21 Days To Live

Day 16

Monday
7:24 pm

It's weird how events take place in our lives. The way one event after another can lead to something so drastic, causing you to wonder how things would've ended up if something occurred differently. Your mind starts to race with all sorts of questions, playing the scenes in your head over and over again.

Right now the only question on my mind was: what if one event had failed to happen?

I had decided to go late to work today, and just when I had been leaving the phone had rang. No one else was around to pick it up, so I had decided to attend to it myself.

Maybe if I hadn't done that then I wouldn't be where I was at the moment.

"Hello," I had said.

"Hi, this is a call for Mr. Rome Wisconsin. Is he there?" The voice on the other line asked.

Rome still hadn't returned from dropping Gemma off to school. Perhaps he wouldn't be back any time soon, I had guessed thinking he had some other plans for the day.

"No, he's not here right now. But if you have a message for him then I could pass it on to him. I'm his wife," I told the woman.

"Please let him know he has been selected for the job he applied for, and we are looking forward to hear from him soon. Congratulations," she explained.

I hung up with a thank you, all sorts of emotions building up inside of me. I was happy for him, but sad at the same time.

Just then Rome entered the house, hanging he's keys on the hook next to the door, before making his way to the living room.

"What happened?" He asked, staring at the phone I was still holding in my hands. "Who was on the phone?"

"It was a call for you," I remarked, surprised how emotionless I could sound.

He raised an eyebrow, waiting to hear the rest.

I cleared my throat, and placed the phone on the table.

"Congrats," I mumbled trying to sound happy. "You've got the job."

"Really?" He asked surprised.

I reluctantly nodded, "Yeah. So... does this mean you're leaving soon?"

Please tell me that was never your plan, I wanted to yell. Please tell me I'm mistaken.

The sparkle of happiness in his eyes faded at my question.

"Yah," he whispered. "Maybe forever."

He looked away from me and towards the ground.

"Gemma and you will be leaving soon then, I assume," I spoke, repeating what he had just told me.

"Very soon," he confirmed and quietly walked away.

I bit my lip in an attempt to stop myself from yelling out after him.

This was it.

And now here I was, taking a long sip from my glass, wanting to focus only on the burning taste of alcohol entering my mouth and nothing else.

I didn't know how long I had been sitting at the bar for, or what time it currently was. All I could think of was the fact that Rome had decided to leave the house with Gemma as soon as Gemma finished her last year of junior high.

I felt as though I was stuck in between choosing my family and letting them go. No matter what side I chose to move towards, I would never fully make it.

After placing down the glass I had in my hands, I pulled out my phone from my pocket. If I had been sober, I would've never made the call. Yet, I wasn't, and for the first time in years my heart had control over my actions.

My eyes scanned through my contacts, searching for the number I should've known by heart.

As I waited for Rome to receive my call, something weird happened. For the first time in forever I felt my heart beats accelerate and my hands began to sweat. I realized the feeling as nervousness, from not knowing wether he was going to pick up or not.

What reason did he even have to answer my call? What had I ever done for him, other than hurt him? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

However, like all other times, once again Rome was able to surprise me. He picked up on the third ring.

I didn't say a word, and neither did he. Both of us were silent, waiting for each other to say a word, while we both quietly breathed into the phone.

"Don't call, if you don't want to say something," he said, attempting to sound harsh, yet it was nothing more than a whisper.

"Rome," I slurred, shaking my head. "It's been a long, long time since we really talked, hasn't it? There's something I want to say."

"Are you drunk?" He asked, disappointment and confusion lacing his words.

"Only somewhat," I murmured, afraid he might hang up on me.

He let out a deep sigh, then I imagined him run a hand through his black hair like he always did.

"I'll come get you, where are you?"

I paid the waiter money for the drinks, before stumbling out of my seat and towards the door.

"You won't reach me," I whispered to him. "I'm too far gone. No matter how much you'll try, I'll always end up being out of reach."

"Tell me where you are, Myra," he repeated, ignoring what I said. "Do not leave the place without me."

"Queen's Bar," I told him, fiddling with my car keys. "I'll be waiting in my car. See you soon."

Rome arrived in less than half an hour, seeming to come off as worried for my well-being.

"Why were you drinking, Myra?" He questioned, exasperation etched on his face. "You're getting what you want, so what's the problem now? Found someone else you want to be with?"

I shut my eyes tightly, leaning my head against the head rest in Rome's car. This was the first time Rome mentioned the cheating thing after our argument.

"If you knew me even a little Rome, you'd know I would never think of cheating on you," I stated, heeding Aneway's advice and wanting to save my broken family. "You think I was the one who stopped caring, who stopped talking to you? Have you ever given thought to what you did, Rome?"

"You never thought of what I wanted," I remarked, finally letting out the feelings I had always buried deep inside of my heart. "You thought you gave me a choice, but really it never was one. I wanted the best for this family. I wanted to pull my family out of the financial crisis we were suffering from. But, all you saw, was a woman who cared more about her job than family."

"Can't you give me another chance? Can't you let me try once more? What if I die tomorrow? Do you want to live with the fact that you never gave 'us' one last try? Please Rome don't leave me. Don't take Gemma away from me," I begged him, hiding away the tears that were running down my cheeks.

Please, tell me we can try again.

We sat in silence for a while, with Rome beginning to drive. I was beginning to fall asleep, when he finally spoke.

"I'm afraid that you'll break my heart once again, Myra. I never stopped trying, you just started ignoring," he whispered, his voice laced with pain.