Revive Me

13

Rosie:

I woke up to bright lights shining. I opened my eyes and saw the white blanket and the small room around me. I rolled over and saw the sun shining through the thin curtains.

About 2 minutes later Manny appears with waffles and coffee.

"Here, I figured you'd be hungry, so I got us some breakfast"

I smiled at how generous he was.

"Thank you" I smiled.

"What time is it?"

"9:30" He responded.

Housekeeping didn't start until noon so I had some free time.

"Why are you staying in a hotel?" I questioned as we ate.

"Well, I mean it's kind of a long story" He said to me as he looked down at his shoes.

"I have lots of time" I mentioned, he looked up into my eyes and opened his mouth to speak.

"I was living with my mother. I only come here to go to college. My mother passed away though, so my uncle moved out here so I'd have a place to stay closer to the school" He said. I looked down, feeling sad he had lost his mother.

"I'm so sorry, Manny. You guys were close?" I asked out of curiosity.

"When I was younger we were, but time passed, things changed. She became an addict towards drugs and our connection drifted away. I remember I used to blame myself, thinking I was at fault for distancing us."

I grabbed his hand for comfort.

"It's not your fault. She chose to make those decisions not you. Again, I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that." I replied.

It seemed he wanted to change the topic.

"Why don't you feel comfortable at home?" he asked.

"My dad, he makes me feel uncomfortable. He would blackmail me and when I told my mom about it, she chose to believe him over me" I told him.

"Wow, Rosie. That's tough. I'm really sorry to hear about that."

"Yeah I hate my parents, I think I always will"

"At least you have parents, Rosie. At least you've seen them recently." He yelled. I looked up in fear and confusion.

"Sorry. Sorry. It's just that I'll never get to see my mother again, no matter how much I hated her for taking drugs. My dad, I haven't seen him since a kid. He's been locked away in a cell."

"You can't be mad at me for hating them, when we have two different problems going on, Manny. My dad was trying to rape me, and you think I should be all lovey-dovey towards him?"

"You're right. I just get sort of triggered, okay? Yes, we have different problems, but don't we share the same pain? The same hurt in our hearts?"

I looked up at him in deep thought. Pain is still pain no matter what situation, so he was right. I didn't respond.

"I better go start work" I said and walked out of the hotel door, leaving Manny by himself.