Fragments

5.8

            5.8

            “You should talk to him,” Roman murmurs.

            It’s so early in the morning that the sun is threatening to break the skyline and by now we’ve moved into his too big bed, our legs tangled but our heads apart. Suddenly the sheets aren’t too soft or the room too lonely, as if all I needed was someone to share it with.

            “Talk to who?” My eyelids are fluttering closed, sleep finally threatening to take me when the night is finally over.

            “His brother.”

            My heart palpitates but I refuse to open my eyes. If some strange chance of fate or his determination to find me brought us together, it’s clearly for a reason. And as much as I want to pull the comforter over my face and hide in the darkness of the shadows, I don’t have a choice. He knows where I am now. I can’t avoid him any longer.

            “I’m scared,” I mumble, the words barely escaping my lips.

            Roman brushes my hair off my forehead and looks down at me with tired eyes. “And so is he.”

            I’m skeptical. “How?”

            “Think about it. You simply have to deal with your dead, cheating ex-boyfriend’s brother.” He makes sure that I’m not about to slap him before continuing. “He, on the other hand, has to deal with a girl who is not only still pissed about that, but also witnessed his final moments. Do you think he really wants to go back to that place?”

            I think about his quiet, introvert, older brother and keep my eyes open long enough to look up at Roman. “Then why would he?”

            He shrugs. “Death is the easy part. Letting go of that loss, that’s the part that’s hard.”