Sin With Me; One Night with the Bully

Kisses on the Rooftop

"Mum!"

I could still hear Ronan's scream from that night when Florian was sleeping over. I could see the way he had run downstairs, his eyes wide with fear. I had been downstairs with mum setting the dining table for Thanksgiving. It was the first Thanksgiving after Florian lost his parents, and my parents had offered to have him stay with us for the week so he would feel less alone.

"What happened?" Mum had echoed my thoughts back then, and I had never seen Ronan so scared.

"Something is happening to Florian. He... he is swollen."

I remember the rush that had happened after that. Everyone ran upstairs to the room, where Florian was lying on the floor. He was unconscious, his hair all over the floor, his lips parted. He was an ungodly red, his face twice the normal size, his body spasming every now and then.

I remember just how traumatic it had been, as Ronan admitted that the stray cat my mum had adopted just that morning before Florian came had been hiding out in the bedroom, and had sprang up on Florian while he was changing.

Instinct had made Florian grab the cat, but it turned out to be a bad decision as he ended up sniffing up on him and causing that reaction.

Mum and dad insisted on no hospitals as we were expecting a few dignitaries from dad's workplace that night, too.

I remember them administering a few medicines, and I held Florian's cold hand through the night, skipping the dinner I had been looking forward to so much.

I had gotten a cat myself years later, but that was when we stopped seeing Florian around, and I had pushed him to the back of my mind. Seeing my cat here after I had to forcefully give him up and knowing about Florian's violent reaction to cats, it made me want to cry.

"Come to me, Dave."

His eyes widened, and he stalked slowly towards me, letting out a low sound. I slowly pulled him towards me as I sat on the floor, and he immediately sat in my lap. It made me laugh amidst the tears, my chest heaving lightly.

I looked around the room, my heart feeling extremely tight. How could Florian put himself in danger just to have something he was actively allergic to in his home?

Dave slowly left my lap to play around, and I stood up, walking towards the adjacent wall. My hand reached for the framed painting, my heart already full to the very brim.

It was a very detailed painting. The Skyline, the sunset. It felt so real that I could feel the evening breeze on my skin again. His eyes on me, his body right next to me as we say on that rooftop, where I believe our first kiss could probably have happened.

"Half of my heart," the painting said, very simply, it hell, it had been half of mine too.

I slowly went on my knees, my face burying in my hands, tears filling them. I could bear Dave running around, I could hear his sound, and it only made me feel even worse.

I was always the spineless one between us. Always pushing things away, always coming between myself and the things I wanted. I quickly developed a pattern of not going for the things I really wanted and, instead, settling for much less.

I stayed to play with Dave a little longer before I slowly closed the door and went out. I watched the pictures again, the details, the way each one had a name.

I turned off the lights, making a mental note to visit myself once more, just to find things I could have missed now. The same switch that had closed the tiles opened them up again, and with a small sigh, I walked upwards and out of the room. I turned to figure out a way to close the tiles when it suddenly closed on its own.

I stopped, my brows furrowed. It seemed like someone was helping me close it, just the way someone had helped me open it back then when I wanted to go in.

With my mind occupied with the thought, I pulled away, turning towards the massive walk-in closet. My heart seemed to stop for a second as my eyes fell on Florian.

He was facing away from me, his left hand in his pocket, a glass of wine placed on the watch drawers right next to where he was standing.

My fists clenched lightly. I had been wrong to go down there, and I had absolutely no excuse for it.

"Fl... Florian."

He turned slowly to me, his eyes icy and unreadable. Without a word, he put a remote down on the watch drawer, and his eyes met mine.

"Are you happy?"

I swallowed, taking a step further. "I just... Florian, let me explain. I swear, I just... I noticed the two-way glass, and I couldn't help but..." I trailed off, realizing I was trying to justify my behaviour instead of apologising, especially since I was so wrong.

"I am so sorry, Florian."

He didn't say a word, his eyes holding mine for a long, uncomfortable moment.

"Are you disappointed?" He asked, his voice low. "Were you expecting something diabolical in there? Something to confirm your brother's claims from last night?"

I hated myself for the fact that, yes, it was exactly what I had expected to find. The last thing I had thought I would find was my cat and a literal shrine of me.

"I am sorry, Florian."

He sighed, turning back to his glass. Silence reigned between us again, and I closed my eyes

I had f****d up. I knew I had.

My eyes slowly opened, and he was still there, slightly turned away from me, like he couldn't take the sight of me.

"Florian."

He didn't reply, but I knew he could hear me. I knew he would listen.

"I just... I am really sorry. I am so sorry for going down there. For thinking the worst of you. For not trusting you."

He still didn't reply, and I took a step forward, my eyes seeking his.

"I... I wish you would forgive me. I wish you would..."

"Stop talking," he said simply, his eyes still averting mine. "I want to be alone for a minute."

I nodded slowly. "I am sorry."

He didn't reply, and I slowly started to walk away. I stopped by the door, my brows furrowing. This is me being spineless again. This is me walking away because I know he will let me and that he will come back for me. This is me taking the easy way out, as always.

I did that so many times that I didn't realize how toxic my family and Danien were until Florian held my eyes open. It was time for me to, even with this seemingly tiny act of bravery, stand up for myself too.

I slowly let go of the door knob and turned back to Florian. He was sipping from his glass slowly, his eyes closed. I walked back towards him, my heart hammering in my chest.

"Florian?"

He turned to me, his brows lightly furrowed. "Are you going to ask me about some..."

"Do you want to correct the mistake we made on the rooftop years ago?"

His right brow shot up. "What?"

I bit down on my lips lightly. "I believe... our first kiss should have been right there, in that rooftop. Years ago. Do you want to correct that now?"

"Roxanne."

"Do you want to kiss me on the rooftop?"