Rooftop Memories

The night sky was a cloudy gray as Blake looked out from his spot on the rooftop. The lights of the city were flickering slightly like fireflies, just one of the many things that he had always loved. He was saying good-bye.

Blake thought about everything he was leaving behind, all the friends and people that he had gotten to know, but more than anything he thought of Anna. Of her blonde curls and warm brown eyes and how she would react when she found out. Would she be sad? Would she be happy that he was finally gone?

Their problem had always been the two of them weren’t in sync and had never been. By the time he realized he loved her, he was too late and she was moving on. But maybe he deserved that. Blake had treated her terribly, had used her and cheated on her. He shouldn’t be surprised that Anna had left him, but he is, and it’s what pushed him to the rooftop of his apartment.

He looked over the ledge down at the ground far, far below him and took a deep breath.

“Blake!”

He pivoted on his heel and turned to look at Anna standing by the roof access door a few feet away, face red and breathing heavy. She took a few steps forward but had to stop and lean against her knees.

“Don’t do it. Don’t jump.”

“What?!” he exclaimed.

“I know you think this is the right thing to do, but it’s not. I know you think this will make things easier for everyone, but it won’t. You don’t need to do this. I don’t want you to.”

“Anna-”

“No! Listen, I love you, okay? I always have and I always will and I don’t think I can live without you in my life. I know I said I wanted you out of my life, I know I said we were done, but if you climb down from that edge we can try again.”

Blake felt terrible because he wanted to laugh. The situation he was now in was just so ridiculous, that he couldn’t stop the small smile gracing his face. He came off the brick edge he was standing on and stepped down onto the cement rooftop. But then he noticed the silent tears cascading down Anna’s face and his smile disappeared.

“I wasn’t going to jump.”

Her head snapped up, eyes going wide.

“But the phone call and I found you standing up here-“

“I was just saying good-bye, Anna. I’m moving back to my parents’ house in Connecticut. Being in this town I couldn’t stop thinking about you, couldn’t stop thinking about we had. I figured it was best if I just left. But I couldn’t do it without saying good-bye to you.”

Her tears were clearing away but she still looked confused.

“Then why are we up on the roof right now?”

Blake sighed, and looked out across the rooftop.

“Because we’ve had some good memories on this rooftop. Our first dance happened up here. That night we just sat looking at the stars,” he finally said. “And the most important memory. This was the first place you told me you loved me.”

Anna’s hands flew to her face, her cheeks flaring red in embarrassment now.

“Did you really mean what you just said? Do you still love me? I mean, your roommate said you had a date.”

She stepped closed to him and it was the first time that Blake noticed she was barefoot.

“I don’t think I ever stopped, to be honest. When you love someone that much, it doesn’t just go away overnight.”

Without a word, Blake reached out his hand, grabbed Anna’s and pulled her to him.
“Do you think we could try again?”

“I thought you were moving back to Connecticut?”

“Eh, my parents will be okay without me. I just don’t think I’ll be okay without you.”

At that, Anna threw her arms around him and started crying again. In between her sobs Blake caught a muffled ‘yes’. He leaned his head against the top of hers, and smelled in her coconut shampoo.

“Hey Anna. Where are your shoes?”

She pulled just far enough from his chest to look up at his blue eyes. And even though her eyes were wet and her cheeks were puffy and red, she was most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“Well I wore heels to that stupid date I had gone on. And I couldn’t exactly run up all the stairs of your building to save you from a disastrous fate, now could I?”

Blake didn’t say anything, just smiled into her hair and held her just that much tighter.

He still thought that they were star-crossed lovers, doomed to fail. That maybe they would never quite work out. But that didn’t mean that he wasn’t willing to try.