I have never begged anyone to stay,
But I said please that day.
We can work this out.
I have never prayed for anything so badly,
but I remember begging the universe that if it could hear me somehow,
all I want is a chance to make it work.
'I can't'...
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I wake up with an intense thirst, reaching over to my side, I find the space beside me empty. Immediately, thoughts of last night with Rome rush back, and it leaves me reeling, but despite that, the fact that he left without a proper goodbye stings more than I'd like to admit.
Checking the time, I realize it's still quite early in the morning, so he must've gone out for his usual morning run.
I drag myself out of bed and head downstairs to the kitchen, craving something to drink. I start with fruit juice, then grab a bottle of water. The house is eerily quiet, and the dogs are nowhere in sight, confirming my guess that he's out running. As I'm standing by the fridge, I hear loud voices approaching and in no time. The kitchen door swings open, and Rome bursts in, mid-sentence, his head turned back as he's still finishing a conversation. His windbreaker is half-unzipped, black joggers and sneakers....my heart skips a beat at the sight of him. The dogs tumble in after him, but my jaw literally drops when I see my mom trailing behind, breathless and flushed, clad in workout gear.
Did she just... go for a run with him?
I stand there, frozen, as Rome strides over, plants a kiss on my cheek, and grabs the water bottle from my hand, draining it in a few quick gulps.
"Oh, don't look at me like that." Mom says, waving away my astonished expression as she flops into a chair and extends her hand for the fresh bottle of water Rome hands her. She chugs it down rapidly while Rome peels off his windbreaker, revealing a sweat-soaked vest clinging to his skin.
"You went running?" I finally manage to ask, still processing the sight of my mother embracing a new level of physical activity-and a new dynamic with my husband.
"Mm-hmm." Rome replies casually, his arms wrapping around me from behind as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened.
"Your mom's quite the athlete." he says with a hint of admiration. "She kept me on my toes." he says, his breathing still somewhat heavy from his run.
"Oh, please." Mom chuckles, catching her breath. "You were practically running circles around me."
"He's pretty fit." she adds with a mischievous grin towards me, her cheeks still flushed from the exercise.
"Wow." I murmur, my mind struggling to catch up with this unexpected scene.
"I'm going upstairs to... sleep this off." Mom says, rising from her chair with a slight wince.
"I'll have breakfast upstairs too... please let Glenn know." she calls over her shoulder as she heads out.
The kitchen falls into a peaceful silence after my mom leaves, and Rome moves to stand directly in front of me, his gaze searching mine. I can feel the weight of unspoken words between us, but all I can focus on, is his outburst last night.
"Good morning." he says softly, breaking the silence.
