“No.” I rip the phone out of her hand and hang up. It instantly reminds me of the time Blake took my phone away in the elevator. The time he teased me at my door. “You’re not going to ruin their lives because of my mistake.”
“Young lady, you give me back that phone right now. I’ll do what I need to do to make sure your father wins.” She holds out her hand in front of her, curling her fingers and beckoning for her phone.
My hand trembles and I throw the phone over to Alex. I know that she won’t give the phone back to Meredith. Not until we come up with a resolution that she’ll agree with.
“I’ll do whatever you want me to do. Just leave them alone,” I plead. Everything might have gone to shit for me, but that doesn’t mean I should ruin their lives. I know how much being firefighters means to them. I know the adversities that they overcame to be where they are. I can’t let my stepmother ruin all of that.
I can’t ruin that for them.
Meredith takes a step forward and her eyebrow raises. She looks at me like a snake looks at its prey before it’s about to devour it. “Anything?”
The words send a chill down my spine, but I nod. “Anything,” I mumble.
“Rose, don’t do this.” Alex gets off from the couch and rubs my shoulders. “Nothing good will come from it. What about Blake and Max?” she mutters.
“Forget about them,” Meredith says. “They aren’t family. They aren’t involved in this.”
I look at them and bite down on my lip. I rack my brains for a couple minutes before I let out a sigh.
I turn to Alex and grab her hands. “I’m doing this for them. I just want them to be happy.”
“Good,” Meredith says and claps her hands. “Remember, you have to do everything that I say.” She holds her hand out in front of Alex. Alex looks at me.
“Are you sure about this, Ro?”
I nod.
She shakes her head and gives Meredith her phone. Meredith walks over to the other side of the room and immediately dials someone. Her voice is hushed and she looks over at me several times, but nods and hangs up.
I lean back and fall on the couch exhausted. I just hope that when this is all over, Max and Blake can just forgive me. I never meant for this to get so out of hand. I should have never given into them. I should have remained professional about it and kept them at a distance.
I should have fought the feelings inside of me, the urges, and never given in.
I close my eyes and let myself relax for a moment. Once Meredith tells me her plan, I doubt that I’ll have any time to relax anymore.
The small pond by the campsite pops into my head. The setting sun and the sound of crickets and birds. Blake and Max both by my side, their hands holding me close to them.
Whatever happens, those moments will be the best parts of my life. Meredith might be able to take them away from me, but she won’t be able to take the memories.
Laughing, sharing, and getting to know each other. I’ll always treasure and have those memories.
Chapter 24
Max
I scribble my signature at the bottom of the paperwork and groan. None of this shit would have happened if we’d been more careful. The three of us could still be camping and relaxing. I lean back in my chair and rub the side of my temples. This last week has been a disaster.
After all the media attention, Blake and I have were reprimanded. Nothing severe. I’ve been given double shift for the next year. No amount of arguing was going to stop that, that much was made clear.
I don’t mind it. Being cooped up at home is worse than being here. At least here I can dive into my work and it’ll get her out of my mind for a couple hours. Before I take a good look around my office and remember the last time the two of us were here alone.
It’s an endless, brutal cycle.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. I can’t imagine what she’s going through right now. The whole city of New York is looking at her and talking about it. The pictures that have been put on the internet have made me mad more times than I can count.
I haven’t seen her since the trip. Since I pulled up to the curb of the apartment building and she ran inside. The whole drive from camping was in silence.
I’ve tried to talk to her. To be there for her and console her through this time. I know that I should probably be the last person knocking on her door, but I can’t help myself. I can’t just turn off my heart and forget like my feelings for her don’t exist.
Every time I knock on her door, there’s no answer. I know that she’s in there. I guess that she doesn’t want to see me. And that doesn’t make this any easier.
I close the folder in front of me and swear under my breath. I should have been more careful. We could have easily gone into the tent and been out of anyone’s sight.
I press my thumb down on my pencil until it snaps in half. I toss the broken pieces into the trashcan. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for that man. If I’d just been a little rougher with him the night of the charity, he might not have been so keen to follow us when we left the apartment building.
Richard Lawler.
That’s the name that’s been ingrained into the back of my head. It had to be him who released the photos.
I close my eyes and sigh. All I can see is the pictures from the tabloids. The names that they all call Rose. The images of us out there in the forest, naked on the ground. I curl my hand into a fist and slam it on my desk.
No one should be treated like. Especially not someone like Rose. They don’t know her. And she certainly doesn’t deserve to be called the names that she is.
“Did you hear?” Blake pops his head into the room and closes the door behind him. He leans against the side of the door and throws a newspaper out in front of me.
I unfurl it and read the headline ‘Rose Collins admitted for psychiatric help.’ Underneath there is a picture of Rose leaving the apartment building in the middle of the night, a slew of bodyguards around her.
“What is this shit?” I mutter and can feel the anger inside of me. I tear the newspaper in half, crumple it into a ball, and throw it across the room. Enough of all this garbage.
“According to her stepmother Rose is going to get admitted for help. She’s going to the best hospital New York has to offer.” He drops down into the chair defeated.
“Admitted for what?” I shout and get up. I can’t sit still anymore. Everything is making me angry. “All she did was spend time with us.”
“That won’t matter to them. Not after the pictures.” Blake’s voice drops low and he plays with his fingers, plucking at his skin. “We probably won’t ever see her again.”
The words hit me like a sledgehammer against my chest. I take a breath, but nothing comes. I prop myself against the side of the cabinet and feel the world spinning around me.
I won’t take that as the final answer. I refuse to just give up and let her go. That’s not who I am.
When I get home from my double shift, I see a couple of movers walk out of Rose’s apartment. I make my way to her room, only to be greeted by an older woman standing at the door with a phone in her hand.
“Where is she going?” I lean over and try to get a look inside the apartment. My eyes scouring for her.
“She’s not here,” the woman mutters and looks at me with disgust in her eyes. “I’d advise you to stay the hell away from her.” She pulls up the purse on her shoulder and moves around me. Trying to avoid me like I’m infected by the bubonic plague.
“And who are you?” I shout.
“I’m Meredith Collins,” she shoots back and stops before she rounds the corner. “If I even see you or your friend around Rose, I’ll make sure that you two are fired and arrested. That’s my only warning to you.”
“But we love her!” I shout.
She stops in her tracks and puts her phone into her pocket. For the first time, she looks up at me. She takes me in and takes a step toward me. “If you love
her then you’ll leave her alone. The damage that the two of you have done to this family is unimaginable.” She walks up to me and pokes her finger into my chest. I clench my hands and fight the urge to hit a woman for the first time in my life.
“I want to see her,” I breathe out.
She tilts her head and smirks at me. “Well, she doesn’t want to see you. She’s done living out her fantasies. She wants to get help and get away from you two.” She turns on her heels and waves goodbye. “And I’d advise you to stay away from her.” Her heels clack down the hallway and I hear the ping of the elevator.
And that’s the final nail in the coffin. I slam my fist into the wall so hard that it rips through the drywall. Dust flies into the air and I clench and unclench my hand.
How can I just walk away from this? How can I just say bye to Rose without ever seeing her again?
Chapter 25
Blake
I spin the chair over and place it on top of the table. That’s the last one of them. Karl locks the front door and throws his towel over his shoulder and makes his way to the back of the diner.
I need this today. I’ve been feeling shitty lately. I keep blaming myself for what happened.
If only I was able to run a little faster. If only I would have suggested to go into the tent. None of this would have happened.
If only…
I rub the side of my temples and sit down at the table. Karl sits down next to me and grabs his burger and takes a bite. I watch him for a moment and I lose my appetite to eat even though I haven’t eaten anything all day.
I hate that Rose won’t see us. Blake told me about his unpleasant meeting with Meredith Collins. That Rose doesn’t want to see either of us.
I can’t accept that. I miss her touch and her voice. I miss being cuddled up next to her. Every time I close my eyes and lie in bed, I think of her.
“Eat. You need the energy if you’re going back to work tomorrow,” Karl grumbles, his pudgy fingers grabbing a handful of fries and stuffing them into his mouth.
I’d taken a leave of absence the last week. I let them know that I’d come into work tomorrow. And I couldn’t have been happier. I needed to get out of the house and away from my thoughts. Away from lying in bed and thinking of her.
“I’m not hungry,” I lie. I needed to clear my mind after Meredith, Rose’s stepmother called and told us to stay away from her daughter.
“Bullshit. Max told me that you’ve barely eaten in the week that you’ve been home.” He pushes the plate closer to my side, the smell of the burger making my stomach grumble. I pick it up and turn it around like a strange object. I take a bite of it and chew slowly. I need to get Karl off my back for now. Karl grabs the remote and turns the TV to a news channel.
“How much longer will your daughter be in the mental hospital?” A reporter shoves a microphone into Mayor Collins’ face.
“She’s not in a mental hospital,” he spits out and gives the reporter a dirty look. If I were him I would be fighting the urge to whack the reporter in the face. Nobody talks about Rose that way. “She’s staying out of the public spotlight for now.”
“Is it true that she’s a sexual deviant?”
Mayor Collins grabs the microphone out of the reporter’s hand and throws it down the steps of the courthouse. There’s a quick zoom on the reporter’s face and back to Mayor Collins as he gets into his black limo. The reporter runs over and grabs his microphone off the ground.
“And there you have it. Mayor Collins is not feeling very talkative these days.” He nods his head and the camera turns to the limo turning the corner.
“Can you turn this shit off?” I mumble under my breath. I don’t want to see any of it. I’m tired of all the shit that I’ve read in the newspapers and that’s been rebroadcasted on the gossip sites. All the names that they’re calling her. Names that no one should ever be called.
Karl turns the TV off and looks at me. “Have you tried reaching out to her?”
He can’t be serious.
“Of course I tried, but her phone line has been disconnected. It also doesn’t help that I have no idea where she is.” I take a bigger bite of my burger and stuff my mouth. I don’t want to say anything that I’ll regret. I can feel the anger surging inside of me. “And her bitch stepmother won’t let us get closer to her.”
“Is that it?” Karl picks his plate off the table and puts it in the sink behind the bar. He grabs a glass from the sink and wipes it down with his towel, all the while looking up at me. “Is that all you’re going to do?”
My arm flies across the table and sends my plate into the air. It crashes to the floor several feet away, sending jagged pieces of ceramic everywhere.
“What else can I do?” I yell and bang my fist onto the table. I heave my body up and march up to Karl, his face only inches from mine. He doesn’t flinch. He stares me down and doesn’t stop cleaning the shot glass.
I take a breath and give in. Give into every little thing that I’ve been feeling for the last couple weeks.
“This is all my fault,” I mumble and drop down into a seat at the bar. “If I’d just been more careful, none of this would have happened. I would still be with her.” My nail digs at the wood that gives way at the end of the bar.
Karl places his hand on my back and I look up at him. He smiles down at me. “You can’t do anything about what’s already happened. That’s out of your control now. What you can do is decide how you’re going to move forward. What you’re going to do to get her back.” His fingers dig into my back and I nod along to his words.
He’s right. I need to stop feeling sorry for myself. I need to make the next move. I need to show Rose that I don’t care about anything else but her. To show her what she means to me.
I can’t imagine the shit that she’s been going through. The fallout of being with Max and I. Dealing with everything must have been harder on her than Max and I could ever realize. The pressure must have been enormous.
It’s time that I stop all this moping around and get her back. Show her how much she means to the two of us.
Chapter 26
Max
“Any luck trying to find where she is?” I ask Blake. For the last week, Blake has been in talks with a buddy of his from the police department. Trying to get an exact location of where Rose is so that we can go and talk to her. Make sure she understands how much we love her.
“Nope. Everyone’s dodging my calls now. They don’t want to get involved in all of this.” He slams his locker shut and pulls his uniform over.
“At least we tried. We can’t do much until she reaches out to us.” I pat him on the back and push him out of the locker room.
“If she ever reaches out to us,” Blake mumbles under his breath.
I don’t say anything. He has a point. It’s been close to a month since either of us have seen or heard from Rose. Time has been passing by very slowly. And it’s driving me insane. I’ve been holding myself better than Blake, but only by a little bit.
I force myself to eat and sleep. I try not to think about her, but that doesn’t work. Trying to not think about her is still reminding me of her every day.
The intercom buzzes to life and brings me back to reality. Both Blake and I stand still and our bodies get rigid. Nothing like a little action to get our minds off her. At least for now.
“Red Alert! Red Alert! Fire at Madison High! Fire at Madison High!” The wail of the fire alarm starts to sound off, alerting everyone inside the fire station.
Blake and I look at each other. We don’t have to talk, we know what’s up. Madison High is where the Blaze Brigade practices. It’s where Rose spends most of her time with the them.
“This is not a drill. This is not a drill.” And the intercom cuts off as Blake and I rush to the fire engines. It takes us less than a minute to get geared up and on the back of the trucks. All three fire trucks pull out and I’m hitting at the side of the truck, willing it to move faster.
; There’s a bad feeling in my stomach. Something that tells me that I won’t like what’s going to happen next, but I push it away. I need to be on my A game. I need to concentrate.
It doesn’t take us more than three minutes to get on scene. We’re the first ones here. There’s a group of students and teachers out in front. Black smoke billowing out from the doors and broken windows on the side. This isn’t looking good. I scan the crowd and try to look for her.
I hope that she wasn’t down there.
Blake and I are the first to jump off the trucks. We rush to the first adult that we see. A red haired plump woman that all the kids are gathering around.
“Is everyone accounted for?” I ask her.
“No.” She shakes her head and points at the doors. “Rose Collins is still in there.”
“Blake, did you hear that?” I turn my head and see Blake rushing through the doors. “Fuck,” I yell. This isn’t part of the protocol, but I rush inside after him.
“She’s in the basement!” is the last thing I hear as I run into the building.
Smoke everywhere and almost no visibility. I see movement in front of me and grab at it. My fingers cling to something and I pull.
A yellow mask pops out of the darkness. It’s Blake. I signal for him to turn on his radio.
“We need to play this smart.” Blake tries to pull away from my fingers, but I hold him in place. “Blake! Stop and think.”
He moves from foot to foot, his head looking around before he relaxes. “Okay.” His voice is a little rugged and out of breath. “Rose is in here somewhere. I can feel her.” He almost breaks from my grip when I dig my hand into his shoulders.
“I know. And it won’t do any of us any good if we get injured before we get to her.” I reach behind my face mask and turn the flashlight at the top of my helmet on.
His New Roommate : Stepbrother Standalone Romance Page 30