Page 95 of All That Remains
"How'd she know?" I wracked my brain for any feasible explanation. "She must've seen something when she came the first time, right? And must've stuck around afterwards, I think."
"Believe it or not, that's exactly what happened. She said she saw some weird shit around the house. Misplaced shit. There was a mess on the kitchen counter. Things in the lounge that weren't normally there. I never sit in there when I'm home alone. Then she noticed the sheets were...well, first she thought the bed just wasn't made. Then she realized those weren't the sheets we'd slept on. Then the candles...I'm a fuckin’idiot, Rafe. I left them on the floor even after I blew them out. Dead fuckin' giveaway."
"Fuck’s sake..."
"Never knew she was so fookin’, like,observant...’til now."
"Most women are. They're just paranoid, if you ask me."
"With reason, apparently."
"Yeah." I kissed his nose. "I wish she hadn't hit you.”
"M'alright, babe. It’s nothin’ compared to what I’ve done to you."
"Hey..." I said suddenly. "I love you. Forget about it."
“Love you more.”
"Runawaywith me, ok? I promise I'll take care of you. You hear me, Rome? I love yousomuch, I can't fucking breathe sometimes. I'll never let anything happen to you."
"That's temptin'..." he sighed. "Seriously, it is."
"We could move to Jamaica? Right? Get lost in the Caribbean? Get married...change our names...adopt a bunch of kids...bunch of dogs, too. Live in a studio, making dancehall and reggae. We could get high every day in the sun, and never have to worry about anything—"
"But we can't justrun,babe. As good as it sounds, it wouldn't be right, yeah? We've both gotsomuch goin' on this year, too."
"You want dreads?"
"That'd look sick, to be fair."
"Yeah," I grinned, envisioning it. "I want a tan."
"That'd be alright, I guess."
"So, what's the answer?"
"Dunno," he cleared his throat, as if genuinely considering my ludicrous proposition. "Guess I'll have to talk to her again first."
"Where is she, anyway?"
"With her mum, I think. We canceled lunch, obviously. And she caught a ride to her mum's house. I had her truck towed to the shop to have it restored, so no one’ll know anythin’. She's supposed to come back when it's fixed."
"She ever calm down?"
"Mm-hm," he nodded. "A little."
"Good."
"Yeah, but once she calmed down...she just got reallysad,y'know?I mean likereally fuckin' sad,Rafe. I felt horrible…weak—"
"You're not weak. It’s complicated."
"But I'm lousy, yeah? Look at what I’ve done to her…to you. I pulled you into this mess, too—"
"No, I came willingly. It's my fault. I'm the one who came over unannounced. Just tell her it's my fault. Tell her Iforcedyou or something."
"It doesn't matter, anyway. She already blames you. Shehatesyou." He sounded disheartened, like he wanted her to like me.
