Rose Grove - (H.S.)

31

"Della, I'm moving to Italy."

Harry's confession caught me so off guard I swear my vision blurs and this time it's not because of my relentless tears. How can he be moving to Italy? We're dating, I'm pregnant with his child, and he's moving to another continent? I should've known we would have crashed and burned like this. We were truly doomed from the start, weren't we?

"What are you even saying right now?" I say as I stare at the table below me with wide eyes, my brain having trouble even processing what he said. Nothing could've prepared me for this, never in a million years did I think he would just up and leave. I don't even care if it's because he lost feelings for me, I care because I'm carrying a child who deserves to have a father. Although, him losing feelings for me does feel like several punches in the gut, followed by one thousand more stabs to the chest.

"Della-" he goes to speak but I immediately cut him off, nothing he could say in this moment could make this better. He's leaving me, what more can he say?

"What? Harry? What do you have to say? After the past five months do you think there's any justification for leaving me and our child?" I seethe, tears pouring from my eyes to the point where I have to squeeze them shut to soothe the burning sensation.

"Can you please listen?" he asks calmly, the skin of his cheek beginning to turn bright red. Usually seeing him flustered would make me feel awful, but at this moment, he deserves every bit of guilt he's feeling.

"No! I can't! I lost my job because I wanted to be with you, because I wanted to carry your child. Fuck, I uprooted my entire life for you!" I shout, standing up abruptly, flipping the chair beneath me from the force. "Now what? I'm supposed to sit here and wait for you?" I scoff and throw my hands in the air.

"No-" he shakes his head with a frantic look on his face.

"What do you mean no? I'm gonna sit here, unemployed and pregnant, while you have some kind of fucking escapade in Europe?" I say as I shake my head at him, tears beginning to drench my neck and shirt. "Never.." I say before I have to gasp for air and grasp at my chest. "I never thought you would do something like this to me. I thought you were someone who would never ever hurt me." I say with a choked sob.

"Della, please!" he finally shouts.

"What!" I shout back.

"Sit down, you didn't let me finish!" he continues shouting.

"Fine!" I yell as I wipe some of the dampness from under my eyes and sit back down, feeling my face get drenched in tears once again.

"I'm moving to Italy, and I want you to come with me. If you don't go, I don't either." he says and I immediately regret all the shouting I just did.

"Well.." I say as the tears continue streaming even though I know he isn't abandoning me. "You said you were pulling Autumn out within the next month, when are you supposed to leave?" I ask, trying to keep my tone steady.

"Three weeks." he admits and I feel my blood get hot once again.

"You leave in three weeks and you're just now telling me?" I widen my eyes at him and he tilts his head at me, wordlessly telling me to calm down.

"I only found out a week ago, I had to decide for myself if I wanted to go before I tried to get you to come too." he explains, and once again, I feel guilty for getting worked up. I should really let him finish his thoughts.

"Wait, why are you considering moving there?" I ask, the realization of how truly random this is finally hits me.

"Some rich couple had an unexpected pregnancy, and they commissioned me to paint the stages of the wife's pregnancy. So basically they'd rather me spend hours a day painting this woman than just taking photos." he explains, only confusing me further. "It won't be easy, and it doesn't really sound appealing, but living in Italy for a few months would be a really nice experience for Autumn. They told me they'd accommodate all three of us." he continues explaining.