Disclaimer: I don't own Plum characters. A nod of respect goes to Janet Evanovich and her imagination for creating these characters.
I do believe this is a bit OOC (out of character) for both participants. You have my apologies.
Quote Challenge
All my life I've done what others have wanted. I felt like it was my duty to make other people happy, but really the only person's happiness that mattered was my own. I was the only one that could make that happen.
I crawled out of bed and took a nice, long, hot shower until all the hot water was gone. I stepped out, grabbing a towel off the rack and wrapped my hair with it. I slipped on my black terry cloth robe and opened up my bathroom door to Ranger sitting on the edge of my bed.
His mouth was set at a grim angle and I averted my eyes from him.
"Get out." I said, pointing to my bedroom door. "I'm tired of playing the cat and mouse game with you."
When he didn't move, I cleared my throat. Ranger stood up but he took a couple of steps in my direction.
"Stop."
Ranger reached out and grabbed a hold of my hand, tugging me to him.
"I'm serious." I told him, tipping my head back so that I could look him in the eyes. I didn't want to hear his excuses. They were always the same. "I want you to leave."
I pushed away from him, but he held his ground.
"You ever think about that day you told me to go back to Morelli?" I asked. He didn't reply. "I do. All the time. I can still hear your words ringing back to me. I realize that I may have been another notch in the bedpost, but that's probably one of the most defining moments in my life. Want to know why?"
"Babe."
"Don't Babe me." I hissed. "You want to know why, Ranger? Because, I realized that you and Morelli thought you could make my decisions for me. But I'll tell you what. No one makes my decisions for me. I'm in charge of my life. Not you. Not Morelli. No one else. Just me."
"Stop it." Ranger growled.
I narrowed my eyes, feeling more pain than I was willing to admit. He needed to hear this. I needed to get this off my chest.
"Do you ever catch yourself wondering what if? Or have you convinced yourself that we are a bad idea and we should only wander down that path occasionally when the mood strikes? I mean I think I'm entitled to know."
All was silent in the room. Being angry at Ranger was like playing with fire. Sooner or later I was going to get burned.
"Have you ever heard, "The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives", babe?"
"No, but I guess it applies doesn't it." I shot off.
"There is always someone who wants something they can't have," Ranger said, his voice soft. "Babe…"
End.
Never Posted.
Written: September 21, 2006
A/N: "The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives," Albert Schweitzer quote. This was written for a challenge bulletin but I went over the word max and it was abandoned to my external hard drive.