Chris and Larissa laid in silence in his bed for a long time as he softly stroked her hair.
"Hey. Are you still awake?" Chris whispered.
"Barely," Larissa responded truthfully.
"I know this is terrible timing, but...Why don't you come live with me?" he held his breath, waiting for her response.
"I practically do already," she laughed. "Where did that come from anyway?"
"I don't know," he shrugged. "I've just been thinking about it a lot lately. I just haven't found the right time to ask."
"Well you picked a helluva time now," she chuckled.
"I know, I know. Just think about it, though."
"Chris, it's not that I don't want to, but what about my job? That drive would be horrendous from this side of town. I'd be spending most of what I make in gas money, wasting away, sitting in traffic."
"Get a different job that's closer. Quit your job," Chris regretted his words almost as quickly as they flew from his mouth. "I don't care. I just want to be with you more." He wanted so badly to tell her his big news about the part he got earlier in the day, to ease her mind that he could take care of both of them, but knew it wasn't the right time.
"Chris..."
"Just think about it," he interrupted her, stroking her hair again.
Chris woke two hours later to darkness, which didn't really tell him much as his bedroom was always shrouded in darkness from the lack of windows. 6:30. He rolled back over and nestled against Larissa's back, gently kissing her temple. She began to stir almost immediately, stretching her arms above her head.
"Hey," he spoke quietly, propping himself up on an elbow.
"Mmm," she grumbled, rolling over and pulling herself closer to Chris. "What time is it?" she asked, not opening her eyes.
"A little after 6:30."
"Shit," Larissa hissed and began rolling out the other side of the bed. "I have to go to work. Talk to Yuri. Give him that doctor's note." She was smart and, because her boss at the diner was such an asshole, Larissa had had the forethought to make sure she received some kind of paper stating why she missed work that day and why she wouldn't be able to make it for the next few days either. It kind of pissed Chris off. Her job was the last thing she should have to worry about right now.
"I'll go with you." Larissa nodded in agreement. Her lack of arguing over having him drop her off at her house first and taking her own car and going by herself, like she normally would have, was all Chris needed to know about her current mental state.
Chris' scowl deepened as he watched Larissa and her boss' exchange from a distance across the restaurant. Yuri held up his hands as she tried to hand him the doctor's note. Generally, he was horrible at reading lips, but Chris could make out her boss saying "I don't want it". Chris felt his muscles tense, contemplating whether or when to intervene as he watched Larissa start furiously waving the note around, her face reddening. Just as he was about to walk over and find out what was going on, Larissa turned on her heels and started walking toward the door.
"What on Earth is going on?" Chris caught her elbow gently as she was about to reach for the door. Tears welled at the corner of her eyes, threatening to fall at any second.
"That bastard just fired me!" she pointed back at where Yuri continued to stand, trying to keep her voice under control.
"What?!" Chris shook his head, momentarily dumbfounded. "How is that even legal? Is that legal?"
Larissa threw her arms up, letting them fall violently back to her sides. "Knowing him, probably not. I told you. He's a scumbag," she sighed. "Just get me out of here, Chris."
Before they left, Chris turned back to still find Yuri watching them.
"Expect to hear from my lawyer, you son of a bitch," he called to him. The man just nodded and waved a hand dismissively.
"Chris, where are we going?" Larissa spoke quietly, finally managing to calm down, only to realize Chris wasn't heading towards either of their houses.
"We're going to my parents. I need to talk to my dad and get the contact information for his lawyer."
"Chris, I can't..."
"I'm not going to let that son of a bitch do this to you," he interrupted. "I know you hated working there, but he had no right to fire you."
"Chris, I can't afford a lawyer. I could barely pay for my bills when I was working..." she trailed off.
"Don't even worry about that. I'll take care of it."
"Chris," Larissa started arguing again.
"If I cover the legal costs, would you go to court against him?"Chris looked at her seriously at a red light.
"I guess. I really don't want any trouble, though. You know me."
"Larissa, we just went through the worst day of our lives. And then to have that man fire you for no good reason on top of that? I won't stand for it. I know you have a lot on your mind right now, but I'm not letting this happen," he waved his hands erratically in the air. She sighed and resigned herself to looking out the window again as the businesses and residential neighborhoods whizzed past.
He felt bad, he did. Chris knew she wanted to argue more, but she just didn't have it in her after the day she'd had. And, admittedly, he kind of used that to his advantage in this case.
Chris parked the car halfway up the semi-circle drive of his parents. Both of them sat in silence, not moving, for several minutes.
"You know we're going to have to tell them the truth?" Chris took Larissa's hand and stroked the back of it with his thumb like he always did to calm her nerves.
"I know," she whispered, barely audible.
"You ready?" he paused. "Please let me do this for you," he spoke softly. Larissa just nodded.
Chris rang the doorbell. He knew he was welcome at his parents' house any time, but he didn't quite feel comfortable just waltzing into their house as a grown man, especially without giving them any notice he was coming over. He kept his arm around Larissa's shoulders protectively.
"Christopher," there was surprise in Robert's voice. "What's going on?" he glanced at Larissa by his side. "Come in, come in," he moved out of the entryway, gesturing for them to come inside.
"Have a seat," Chris' dad had led them to the family room.
"Hey, guys. What brings you over?" His mother questioned, turning the tv off. "How are you feeling, Larissa? I heard you were in the hospital earlier?"
"Oh, I'm ok, thank you," she spoke quietly and forced a smile.
"We need to tell you guys something," Chris began. "And get Donnie Arnosky's phone number."
"Son, is everything alright?" Chris' father grew alarmed at the mention of him needing a lawyer.
"Yes, yes, we're not in any kind of trouble," he reassured his father. "But I'll get to that in a minute. First of all, I wasn't completely honest with you on the phone this afternoon," he began. Robert nodded and waited for Chris to continue.
"I did know what was wrong with Larissa when you caught me at the hospital. It just wasn't something you tell someone over the phone, if you can help it." He took a deep breath. "There's no easy or good way to say this, so...Larissa had a miscarriage earlier today."
Gwen gave a short gasp, covering her mouth with her hands. His father's face visibly blanched several tints.
"Oh, you poor dear," Chris' mother gushed. He glimpsed Larissa, sitting in the giant, oversized recliner next to him, out of the corner of his eye. It almost made her look like a child, her feet barely reaching the floor and the chair threatening to swallow her at any moment, it seemed. Fresh tears were quickly forming in the corners of her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled, giving her completely away.
"We were going to tell you. We just felt like it was too soon." Chris left it up to his parents to figure out whether he meant his statements about the pregnancy in general or the miscarriage. Hard sobs began to rack Larissa's body as she swiped the back of her hand across her nose. His mother stood and crossed the room toward her, sensing there was more Chris needed to talk about with his father.
"Come on, dear," Gwen managed to get Larissa out of the chair. She put an arm around her shoulders and led her away. "Let's go in the kitchen. Make some tea."
There was a long pause after the women had left the room.
"I'm so sorry, son. I don't really know what to say."254Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1awfROHhg
"I know, dad. It's ok."
"So what's this about needing to call Donnie Arnosky?"
"So I took Larissa to work so she could give her boss the doctor's note, right? Since she missed work today and is supposed to take at least 3 days off? We get there and not only will the bastard not accept the doctor's note, he fires her too."
"What?!" his father was shocked.
"I know. That can't be legal, right?"
"I would think not. I would definitely give Donnie a call, though,"Robert paused a moment. "Do you need some money, son?"
"No," Chris waved his hand. "I should be ok. They're supposed to be giving me a 'sign on bonus' for the movie."
"Alright. Well if you change your mind..."Robert trailed off as he walked towards the den to retrieve the lawyer's information. "Here you go," he returned a minute later and handed Chris a small piece of paper. "Seriously, if you need anything."
"I know, dad. Thanks," Chris leaned in and hugged his father.
"You haven't told Larissa about the movie yet, have you?"
"No, I haven't had a chance," he winced. "I think I'll wait till tomorrow. I hate to spring even more on her, but I can't wait too long. We're supposed to start shooting in about 3 weeks."
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