As the night progressed, Grace's promise to make it a good one had definitely been kept. Herself and Harvey had very comfortably fallen into their old ways when they were together, causing a number of behaviours to occur that may not have been the smartest.

Many drinks had been consumed and as 3am approached, the pair had decided that a walk down along the beach seemed like the perfect idea. It had been initiated with the suggestion of a walk and chat, to try and sober themselves up however, it was never going to be that innocent.

"You look fucking incredible, Grace." Harvey announced confidently, as he stood back to gaze his eyes over her body. 

Grace was very used to being given compliments but one coming from Harvey meant that little bit more, even when she was drunk.

"You always scrub up pretty well too." She replied, while reaching out to grab his shirt in her hand, urging him towards her.

As Harvey's body collided into hers, Grace then lifted her hand up to run alongside his jaw and down to his chin.

"I like this too."

"You like what?" Harvey asked, as he looked down into her blue eyes.

"This stubble, the little beard you got going on. You look like a real man."

Grace's comment caused a smile to fall across Harvey's lips. Neither of them were in the right state of mind to be having a serious conversation and Grace's choice of words were an example of that.

"A real man, hey?"

"A real man." Grace repeated, with emphasis placed on the word 'real'. "It makes me fancy you even more."

While sober Harvey would have paused at Grace's comment, his more drunken mind was very much in charge, and very unfazed too. Instead of realising where this was going and how dangerous it was, he took the compliment.

"How much do you fancy me?" Harvey asked, with raised brows and there was a flash of desire in Grace's eyes.

"Enough to kiss you." She replied, with pure confidence, as though none of the past month had even happened.

At that point, Grace didn't even wait for any kind of reaction from Harvey. Instead, her hands fell from his face and wrapped around his neck, as she guided him towards her.

When their faces were inches apart, Grace felt Harvey's own hands drop around her waist, giving it a light squeeze. Even though she hadn't been looking for any sort of conformation, that had definitely been some. He wanted this too.

"Kiss me." Grace whispered as she brushed her lips over his, yet not fully giving in.

"As you asked so nicely." Harvey replied before closing the gap between them and pressing his lips to hers.

The moment that their lips touched, Grace felt a spark of familiarity rush through her body. This touch had been something she had been missing for a whole month, something she had been desperately craving from the moment they split up.

This kiss was both comforting but also passionate, filled with past emotions flooding back through them. Grace felt a sense of security, yet also pure desperation to relive the few months they had spent together.

"Fuck." Harvey mumbled as they briefly pulled apart and he sounded just as out of breath as she felt.

It was obvious he had felt that same spark too and that same sense of desperation from the month they had been apart. It was so difficult to block out any past emotions, when they never felt as though they had full closure.

"Don't stop." Grace warned, as she urged Harvey towards her once again and pressed her lips to his.

It was crazy how much she felt like she needed this. From claiming she was done with him and done with the person she had become, she was now feeling more like the Grace that Harvey had opened up.

As that realisation crossed her mind though, it soon clicked how dangerous that was for her. She didn't want to go back to how she was with him. She had made a stand that old Grace was here to stay and she had to keep that promise.

Therefore, she reacted in the most bizarre way as a method of coping with that. Instead of playing by the gentlemanly mannerisms she knew Harvey would try and uphold, she instead played by her own games.

What better way to pretend that no feelings were involved in that exchange, than to treat him like she would just any guy she met on a night out.

"Let's go back to your place." Grace insisted as they pulled apart once again.

Harvey reacted in a way she had expected, looking at her in apprehension and uncertainty. He knew it was a bad idea but he had also not expected those words to fall from her lips. He had been planning on respecting their situation and her feelings, not wanting to do something so careless to potentially make a bigger mess of things.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea Grace..." Harvey trailed off, as he tried to grab hold of any rational thoughts in his mind, that were being strongly overpowered by the drunken ones. However, he had very little willpower and Grace knew that.

"I don't care. I want it and I know you do too." She responded matter of factly. Then taking hold of his hand she guided him further down the sea front, in search of a taxi.

"Fuck. You are a complete nightmare sometimes Grace Ellard." Harvey said as they approached the road, and as Grace turned around she saw the smile across his face. 

She had won him over with the idea and it had taken seconds, not minutes.

"I know but that's what you and everyone loves about me."

Harvey couldn't disagree with that, Grace had a way of luring guys in and it worked every time. When in her presence it was so easy to feel captivated by her, as though she had you under some sort of spell. 

It was enticing but also a little terrifying. She held so much control and was never afraid to use it.

That was exactly what she had done too, as both she and Harvey had ended up at his place. Once again, they found themselves entwined between the sheets however, with much force, Grace had managed to block out every feeling she had for this boy, and just enjoyed the night for the fun of it.


...

A few days later...

"Are you going to hook up with Harry again?" Francesca asked Grace as they took their drinks back to the benches. "...or are you finally going to give into Max and give that poor boy what he is craving?"

"My night with Harry was great but I'm not going back for seconds." Grace replied, as though Francesca was insane for even thinking that. "But I'm also going to make Max suffer a little bit longer. I want to make him desperate."

It was a few days after Grace had spent the night messing with Max and she was still happily making him wait. She knew he was losing his mind over her and the more she refused, the worse it got.

He would pay visits to see Brinley but would also put on his best flirting game to win her over. While most girls would fall for his charming chat, Grace read right through it and knew exactly what he was doing.

"He's going to be suffering so badly, Grace!" Lila added as they took their seats and immediately captured the attention of the guys.

"Whose going to be suffering?" Taj asked as heads turned in their direction.

"Er..." Lila trailed off realising what she had done, as Max was one of the guys looking their way. "um..."

"None of your business." Grace bit in and answered, while taking her seat next to Max and purposely pushing herself right up close to him. 

"It's always our business."

"No, it's never your business!"

When Grace could feel Max's eyes on her, she turned around to flash him a confident smile. He was looking back at her in question, yet she knew full well that he was aware of who they were talking about. He had been suffering for days, so he was the only one that it could be.

"Well I have some news that will be your business." Reece then announced, causing her focus to fall on him. "You might need a bit of time to prepare yourself."

"What is it?"

Glimpsing down at his phone, Reece then read the message he had received once again before looking back up at her.

"Harvey is about 1 minute away from showing up."

"What?" Grace bit and it was impossible to hide the shock across her face.

She turned to look at Max for some sort of reaction from him, that would prove that Reece was joking however, she didn't get that. He was telling the truth.

"He's back in Brighton, for good. So you two better sort your shit out so it doesn't make it weird as hell for all of us."

Grace hadn't been aware that Harvey was even considering coming back to Brighton anytime soon, little lone showing up here tonight. She had been hoping to avoid any confrontation with him for another good few weeks but now she was going to be thrown right into the deep end.

"He's coming here? Right now?"

"Right now." Reece nodded and it was only a matter of seconds before he was seen heading their way.

"Shit..." Grace mumbled under her breath but when Lila heard her clearly, she reached out to give her hand a little reassuring squeeze.

She knew Grace would be able to handle herself perfectly well however, Lila wanted her to know that she was here.

As Harvey got closer and Grace could finally see his face, she felt her whole body erupt with so many different emotions. She was angry, she was nervous, but she was also excited and happy to see him. It was a weird mixture and she did not know which was the best to attend to.

Part of her wanted to run towards him and throw her arms around his body. She wanted things to be like they had been, where she didn't have to hide how he made her feel. However, right now that wasn't possible and she also didn't want to show any kind of vulnerability.

The new Grace was back and nothing was going to break that.

"We missed you man!" Taj sang as he and the rest of the group began enveloping him in hugs. "It's so good to have you back."

"Yeah, let me get you a drink." Max added while immediately standing to his feet. 

Grace was fully aware that Max's guilty conscious was now creeping through. Since Grace's split with Harvey he had not wasted anytime in trying to make his move and was now feeling the need to prove he was still loyal to his friend.

"Cool, thanks man." Harvey replied and as Max disappeared from his seat, Harvey's eyes had latched onto it.

His gaze moved from the seat, to Grace before he casually made his way over to take it.

"You alright" He asked in the most composed tone ever however, Grace knew he was probably working really hard to do that.

"I'm great." Grace replied simply as she gave him a once over. "What are you doing back here?"

"You can probably guess." Harvey replied, not really wanting to say the words out loud to her face, and Grace very quickly caught on.

Harvey was back in Brighton due to the news that Lottie had shared with him. However, he did not want to express that out loud to Grace, due to the situation she had found herself in before.

While Max had jumped on a plane and fled the country when he found out about her pregnancy, Harvey was coming back to Brighton so he could be there for Lottie and not be a couple of hours away. He didn't feel like shoving that in her face would be very considerate.

"Mm, actually yeah, I can."

"I do wanna talk to you though." Harvey said, as he ran his hand over his tattooed arm. "Can we go and sit over there for a minute?"

Grace didn't move for a second as she just stared at him in reluctance. She didn't know if she wanted to talk to him right now, everything still felt pretty fresh and she was trying so hard to hold onto the old her.

However, when he began standing to his feet and urged his head in the direction of the spare bench, she did finally give in.

They had to have a conversation and some point, so why not just keep in simple and get it over and done with now? She didn't have much to say on the matter but she had to say something, so that they could move past it.

"Sure, yeah, okay."

As Grace took a seat at the spare bench with Harvey, she was mentally prepping herself on how to handle this. She could have easily sat here and opened her heart up to him however, that wasn't how things were going to go down. She needed to focus on keeping her composure and start handling this with a lot more control.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked, as Harvey sat opposite her.

"Everything really. I don't want things to be awkward now that I'm back for good." Harvey replied, sounding genuine and the look in his eyes confirmed that too.

It was so difficult for Grace to sit here and refrain herself from touching him. What she really wanted to do was to pull him towards her and kiss him, but she wasn't sure that was the best option right now.

"It won't be awkward. What happened is shit but we've both got to move on from it, so there is no point in making it difficult for ourselves." Grace replied, while keeping her voice steady, as Harvey watched her intently.

"It just feels so weird because the last time I was here, we were together..."

"Mm, I know, yeah. It's crazy how much can change in such a short amount of time."

As Grace took a sip of the drink in front of her, Harvey watched as she placed it back down onto the table before her spoke up again.

"We had too much fun to just throw away a friendship though, right? I know it won't be as simple as just jumping back into old ways but I hope eventually we can." 

Nodding her head, Grace knew that she wanted that too. Although it was going to be difficult when Harvey's baby was born and she had to watch him and Lottie bring it up together, she didn't want to throw away their friendship over her jealousy.

She had always trusted Harvey and always had the best times when she was around him. Therefore, she wasn't prepared to just let that slide.

"Yeah, I don't want to throw it away either. We can be normal... friends again and all that." Grace replied before flashing him a smile.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I just want to forget about it. I'm done arguing now. It's exhausting."

"I agree." Harvey replied, while holding Grace's gaze.

"Let's just focus on having a good night... celebrating you being back." Grace replied in a tone that took Harvey a little bit by surprise. 

It wasn't just friendly. She spoke in a very cool and seductive kind of manner. Harvey knew that Grace was generally very flirtatious in nature, but it just seemed like very odd timing.

"Let me get you a drink then and we'll be off to a good start." Harvey replied and there was a sudden shimmer in his eyes that Grace immediately picked up on.

It brought her right back to when they started dating, when things were good and exciting. For a second, it felt as if nothing had changed. It was as though there was no drama, no secrets and no complications involved. 

Even though that was far from the truth, Grace was more than willing to act as if it was.

**

With the news of Harvey travelling very quickly, Grace was already fed up of hearing about it. She didn't want to know that he was spending his time with Lottie in Cambridge. She didn't want to know that she was 4 months pregnant with his baby. She didn't want to hear another word about any of it.

Therefore, she had made what she classed as the perfect decision, to rewind back to the Grace she had always been. Being with Harvey had opened up a side to her that had been vulnerable, and all that had done was made her hurt more. So as a result, old Grace was coming back to bring a bit more fun but also control into her life again.

"You know tonight is going to be amazing, right?!" Francesca sang as they made their way towards the bar. 

"Obviously, yeah!" Grace replied with a grin on her face, that just screamed trouble. "You need to say a huge hello to the old me because she is back and she is refusing to leave this time!"

"It's great to see you again, old Grace." Francesca teased as she slipped her arm through her friend's. "We are going to find you some hot guys to hook up with tonight, one of those being Max Rowan."

"Ha! You think you're really funny, don't you?"

As Grace looked at Francesca with a raised brow, she received a similar but more amusing expression in return.

"I sense a shit load of sexual tension between you two and it's bloody annoying, so, you need to do the deed."

"You know I can't do that."

Although Grace wasn't opposed to the idea at all, there were many reasons why that wouldn't be sensible. Herself and Max were now co-parenting and trying incredibly hard to make it work. Therefore, they did not need to complicate things anymore. In addition to that, Grace was more than certain that Lila still had some kind of feelings towards Max and she did not want things to get messy between her and her friend. That wasn't fair either.

"Yes, you can. You just decide not to." Francesca corrected, as though she was just stating pure facts.

"It's better off for everyone."

"It's better off for Lila, who would get over it eventually, and to be honest, you're also saving her from the heartbreak. Max isn't going to settle down anytime soon and that's exactly what she is looking for."

Grace knew that Francesca had a point and she also knew that if she was in this position, she would not hold back. However, Grace had a lot riding on the situation and she wasn't sure if she had a good enough excuse to justify hooking up with him.

"Max isn't the only option here tonight, you know that right?" Grace remarked as her eyes drifted from that familiar group of individuals to where a few other guys were hanging out with them. "I have quite a good selection of choice tonight."

"You do, so I'm not saying jump at it but consider it. He is still an option, even more so now that he's stepped up to be your baby daddy!"

Rolling her eyes, Grace tried to ignore Francesca's comments as she dragged her over to their group of friends. She watched as all eyes darted their way and already knew what they would be thinking. 

They were looking for evidence of upset in her face. They were expecting her to be down and distraught over the whole Harvey situation. In reality, maybe she was however, she wasn't going to let anyone see that.

"Instead of sitting there in silence staring at us, maybe one of you should actually get off your arse and get us a drink." Grace announced in a sharp and confident tone.

While Kiara rolled her eyes, a few of the guys immediately stood to their feet and began offering their services. With a smile on her face, Grace waved them off to get an order in while she purposely took a seat next to Max to put an end to his conversation with Kiara.

"Just click your fingers and they wait on you like the fucking Queen!" He remarked with a knowing look across his face.

"You should have been the first to offer really..." Grace retaliated. "...but I'm sure you'll learn."

"In your fucking dreams babe. I'm far from that level of pathetic."

"You claim to be but you're just like all of the others."

Placing her hand on Max's knee, Grace gave it a firm squeeze and watched as his eyes remained on her. He currently looked unfazed but as her hand drifted up a little further to reach his upper thigh, he was doing a very bad job at composing himself.

"There are big differences between me and them." Max responded as he desperately tried to keep his voice steady and ignore her hand.

"Like what?" 

"None of those twats have a chance with you and I actually do."

While Max's response was confident, Grace wasn't willing to let him be so sure of himself. 

"Just because you're Brinley's dad, does not give you a free pass you know."

"I don't need a free pass. You just know you're guaranteed a good time with me."

Removing her hand from Max's thigh, Grace lifted it to trail along the stubble of his jawline. Then gently running her thumb across his bottom lip, she edged herself a little bit closer as though she was going to kiss him.

"I'd much rather explore my options and find something better. It's not like I'm short of willing volunteers." Grace replied while also pulling back away from him and turning around to see the two guys bringing drinks back over to the table.

"Thank you, Jake. Just put them down here." Grace instructed as she pointed to the spot right in front of her.

She knew full well that Max's eyes were still on her yet she didn't give in and turn around. She wanted him to suffer. She wanted him to be left to wait around and crave her even more.

If old Grace was going to come back to stay, she needed to make sure she had as much fun as physically possible.

"So what's your friends name, Jake?" Grace asked, as she leaned further into the table so she could position herself closer to the 24 year old sat opposite her. 

"That's Harry and he's also not interested!" Kiara announced, making her voice loud and clear to get her point across.

With her back to the brunette, Grace smiled over at Francesca, who was clearly amused by Kiara's actions. She didn't like this version of Grace when she was around because she instantly stole the spotlight.

While Grace had been dating Harvey and had calmed down on her erratic behaviour, Kiara had managed to snatch back her well loved position of being center of attention. That would not be happening for much longer though and she hated it.

"Are you dating someone, Harry?" Grace asked, while still focusing her attention on the blonde sat before her.

"No, I don't know why she said I'm not interested." Harry chuckled in response as he barely even looked at Kiara while he spoke. He clearly knew what she was playing at too and was already tired of the games.

"That's what I thought. Why don't you do a shot with me?"

Reaching for the tray of drinks Jake had placed down before her, Grace offered one in Harry's direction and he happily took it. After counting them down, both he and Grace took back the liquid in one and felt the burning sensation slide down their throats.

It didn't take long for that single shot to turn into more, as Grace claimed her fun for the night in Harry and made him her focus. She could tell her was loving every second of it and she knew that he was just after one thing. However, she really couldn't care less because she was after the same thing.

Therefore, when Max reached out to take one of the spare shots laying on the tray, she immediately snatched it out of his hand.

"Nah ah! Not for you." She refused as she passed it in the direction of Harry. "Come on, we need to go and get some more."

Watching as Harry downed yet another shot at her demand, he quickly stood to his feet and began following Grace over to the bar. Max was watching as they left before turning his focus back to Francesca. 

"She is a fucking nightmare. You realise that, right?"

"As are you." Francesca replied with a proud smile across her face. This was the version of Grace she knew well and loved, and she was very excited to have her back. 

"But she calmed down. Brinley and then dating Harvey made her chill out."

"And now that she got her heart broken, she is so ready to bring back her old self, which I know full well that you love." 

Francesca's comment caused Max to pause for a moment before responding. 

"It's fucking hot. I won't deny that."

"Mmm, remembering the days before you got her knocked up, hey?" Francesca raised her brows at Max in a questioning manner, only causing a smug grin to appear across his face.

"She makes it very hard to forget." He replied before Francesca began urging him to look over to where she was stood.

"Well once again, you will have a lot of competition, and you won't be the guy she's going home with tonight."

As Max turned around to look behind him, he caught sight of Grace and Harry making out. Their trip to the bar had taken a little bit of a detour on the way and the guy now couldn't keep his hands off of her.

"That's her loss really, not mine." Max responded in the most unfazed manner that he could manage. However, Francesca was already planning on telling Grace how desperate he was to relive their past, and that she had to make it hard for him.

Giving in too easily would only give him want he wanted, causing him to tick it off his check list and move onto the next. However, making him wait in incredible agony, would give her every bit of control and satisfaction.

The old Grace was well and truly back, and while most were very wary of that side of her, Francesca was most definitely her biggest fan.

**

Harvey hadn't been able to focus at work for the rest of the day. All he could think about were the text messages from Grace and the idea that Lottie could be pregnant. 

He didn't understand it. None of it made any sense. He wanted to believe that this was just Kiara trying to cause trouble however, he couldn't shake the idea from his mind.

"Were you busy?" Lottie asked as she pushed a mug of coffee across the kitchen counter, while Harvey stood the other side of it.

"Yeah, it was pretty crazy today." He replied, yet Lottie could feel his eyes watching her, as though he was looking for something. He looked concerned and confused and she was already guessing why.

"Is everything okay?"

Nodding his head, Harvey attempted to act unfazed once again. He wasn't really sure how to go about this or how he would even bring it up. He couldn't just come out and ask her if she was pregnant without sounding rude or confrontational.

"You look stressed..." Lottie trailed off while still keeping her distance.

She was stood behind the kitchen counter in a very clever way. She had planned on telling Harvey the truth when he got home from work, so had ditched the baggy shirts and gone for something a little tighter. However, now that she was faced with him, the fear hit her, and hiding behind this counter seemed like the perfect idea.

"So do you." Harvey responded as he could see the nerves taking over her body. "But yeah, you're right, something is up."

"What is it?"

Reaching for the phone in his pocket, Harvey opened up the text messages from Grace before sliding it over to her. Lottie didn't waste anytime in picking it up, and began reading through every single one as her heart began to beat so fast against her chest.

Grace: we know that Lottie is pregnant. you can see the bump in her instagram picture. you can't hide it anymore.

That one particular message hit her hard. She was aware of what had happened, but reading that confirmed that Grace had been the one to tell Harvey. She hadn't been the first to do it.

"What is going on, Lottie?" Harvey asked while sounding incredibly desperate.

Glimpsing up at him, Lottie let out a deep breath. She could feel the tears threatening her eyes but she did not want to give in to them. Not right now.

"Grace is right..." She muttered, not even looking at Harvey as she spoke.

"You're are..."

"Pregnant, yeah."

Harvey didn't say anything but his mouth dropped open like he was going to. He looked shocked, unsurprisingly, but also completely confused at the same time.

"Kiara is observant and clever. She worked it out."

"Fuck." Harvey breathed. His head was pounding and he still couldn't seem to make sense of any of this. "Who is the dad? I dont' get it."

He didn't want to cause offence to Lottie but it didn't make sense. Grace thought he had cheated on her and he kind of understood why now. But knowing himself that he hadn't, meant that Lottie had clearly been with someone else.

"It's yours, Harvey. The baby is yours." Lottie replied yet that didn't make any sense to him.

"How is it mine? We didn't cheat... I haven't slept with you since..."

"Since we were together, yeah, I know." 

There was silence for a moment while Lottie was watching everything she said process in Harvey's mind. His facial expressions showed it all and it took about a minute before it seemed to click.

"Wait..."

"I'm 4 months pregnant, Harvey." Lottie cut in before he could even say anything. "But I found out about a month ago. I haven't been with anyone else since you and the dates work out that I fell pregnant just before we ended."

Lottie was trying so hard to fight the tears. She wanted to cry, she needed to cry. She felt sick, she was terrified and she couldn't judge Harvey's reaction.

"Shit." He began shaking his head. "Fuck. Lottie..."

"I wanted to tell you sooner but I didn't know how. You seemed happy with Grace and I knew it would be complicated. But then when you two broke up..."

"...you took this as the perfect opportunity to tell me." Harvey replied for her causing Lottie to nod her head.

"I knew we'd be alone here and I thought we could deal with it in secret but that didn't really work out."

Running his hands over his face numerous times, Harvey wasn't sure how to react. He didn't know how he felt. He was experiencing so many emotions.

Lottie had unknowingly been pregnant when he broke up with her. She had been carrying his baby for 3 months without even realising it and then had kept it from him for a month when she found out.

He wasn't mad at her, he understood. However, he was upset that things had happened this way.

He felt guilty.

"Are you hiding behind that counter for a reason?" Harvey asked and his forward comment took her by surprise.

Looking down to where she was stood, Lottie looked back at him before nodding.

"The bump isn't huge or anything but with this kind of top, you can see it, yeah..." 

While Lottie held onto the kitchen side, feeling protected and hidden behind it, Harvey reacted by holding his hand out towards her.

He wanted to see. He wanted her to come out from hiding and to confirm to him that this was actually happening.

"Harvey... I..." Lottie trailed off before her voice broke.

She was shaking. She felt emotional. This whole thing was terrifying and she didn't know what any of it would mean. 

"Just come here." Harvey replied in a soft tone as he looked at her in the same way.

He wasn't angry but he definitely looked emotional and for some reason, that made this whole thing worse.

"Okay." Lottie agreed as she finally, but apprehensively, walked out from the kitchen counter and into the full view of Harvey.

She watched as his eyes scaled down from her face and to her stomach. She felt exposed and couldn't help but feel incredibly uncomfortable under his gaze, yet remained still and waited on his reaction.

"Wow, I.... I don't know what to say." 

As Harvey's eyes drifted back up to her face, Lottie could now see the tears forming in them. He wanted to cry. She could see that very clearly. 

This was an emotional and confusing mess for the both of them but to see such a reaction from Harvey, was somewhat reassuring.

He didn't hate her for not telling him sooner. He was emotional because of the circumstances and because he now saw with his own eyes that she was pregnant with his baby. He was going to be a dad.

Lottie knew that Harvey's biggest dream was to have a family. It was in his genes. However, she also knew this probably wasn't how he expected it to happen.

They weren't in a stable relationship anymore. They weren't in the position to actually have and bring up a baby together. Things were actually a mess.

However, one thing that Lottie was confident of, was that no matter what, Harvey would step up. She didn't have any doubt that he would be the most amazing dad he could possibly be for this little baby, and she could only be truly grateful for that.

**

Work at the garage had been busy for Harvey this morning and he hadn't quite had a minute to himself. He was definitely getting the hang of running this place now however, days like this made him sure he wasn't quite ready to give up being his dad's employee just yet. Being in charge had it's perks but he preferred leaving the harder stuff to Jack. Therefore, when he finally got twenty minutes to spare for himself, Harvey shut himself away in the office for a bit of peace and quiet.

As he finally sat back and reached for his phone to keep him entertained, a message from Grace flashed up on the screen. It took Harvey by surprise because even though they had kept in touch on a friendly basis, he hadn't heard from her since she found out about Lottie being here.

Grace: why have you lied to me? 

Harvey read Grace's message with as frown across his face as he wasn't sure of the context behind it, or what had caused her to send it.

Harvey: what do you mean?

Grace: you fucking lied to me for the past 4 months Harvey. don't try and act innocent now.

Grace's response fired back very quickly, confirming to Harvey that she wasn't up for playing games.

Harvey: I'm not trying to act innocent. I just don't know what you're referring to

When there was no immediate response this time, Harvey felt the need to send another text. 

Harvey: is this about what TJ said? about Lottie being here? because I wanted to talk to you about that but you've been ignoring my calls.

Grace: why would I answer them?!

Harvey: to hear me out. look, i'm sorry. it's fucked up how this has all worked out but she's just here as a friend. we had a lot to talk about still and she asked if she could come and see me. after what i did, i wasn't going to say no

Grace: the fact that you don't see what is wrong with saying yes is a real issue.

Harvey: it's not like we're together tho grace... it's not like i'm cheating

Grace: cheating, wow yeah, you set that one up nicely for me

Harvey: what?

Harvey was still frowning at his phone in complete bewilderment. He was struggling to follow where Grace was going with this.

He understood that she would be mad about Lottie being here but at the same time, he also didn't see the huge problem with it. Him and Grace were no longer together because they had agreed that it would be best for Brinley. Therefore, when Harvey got the chance to make amends with Lottie, with the plan of it being on a friendship basis, he didn't see anything wrong with agreeing to it.

Grace: you, cheating.

Harvey: what are you talking about? 

Harvey: can i call you?

Grace: no

Harvey: then please explain what you mean by me cheating

Grace: gossip clearly doesn't travel that far to you then because we all know. i thought the guys would have told you

Harvey: you know what Grace?

Harvey: please just answer your damn phone

Grace: that you cheated on me with lottie in the last 4 months!! it's fucking ridiculous that you're still fucking lying to me!!

Harvey was staring at the screen of his phone with his mouth agape in complete shock. He was confused and lost. He didn't know where this had come from or what had ignited this idea in Grace, but it definitely did not make sense.

As he continued to try and call her, Grace still didn't pick up and that was only frustrating him more.

Harvey: i never cheated. who told you that??

Grace: don't fucking lie to me.  i've put up with enough shit.

Harvey: i didn't cheat grace. this is bullshit. who told you?

Grace: kiara figured it out. you got caught and now lottie being there makes complete sense!

Harvey: kiara? you're going to believe kiara when you know what she's like?

Grace: surprisingly, yes

Harvey: are you insane? you know damn right that she tries to cause shit all of the time. why would you believe her?

Grace: we know that Lottie is pregnant. you can see the bump in her instagram picture. you can't hide it anymore.

Harvey had to read over Grace's message many times because he was incapable of processing the words before him. He felt like he had just been hit over the head and now everything had suddenly become blurry.

He wasn't sure where that had come from or whether there was any truth in it, but he was in shock. Grace had just insisted that Lottie was pregnant. She had just said the words as though he knew and he had been keeping it from her, from everyone.

Harvey didn't know what truth lay beneath them but he was beginning to see where Grace's anger had now stemmed from.

Being away from Brighton had lead to a lot of drama involving not only himself but Lottie too. Although none of it was really making much sense to him right now, he couldn't help but wish he had never come back to Cambridge.

The lack of contact with his friends from home was making all of their lives hell, and that was definitely not what any of them needed right now.

**

It was a Wednesday afternoon and considering Harvey still had to work while Lottie was here, she had the day to herself to explore. She was currently taking a walk down by the river, as Harvey had promised her that it would eventually lead to town.

It was so strange being alone in a city that she didn't know however, for some reason, she felt so at ease. It was the perfect opportunity to take some time to think and clear her head, while also to reflect on what this current situation even meant.

As Lottie was admiring the views ahead and letting her mind wander, the ringing tone of her phone began blaring in pocket. As she pulled it out, she was met with Naomi's name across the screen. She hadn't been expecting a call from her, but wasn't opposed to it either, considering it had been a day or two since they had last spoken.

"Naomi! Hey!" Lottie sang down the phone, excited to hear her best friend's voice.

"Hey... sorry, is this a good time to have a quick chat?" Naomi asked and her tone wasn't so joyful and instead it actually sounded concerning.

"Yeah, I'm just out on a walk. Is everything okay?"

"I don't want you to stress or panic, okay? Because it is all under control." Naomi began, yet her attempt of reassuring words actually did the opposite, considering she had given Lottie no context before saying them.

"What is going on? What's under control?"

When Naomi fell silent for a moment, Lottie felt herself getting more and more on edge. She didn't know what was going on but she knew her friend well enough to know this wasn't something minor.

"Naomi! What is it?"

"Last night..." Naomi sighed, as she finally gave in. "...I overheard Kiara saying to the girls that she thought you were pregnant."

"What?!"

"I heard her say that you could have put on weight but she was more certain that it was a bump... she told them all you were pregnant."

Lottie didn't know what to say or do with herself at that point. She felt sick, like she could actually throw up. This was not what she wanted, nor needed right now. She had already been warned by Naomi that they knew she was here in Cambridge, so she did not need something else on top of it.

"How the hell did she even figure that out?!" Lottie exasperated, as her spare hand went straight up to run through her hair. "I don't understand!"

"Apparently she spotted the bump in your recent Instagram photo? I didn't think it was that obvious but..."

"...but she's clearly closely examining my pictures to come up with that!"

"You know what she's like. That girl doesn't miss anything and also doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut." Naomi bit, frustrated that Kiara had managed to do this. "But please don't worry, Lottie. They asked me if it was true and I denied it."

"What did you say?"

"I just said that it was cruel of her to assume that and that it wasn't true. I'm certain I managed to talk everyone else out of the idea too, so it's fine."

"Everyone else?" Lottie asked with caution in her words. Kiara knowing was bad enough, she didn't need anyone else involved too.

"The girls.... plus Kiara said it loud enough for the guys to hear too..."

"So they all know? For fuck sake!"

"No, no, no. I told them it wasn't true. I said that you weren't pregnant." Naomi stressed, desperately trying to reassure her friend, but knowing there was little chance in it actually working.

This was a huge deal. None of them were supposed to know, yet now she was the talking point back home in Brighton.

"But if you can really see it in that picture, Naomi, then they're not going to believe you, are they?"

"Do you really think they'll believe Kiara over me? That would be stupid." Naomi remarked because she genuinely believed that everyone would already assume Kiara was lying.

"I guess not..." Lottie replied but she was finding it difficult to believe that. The more she thought about the photo, the more she realised how it could look. Part of her wanted to get straight on there and delete it, but she also knew that would only make it more obvious. 

"Was Grace there?" She asked when there was a moments silence and Naomi paused before replying.

"Yeah... but you have nothing to worry about. Just enjoy yourself, okay? I just wanted to make sure you knew, in case anyone else said anything."

Letting out a long sigh, Lottie's previous joy had been sucked from her body and now she felt nothing other than exhaustion.

"Lottie, please tell me you won't worry?" Naomi spoke up again when she hadn't received a reassuring verbal response from her best friend. "It will be fine. When you come home, everyone will have forgotten about it."

"Not in a few days they won't have."

"Then stay longer if that makes you feel better!"

"I have a scan, I can't." Lottie muttered, dreading having to go back and face everyone. 

She could easily avoid them on nights out considering she never turned up all that often anymore. However, she would struggle to not bump into at least one of that group while out and about in Brighton. It was impossible.

"I'm going to make sure they don't suspect a thing, okay? I'll convince TJ and then let him tell everyone it's a lie. They all think I tell him everything, so they'd believe him even if they didn't believe me."

Although Naomi was doing everything she could to be supportive and reassuring, nothing was going to work at this point. Lottie hated being the center of attention and the main talking point but lately, that was exactly what she was. 

There was no easy way out of this situation and she was beginning to realise that she would just have to face up and deal with it.

****