She was tired.
She had a long day at the office.
The amount of paperwork that had to be done and phone calls that had to be made seemed endless. This document needed to be signed and approved...The archive needed to be updated...Work after work after work. It seems to go on and on and Harper was tired to the bone. And it felt great to finally open the door to her house after a long day.
Except it wasn't her house.
And she didn't work for Grand Ridge anymore.
She was late. But somehow, she knew that he would be waiting for her - even if she told him that he didn't need to.
All lights were turned on, the fireplace was still lit and there the smell of a delicious dinner was in the air. She felt a twinge of guilt at that. How long did he have to wait?
Then she heard it, the sound of the piano being played at his bedroom.
This was Romeo's house. It seemed like his and mother, sister, and niece had already turned in for the night but he was still on his piano. She'd have to tell him to stop if he didn't want to wake them up.
She recognized the music. It was the one he performed at the Grand Ridge gala years ago, the one that he said he composed. She knew he played the piano before that but it was the first time she heard him play and she was enchanted. Everyone in the event was enchanted by him but he didn't really need a piano for that. There was always something about him - something that left people a little breathless just by being in his presence.
Slowly, she opened the door to his room. The lights were off, the windows open and the curtains drawn, letting the soft light of the moon illuminate the entire space. His bed was made and she found him with ease, his back on her. If he heard her come in, he didn't show it. He just continued on playing, his fingers dancing effortlessly on the keys. He was wearing a suit - the one he always wore to work - black coat, black slacks and although she couldn't see it, she knew he was wearing a blue tie. He had the same color for every piece of business clothing he owned, saying that he didn't have the time to think about what clothes to wear every morning. He was already busy, why would he waste minutes just choosing what to wear.
"Hey..." Harper whispered as she touched his back and he stopped playing. He turned to look up at her, a small but sad smile on his face. "I told you that you didn't have to wait for me." She said and he took her hand, pulling her closer.
"I know but I wanted to," Romeo answered softly. He shifted in his seat and let her settle on his lap. She sat down, wrapping her arms around his neck and let her head rest on his chest. He didn't say anything and she just relished being near him as tears began to form in her eyes.
Why was her heart aching? Why was she so sad all of the sudden?
"Why are you playing the piano this late? You're going to wake Angel and Rina won't be happy with that." She said as her fingers absentmindedly fiddled with the back of his collar.
"They're not going to hear me from here," Romeo said and Harper looked up at him, tears now falling from her eyes. He wiped them away tenderly before kissing her lips. "Don't be sad Harper." And she thought she could hear his heart break just by saying those words.
"But I miss you so much." She confessed, her voice breaking. She finally said it out loud. After years and years of denying it - after years of running away she finally admitted that she missed him. Incredibly so. She was never really good at sorting out her feelings to begin with especially with THIS sadness.
For her there was normal sadness - the sadness she felt when her dog Princess died or when she had to miss another Christmas dinner with her mother. That was the kind of sadness that she could deal with. But then there's THIS sadness, the Romeo sadness. The one that leaves her feeling empty and broken. The one that makes her wish she was dead. She didn't like THIS sadness and she buried it deep within her - pretended that she was finally okay and happy.
But she wasn't.
That's why she panicked when heard she was going back to Arden to promote the final book of her series. But she didn't let her agent know about it - she just took the news in with a smile and a nod. She didn't tell her about the dread that was threatening to consume her just at the thought of returning to the city that took so much from her.
But all of that wasn't important. He was here. She was holding him - feeling his heartbeat beneath her fingers, feeling his warm breath in her hair. He was warm, he was breathing and he was alive.
Finally, everything felt right again.
"I don't want to see you like this." He whispered to her and her heart broke already knowing what was coming. "I want you to move on. I want you to be happy."
"No..." Harper said, a little too harshly. "I don't want to... I can.t"
Romeo touched the side of her face and made her look at him. His eyes twinkled in the darkness, she could still how blue they were, they were still so full of life - of soul. This has to be real, right? This couldn't be a dream.
"Promise me you'll try," Romeo said. "Promise me, Harper."
Harper took his hands and gave them a tight squeeze. No, she wanted to say. She wanted to stay. Oh, she'll give everything to stay in this moment with him, to be with him forever. She wanted to hold onto him as long as she could.
But she didn't belong here. And he didn't belong to her. Not anymore.
She closed her eyes, trying to hold back her sobs in vain. But still, she heard herself say, "I promise."
When she opened her eyes again, he was looking at her with a wide smile - no sign of unhappiness in his eyes. He looked relieved.
He looked at peace.
She knew he was going to go. This was the last time she was ever going to see him again but for the first time, that thought didn't scare her. She waited to be thrown down the pit of misery every time she thought of him leaving but it strangely didn't come.
And it was only then she realized, that she was at peace too.
Romeo moved to lower his forehead against hers before kissing her knuckles reverently. Whatever this was, Harper was thankful for it, just as she was thankful for letting him be a part of her life even though it was only for a short while. Then she heard him say "Wake up," ever so softly.
And Harper did.
She was no longer in his arms.
She was on her bed in her apartment in Bristol with fresh tears on her cheeks. Sighing, she sat up, her dream still lingering in her mind.
She stood from her bed to get ready for the day with a smile on her face. She had a plane to catch, a plane that was going to take her to Arden and she couldn't help but feel like there was something - or someone - waiting for her back in the city that gave so much to her.
