Page 86 of Always Meant To Be
My tears fall again, and I see Romeo tense as he pushes off the hood, and storms my way. I don’t move even as he approaches, standing before me.
He gently kneels and takes Luca from me, then steps back, but stays close so I can finish.
I admit, “My dream, Liliya, was that real, or am I wishing it was?” Romeo furrows his brows, and I whisper, “You said you deserved what you got, that you were sorry…. You told me to fight, and I fought, but all I feel is guilt that you are no longer here, that we can’t fix our relationship, even though you treated me so poorly….”
Romeo’s eyes soften as Luca gets restless, and he gently rocks him.
“I miss who you used to be, and that girl, Liliya, is the girl I’m going to mourn, because that girl screamed for help when I was taken….”
Romeo’s head snaps my way, but I ignore him, and carefully stand and turn. Leaning over, I place my lips against the headstone.
“I forgive you,sestra. Please rest in peace now,” I whisper, then turn and walk to my husband and son.
Romeo instantly raises his arm, and I walk into his side as he asks, “You were taken?”
I nod as he guides us to the SUV, and admit, “When I was eight, but I blocked it out. The therapist you hired for me helped me get the memory back. I finally remember being close toLiliya, but nothing was the same after I was kidnapped—with her or Mama, and I guess that’s why my subconscious blocked that whole time out.”
He sighs. “It’s why you thought she was always a bitch.”
I nod, and he gently places Luca into his car seat. I state, “It doesn’t erase all the pain she caused, but whatever happened in the time I was gone, she changed, and Mama became more, I don’t know, more of a mother to her than me, I guess.”
Romeo gently shuts the door, and then wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me close. I grip his suit jacket and place my head on his chest, my eyes looking at the grave in the distance, the roses standing out.
“When I was in the coma, I saw her.” Romeo tenses at my words, but I continue, “I don’t know if it was just in my head or whatever, but it felt real, and she seemed so sincere….” I look up at him, my tears blurring his sharp features, and I rasp, “I want to believe it's true…I would end up in a meadow with a little boy calling for me, his mamma, to go play with him. He had your eyes, nose, and hair, while he had my lips and freckles.” My tears fall. “Does that make me crazy?”
He squeezes me tight to him and gently kisses away my tears, whispering, "No,farfalla, it doesn’t, and the fact you want it to be true shows how much you actually did love your sister.”
I nod, placing my head on his chest again, my eyes going back to the grave, and I ask, “Can we come here once a month, just so I can fill her in on our life, so Luca doesn’t grow up knowing the hurtful and spiteful woman she became?”
I feel his lips against my head as he leaves one hand on my back, placing his other in my hair.
He agrees, “Whatever you want, baby, I’d give you the world if I could.”
I smile at that.
“I love you, Romeo. Thank you for never giving up on me,” I rasp, closing my eyes. This time, instead of seeing Liliya’s dead brown eyes, I see her grinning, holding her hand out to me, her brown hair in pigtails…like it was before I was taken….
“I love you, too,farfalla. I’d burn the world to ensure you are always mine….”
Epilogue
Romeo – Four Months Later
I movethe Andrews folder to the side, and sigh, plopping my pen down, my eyes going to the clock.
Fuck’s sake, it’s only one in the afternoon.
I sigh, again; I miss my wife and son.
He’s just over four months old and can sit on his own. The bigger he gets, the more like me he looks.
He’s fucking perfect, and I just wish El would allow us to have another one.
I want several kids with her, and now that Holly is pregnant, much to Leonardo’s dismay, it’s made me want her pregnant again.
Stupid? Yeah, do I care? No….
The more babies El has, the less chance she’ll leave me because, let’s face it, I know I’ll do something to piss her off at some point.