Page 29 of All That Remains
"You like it?"
"It has its ups and downs, but the team is good. The hours are good. And I can spend time with my wife in the earlier part of the day, then work here during the evenings. She loves it because when I used to work days, she hardly ever saw me."
"Nice."
"Gotta keep 'em happy," he declared. "Happy wife, happy life. Whatever it takes. Now that she's six months along, her mood changes from one minute to the next."
"Pregnant? Cheers, mate. Congrats! That’s really cool."
"Thanks," he finished off the cigarette, crushing it on the step.
"Girl or boy?"
"Girl, unfortunately." We laughed. "Now I have to worry for her the way I worry for her mom. The same way I worry for my sister."
"Girls are tough," I nodded. "I've got a sister too. Her name’sRosa. You won't believe how many of her dates I've had to threaten." We laughed again.
I asked more about his family, and he was happy to oblige. He had lived in the US growing up because his dad had migrated there to start a business, but when he became ill, they packed up and headed back home before he died. Once Han met his future wife, he decided to stay. As he spoke, he lit another cigarette and we shared that one as well. Then his hand fell onto my back again, even lower this time.
Swallowing thickly, I tried to remain as still as possible. He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me over slightly, and it reminded me so much of Rome that I felt sick. I played it off and wiggled free with a laugh. Now I leaned back onto the steps with my elbows, watching the piercing lights above and craning to see the stairs wind up several floors.
"We've been here a while," Han acknowledged. "They'll be looking for me." He’d cut his radio off earlier to stop picking up interference in the stairwell.
"Yeah, me too.”
My phone had buzzed nonstop for the last half an hour. Soon it'd be time for soundcheck, which I was debating skipping because I didn't want to see Rome again.
"You know, if you ever need anyone to talk to…about whatever upset you today...you can always reach out." He handed me a business card with his full name.Han Lee.
"Great name," I chuckled. "Sounds like some sort of film character.”
We parted ways at the elevator. Once I got back to my room, I set his card on the nightstand and kept watching it in disarray. After I showered, I sat in a towel on the edge of the bed and couldn't keep my eyes off the name.Han Lee. I recalled his touch. Those heavy gratifying hands and gross cigarettes. His working-class casualness. His boring, comforting stories. I brushed damp hair away from my face and considered calling him.
I pictured his dick. Why did I want to call, exactly? To fuck? Probably. I think out of spite. But Rome had texted me over a dozen times, each message increasingly more unhinged. That’s because before I hopped in the shower, I texted him what I’d been too afraid to say to his face. That he was a fucking liar. Now I read through his responses.
Rome: "Liar? Really, Rafe?"
Rome: "Really? That’s how you feel?"
Rome: "You know what, bro? I'm done."
Rome: "You know who you sound like right now?Piper. You sound just fucking like her, bro."
I felt all the blood rush to my head, boiling at the tips of my ears. I nearly threw my phone against the wall, but refrained because I’d only be screwing myself. He kept texting, and I kept ignoring.
Rome: "You’re always telling me how you love me more than she does. You’re always talking about how you'd take care of me. Always talking about what you'd never say to me...and now you go and sound just fucking like her!"
A while passed before he continued.
Rome: "She barely even touched me, Rafe."
Finally, he admitted there was something.
Rome: "Just a bj that's it."
I knew he was still lying. To soften the blow. I knew they'd done much more. He wouldn’t have held her hand otherwise.
Rome: "I needed it. I couldn't fucking sleep. I was so fucked up, babe. You were gone..."
