Winter's Faith | Ongoing

22 | Broken

If it [heart] can be broken,
It means it still works.
- Once Upon a Time

_____________________________

I was asleep - like the angel I am - on a school night, when loud thumping woke me up.

Startled, I fell out bed. Looking around in alarm, I realized it was coming from the window.

I grabbed the closest thing I could find - my Chemistry book - and walked over to the window, that had curtains covering it.

Revealing the curtains, I screamed.

Roman was dangling from my roof; his upside down head giving me a loopy smile.

Throwing my book away, I quickly opened my window. "What the hell Roman?" I half whispered, realizing Jenny was home.

With a cheeky grin, Roman extended his hand towards me. "Come up." Startled, I instinctly stepped forward and held him by his shoulders, so he wouldn't fall down.

"Roman, you'll fall," I warned and he wrinkled his nose mischievously. "I have a feeling you won't like that," he teased.

Shaking my head at him, I came to the realization that he was drunk and there's a good chance that I'll get caught with how loud he was being.

"Roman, Jenny is home," I tried to negotiate but the idiot just winked at me. "She won't like me falling either?"

"You're drunk," I chided. However, the bad boy pouted, making him look like a three year old. Sighing, I relented, "God, Roman. Just go back up. I'm coming out."

He let out a victory cheer, before going back up, and I expertly followed; having been doing this since I was a child.

Roman was sitting with his knees drawn to his chest when I came out. I sat beside him, before laying down to gaze at the stars, that were shining brightly at 2 in the morning.

"It's been so long since I've been here last. I forgot how beautiful it is," I whispered in awe. If it wasn't so quite out here, I would've missed the way Roman added lightly, "She's beautiful as well."

I looked at him, to see him gazing at the chain he wore around his neck, that was usually hidden from sight.

My eyes flattered to his face, the moonlight reflecting the pain that he covered well in the day.

"You don't have to tell me Roman," I said, as I sat up and put a hand on his shoulder in comfort.

He, however, shook his head. "No. I have to," he stressed.

"You're drunk," I argued. "You're going to regret telling me this."

Roman looked at me for a second, and then turned his attention back to the ring on the chain. "Maybe. Maybe not," he shrugged.

For a moment, neither one of us said a thing. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, and then sighed.

"My best friend," he finally began. "The person with whom my childhood started and ended. Allison." His voice was soft, as he breathed the name.

Allison. I mouthed, storing the name in my brain.

"She always pushed me to do stuff. Always craving adventure." Nostalgia was evident in his voice, as he reminisce her memories.

"We met Declan and Gabriel in middle school. Astrid was Ally's neighbour, with problems at home so she spent most of her time at Ally's. That's how we all became friends. "

Astrid had lightly touched the topic of her family issues, during one of our tutoring session, but I never forced her into talking because she's still new to me.

Instead I focused on Roman's face, as it contracted with pain. "It was my thirteenth birthday. Ally, who had been getting driving lessons, wanted to take the car out. Of course, everyone refused to let her."

I didn't miss the way he clenched his fist around the chain. "That night. She sneaked over to my place and-"

"Roman, you don't have to continue," I interrupted, when I noticed his breath getting shallower. I didn't want him to have to live through it all again.

But he only shook his head. "I-I told her not to do it. That it was a bad idea. But I-" He stopped, taking a shaking breath, before continuing, "- I was smitten by her. And couldn't say no to her."

He let out a little chuckle, and I could imagine thirteen years old Roman having to fight between doing what's right, and what his crush wanted. And for some odd reason, my chest constricted.

Instead, I focused on Roman's story. "We took the car out, and the streets were empty. She was driving smoothly, as if she had been doing it her entire life."

I noticed the subtle change in Roman's demonear. “God I was just thirteen. I wish I had seen it coming. The other car."

I gasped. Roman's shoulders started to shake. "The guy-" his voice broke, and so did my heart.

"He was drunk and he overspeeding and he-" I couldn't take it.

I threw my hands around Roman's shoulder, and for a second, he seemed startled. But then he turned in his place, and circled his arms around my waist delicately, burying his face in my neck.

It wasn't until I felt something wet on my neck, that I realised he was crying. "He hit our car. And oh God- I remember. I remember screaming for her as I lost conscious."

Roman was livid, as he rocked his body in my embraced.

"I- When I woke up, I was in the hospital. I was lucky, they said, to get away with a few broken ribs," he said, with hatred lacing his tone. Like he was upset that he woke up at all.

His hands clenched the material of my shirt. "And the bastard, who did it, got away. He fucking got away, because no one cared that he was drunk. We were the ones underage. We were the ones considered wrong."

We stayed in each other's arms for what felt like eternity, until I felt Roman calm down from the emotions he was feeling.

And then I asked the question I was dreading since the moment Roman had started talking. "And Allison?"

My heart stopped when Roman raised his head, his face centimetres away from mine, his eyes bloodshot, and hurt bright in them.

"She hadn't woken up since that day."

♡♡♡

Woo-hooo.
We're halfway into the book!

Okay. Big revelation.
So we finally know Roman's story.
What do you think about it?
Too cliché?
Will Roman be upset that he told Faith while being drunk?

Well find out in the next chapter.
Don't forget to vote, comment and share.
Until next time. :")