Les Femmes Fatales [2]

▪ Twenty-Eight

To say Chris was shocked was an understatement. With wide eyes, he looked at her face scrunched up in worry, saying nothing at first, seemingly frozen in place. Slowly, he snapped out of it and tried to speak up but his voice failed him. He cleared his throat, opening his mouth to speak but having no idea what he could tell her. He closed his mouth once more and thought of what he could say. He could tell from the way she was looking at him she needed him to tell her something, anything, and he tried to think of things he could say to her but came up with nothing really fitting.

"That's why you did all these things today?"

This was not the answer Stella had been expecting and her resolve crumbled.

"Of all the things you could say, you chose this - this question?" she exclaimed, her voice shrill as she looked away and almost instantly, the tears that had gathered in her eyes started to fall. "I-I've thought of every possible way this could go, of all your reactions and you react asking me the one question I didn't think you'd ask!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he mumbled as he reached forward to grab her hand but she moved away. He frowned. "Baby-"

"Say something that's actually relevant to the situation I'm going through right now because as you can clearly see I'm not alright!"

"I don't know what to say, Stella," he said softly, "I thought this would happen later and we'd have planned it-"

"Well so did I!" she exclaimed. "I wanted to get off college, get a job and then think about something like this but I don't have much of a choice right now, do I?"

"I know, baby, I know," he insisted in a gentle tone as he reached forward to grab her hand once more. This time, she didn't move away. "Look, it's about December now so the baby will come at July or August. By then, both of us will have graduated from college. I'll work two jobs if I need to, you know Aunt Margaret is going to support us all the way and I'm sure your family will try their best too. We'll figure it out, I'm sure we will."

She wiped her tears off of her cheeks as she looked his way. "We? We're going to do it together?"

"Of course we are," his eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her. "You thought we wouldn't?"

"There was this girl at high school that got pregnant and her boyfriend left her, Nicolas, that ex-friend of yours left his girlfriend when she got pregnant and there are many more examples! I-I-I panicked, alright? You could have chosen to live an easier future without being a father at the age of twenty four, which, mind you, is quite young." She glanced up at him only to frown as she noticed the slightly hurt expression on his face. "I'm sorry, it sounds stupid now I'm saying it out loud-"

"No, it doesn't," he cut in softly, placing a hand on her chin and gently directing him to look at him. There was a smile in his lips as he looked at her but it seemed rather sad and from his furrowed brows, Stella could tell he didn't like the way this was going. "Another man would have left his girlfriend if things got too rough. But I'm not that man. And you must know by now that a future without you would be a miserable one."

She shook her head and his hand fell as he stood up, walking towards her and stopping just behind her. He wrapped his arms around her neck, placing a small kiss on her wet cheek. He felt her cry and pulled back, moving to stand beside her before crouching down, his expression scrunched up in concern.

"What is it? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's just..." she paused as she shook her head once more, raising both hands to wipe her eyes as she tried to stop her crying just for a while so she could talk to him. "You know I-I had convinced myself you would leave me o-or try to make me have a-an abortion because I've heard so many instances like this one and I..." she swallowed thickly, "...I got so scared for absolutely no reason and I worried for nothing, in the end. I-I shouldn't have doubted you, it's not like you to leave me like that. And-and I don't know why I'm crying n-now."