* * * * *
Between classes Serena tried to call Rion but kept getting his voicemail. She also sent him a text but decided that a text message and voicemail were enough to get his attention if he wanted to call her.
By late afternoon, Serena had still not heard from Rion and she began to worry. Why isn’t he calling me? she kept wondering. Let it go Serena, he’s probably just busy.
Back in her room, Serena studied the words on some page within the textbook. She looked at them; they were words, she read them, but her mind was still on Rion, wherever he was.
When her phone finally rang showing Rion’s number it was already well into evening. “Hey, I’ve been trying to reach you,” she answered.
“I’m sorry, Serena. It’s been a tough day.”
Rion’s voice sounded different; it was sad, distant.
“Rion are you okay?”
“No, but, I’ll be alright. Serena, I really had fun last night with you and your friends. But I—I can’t see you anymore.”
“I, ah, why?” was all that fell out of Serena’s open mouth.
“It’s just better if we don’t. It’s not that—I mean I like you, a lot, but—”
Serena recovered from something like mild shock. “I like you too, Rion. But this doesn’t make sense. I thought we were doing really well.”
“We are––were,” he corrected. “It was a mistake for me to begin seeing you, Serena. I got carried away with how beautiful and how funny you are. But with my life the way it is, it’s just a lot more complicated than most.”
“Rion, you’re not married, are you?”
“No, Serena, I’m not married; never have been; and from the way things are turning out it doesn’t look like I ever will be,” he mocked himself.
Serena managed a weak smile.
“Listen, I’m sorry about having to tell you this over the phone. I really don’t think I could say goodbye to you if I were talking to you in person.”
“Oh, Rion,” she began, not really sure what to say next.
“Take care of yourself, Serena.”
“But—” she began welling up, her eyes misting.
“Goodbye, Serena,” he said softly.
“Goodbye, Rion,” she forced herself to say.
Neither of their phones hung up right away. Both of them just listened for long moments of silence. Rion finally forced himself to end call.
Serena crumpled to the floor of her room, her misting eyes now flowing, wetting her face. Where was all this emotion coming from within her? Tears? How could he just break it off like this!? Serena was surprised by the depth of her feelings. She had never felt this deeply for anyone before and now, suddenly, he was leaving without really telling her why? How could she be feeling this intensely when they’d only known each other only a few days? How would she have handled this if they’d been dating for a month or two!?
She tried to force the sadness away but it kept coming back. The more she thought about Rion, the more the tears kept returning.
Why was he doing this? Why?!
She collapsed onto her bed, feeling the heavy ring fall out from under her shirt onto the comforter, the chain still around her neck. She took it into her hand about to yank it from herself when she suddenly stopped. There it was again. That feeling. It was like she could feel him, somehow. But, now, it felt different somehow. The feeling was sad, painfully sad. As if she was feeling his emotions as well. He—he was just as sad as she was. She felt his pain. Somehow she could still feel him.
Serena curled up onto the covers, holding the band tightly, not wanting to let it go.
6
A n early morning sun reflected through the tall buildings of downtown San Antonio. Rion was still sitting in his chair staring out of the tall glass wall as if in a coma when his office door opened. The tall, familiar, thirty-something woman dressed in elegant business attire walked in and looked mildly surprised to see him still in the same clothes and the same place she had left him the night before.
“Did you go home last night?” Francesca asked setting her briefcase on the chair in front of his desk.
Rion didn’t answer.
She walked up to him, studying his stone stare out the window. His feelings were not at all anything like she had ever felt from him.
“Does this have anything to do with Serena?”
Rion didn’t answer.
“I will pour my latte on you if you ignore me,” she warned in her distinct Italian accent.
“No,” he groaned. Rion knew better than to ignore a challenge from Francesca. He had been down that road already. It was just asking for trouble.
“You are either worried or depressed. I’ve seen worried on you; this look is new. What happened?”
He knew she could sense his feelings. He simply frowned.
Francesca suddenly took a breath of surprise, ”You broke up with Serena, didn’t you?”
Rion slowly turned in his chair to look at her.
“I had to.”
Francesca sat down elegantly in one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Why?” she asked, a pedantic perturbed tone in her voice.
“To keep her alive, that’s why.”
“I hate to break it to you, but that horse already left the barn days ago,” she offered. “When you were seen together at the theme park.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” he countered. He knew she was probably right.
“Rion,” she began, “there was no way you could have known that the both of you were going to end up as a lead story on the news the other night. That could have happened to any of us.”
“The Universe hates me,” he sulked.
“Oh, please,” Francesca began, her tone completely annoyed. ”The Universe might just be trying to push you into a relationship you’re too afraid to get serious about. And now you have just shattered a beautiful and brave young woman’s heart. Someone who really appears to be, how do you say, ‘very much into you’. I saw how she acted with you at dinner the other night.”
“What!? Were you following me?”
“Hardly. I was shopping and I just happened to see you with Serena,” she stated airily, flipping her heavy fall of hair over her shoulder. “Then I followed you.”
“So everyone already knew about us, even before the newscast.”
“No, just me; but I can also keep a secret. I know secrets the Vatican doesn’t even know it knows. Sevrin spilled the beans to everyone after you and the young lady Shinobi-ed those hoodlums on national TV.”
“It’s all over YouTube with four million views.”
“My mistake. Global TV.”
“So what do you think I should do? I’m already messing this up beyond belief.”
Francesca got up and opened her briefcase. She set a folder on Rion’s desk. “First, you can look at these and let me know if there are any changes you’d like to see made before we submit the final drafts to the Israeli government.
“Second,” she continued, “you are not messing this up Rion. You are trying to protect her by not inserting yourself into her life. Admirable, considering how attractive she must be to you.”
“I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“You have every right to live your life, and that includes falling in love. I was frankly surprised. Actually, no, I was amazed when I saw the two of you at La Paris. I have never seen you act this way, with anyone. I sensed how she was feeling around you as well. You, Mr. Romeo, have very likely broken this young woman’s heart. I suggest you not do it again––ev-er,” she emphasized.
Francesca left without another word, closing the door behind her.
Rion opened the folder for a moment and then closed it. He could gather one thought and one thought only.
* * * * *
Serena’s day began very slowly. Her pillow tear-stained, she plodded through the morning, her heart deep in sadness. She kept wondering what she had done to push Rion away. Everything had seemingly fallen apart after
their date. She wondered if the newscast had anything to do with his leaving.
Although her feelings were in turmoil, when she passed people and friends and her way to classes, she would put on her happy face. She was good at happy faces and no one would be the wiser.
Serena had previously had several first dates that had also become last dates. She had also broken off a few serious relationships in the past. The interesting thing was that she was always the one declining the second dates or doing the breaking-up; she guessed now it was finally her turn. Break-ups were awful; she discovered that being on the receiving end was twice as awful as being on the delivering end of the bad news.
She had to just stop thinking about Rion. It was beginning to challenge her ability to put on her happy face.
Serena managed to get through her late morning class and now she was sitting on a campus bench trying to decide if she was hungry enough to open the lunch bag she had just picked up at the cafeteria. The day was sunny and beautiful but it only slightly lifted her spirits.
She stared at the ground and then around at the manicured campus greenery and then at the other students passing by. A crowd of people passed by happily heading for lunch, obviously all of them from the same class that had just let out from somewhere. The benches were filling with the lunch crowd now. Someone sat on the far side of the short bench she was on. She hated it when others decided to share her bench, but, she didn’t own it.
Serena opened her bag and just stared into it. Nothing within it looked all that exciting.
“Anything good in there?” she heard the other person on the bench ask.
Serena would know that accent anywhere! She looked up.
Rion?
The bag fell out of her suddenly weak-fingered hand. Rion moved very quickly and caught the side of the bag well before it hit the ground. The action also put him right next to her on the bench. She looked at him as he set the bag in her lap and then parked himself in her personal space facing her.
“What do you want? I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” Serena’s voice was sad and distant, confused.
“Can we—go for a walk? I think we need to talk.”
Rion’s presence and question were like salt in her emotional wound.
“I really don’t think we have anything to say that you haven’t already said. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to class.” Serena grabbed her lunch sack and backpack and started to walk away, hoping Rion would not follow and see the tears that were now flowing freely down her sadly crumpled face.
His feelings were all over hers. Rion suddenly realized how badly he had wounded Serena. He had terribly underestimated the depth of their friendship, not only within himself but within her especially. Their natural attraction had not helped the situation; quickly building deep emotion within her—emotion her very Human feelings now struggled to deal with. He needed to fix this, and quickly.
He followed her away from the crowded paths until he caught up and walked beside her. She finally stopped walking and snapped a hurt-filled look at him. “Why are you following me?!” she cried, completely distraught and trying hard to hold herself together.
“Serena—” Rion moved close to her, his hands reaching out to her, pulling the two of them closer together.
She tried not to respond, but she couldn’t help herself from letting him hold her. It was like her body wasn’t listening to her emotions. Still, being this close to Rion again felt soothing somehow to her frayed feelings.
“—I am, many things, but one of the things I really try not to be is fickle, especially with someone else’s feelings.”
Serena just listened, her beautiful face so sad that it broke his heart.
“I had what I thought were some very good reasons for saying and doing what I did last night. I can’t really go into what they are, or were, rather. It’s just, I have a rather complex family. Someday I’ll tell you about them; but right now I just want apologize for being stupid. I never should have called you and said what I did last night.”
He gently caressed her exquisite face, marveling at her beauty as he lifted her chin and then pushed her hair away from her face. ”Please. You have to forgive me for what I said and did last night.”
She gazed into his kind eyes and could see how this struggle was tearing at his feelings within him. “You really hurt me, Rion.”
“I know; I’m so very sorry, Serena.” His voice cracked a little. “It won’t happen again. Trust me.”
His words caught her by surprise. They felt like warm honey soothing her troubled feelings. The inner turmoil and the grief he had caused her began to ease.
“Ever,” he added.
“Ever?” she repeated, a smile beginning to move across her face like a ray of sunshine warming a cold winter morning. His words really moved her, deeply.
Rion returned her tentative smile.
“Ever’s a really long time, Rion,” she managed, delicate tears still shimmering in her beautiful green eyes.
“It is a long time. Longer than you know.”
Rion’s heartfelt words melted the remainder of the ice in her tender heart. “Can you forgive me?”
Looking into his eyes, Serena could see the pain his actions had caused the both of them. His own eyes had welled. Somehow, she could feel his sadness but then also his hope that she might still want to be with him. But deep inside herself Serena knew she could never say no to Rion. Her heart had already forgiven him even though her mind was still questioning why.
“Yes,” she said softly. “I forgive you.”
“Oh, Serena,” he pulled her into a close embrace, burying his face into the soft thick hair around her neck. Serena could feel a sense of relief within him. For many long moments they just stood in the middle of the path holding each other. She felt an emotional sigh come from him. She pulled back to look at him, surprised to see that soft tears had streaked his face.
“Are you okay?” she asked. It was just like her; worrying about his feelings when she was the one who had been wounded.
“I’ll be alright. I’m more concerned about you. I didn’t know what I would say to you when I saw you. What you would say. I had no idea this would hurt you like this, Serena. I’ve never been attracted to anyone like I am to you.”
“You can say that again,” Serena agreed. She had never felt so moved by anyone in her life like she felt when she was around Rion. Their chemistry together was uncanny.
“I didn’t know a friendship could grow so deeply so fast. I’m so sorry I hurt you.”
“It’s okay, now.” She pulled him closer.
“Rion, I don’t know what was going on and I guess I really don’t need to know right now. I could tell over the phone that you really didn’t want to say goodbye. Now that I at least know there were other reasons, those I can deal with.”
“You haven’t dealt with my family,” he joked.
“I’m sure they’re just as formidable as you are,” Serena complimented.
“Let’s hope not,” he mysteriously parried.
“What changed your mind? Why did you come back; or should I ask?”
“Let’s just say someone in my family gave me some good advice. I don’t date that much, Serena. In fact; almost not at all. As old as I am you’d think I’d be better at it.” He rolled his eyes at himself. “I guess I’m all thumbs sometimes with other people’s feelings.”
“Yea,” she snarked her agreement with a beautiful smile.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized again, pulling her closer.
“So why don’t you date other people?”
“Because it’s—complicated, Serena. Suffice to say when my family sees me with someone it becomes like this big deal with everyone. I know you haven’t met any of them, but you’re kind of a rock star right now with quite a few of them at the moment.”
“Really? That’s funny,” she mused. She was a rock star within Rion’s family? Rion was already a rock star within her circle of f
riends and she hadn’t even told her family about him yet. They weren’t very accepting of anyone outside of their faith and anytime she brought someone home to meet them, it was all very cordial but also very plastic if they weren’t in the Church.
“Rion, did any of this have anything to do with the two of us being on the news?”
“I can’t go into the details, Serena; but, yea, it did.”
“When are you going to tell me more about your family? You have me curious now.”
“At some point I guess I’m going to have to tell you more. For right now I think you and I should spend some time with each other, trying to heal the mess I made.”
“I’m sure I’m a mess,” she offered, wiping drying tears from her face.
“You’re fine, Serena,” Rion assured, pushing his fingers through her hair and away from her face. Glancing briefly down at her neckline, he smiled.
“You’re still wearing my ring? Why? After what I did to you—”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “It, oh this is going to sound stupid.”
“You never sound stupid,” he assured.
“It felt to me like you were sad too. I wanted to throw it against the wall at first, but, I couldn’t let go of it. It felt like you were hurting too. I don’t know, it was weird.”
“I’m glad you kept it.”
“Me too.”
Both began walking, to nowhere in particular.
“I have another class in a few minutes.”
I’ll wait,” he offered.
He made her smile again.
“I’m not going to be able to get rid of you today, am I?” Serena joked.
Interra (Awakened Series Book 5) Page 6