Roses & Ruin

Chapter 19 (Anthony)

        Alessandro and Giana decided to talk in private somewhere outside of the doctors office where it's less awkward. That let me off the hook thank god. This was all so awkward and honestly overwhelming.

    I let Giana take my car since Alessandro drove in with Dom, and Dom no longer seemed to be here. I could use a walk if I'm being honest. I just started along the sidewalk without really knowing where I was going. I just started walking while I digested the news.

        So Giana is pregnant with Alessandro De Luca's baby. And she's due within the next few weeks. Giana had confided to me that she was afraid to give birth, and to have to take care of a living breathing child totally under her care.

She no longer had her own apartment here and was looking for a new place, since she couldn't stand the animosity between herself, her father, and her brother.

Maybe now she doesn't have to answer all those questions herself. Maybe Ale can help her out. I'll help if she needs me to, but it really isn't my place at all.

        I walked until I spotted a coffee shop, and then I decided caffeine sounded like a good idea. When I walked in it was like a starbucks, but not a name brand. Still they had sleek stainless steel appliances and fancy coffee makers.

Their menu was on a board above the counter. I ordered a pretty plain coffee, and when I turned to grab it at the pick up end of the counter I paused.

I had suddenly caught eyes with a pair of beautiful greens. Mia. And she's alone. I wasn't sure if she'd scowl, cringe, or hide from me, but I was pleasantly surprised when she just gave me a small smile.

"You must've done what I did. Walk the block for air, ended up in here for coffee" she kind of giggled. I hate that it stirred something inside me.

        When she caught me looking around the shop she played with the lip of her drink when she stated, "He isn't here." So she knew what I was looking for. Dom. My name was called at that same moment, so I turned back to the counter and grabbed the drink. I wasn't planning on staying inside, but when Mia invited me to join her I found myself saying yes rather than no.

It was a tiny round table with two chairs across from one another. If I stretched my legs at all I could feel her knees on me. It was that small. I felt like we were tucked away in some corner. When our eyes met they lingered, but neither of us said anything.

        "How are you?" She finally asked. She has pretty lips that I thought I couldn't find better, but Lexi has her beat there. I cleared my throat and sat up straighter to untangle myself from her gaze. "Good. Fine" I nodded. Fucking smooth Rizzo. I cursed myself internally.

"Uh, how are you?" I returned the question. "Over all or right now?" She gave me a kind of sad smile. "Both" I said genuinely.

"Right now I'm a little overwhelmed," she told me. "Yeah, I know. That was a lot, huh? Giana wanted the moral support or trust me I wouldn't have been there" I let her know in case she wasn't sure why I did come.

She smiled softly and took a short sip of her drink. "You're a good person," she stated quietly. I swallowed hard. "If you wanna...if you need to unpack all this you can do it with me, Mia. I'm here" I finally got some words out. "It's not weird?" She asked me. I chuckled.

"It's been weird, but here we are," I smirked.

        Giving her permission seemed to be all she needed. She started to vent all this pent up stuff she must've been storing inside herself. She told me all about the fight the first time around when she originally found out Dom and Giana had unprotected sex, and how she was pregnant, then not pregnant.