"Uh, you're just going to let her go?"
"Yeah… she'll be fine… I hope… she used to do this all the time… You can go check on her if you want." Mark said leaving the room.
"Right… me…"
An hour or so passed and Leah still wasn't back in the loft. Roger finally got the strength, or rather courage, to go look for her. He headed up to the roof. He found her sitting dangerously close to the edge.
"Hey… um…" He said quietly trying not to frighten her.
"Hey." Leah said not surprised or startled by his voice.
"Maybe you should get off of that ledge."
"I'm surprised anyone came up here, I thought Mark would've tried to stop you."
"Yeah… seriously though, that's kinda dangerous." He started walking toward her. He moved closer, as he did, she moved farther down the ledge. She seemed to be nervous about him getting too close. Finally he stopped, about fifteen feet away.
"Last time I was up here… wow… six years ago… I was up here all night, it got too cold before I had to come back down." She turned around to look at him. "Do you seriously think I'm going to jump?"
"Well, you are sitting on the ledge of a very high building, after almost jumping out of a fire escape… well… yes."
"Maybe I like heights, I'm crazy but not that crazy… I wouldn't want to go like that anyway… not very reliable, plus, it's kind of disgusting. I wouldn't want to be found that way. You know, sleeping pills are more--"
"Okay, let's not talk about that." He said, nervously stopping her mid-sentence.
"Sorry."
"It's okay, bad experiences, that's all. What do you say we go back downstairs?" Roger was getting more nervous about her sitting on the ledge of the building.
"Yeah, maybe later."
"C'mon, it's cold out here." He started to walk toward her.
"Please, stop." She got off the ledge and started backing up.
"What's wrong with you? Why don't you want me near you? Ever since you got here you've been pushing me away in every way, shape and form. I just want you to come downstairs." He continued to move toward her.
"Look, if you keep getting closer to me I will jump." She continued backing up and looked over the side of the building. "I just have this thing, I can't get close to anyone, physically or mentally, except basically Mark."
"Okay," he put his hands in the air, "I stopped. Now will you come downstairs?"
"Just go, I'm fine. Just leave me alone."
"Fine… whatever." He turned and started toward the stairs.
"…wait…"
He stopped and turned around, "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry…" She went and sat on an air vent toward the middle of the roof. "It's just… people haven't been the nicest to me… and the few who are… well, they don't stick around too often after I open up to them… So I just figure, why do it?" She stared at the ground.
"You know," he walked toward her, she didn't move this time, "not all people are bad…" He stood next to her.
"Yeah," she looked up, "I guess."
"You didn't run."
"No, I didn't… Thanks Captain Obvious." They both laughed.
"So, why not open up to me? I'm not going anywhere… besides, I don't have any money to go anywhere." He sat down next to her, she looked at him and he smiled at her. She was silent. "Still not running… that's a good start."
"I went to homecoming when I was a sophomore in high school." She paused and took a deep breath and continued, "I went with this kid, and I thought he really liked me… but I was wrong once again. No one really liked me in high school, I was just there… Anyway, after homecoming, his brother picked us up, and they took me to this abandoned lot and … well, they…" She started to cry. She buried her head in her hands.
There was a beeping noise. Roger looked for his beeper, but didn't it wasn't there. Leah looked at her watch. "It's me… and that's how I got this." She turned off the alarm on her watch. She sat with her hands on her knees, and face in her hands. Roger put his arm around her and she her whole body tensed up.
"I'm sorry." He started to move his arm.
"No… it's okay." She quickly moved closer to him and put her head on his shoulder.
"Well this is a step forward." He snickered.
She looked up at him and smiled, "Thanks."
"For what?"
"… listening..." She looked down, "…staying…"
"Hey," he squeezed her, "it's not a problem… what time is it?"
"Around eight, why?"
He laughed, "You ready for this?"
"For what?"
"Five, four," he started counting down, Leah pulled away from him.
"What are you doing?"
He put a finger up to her, "Wait, three, two…" Mark burst out of the door to the roof.
"Rog… take your AZT."
Leah and Roger started to laugh.
"What? Your beeper was going off downstairs and it was annoying." They continued laughing. "Whoa, wait a sec, is that Leah? Sitting that close to a guy! Sitting that close to Roger?"
"Yeah," Leah said standing up and walking toward Mark, Roger following. "And this is Leah, flipping you off." And she did as she walked around him to the downstairs door. Roger sarcastically gasped and laughed. He tried to follow her but as he reached Mark's side, Mark stopped him with a hand to his chest.
"You hurt her, I'll kill you." Mark was staring him in the eye, with no hint of anything but seriousness in his eyes.
"You know I'd never do anything like that."
Mark removed his hand and let him pass and Roger left him on the roof alone. Mark burst out in tears, he had been listening to everything she'd said behind the door.
