CHAPTER 25: A new beginning
A few more weeks had passed and it was now May 31rst. Seth had just finished celebrating his 34th birthday just 3 days earlier, but he wasn't alone. He was surrounded by his friends and family. At least some of them. As he stood by the side of his bed, he continued to take his time packing up his belongings. After all, he was finally going to be able to go home the following day and with that came some sense of normalcy. His focus remained on his suitcase, so much so that he didn't notice that he had some visits.
"Colby?" a voice called out him. Seth stopped and turned around and to his surprise, he saw that AJ and Roman were walking up to him. The couple stopped before him and as he and Roman locked eyes, Roman pulled him into an embrace. "It's good to have you back buddy" he tearfully said. "It's so good to have you finally back." "Joe, April?" Seth asked. "Yes Colby, it's us" AJ smiled as she presented him with a bouquet of lilies. "Thank you so much" Seth said.
"How are you doing?" AJ asked. "Joe and I were so worried about you!" "I'm getting better and better every day" said Seth. "My strength's back up. My memories are slowly returning little by little and I'm beginning to do slowly do some workouts." "That's good" Roman chuckled. "Because you've gained 20lbs." "Actually 15, but it's to be expected. I haven't been that much…active lately" said Seth. "No" said Roman. "You're healthy and that's what matters."
"So. Are you excited about finally getting to leave this place after like almost 2 months?" asked AJ. "Hell yeah" said Seth. "I hated being here. Being on suicide watch only to end up finding out that my fiancé cheated on my with the company's craziest' bitch they'd ever hired." "Colby, we're very sorry about this happening to you" said AJ. "Don't be" said Seth. "Perhaps I might even deserve it." "Deserve it?" asked Roman. "Why would you think that you'd ever deserve this?" "I mean look at me Joe" said Seth. "I cheated on Leighla for Stephanie. I caused her to cheat on Randy with me. I'm a mess." "You're not a mess" said AJ. "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not but I do know one thing" said Seth. "This is definitely Karma." "Even though it's karma, it doesn't mean that you should ever say that you deserve something like this" said AJ.
"How did you guys get through…your cheating?" asked Seth. "We had a lot of help with that" said AJ. "But it wasn't easy" said Roman. "Help? What type of help?" asked Seth. "Counseling" said AJ. "And months of it." "Are things…back to normal?" asked Seth. "No" said Roman. "There is no such thing as normal, but if you're asking if things are alright now, yes they are."
"I could never take him back" said Seth. "You don't have to" said AJ. "And besides it's a little easier for you considering the fact that you two don't have kids together…there's a lot of things that don't have to be figured into." Seth sighed as he took a seat on his bed. "You have to honestly ask yourself something" said Roman. "Do you still love him?" "No" said Seth. "I don't." "Are you sure?" asked AJ. "Yes" said Seth. AJ nodded.
"It's just so hard you know?" Seth said as he began tearing up. "To have such a deep, emotional connection with someone who've you been around for so long. We laughed. We cried. We made love. We did everything and he just goes and throws it all away. I thought I was everything that he could ever want but that clearly isn't the case."
"You'll find someone one day" said Roman. "There's someone out there for all of us." "I hope so" said Seth. "Right now you have to focus on getting yourself better so you can go back to work" said AJ. "I hope that he's happy" said Seth. "Colby" said AJ. "Just worry about your own happiness for now." "Just how can he end up with someone who caused so much damage?" asked Seth. "First it was with you and Joe and now it's me. Me! The very same person who loved him when there was no one else left in the world to love him. I'm just…I don't think I can get through this."
"I don't know" said AJ. "But…the water will never be under the bridge with her. I know that I was partly responsible for whatever pain she had with Jon, but that doesn't make what she did as a response ok. I don't know what caused Jon to go back to her and I don't think that we'll ever know but…Colby it's your choice to take him back." "What would you do?" asked Seth.
AJ turned to look at Roman before turning back to Seth. "Personally…I wouldn't. I wouldn't take him back but that decision isn't up to me. It's up to you." "What would you like to do?" asked Roman. "I said that I can't" said Seth. "I can't. It's time for me to move on and start my new life. It's been long overdue." "Then don't" said Roman. "Don't take him back just as long as you are sure about your decision." "Believe me" said Seth. "I am." "So Colby, are you going to be alright going home now and everything?" asked Roman. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" asked Seth. "I'm asking because April and I were wondering if you would like to stay with us for a while" said Roman. "You know? Until you can get back on your feet."
"Thank you" said Seth. "I don't want to go anywhere near Florida. Besides my parents are waiting for me to come stay with me in my place in New York." "You're welcome" said Roman. AJ's cell phone beginning ringing, prompting her to reach into her purse. "Excuse me" she said. "It's our babysitter." "Your parent's don't watch the kids anymore?" asked Seth. "We're giving them a break" said Roman. "After all, they are up in age." He waited for AJ to walk out of the room before they resumed speaking.
"So Seth" said Roman. "Speaking of Saraya…." "What about her?" asked Seth. "Now that you've pretty much figured out what you're going to do about Jon, what about her?" "What about her?" asked Seth. "There's nothing I need to say to her." "Actually Colby, I think you do" said Roman. "I think that you should at least say your peace to her and then you can move on." "Why would I want to do that?" asked Seth.
"Because it's hard enough holding a grudge against one person, let alone two" said Roman. "I'm not asking you to forgive her or anything but what I am asking you to do is to take some time, whenever you feel like it and express your feelings to her as to where you stand now. Things are much different ever since you left your coma. Things are constantly changing and I don't want you to miss out on what may be your last opportunity to heal your heart whatever way you can."
"I…I don't know about that Joe" said Seth. "Think about it" Roman said as he placed his hand on Seth's shoulder. "It just isn't that easy" said Seth. "I know it isn't" said Roman. "But life is never easy." As Seth remained seated, he began to think about Roman's words. He knew that although he had moved on from Dean, that there was still one person left in the picture that needed to be dealt with and Roman was right. It was Paige.