Fragments

2.8

            2.8

            My fingers entwine with the grass as nervous memories pass through my head, and I have to pull my sleeves to my fingertips to stop myself from ripping the strands from the earth. With my hands on my stomach, I stare up at the colour-changing trees above us, wondering how a boy like Roman could bring me to a place like this. I didn’t expect it from him.

            “What are you thinking about?”

            When I turn my head to the left, crunching leaves underneath my hair, Roman is staring at me. His expression is curious, his eyes smiling even though his lips aren’t. I turn back towards the sky and shrug.

            “The past.”

            “Why?”

            “Because it’s easier to remember than to forget,” I admit.

            “Fair enough.” Roman pauses, thinking over the words before continuing. “But what in your past would you want to forget?”

            I purse my lips together and watch a leaf flutter through my line of sight and land silently on the earth nearby. “An accident.”

            “An accident?” he repeats.

            I nod and let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “An accident that may not have been an accident.”

            Roman is silent as he rolls onto his side, propping his head up with his hand. His elbow crunches on the ground as he watches me, but I don’t turn to face him. We stay like that, Roman studying me while my mind races through the fall day until the sun is completely gone from the sky.

            He doesn’t once ask me to explain.