Before I could come up with an adequate response, he continued. "Two weeks ago, my world started turning upside down. I kept a journal on the system at home, which I updated everyday. In retrospect, it would have been wiser to keep that journal on my tab." Ramsey shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe on some level I wanted to get caught. Anyway, this particular day, I neglected to close the program after I finished my latest entry, and that evening when Stella used the system, she saw it and read some of the entries. Unfortunately, what she read caused her to discover that I had been living a lie with her."
"So, he selected a few entries, which she promptly shared with my parents and a few of my co-workers at the firm. And then she found me in the living room and told me that our marriage was over, why it was over and that soon my parents and the people I worked with would know what kind of a person I really was. I understood that she was upset and shocked but I'd never seen her behave so coldly. And I never did anything. I was never unfaithful to her... I never could have done that to her. The last time I acted on my feelings was in high school with you. You were the last person that I kissed, touched... intimately held. Stella packed a bag that night and moved out. The next morning my parents read the email and hurried over to confront me. I knew they would be angry, but I had no idea they would threaten to disown me if I don't make things right with Stella. I was ordered to suck it up and patch things with Stella or risk losing my parents forever. The last option sounded wonderful, so two weeks ago was the first time my parents heard me tell them to f*ck off. That earned me a slap from my now ex-mother, which stung for the remainder of the day. They called me a few names that I won't repeat and walked out."
"When I returned to work the following day, I was relieved to find that majority of my co-workers were behaving maturely, however, there were constant snickers behind my back from others. As I've mentioned, I hated my job anyway and since my parents were no longer apart of and running my life there wasn't anyone to please, so I quit after finishing up my last case. To end this pathetic story on a positive note, I do believe that my final client was innocent and after hours of deliberations, the judge agreed with me."
Lifting the bottle, he tipped it to his mouth until not a drop remained. "So, here I am on this ledge preparing to leap into nothing because my life has amounted to nothing and I have absolutely nothing to live for." He glanced at me. "Not trying to get pity from you, Jac. I'm just stating the facts. I've ruined my life by not living it the way I wanted to. And now all I want to do is stop it. I feel like I'm just a waste of space and oxygen."
"You feel like you don't deserve to live because you've always allowed others--mainly your parents to control the direction your life goes?" As I asked that, I speculated if I could drag Ramsey away from the ledge. I estimated that he outweighed me, but perhaps I'd have enough strength to do it. Him finishing off a bottle of alcohol might work to my advantage.
"Jac, why are you here? I was horrible to you. I lied to you, turned my back on you. That night that we last spoke, I started to suggest that we see each other secretly until you made me realize that was a terrible and unfair idea."
"That's all in the past now. You were a scared teenager. At the time you hurt me deeply, but I understand why you handled it the way you did. It's okay, Ramsey. It's really okay." I stopped breathing when he began to move, his feet shuffling along the slender ledge. I wanted to say something, but I was too afraid to speak. I allowed air into my lungs the moment he turned to face me and carefully perched on the ledge. Since he was now seated, I convinced myself that this was progress. "Ramsey, please don't do this," I pled. He didn't say anything, but I knew that I had his attention. "Despite everything, I still care. You say that you don't like your life. Okay. So change it, don't end it. You take control of your life and live it the way that you see fit. What you're thinking of doing is the easy way out. I'll be blunt--choosing to take your own life isn't displaying any courage, it's stupidity. But choosing to live, that's courageous and though until tonight I hadn't seen you in a decade, I believe that there lies some courage inside of you. So let it out. Show me--show yourself some courage by abandoning that ledge and coming to me." Stepping backwards, I outstretched my hand, hoping he would take it. "Ramsey, it's not too late to start your life. To start a brand new life, and I'm willing to help you. But first I need you to take my hand, sweetheart. Just grab my hand."
To be continued...
A/N: Hello readers, what an interestingly thrilling piece, am I right? What do you think Ramsey would do? Share your thoughts at the comment section below. Thanks for reading.
To catch up on the previous chapters, just visit the links below;
https://read.cash/@Castle.Grey/the-encounter-a-night-to-surely-never-forget-effafaa6
https://read.cash/@Castle.Grey/the-encounter-a-night-to-surely-never-forget-ii-c3e47f1d
https://read.cash/@Castle.Grey/the-encounter-a-night-to-surely-never-forget-iii-9e37e49c
