Fight Club (h.s.)

Part 24

"You seem distracted," Will says, looking at me from his desk.

"I'm just...tired," I say, his head nodding. More like exhausted. Harry has made no effort to talk to me, to which I'm thankful, but his secret has been feeding off my energy. The thoughts of what his life could have been like and what his child could have looked like cloud my mind and I end up freaking out.

"Can I get you anything?" he asks, my head shaking. I continue reading through the article and he stands, moving to stand over my desk.

"Let me take you to dinner so you don't look so ghostly. It's just to get food," he says, confirming his offer as only friendly. I nod, knowing I haven't eaten much the past few days. Harry hasn't shown up to class and I'm afraid he'll have another panic attack.

Will takes me to a small sandwich shop and pays for my dinner, saying it's a work outing and he's my boss and insists to pay. I only nod, not knowing what else to say. I've felt as though I've lost my words lately.

"So how are you and Harry?" he asks, taking a bite of his sandwich.

I sigh, closing my eyes. How do I say this without receiving an 'I told you so'?

"We've reach a roadblock," I tell him, picking the banana peppers off my sandwich.

"What do you mean?" he asks, genuine concern glazing over his eyes.

"He has unleashed a secret and I found it to be...huge and I don't know how to feel about it," I explain, his eyebrows frowning.

"So you've been dating and after..." he trails, my fingers signaling a three. "Three months he just now tells you something?"

I nod, his lips mouthing a 'wow'. "I opened up difficultly and I somehow began to get blamed. I was shocked; overwhelmed," I admit, his lips pressing together.

"I'm open with women I like. The women I want to be in relationships with because if I don't open up, how will they see me?" he says, my eyes looking into his.

"It's complicated," I tell him once again, taking my first bite of the sandwich.

"He doesn't...hurt you, does he?" he asks, my eyes widening as I shake my head.

"No. He wouldn't hurt me. Except I feel hurt by how he kept this from me," I say, his head nodding.

"Whatever the secret was, I hope it was worth making you so torn and distressed," he says, my lips releasing another sigh.

"We should get back," I say, his head nodding.

After getting back to the building and finishing the article, I leave for the night and wave to Will on the way out.

When I get to my dorm, I fall back onto my bed and I see a voicemail from Harry. Since he hasn't tried to contact me all week, I rush to listen it.

"I know you probably don't want to talk to me. Hell you won't even listen to this. I'm calling you to tell you I'm sorry and I know I owe you an explanation, but I-I'm leaving. A scout found me and I'm going to tour for boxing. This is sudden, but I hope I can get you to understand. As I thought about what you said, if the tables were turned, you're right. I'd be sick to my stomach. I hope me being on tour would give you enough time, nearly eight months, but if you move on... I-I get it," he chokes, my lips releasing a sigh.

"If you hear this, know I'm sorry for keeping this from you but I was waiting for a good time to tell you. That is my last secret, but it was my biggest and worst mistake keeping it from you. I'm sorry," he says, hanging up.

The feeling running through me is horrible and I wish I could ignore it, but I can't. We've broken up and I feel terrible, but I don't like how he kept something like this from me. He didn't tell me he had a baby. Maybe I'm overreacting but it bothers me. Learning something like that is scary.