“Why is your house packed up? If you’re not leaving, then where are your things?”
Each painful silent second that ticks by just adds to my bewilderment. He has divulged his sins, but I’m missing a vital piece. I’m trying to be patient, but his five minutes are almost up. I’m no closer to uncovering this riddle than I was before he started.
“What was the point to this? What was the point of helping me, trying so hard to save me when you can’t even look at me? What was the point of falling in love with you, Roman, if we end in tragedy?” I don’t realize what I’ve said until his head lifts slowly, and a heavy whoosh of air leaves his lungs.
“You love me?”
“Yes. With all my heart.”
If not for his shoulders rising and falling steadily, I’d say he was not breathing. I have just confessed my feelings to him, and all he can do is stand unresponsive, adding to my misgivings.
Charging forward, I grip his bicep, forcing him to face me, but he doesn’t budge. “Your five minutes are up,” I spit, shaking my head, infuriated. “I was stupid to think you could ever love me. I don’t fit into your perfect little world; I never did. What was I, some charity case you felt sorry for?” My voice cracks, but I shake out my fears, not shedding a tear for someone who can’t even show me the common decency of turning around.
“I’m far from perfect,” he finally says. “And I never felt sorry for you.”
“Then why did you do this? Why do you want to save me?”
The tension blistering off his taut frame almost burns me, and the room suddenly becomes still. I recoil and watch his demeanor suddenly change. “I want…I want to save you because I’m…beyond saving.”
Before I rebuke his claims, he reaches overhead with both hands and yanks the collar of his shirt, pulling it off his body. I stand frozen, barely breathing as I’m faced with his muscular, broad back. I want to ask what he’s doing and why he’s removing his clothes, but I can’t speak. The words catch in my throat.
The T-shirt floats to the ground as he unclasps his fist. “Eleanor was my sister, but that wasn’t her real name.”
Time stands still. I will remember this moment for as long as I live.
“She was a huge Beatles fan, and ‘Eleanor Rigby’ was her favorite song. She used to play it on a loop whenever she got sad, which was a lot of the time. It was her escape from living a life no one deserves to live. She was one of the lonely people, and for her entire short life, all she wished to know was where she belonged.”
I take one, two steps back, shaking my head, unable to breathe.
“She never found where she belonged; she ran out of time. But now I like to think she’s no longer alone. She’s no longer one of the lonely people because she’s surrounded by her kind. A field, a strawberry field of lonely people surely are no longer alone.”
My heart lurches from my chest, and I gasp.
“Her name was…Scarlett.” His words are slowed to gibberish, and I cover my ears, shaking my head violently.
But that makes no difference because nothing can prepare my eyes for what I witness next. Roman’s head dips before he turns at an excruciatingly slow speed. He doesn’t meet my eyes, but even if he did, I can’t tear my gaze away from his chest.
The reason is that sitting over his heart, the heart that pounded so soundly beneath my ear, is a long, jagged scar. The angry, red wound is the only answer I ever needed.
Roman could have told me, but like with Erin, he knew showing me would be the only way I would understand.
“So you see”—he places his flat palm over his heart—“not so perfect after all.”
The sight of Roman with his head downturned, hand cradled to his scarred heart, will forever be etched into my mind. I don’t even understand what I’m seeing.
Afraid that I’m seconds away from fading, I slump onto the sofa, attempting to process what I’ve just seen and heard. “S-Scarlett is your sister? That was the name of June’s daughter who…oh, god…” I cry, unbelieving. There must be some mistake.
But Roman confirms my suspicions as true. “Scarlett was my sister, and June is…my mom.” He finally lifts his chin, the sadness pooling in those poignant