The Girl from the Valley

Chapter Five - Serena

Roan and I remained quiet as he walked us home, his hand still holding on to mine. He seemed upset about something, but nothing about Adrian, besides him being a stranger, should have made him so upset that we had to leave Hannah’s celebration so early. I didn’t even get the chance to hear her profess who it was that she was in love with. Hannah was going to ring my ears with complaints when I saw her tomorrow.

We walked along the familiar dirt path toward the edge of the city as more trees and bushes filled the surrounding area when our shabby wooden home came into view. Roan began walking faster, forcing me to match his stride, which was not going well. He was much taller than me, which meant that I was practically running to catch up.

“Roan, slow down,” I protested, but he remained silent at his current pace.

We reached our home and finally slowed down, but Roan hadn’t let go of my hand. He fumbled with the door lock, trying to insert the key into the keyhole with just one hand and once the door was opened he dragged me inside with so much force I nearly tripped.

“Ouch,” I whined to Roan as he let go of my hand, closing the door behind him. “What’s gotten into you, you’re being so closed off and rough.” I pointed out.

The house was small with a combined area for the living room and kitchen. Our rooms were the two doors to the side of the living room separated by a small storage closet in the middle. We didn’t have much furniture inside as we saved as much as we could to pay for this home and the monthly taxes. What we could afford was the small table in the kitchen, 2 beds and dressers for both Roan and I, a 2 seat couch, a small rug that laid in front of the fireplace, and a bookshelf that stood to the right of the fireplace. It wasn’t much, honestly, but it made the place more comfortable to live in, since we both had nothing after being evicted.

Roan placed the key to the door on the small dining table fit for 2 in the kitchen and walked over to the barrel of clean water, scooping a cup with his bare hands to splash his face. He let out a rough breath and wiped his face with his sleeve, letting his eyes fall on me. His stare was nothing like the normal Roan I knew. Roan was usually so kind and gentle, but this Roan tonight looked upset and desperate.

I uncomfortably walked to the fireplace in the living room and lit a match to allow some light into the dark space as Roan approached me.

“I have something to tell you, Serena.” Roan finally spoke, “About why I went to visit my mother and father's grave today…” He paused, taking my hand while walking to sit on the couch in front of the fireplace. He sighed and looked at me the way I knew that meant that he was serious.

“What’s wrong?” I squeezed his hand. “Why did you visit their grave today?”

He let out a sigh and turned so that we were both sitting on the couch but were face to face. His dark brows were scrunched in the middle, indicating his worry, and his palms were beginning to sweat.

“Before my mother and father died, I told them that I had intentions of marrying someone very close to us.” Roan nervously looked at me. “I went to tell them that I was ready to take her hand in marriage.”

“Oh my goodness!” I tried to cover my mouth as I squealed, “Do I know who they are?” I poked at his arm playfully.

He nods.

I jumped up and spun myself around, “I knew it, I knew it!” I was smiling like a fool.

“Knew what?” Roan looked at me with a nervous smile.

I sat back on the couch next to him with a broad smile on my face. I knew that something was going on with Roan and Hannah. They tried so hard to hide it but I saw right through their deception. They would make the perfect couple that would defy social class. Roan had always been a hard worker and Mayor Welke knew Roan was much more capable than his family upbringing. Their marriage would be the biggest event in all of Penin, even more extravagant than Hannah’s birthday.

“I knew you had feelings all along and you tried to hide them, but no,” I shook my pointer finger at him. “You can’t hide that from me.”

Roan’s eyes went wide with shock, “How long have you known?”

“I only recently found out, but if you told me sooner, you wouldn’t have had to wait this long to confess.”

“And you’re okay with my feelings? You’re willing to accept me?” Roan grasped my hand and placed it to his heart. His face is lit with a broad happy smile.

“Of course, I accept your feelings. I only want you and Hannah to be happy.” I replied as his smile quickly faded upon hearing Hannah’s name.

“What’s wrong?” I blinked.

Roan took a few breaths before responding, “Hannah is not the person I want to marry, Serena.” His brows were scrunched again.

“Then who is it?” I looked into Roan’s eyes in search for any hint of who this person might be, but I didn't understand. His eyes were just full of longing and … love…

“Wh- …. Who is it, Roan?” I asked as I tried to pull my hand back from his chest, but Roan’s hand was keeping it there.

Roan took a deep breath before uttering the words I would never have expected.

“You, Serena.” He laced his fingers through my hand that he kept close to him. “The person that I want to marry is you. It’s always been you.”

It felt as though I was in a trance as Roan’s words just replayed themselves in my mind.

Me? The person he has always loved…. was me? I could hear my heartbeat drumming loudly in my ears. This was not happening, surely this was some prank. I wanted to laugh but nothing came out.

I jumped up from the couch, painfully tugging my hand free from Roan’s, and began pacing around the house. I felt unsteady and the entire house seemed to be hot, as if it were being set on fire.

“Please tell me you are joking and that this is some prank you’re pulling like when we were kids.” I begged.

“No, Serena,” Roan was standing as he ran his hand through his hair, messing up the fresh and clean look to let his shaggy hair down. “I told mother and father that I wanted to marry you 2 years ago before they died and they were happy about it.” He confessed. “They said that they would have loved to make you their daughter officially.”

My stomach ached at the thought of me and Roan together. I have never thought of him as anything else than my brother, but now that I know that he never felt the same way I did, that our parents agreed to our marriage without even asking me about my feelings for him made me want to hit him. How could he ask for such a thing?

“Ho-How long have you left this way?” I continued pacing, unsure if I truly wanted to know that question.

“I’ve known since the day my parents brought you home.”

I definitely felt like I was going to vomit and it was not due to all the wine I had consumed. He had been in love with me since I was a baby? I was panicking. And this whole time, I had been clueless about it? There must have been signs or I was truly just that oblivious. For Roan to have loved me for that long meant that he never had eyes on anyone and it was finally making sense. Growing up, he turned away all the girls that showed interest in him and always kept near me. I always thought that he just preferred to be next to me because I was his little sister but … to have been in love with me this entire time?

Roan was about 8 years old when Daniel and Mary took me in as an infant. They didn’t officially adopt me from the church but found me on the side of a road as they were returning home from the cornfields. They took me in and raised me as their daughter. They were the only parents I knew and I loved them regardless.

I stopped pacing as a question ran through my mind.

“How long did our parents know about how you felt for me?” I was holding back tears.

Roan walked toward me with his brown eyes holding onto mine. He had so much guilt in them as he spoke, grasping my arms so that we were face to face again.

He let out a heavy sigh, “I told them when I was 12 years old. I told them that,” He paused, wiping my tears that fell, “I told them that the day they brought you home, you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and that I knew at that moment, I wanted you as my wife. They accepted my feelings.”

I felt my chest sink. I didn’t want to hear him anymore. The more he revealed, the more I felt betrayed by him, Daniel and Mary. They knew the entire time, up until their deaths, that Roan had seen me as his future wife and they didn’t tell me. They had so many years to reveal what they knew and they didn’t. They raised me, fed me, clothed me, yes, as their daughter, but not in the way I thought they were. They betrayed my trust and groomed me to be their son's wife.

My tears were in a full downpour as I struggled to breathe within Roan’s grasp. I needed to get some air as the panic began building within me. I pushed Roan's arms away as I turned to the door, ready to bolt anywhere that was not near him, but Roan slammed his hand to the door before I could get it open.

“Please, don’t go, Serena.” Roan pleaded, but I ignored him. I tried again to open the door but Roan refused to move. Before I could shout at him to get out of the way, Roan moved to push me, back against the door, and slammed his lips onto mine.