Tell Me A Lie

Epilogue

"Are you sure this is okay?" I asked as Jai took one of my luggage bags away from me.

"Of course," he said, smiling genuinely. "This is incredible."

"I promise I'll get a job," I said, following Jai who walked into his house. "I'll make sure to help with the bills."

"Relax Scarlett. We'll be fine."

For the first time, I tried to think that we would be. As I followed Jai upstairs and to his guest room, I hoped that finally my life would be brighter. A lot had happened into the past few weeks, and I really just needed change.

After Jai beat up my dad we went to a therapist right away instead of his house. With my heart still heavy from the events of the day, I spilled everything to the therapist I met and to my annoyance, she told the cops. I was immediately taken away from my family and sent to a shelter for abused children, and my dad went to jail. Where my dad went made me happy, but I hated the shelter I was in.

It was depressing. Everyone moped about their lives and the people I saw looked genuinely miserable. I was obviously miserable too, but I still wasn't someone who wore their heart on their sleeves. Because of that, the people there made me want out. Even though my mother was in therapy because she turned out to be bipolar and my psychopath of a dad was in jail, I didn't mind living alone. Too bad there was no way I could afford it.

So I talked to Mrs. Jules, my new therapist about that. Unlike the first therapist, she kept everything private and she was a great listener. I loved her so far and asked her for advice about where to live. She asked me if I had anyone I was close to who was willing to let me live with them, and I had immediately thought of Jai. But then I remembered how I couldn't do that to him. I couldn't make him work harder to feed an extra mouth. Even with those thoughts, I ended up back here to live with Jai. I felt guilty, but I would definitely help out around his home.

"This will be your room," Jai said, stepping into an empty bedroom.

It was completely bare. There was nothing but two windows and the wooden floor to look at, yet I smiled. At the thought of this fresh start, I stepped in and began to make plans for my room.

"Let's leave your luggage in a corner," Jai said, walking to one. "I want to talk to you in my room and then we'll sort everything out. Is that okay?"

"For sure."

We put my luggage in a corner and then went to his room. My heart was pounding suddenly and I knew that I was nervous. Everything was changing and honestly, I wasn't sure if this would be my good aftermath. After having my life be nothing but horrible, it was hard to imagine that one day I would be happy.

    Once in Jai's room, we went straight to his bed and sat at the ledge of it. I was in deep thought about the recent events that happened, so I didn't even notice that Jai wa staring at me. I didn't even register him taking my hand in his.

     "Scarlett," Jai said gently, snapping me out of my thoughts. "What's wrong?"

    My head flew up to look at him, and I met his green eyes. They looked concerned and I flushed, not knowing how to voice my thoughts.

    "I... I'm scared," I admitted, feeling my cheeks burn. "So much is changing and I don't know if one day everything will be okay."

    "I understand." Jai's eyes softened. "Change is scary but I think things are changing for the better. At least I hope so."

    "Is the therapy helping?"

    Jai looked up thoughtfully at the question, but I also noticed how his body tensed up. Surprisingly, the response gave me a sense of relief.

     "I guess so," Jai answered, looking back at me. "Letting everything out is nice and I feel like my biggest issue was that I bottled up all my feelings. So yeah, I think it is helping."

    I nodded, thinking about Jai's therapist. He was an elderly man with a ton of patience and great listening skills. Even though he wasn't the most exciting person to talk to, I knew he was perfect for Jai. He was like a rock and Jai definitely needed one to keep him calm.

    "How about you?" Jai asked.

    "Yeah, I guess so too," I said, looking away as something in my heart twisted. "I mean it's nice to let everything out and I'm happy my parents are out of my life, but..."

    "But?" he pushed gently, knowing I needed it.

    "Why don't I feel different?" I blurted out. "Why aren't I happy yet?"

    That was what I kept wondering everyday. It had been a month since I began therapy, yet nothing had changed. Other than feeling like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders, I felt the same as I did before. Because of that, I wondered if something was seriously wrong with me.

"I wonder that too," Jai suddenly said, surprising me. "I mean I'm not miserable, but if a car were to hit me and kill me I wouldn't really care."

"Same," I blurted out before I could stop myself.

I flushed as Jai smiled at me sadly, but oddly I felt relaxed at that moment. Once again Jai and I related to each other. We thought the same thing and it had comforted me. Just like a million times before, Jai being who he was was able to comfort me. This was one of the many reasons why I loved him.

"But maybe this is a slow process. As the saying go, time heals all wounds," Jai suddenly said. "So maybe we won't be genuinely happy anytime soon. Maybe we won't ever be happy, but instead one day we'll be okay. I know that doesn't sound like much, but it's..."

"Something," I finished off for Jai. "It's an improvement."

His eyes softened. "Yeah."

I guess that was the thing about depression. It wasn't something that could be cured overnight. Maybe it wasn't something you could ever fully cure. Depression was something you would always live with, but maybe one day it would be manageable. It wouldn't devour you and that was the most someone with depression could ever ask for.

However, I couldn't help but feel disappointed at that thought. I couldn't help but yearn for happiness, but the idea of it being out of my reach left me sulking.

"Scarlett," Jai said. "We will be able to say life is good one day. I know we can get to that stage in our life."

"What makes you say that?" I asked defeatedly.

"Because we're together," Jai said, pulling me closer to his side. "You're going to live here, we're going to therapy together, and we'll be going through life together. We'll help each other and make sure the other doesn't ever hit rock bottom again. So I know we can do this. I know one day we'll be the closest thing we can be to happy."

I looked up at Jai and saw the confidence written all over his face. His eyes shone with determination and I suddenly felt his words seep into my skin. Everything he said hit me hard and I knew he was right. We were in this together. For as long as our hearts wanted each other, we would stick by each other's side. So even if we didn't have much, this was definitely something that would give us the motivation to keep moving through life.

"You're right," I said quietly. "Together we can do this."

Jai suddenly leaned forward and he kissed me. His warm lips met mine and I melted into him, feeling chills run through me. As he pulled me closer to him - so close I felt like we were one, I knew we were definitely in this together. We could do this together.

So maybe we didn't have much. Maybe we were depressed and unable to change anytime soon. That didn't mean we had nothing worth living for. It didn't mean we had no source of happiness.

From the day I met Jai, I knew my life was changing. I wasn't sure if it was for the better or for the worse, but now I knew it was definitely for the better. I knew that Jai was like my other half and I needed him. Just like how we needed oxygen to breathe, I needed him in my life. Because together, I knew we could one day think that life was good.

The End