Free The Writer by Kim Dallmeier Page A

the house, my
eyes swept over some of Joy’s furniture, which had been
incorporated into their own. Joy had moved back home.
    “Ben…” he said, “You
shouldn’t be here. I don’t know how to tell you anymore. You need
to move on. This doesn’t help anyone.”
    “I know,” I said. “I just
wanted to wish Joy a happy birthday. I didn’t have any other way to
reach her.”
    Her dad stood there
quietly looking at me. “Where’s Rosie?” he asked.
    “She’s at home. She
doesn’t know I’m here. I know it’s not fair on her.”
    “It’s just not helping
anyone.” He said.
    I took the metro back, and
walked more than I needed to, taking detours along the way. Neither
Joy nor her mother had been home; maybe it was for the
best.
    I could not go on this way
anymore. I just could not keep Joy out of my mind, even less away
from my heart. As much as I loved Rosie, I was in love with Joy. I
would never be able to forget her, or move on, which was as
realistic as asking me not to breathe.
    I had to end my
relationship with Rosie. I owed her that much, after everything she
had put up with because of me. She deserved to be loved the way I
loved my Joy.
    “Rosie?” I called coming
through the doorway.
    “In here,” she said. She
was sitting on the couch reading. She seemed unhappy.
    “We need to talk,” I
said.
    “Joy’s parents just
called,” she said.
    I looked at her,
guiltily.
    “When is this going to
stop?” she asked, standing up.
    My chest started to
ache.
    “Now,” I said. “I thought
I could do this, but I can’t.” I started sweating.
    “I know it’s hard, but
you’ve got to move on...,” she said.
    “No,” I said, “I’m sorry,
I just can’t...” My head ached.
    “Ben, you’ve got to stop
this! I don’t know what to do anymore!”
    The room started to
spin.
    “You’ve got to leave her
poor family alone! It’s hard on them too, today of all
days!”
    I looked around the room
for something to hold on to; everything felt unreal.
    “What are you talking
about…?” I managed to say, trying to get to the couch.
    “God, Ben! How many times
do we have to go through this!” she yelled.
    I shut my eyes, and
grabbed my head.
    “ Be quiet!” I
yelled back.
    “Ben! You’re scarring me!
Stop it! Please!” Rosie cried out, running out of the
room.
    My heart beat faster,
threatening to burst into my chest.
    Random images came rushing
into my mind, crushing it, splitting it, overwhelming me with
aching pain.
    There had been a phone
call, then something about a Ceremony, an urn.
    Joy had died with Josh at
the orphanage, crushed under the wall they were
rebuilding.
    Joy’s mom had invited me
to her ceremony, which I had ignored. She had been holding the urn
with her daughter’s ashes that day, at Josh’s funeral.
    I could not
breathe.
    Screams were coming out of
my mouth, but I was no longer myself. I fell to the
ground.
    Everything went
black.

Chapter 34
    I woke up in bed,
surrounded by Rosie, and my parents.
    “Mom” I said. “What are
you doing here?”
    I had a strong
headache.
    “Rosie called us.” She sat
on the bed, next to me. “How are you feeling?”
    “I’m fine,” I said. “I
just have a headache. I don’t remember what happened,” I
said.
    Silence fell over the
room.
    Rosie’s eyes were red,
puffy. She had been crying again. Had I actually broken up with
her?
    “It’s time you came back
home,” mom said.
    I guess I had.

Epilogue
    Since I left Rosie, Joy
and I have been spending increasingly more time together, and I
have never been happier.
    The only disappointment
has come with the realization that no matter how hard you try, you
can never please everyone.
    Not only have my parents
refused to acknowledge my relationship to Joy, pressuring me to
renew contact with Rosie, but also Joy’s parents have actually
moved away, leaving us with no return address.
    We have now finally moved
back into our old apartment, the first and only home we have ever
had,