Page 54 of Scarred Heart

Once upon a time…

I looked at Hannah, who didn’t seem confused.

The letters dissolved, replaced by a two-dimensional animated girl with blonde hair and blue eyes who stood on a stage, illuminated by spotlights.A deep voice filled the air, coming from the speakers set up along the walls.“Once upon a time, there was a girl.Beautiful, talented, with big dreams.”

I had to be imagining things.More than two weeks of broken sleep and stress cleaning had left me delirious.Maybe I had no business driving home because I would’ve sworn I was listening to Spencer.

The silhouetted audience sitting in front of the animated girl got on their feet and applauded, throwing roses onto the stage.“She moved to Hollywood and worked hard,” the narrator continued as the background switched to one featuring the Hollywood sign.

This was starting to get weird.Again, I looked at Hannah, but she could only stare at the screen, her eyes wide and shining.The picture changed, and now I was looking at a bustling club.People moved in silhouette, and voices overlapped in the background while music played.That blonde girl stood behind a bar, serving drinks.

“One night…” the narrator, who had no right to sound so much like Spencer, continued.“She met a boy.”A male figure slid into the frame, leaning against the bar, looking smug.I couldn’t believe it was a coincidence that he, too, had blond hair and blue eyes, much like Spencer.

“That boy was young and arrogant and full of himself, but he saw something special about the girl.She was beautiful and funny and kind.He felt like he had known her all his life.”

Tears filled my eyes as a montage of quick, animated clips passed— two of them in a jet, flying over San Francisco Bay, one on the beach, where he tried to teach her to surf, and another eating ice cream on the Santa Monica Pier.

“It was all magic… until one night,” the narrator continued in a darker, somber voice.“The boy made a mistake he would regret for the rest of his life.He was reckless and stupid and trying to show off for the girl he was in love with.”

I tensed all over at the sight of a sports car zipping off into the distance.A tear rolled down my cheek.

The screen went dark, but the voice went on.“He tried so hard to find her after that, but other people got in the way.What he didn’t know was the girl had a secret even she didn’t know about until after they weren’t together anymore.”

A new image filled the screen, this time featuring a little baby with wispy, golden curls.I laughed through my tears.

“And after that, the beautiful, brave girl worked so hard to make a big life for her baby.”Again, there was a montage of images—studying late at night, taking exams while bleary-eyed, graduating in a cap and gown, beaming from ear to ear.

Finally, cartoon Rowan stood tall and proud in a fitted suit, hands on her hips like a superhero.“She was incredible.She helped people.And when the boy who hurt her came back into her life, he knew one thing right away before he could admit it to himself.”

Cartoon Spencer slid back into the frame, standing close with an arm around my cartoon waist.“He wanted to try again.To do it right this time.And when he found out about his beautiful, brilliant little girl, he knew he wanted them to be a family.”Cartoon Hannah popped up in front of us, arms folded, smirking.It was incredibly adorable.

Through the tears blurring my vision, I watched a figure emerge from behind a curtain alongside the screen.Spencer held a microphone in one hand and a sheet of paper in the other.His script, I assumed.He dropped it, coming to a stop square in the center of the floor and looked up at me.“He messed up.He should have let her tell her side of the story.He was too hurt and confused, and he took it out on her.He should have known better than to think she would do anything to hurt him or anybody else.And he was so, so sorry.He would’ve done anything for another chance because he loved her.He had always loved her.”

Nobody told me this movie would be a tearjerker.I would’ve brought more tissues.Tears soaked into my T-shirt by the time I stood, holding onto the seat in front of me for dear life while I tried to process what to do next.What to say.How to feel.

“Mom?”Hannah stood beside me, nudging me gently.“This is the part where you forgive him.”

She was right.This was the point in the script where I was supposed to profess my love and leave everything else behind.What a shame real life was more complicated.

He looked like he was holding his breath down there, eyes glued to me.Was it wrong that I wanted him to suffer a little?I couldn’t forget the things he said.The way he said them.Furious, spiteful.

Now, he was a man whose life hung in the balance.He was hanging on to my every move.“Rowan?”he silently mouthed.“Please.”

I could be spiteful too.Would it make me happy, though?Wasn’t happiness better than balancing the scales?The man I loved was standing in front of me, and I loved him too much to spend another minute questioning myself.

My heart led me to him, out of the row, and down to where he stood waiting with his arms open.Jumping into them was both the scariest and most natural thing I could’ve done.Trusting him, forgiving him.There was no other choice because I loved him too.I always had.

“Can I assume this means I’m forgiven?”he whispered in my ear, squeezing me tight.

“You’re forgiven,” I whispered back, tightening my grip around his neck.“So long as you nevereverspeak to me like that again.I’m forgiving, but I’m not a doormat.”

“I swear.Never again.”His lips brushed my ear.“I am so sorry.”

I believed him.This was the sort of happy ending I had dreamed about all my life.Only I wasn’t acting it out for an audience.

Or was I?Applause rang out from the back of the theater.I looked up and shielded my eyes, trying to see who was up there.Mom and Dad waved, and so did my sister.We had exchanged dozens, maybe hundreds of text messages since Sunday, clearing the air and understanding each other better than we had before.She looked just as happy as our parents.Maybe even more so.

“How did you do this?”I asked, laughing and crying at the same time.

---