Chapter Thirty Four: Understatement of the Year

No matter what the season the locker room was always seemed to be cold. There were goosebumps running over Maggie's pale skin as she fastened the buttons of her blue polyester shirt over her black tank top. Beside her Roman was seated on the wooden bench that was centered between the two sets of metal lockers, his fingers tapping out a text on that sleek black cellphone of his.

Maggie removed her thick flack jacket from the standard issue hanger, putting it down onto the bench beside Roman, before closing the locker and stepping into her boots. She put her booted foot up onto the bench in order to tie her laces before catching a glimpse of his worn out features. His blond head was tilted downwards, his teeth biting at his lower lip as he studied the screen intently. There was a twinge of redness around his vivid blue eyes.

"Problem?" Maggie questioned, her dexterous fingers, tied the thick laces into a double bow.

"Yea. I got a problem." Roman said running his hand over his short blond hair. "It's name is Kayla and she apparently doesn't believe in texting me back."

Maggie gave him a severe look, one of bordered on disdain as he met her gaze head on. To say she was protective over the young paramedic was an understatement and it irked her to hear Roman refer to her the way he had.

"If she's not texting you back it must be for a good reason." Maggie stated, switching feet to tie the laces on her other boot.

"You'd think so wouldn't you?" Roman responded placing his phone on the bench beside him before rubbing his hands over his tired features. He looked like hell, whatever was going on was tearing him up inside. "I thought things were going great, I was ready to make a commitment but I guess that she wasn't."

Maggie sat down on the bench beside him, pressing her hands between her knees as if in prayer as she waited for Roman to continue. She had gotten to know him well enough in the time that Kim had been away visiting her family to know that he was not a man you could push around. If he wanted to talk she knew she had to be patient and wait for him to tell her in his own time.

"I don't like sleeping alone." he said without looking at Maggie. She knew how much the admission cost him. Sean was a private person when it came to his relationships, he had been burned in the past. Maggie had heard rumors of his ex in the 31st and she couldn't help but dislike the other woman.

"No one does." Maggie admitted softly, as Sean put his hands palm down on either side of the bench in order to steady himself.

"She leaves most of the time after we..." he trailed off clamping his lips together. he couldn't bring himself to say the words he wanted to, it felt like a betrayal of himself and Kayla. "And the times she does sleep through the night, she's gone before I can even utter the words good morning."

"Oh." Maggie murmured abruptly, suddenly understanding his words and the implications. It didn't surprise her that Kayla hadn't broken that habit yet, the other woman had been to hell and back. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to try and trust someone after what had happened to her.

"Last night I told her how I felt. It was the biggest mistake I could have made. She was out the door in an instant." Roman said, raising his tired blue eyes to meet Maggie's gaze. There was hurt there, Kayla's escape had cut him even deeper than he cared to admit.

"Is it something to do with me?" he questioned his temporary partner, his head sinking into his hands. "Do I have something on me that screams do not commit?"

Maggie inhaled deeply into the silence that hovered between the two of them before speaking carefully.

"It's not you."

Sean looked up from his hands, his keen, analytical gaze sweeping over Maggie's pale features as she struggled to keep her expression passive.

"What do you know about Kayla's last relationship?" Maggie asked Roman wearily.

Roman paused for a moment as his mind flitted back to the conversations they had late at night in the dark. The way she had reacted when he placed a kiss on that white scar that chased along her dark hairline. It had shocked her that he didn't mind that small flaw of hers. He had never thought of it as a flaw, it was part of her and he loved it, the same way he loved everything else about her.

"I can tell he was an asshole." Sean said, rubbing his palms together in an attempt to warm them against the cool air in the room.

"That is the understatement of the year." Maggie told him frankly, her nimble fingertips toying with the button on the cuff of her left sleeve as Roman stared at her taking in words that were left unspoken.

His mouth went dry, his blond eyebrows furrowing into a deep frown as memories began to resurface, the ones of Kayla flinching when he had accidentally surprised her. He thought he had imagined the fear in those doe brown eyes of hers but now he knew he hadn't. Now he understood that once she'd had a reason to be scared. It made him feel ill to know that someone had dared to raise a hand to her. It made his blood boil to think of her frightened and trapped like that.

"You need to give her time." Maggie said, her expression grim as she reviewed him. "She likes you so much Sean, her eyes just sparkle when she talks about you but after what happened she can only give so much of herself. For now she's got to have one foot in and one foot out. Is that really so bad?"

Roman shook his head, he couldn't bring himself to speak, he was afraid his voice would crack from the raw emotion that was making his heart literally ache inside of his chest.

"I'm gonna give you a minute." Maggie told him raising to her feet, she scooped up her heavy flack jacket and folded it over her forearm. "I'll be in the corridor when you ready."