3

TWO YEARS LATER

5

ROSE

It had been two whole years now, ever since I’d been to the cemetery to speak to Alejandro, and got the closure I needed.

I felt a lot better. I’d learnt to move on from him, and eventually, I learnt to fall out of love with him, too.

Knowing that it was the best way forward for me.

I decided to begin taking control over my own life, and for the sake of my sanity, adjust to having a normal lifestyle again.

Ever since Alejandro had died, I’d been a hermit for many years. I couldn’t even look at another man, yet alone socialise with anybody else without feeling like I was going to break down in tears.

But ever since I’d got the closure I needed, I decided to stop with my isolated stage.

I began to focus on work, to put my all into my accounting career. To work as many hours as I could, and make as much money as possible, to make a good living for myself.

Devoting myself to work enabled me to remain distracted, stay focused, and stay so busy to the point that I would forget about my own feelings.

Not only that, I decided to go out more too. To go out with friends, whether they were from work, or my old university and college friends.

We went to lots of nice places and hung out together, from restaurants, to theme parks, to takeaways, to ice-skating.

And human interaction was something that I didn’t realise I’d missed so much.

Something I didn’t realise how much I needed.

How much I’d missed.

I didn’t have a mother and father around. They passed away when I was young, and I consequently lived alone, so friends were my best bet for now.

I hadn’t met another man yet to move on from Alejandro with. But I had had a few one-night stands. Just sex, nothing more.

Friends with benefits, where we had a mutual arrangement that there would be no strings attached. In all honesty, I didn’t think I was ready for a serious relationship for a short while, because of how mentally exhausted and drained I was from my last one.

It felt good to have sex though, since I hadn’t had it for so many years. Hadn’t felt the touch of a man for so many years.

But in all honesty, now that it had been two years on from my closure…

I felt ready.

Ready to have a relationship with another man.

To put my energy and time into another man.

To be loved by another man…

And to love him.

Because I deserved to be happy.

Especially after everything I’d been through…

I deserved it.

I wanted to be loved, to feel loved.

To feel an emotional connection with another man now that I’d moved on from Alejandro.

To have a family of my own…

For a man to want and appreciate me, with all of my flaws, all of my imperfections.

Want me for me.

I just hoped that God would put the right man in my pathway soon…

Because until I met the right man, I would have to keep on having friends with benefits for now.

It didn’t fill the void…

But it sure as heck felt good.

6

ACE

I stared out of my balcony, the place I always came to think about life when shit got too heavy.

Taking a cigarette into my mouth and lighting the end of it, I began taking deep puffs of it in and out.

My chest heaving upwards and downwards, rising up and down with each inhalation.

I thought about business, about money, all of the stress on my shoulders.

All of the expectations I always had on me for shit to go right.

I stared out at the beautiful city centre skyline view of Barcelona, the vibrant life, the people, the buildings, the cars, the bright lights.

My home…

My phone was blaring in my pocket, but I didn’t care.

For just one night…

I wanted to forget about business.

To forget about my responsibilities.

Suddenly, I heard the pacing of footsteps behind me.

I turned around to come face-to-face with my brother Leonardo.

He took after me, with tanned skin, black hair tied up in a manbun, a stubbly beard, pale green eyes and thick black eyebrows.

We were similar in appearance.

“Hey Ace,” Leonardo shrugged, as he joined my side.