Kissed by a Rose by RaShelle Workman

Author:RaShelle Workman [Workman, RaShelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Polished Pen Press, llc
Published: 2019-02-19T05:00:00+00:00

* * *

Cole

“She seems nice,” Evan says, closing his apartment door. He zips his jacket, pulls out a pack of cigarettes, flicks the lighter, and ignites one. The air is freezing, the sky clear, and millions of stars shine overhead. Even the Milky Way is visible. Evan inhales and exhales, walks over to the old balcony, where I’m standing, and leans his elbows on the wooden railing.

“She is.” I lean next to him, stealing the cigarette from his hand and taking a drag.

There’s no need to clarify. I know he’s talking about Rosie. I take another drag and hand it back, enjoying the mellow buzz that steals over my body.

“But,” Evan inhales, “she seems like a lot of drama.”

I let out an exasperated breath. “That she is.”

“So why are you putting up with it?” His eyes narrow and he searches my face. “You’ve got girls lining up to be with you. In fact, Simone asks me about you at least once a day.” He shakes his head. “I don’t get it.” He hands me the cigarette. “What do women see in you?” He eyes me as though he really wants to know.

I look away, out into the dazzling night. I can’t say what I’m thinking, which is that they like me because I don’t treat them like a piece of meat. “She…” I close my eyes. Remember all the times she was there for me growing up and the awful or not-so-awful fact that I love her.

The feeling has never gone away. I also remember the many times she took care of me. I never had a mother, and with Rosie around I hardly missed her. At least not that much.

Now that we’re grown, it’s not about the way she took care of me. It’s about the hurt I see on her face. The way she tries to hide it, block it away, and I feel this undeniable need to take care of her, if she’ll let me. When we’re together, it’s like she’s the Earth, and I’m bound to her by gravity. Even if I’d wanted to break away, I can’t. There’s something inside me, holding me to her.

“Dude.” He shoves his shoulder into mine.

I run my hands through my hair. Open my eyes and stare at the vivid stars.

“She never returned your phone calls. She didn’t answer a single letter.” He flicks the dead cigarette from my fingers.

I watch it fall to the pavement below. “You know how, after my father died, I was kind of a wreck? Doing stuff I shouldn’t.”

Evan nods. “Yeah, those were good times. My dad had to pull some serious strings to get you out of a couple of messes.”

We laugh. Punch each other a few times.

“It was like ants were crawling around inside my ribs. I thought I would go crazy and the feeling wouldn’t go away, no matter what I did.”

Evan lights another cigarette. “Okay. What does that have to do with… Rosie?”

I take another drag. “She’s special.” I can’t say more than that.

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