Show Me the Stars

Scuti

Scuti: The shield

* * *

"Why don't you ever leave this place?"

I woke up the next day to the sun shining profusely in my room, and Peter sitting on the edge of my bed. To be specific, he was sitting on my right leg. I yelled at him to get off, and he apologized for cutting of the blood flow.

"You didn't answer my question, Edith."

"Why are the curtains open?" I asked. "It's too bright. I only open them when it's cloudy or raining."

"Sorry, Edith but they are staying open. You need to get used to having some light in this depressing space."

"It's not depressing," I said as I sat myself up. "It's..."

"Depressing. Now answer my question," he said as he sat by the windowsill. The light danced in the curls of his hair and illuminated his tan skin.

"Where are you from?" I asked.

He smirked. "I'll tell you after you answer my question."

"Alright, alright. Fine. I don't leave because I don't want to leave."

"Bullshit!" he said as he pointed at me. "You want to leave this room just as much as I do. There's something else." He rose from the windowsill and came over to me. He took my hands in his, and his soft skin melted into mine. "Tell me."

I looked up at him for a second and turned away. He simply waited for me to say something, and began to whistle tune when I didn't. I recognized it immediately as the Jeopardy! theme song. I began to laugh once I found myself whistling it as well. He smiled at first when he saw me laughing and soon joined in. We both fell onto the pillows with laughter bouncing off the walls and into our hearts. Once we stopped, he looked into my eyes and let a smile settle onto his face.

"Tell me," he said again, except then it was a low and husky whisper.

I shook my head and instead wrapped a curl of his hair around my index finger. "It wouldn't make any sense."

"Try me," he whispered again as he put his hand on my side. "I'm sure it'll make sense to me."

I nodded. "I guess I'm just afraid of being an outcast, you know?"

"Why?" he said with his smile fading away into an expression of concern.

"I've been away from them for so long that I'm scared they either don't remember me, or have had enough time to pin my past against me."

"What would they pin against you?" he asked.

I opened my mouth to tell him what had happened or at least what I could recount from all of the nightmares I have been having lately. But I looked into his eyes once again, and I knew that I could not tell him. How long had I even known him? A day? A couple of hours? The reality was that despite how much I wished I could have told him everything, I could not. Perhaps it wae because part of me feared that once he knew, he would hate me just like all of the others.

"I don't know," I said. "The nurses always give me funny looks, espcially when it's time to give me food or anything. If there is ever more than one nurse in here, they will continue to whisper to each other with my name inserted into their conversation. So, being as curious as I am, I usually ask what they are talking about. Do you know what the response is each and every time?"

"What?" he said as he stoked my side.

"'This is none of your concern, Ms. Hope' What kind of bullshit is that? Excuse my language, but of course it's my business! My name is in your conversation, how does that make it not my business?"