CHAPTER THREE
(chapter title - Waiting in the Dark)

When you stand still, you reject the struggle, and you refuse to change and grow.
Ultimately, you reject fulfillment, happiness, the dance for joy and everything else that is eternally good

Matthew Kelly

At six AM the next morning, Lizzie got out of bed and walked to her tiny kitchen to make some tea. Adjusting her glasses, she turned on the kitchen light and put on some water for tea. While she waited, she heard a faint voice of someone singing. She turned off the water for tea and decided to go investigate. Putting on her pink bunny slippers, she opened the door and as quietly as she could, she closed it behind her. She held onto the railing and made her way up the stairs. It seemed to be coming from the loft directly over hers.

As she got closer, she could clearly hear someone singing - or wailing - she couldn't decide.

"I should tell you I should tell you
I have always loved you
You can see it in my eyes.
" the person - a male - sang. Lizzie felt herself drawn to the mysterious voice. Before she knew it, she was at the door of the first loft on the left-hand side. She lifted her hand to knock on the door when it slid open to reveal Roger standing there. He was shirtless and was wearing blue-and-white striped boxer shorts. His hair was sticking up in all different directions. He held a guitar in his hand and had a sleepy expression on his face.

"Hey." he greeted her hoarsely.

"Hi." she greeted him back, hoping that he would stand aside so that she could go into the loft.

"I couldn't sleep." They said in unison. Roger moved aside so that Lizzie could come into the loft.

"I heard you sing - you have a gorgeous voice." Lizzie told him, making her way into the loft. Roger slid the door shut behind her and looked her up and down.

"You must like pink, huh?" he teased. Lizzie smirked and looked at what she was wearing - a thin pink zip-up sweater worn over a pink tank top. She also wore Eeyore pajama bottoms and on her feet, she wore her pink bunny slippers.

"Yeah - it's one of my favorite colors." Lizzie told him, feeling Roger move next to her. The two of them were seated on the couch, talking. They had exchanged stories of their childhood and what brought them to New York. Roger brought his face to Lizzie's and kissed her on the lips, taking in her sweet taste. She kicked her bunny slippers off and laid flat on the couch, Roger climbing on top of her.

"Wait." she put a finger to his lips.

"What?" he inquired, his large hands already up her shirt.

"IhaveHIV." she mumbled.

"What?" Roger repeated.

"I have HIV. I got it from my husband, but he's dead." Lizzie explained, sitting up on the couch. Roger removed his hands from under her shirt and turned so that he was facing her.

"I was married to a man who didn't tell me until I was expecting our daughter." Lizzie told him, feeling tears in her eyes. She felt them on her cheeks as she told Roger about how her husband and daughter died. When she was finished telling the story, Roger took her in his arms and held her until the sun came up. He laid Lizzie on the couch and let her sleep. He put her glasses on the table in front of the couch and put a throw blanket with stars on it over her. He then walked to his room and fell asleep.

Lizzie woke up at noon to the sound of someone banging on the door. Groping around for her glasses, she put them on and walked to the door.

"ROGER! IF YOU DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR, I'M GONNA KICK IT IN!" A woman's voice threatened.

"I'm coming!" Lizzie told the person, hurrying as fast as she could over to the door. She slid the door open and looked at the people on the other side. It was a man and a woman - probably Roger's brother and his wife. The guy had spiky hair, pale blue eyes and wore silver-framed glasses like hers. He was wearing a gray zip-up sweatshirt and jeans. On his feet, he wore a pair of beat-up sneakers.

The woman was wearing a tight black t-shirt with an outline of a white cat and extra tight black jeans. Her black high-heeled boots came up to her calves. She had brown hair that came to the middle of her back and piercing black eyes.

"Hi. Is Roger here?" the woman asked.

"Yeah - he's sleeping. Does he know you two?" Lizzie inquired, blocking the entrance to the loft.

"I'm his best friend and this is my wife." the man answered.

"How do I know that this is true?" Lizzie wanted to know.

"Wait a second - who are you?" the woman questioned, looking Lizzie up and down.

"I'm Lizzie - also a friend of Roger's." Lizzie introduced herself.

"LIZZIE? WHO'S AT THE DOOR?" Roger called.

"IT'S SOME GUY AND A GIRL CLAIMING THAT THEY KNOW YOU." Lizzie called back.

"LET THEM IN - THEY'RE FRIENDS OF MINE." Roger told her. Lizzie stood aside and let the couple in.

While they waited for Roger (who was in the shower), Lizzie talked to the couple. Their names were Mark and Maureen Cohen-Johnson and they had known Roger for a while. Mark was Roger's best friend and Maureen was Mark's wife.

"Lizzie, how do you know Roger?" Maureen asked.

"I met him when I was checking my mail a couple days ago." Lizzie told them, smiling as Roger came out of the bathroom. He was wearing a pale blue button-up dress shirt worn over nice black pants.

"Hey sweetie." Roger greeted Lizzie, kissing her cheek. Lizzie smiled and stood up, going to her loft to change into street clothes instead of pajamas.

She walked back to the loft a few minutes later. She was wearing a light purple shirt that read 'I heart OZ' on it in big black letters and light blue jeans. She wore sneakers and wore long purple earrings. She carried a maroon purse with a paperback novel in it - The Black Dahlia.

"Hello?" she called into the empty loft. She tired to slip the door open, but it was locked. Frustrated, she turned around and headed back to her loft, tears streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't believe that Roger would just ditch her like that.

She sat on the loveseat in her loft and took out her book, the TV turned on low. Maggie, the black cat she adopted a month ago, jumped onto Lizzie's lap and started purring. Lizzie smiled and periodically, petted her cat. She was glad that someone appreciated her company.