Page 59 of Rome: The Ballerina

Silently, I pushed through the door, hoping my broken heart would magically heal on the other side of it. I was bleeding profusely and the thought of dying before I got the chance to experience Saint in this lifetime was shattering.

“Bab–” Royce paused as she made it inside. She pushed the door closed and followed me deeper into the suite. It was once my safe place. Now, it felt like my personal pit in hell.

I stood with a misaligned posture. My cheeks sagged. My shoulders hung. My lips trembled. And, my chest rose and fell with despair.

“What’s the matter?”

I tried gathering myself.

Remain calm.

Remain collected.

Remain confident.

I failed. There hadn’t been a thing I’d failed in, in life, but I failed. Miserably. Still, the words came out as if they belonged in the air. Changing the atmosphere. Changing me. Changing my head. Changing my heart.

“He’s real,” I pushed out as the first tear touched my cheek.

“Ro!” Royce’s eyes bulged, nearly extracting themselves from her head.

“He’s real, but everything is wrong.”

“I don’t understand. Talk to me.”

“The man I’ve known in every lifetime as my husband is another woman’s fiance. A woman who has taken interest in me as a friend, and while I hate to make enemies in my profession, this situation hardly leaves me with a choice.”

“As your sister and as the person who handles almost every issue that arises in this family, you’re no stranger to my advice, baby—Handle it. With class. With tact. With excellence. With pride. And, with your morals intact by the time it all ends.”

I nodded, accepting her words of encouragement.

“I didn’t have intentions of doing anything else. My heart and head leave me no choice. He belongs to me, Ro. That will never change. Not even in this lifetime.”

“I can drink to that.”

“After that encounter, so can I.”

It wasn’t often I consumed alcohol. I preferred sobriety over inebriation. Tonight, however, I didn’t mind a drink or even a half of one.

“Good, because I’m paying. You’re a cheap drink date. A half of a glass and you’re gone. Lightweight.”

“I don’t consider that light.”

“I’m with you when you’re right, now.”

I chuckled, finding humor in the hardships I was facing.

“I’m going to get dressed. I won’t be long.”

“I’ll be waiting– right over there.”

She pointed at the sofa as she started toward it.

“Okay.”

I exhaled, allowing my emotions to tumble out of my body with the same breath.

All things will align. I reminded myself, removing my pointe shoes.In every lifetime.

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