"Robin? Please tell me what's wrong."
"It's nothing."
"Nothing? Is that why you pulled away, as if you regret kissing me?".
"I don't regret it at all."
"And then?"
Robin stood up and walked away from her.
"Please don't get me wrong. I wanted to kiss you. Hell, I'd been wanting to since we got here, but I just can't, not without first telling you what happened in Oasis Landing."
"Was it so terrible?"
"I was stripped of my passport, forced to flee the city, not to mention I almost died when they blocked the time portal. Does that sound terrible enough to you?"
"Of course, and I'm truly sorry, that was so unfair, and for you it must have been..."
"Wait. Why did they take away your passport?" Juliette asked.
"For breaking the law."
"In what way? What law?"
"Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it in detail."
"Do you have to tell me right at this moment?" Juliette asked, still reluctant to give up the charm of the moment just experienced.
"Especially at this moment, after what just happened. I can't keep getting close to you like this, Jul, not without you knowing the whole truth about me, who I really am."
"For God's sake, Robin, I know who you are."
"No, you don't. In Oasis Landing, before we met, I did questionable things, got involved with less-than-recommendable people, lived in a way that I know you wouldn't approve of. I pretty much was that mindless 'robot' you saw at the beginning."
"A conceited, unscrupulous guy who thought only of himself and who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. I'm not at all the good, sensible man you thought you saw earlier. I lied to you, Jul, I kept things from you about my life and about the future that I should have told you in the first place, for your and Rowan's safety. And now, thanks to my stupidity, I've gotten us into a big trouble. Me, you, Rowan... and Ann and Jessi."
"Good grief," Juliette muttered.
"I am sorry. I wish you didn't have to hear such embarrassing things about me. But I told you there'd be no more secrets, so I'll tell you the whole thing. Although, it's so damned complicated I don't even know where to start."
"Start wherever you want. I'm not a child, I'll deal with anything."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Okay, then, I'll start with the most recent. What I'm about to tell you, you better listen to it sitting down..."
(TO BE CONTINUED)
No comments:
Post a Comment