Come One, Come All to This Tragic Affair

“The night is darkest before the dawn.”
That’s complete and utter bullshit.
The night is dark all the way through. And for me, I don’t know if there will ever be a dawn.
My name is Jaden Peretta.
I’m twenty six years old.
And I’m a widow.
I dated Danny Han all through high school, then college, and then we got married when we were twenty three.
We were married for three years before the doctors found a tumor in his right lung.
He died six months after that.
And he took my heart with him.
I forced myself to sit up in bed. I can’t just stay in bed for the rest of my life. My art gallery has already been closed for two weeks and I can’t afford to keep it closed anymore.
Even though now I’m living in a crappy apartment instead of the beautiful house Danny and I had.
My hand got stuck in my hair when I tried to run my hand through it.
Okay, time to shower. I walked into the bathroom slowly, my unused muscles stiff.
I caught sight of myself in the mirror while I was waiting for the water to warm up and gasped.
My shoulder length curls were almost in matted dreadlocks. My skin looked sallow and unhealthy and I could count my ribs easily. The hips Danny had loved so much were whittled away.
Is this what grief does?
It took me ten minutes with a comb to work out all the knots in my hair. After my shower I felt marginally better.
Key word marginally.
Next step was checking to see if Freddy, the goldfish I’d bought, was still alive. There he was, swimming happily in his bowl. I fed him and then went to feed myself, only to discover I had no food.
Looks like I have to go out.
Even going to the grocery store was a huge feat. I only bought some frozen dinners, a gallon of milk and a box of Cocoa Puffs, but the crowds made me uncomfortable.
The teenagers necking in front of the store didn’t help.
I had just gotten out of the elevator and was almost to my door when I dropped everything. I guess my blood sugar was too low and I was getting shaky. I think I’d had some food sometime in last two weeks. I vaguely remembered eating some toast and tea.
The door to the apartment opened just as I was bending down to pick up the groceries.
“Do you need some help?” It was a guy about my age, with hazel eyes and dark hair. He had a ring in his lip and one through his nose. His arms were covered in tattoos and I could see one peeking out of the neck of his shirt.
I responded by fainting.
I came around when he was carrying me into my apartment. For a split second I thought he was Danny.
And the crushing grief that spread over me when I realized he wasn’t nearly killed me.
“Are you okay?” He asked, setting me down on the couch.
“I think so.” I sat up carefully. He brought the groceries into the kitchen and came back to where I was sitting.
“You smacked your head pretty hard. Can you feel where you hit it?” I felt the lump where I’d hit the floor growing and winced.
“What’s your name?” He asked.
“Jaden.” I waited for my eyes to focus again.
“My name’s Frank. Now when’s the last time you ate Jaden?”
“Uhh….”
“If you can do that, not recently, which would explain why you passed out. Of course, I’m used to girls passing out when they see me.” My lips twitched in an attempt to smile but I just couldn’t do it.
I started to stand up but he pushed me back down gently.
“I’ll make you some tea okay?” A few moments later he came back with a mug of microwaved hot water and a tea bag. “Put a ton of sugar in there so your blood sugar will go back up.”
“Thanks.” When I reached out to take the mug my wedding ring flashed in the light.
“Do you want me to call your husband?” He asked.
“I don’t have a husband.” The depths of the mug suddenly became the most interesting thing I’d ever seen.
"Not to be rude or anything but then why do you have a wedding ring on?" I looked up and he saw the tears running out of my eyes.
“He passed away last year.” I choked out.
“I’m so sorry.” I set the mug of tea down and buried my face in my hands. Frank rubbed my back and I wished to God it was Danny.
I cried myself out and sat up.
“Sorry about that.” I said, wiping my eyes on my sleeve. When I cry, I cry with full snot dribbling and snorting sobs, so it probably wasn’t very attractive.
Why the fuck am I thinking about looking attractive?
“Are you gonna be okay? I need to be somewhere in a little bit.” Frank said, glancing at his watch.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” I just wanted him out as fast as possible.
“I’m really sorry Jaden. If you need anything, I’m right across the hall.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead before leaving.
I was left in an empty apartment with an empty heart and more confusion than I’ve ever felt in my life.