and we fell in to comfortable conversation until it was interrupted by a nurse coming in to check Anne's vitals, followed by a doctor.
"Well I'm happy to discharge you Mrs Twist, on the basis of your CT scan being clear. But if you have any more dizzy spells, tingling in the arms or legs or any temporary blindness please visit your GP immediately" The doctor who reminded me of a young Patrick Dempsey, but that could be down to the three seasons of Greys Anatomy I watched last week, instructed Anne, before he left the room to complete her discharge paperwork.
"Ok, we'll there's no point in everyone hanging about here. You take this lovely lady back to the house, she'll be comfier there" Anne leaned over to grasp my hand kindly. "That's assuming your staying?" Anne looked at Harry cautiously.
Harry looked at me and smiled, "I'm sure we could stay a couple of days"
*
Despite Anne's house not being the house Harry grew up in, there was still so much of young Harry intricately woven into this grand, farm house. It wasn't my place to ask but I guessed Harry had bought this beautiful bungalow for Anne after he started making mega-bucks with his band. Despite its size there was nothing in the house to showcase the family wealth. The decor was quality but not show-offy. I didn't feel any different to being in my parents house despite the difference in size. The large kitchen table was covered in neat piles of paperwork and junk from the postman and pamphlets for the local school fète. The cushions on the sectional couch in the living room were squashy and looked like they hadn't been straightened in weeks. The house looked lived in and it felt comforting that even though Harry didn't live here, he still had a base, a security, where his mum still had her feet firmly on the ground.
"Will I dump your stuff in my room.... or the guest room?" Harry avoided my eyes as I stayed silent, forcing him to finish his sentence.
"How far is the guest room from yours?" I asked quietly as I fingered the soft velvet of one of the golden cushions haphazardly chucked on the sofa.
"Over the other side of the house" Harry nodded behind me, twisting the handle of my overnight bag in his grip.
"Your room then, please" Harry's eyes rose to meet mine and the corner of his lips rose in a half smile. Without a word he turned and I followed him to his room.
"Well this is unexpected" I pouted in mock disbelief as I looked around the modest room. There was a large bed, a dresser and not much room for anything else in the plain, compact room.
"I spend so much time away from here it makes sense for me to have the smallest room" Harry admitted, placing both our bags side by side on the bed.
I nodded in understanding. "I suppose I assumed you'd want more space" I gestured around the limited room. It was cosy with its dark green walls and grey bedding.
"I kind of prefer it" Harry answered as he unzipped both our bags and began unpacking our clothes into the dresser. I plopped myself down on the bed, as gracefully as I could but it was more akin to a large whale frolicking about in the water.
"Will your mum assume, we're..." I gestured loosely between Harry and I but the embarrassment was too much for me to finish the question.
"What? That we're together?" Harry asked, quickly dropping his eyes back to the bags and turning to fix some clothes in the drawers, clothes that I knew didn't need fixed.
"Yeah, something like that" I answered as clasped my hands over my round stomach.
Harry shrugged casually. "Would it be the worst thing in the world if she did?" I watched as his broad shoulders stilled, awaiting my response.
My voice almost came out in a whisper. "Probably not"
"Nora, Harry" Gemma's voice startled us both as it came yelling down the corridor. "We're going to order takeaway. If you want some you better come out of that room" There was silence until I heard Gemma's footsteps retreat down the hall. Harry turned to face me, a shy smile playing on his face. He held out his hand to help me from the bed. Once I was upright he tucked me under his arm and pressed me into his side. His body was a mass of hard muscles and bones but somehow it was comforting.
"Let's go for food. We can talk about this on the long drive home" He smirked knowing I'd have no way to avoid that conversation.
"I think we should stay here a long while" I croaked as Harry chuckled and guided me out of the room.