A rose should be red: Part 1 - Secrets

by Akaku Red

  Bob Morgan was invited by my mother to come over, too.

  All in all, the days passed by beautifully, as if the encounter hadn’t actually happened.

  But … My scar always reminded me that it wasn’t over.

  Also, Bob was actively looking for the person who had attacked me.

  He told me about his efforts when he came to visit me.

  Yet, there weren’t really any new developments or leads… So, he needed to keep looking.

  The days passed by, it was now Friday. My mother was the one who accompanied me to the hospital. She wanted to meet the doctor who had helped me out in the past.

  Jeffrey was pleased to see me again and happy to get to know my mother.

  Both were very talkative, even though Jeffrey acted like a jealous mother.

  He was mad that she was the one got to take care of me, and that she had taken me away from him.

  Really cute!

  As I said before, I didn’t have a lot of people in my life, but the ones who were close to me were people that I treasured the most. If it weren’t for them, I don’t think I would be here anymore…

  Luckily, the wound on my back didn’t get infected, and the stitches could be removed easily.

  The pain was still there, but it was getting better.

  We were sitting on a bench of a little coffeeshop next to the hospital that Jeffrey was working at.

  I sighed as my mother started to talk about Tyler…

  Jeffrey raised his eyebrows, his eyes narrowed.

  “So, my little girl is going to stay with a grown-ass man, who is single and alone in his apartment for a whole week?”

  He repeated.

  “He is a good man,” my mother said with a bright smile on her lips.

  “I can’t allow it!” he said with a stern voice.

  “Mr. Morgan wasn’t pleased, either! Of course, had I known you both earlier, I would have let her stay with you guys, but since Tyler worked overtime these days so that he could take care of Jenny, I can’t cancel on him.”

  Elise was still smiling, and as she explained her reasons, she didn’t show a hint of regret, which made Jeffrey narrow his eyes even more. It looked like they were closed.

  They talked as if I wasn’t sitting right next to them.

  Well, I was used to it!

  It was normal since Bob, Jeffrey, and Elise acted as my parents.

  Of course, they would discuss about me in front of them.

  Jeffrey and Bob had known me in my darkest period, so they would be always acting overprotective around me.

  “Anyway…”

  Jeffrey knew he couldn’t win the argument with my mother, so he tried to change the topic. He took a sip of his coffee and smiled.

  “I hope you can spare some time for me tomorrow. I am sure that Rex wants to see you again.”

  Elise chuckled when she saw the glint in my eyes.

  “Oh, yes! I would be really glad to see him again!”

  Rex was a special dog, trained for people who had problems. Like me.

  He was with me all the time when I lived with Jeffrey for a whole year.

  “Good, we should do this!” Jeffrey said and discussed the time and place with me.

  My mother smiled this entire time. She liked the way Jeffrey treated me.

  We chatted some more until it was time to go.

  The time flew by and before I even realised, we were already standing at the airport.

  Tyler was holding my hand tightly as I watched my mother reach the terminal. She turned around several times to look at me. The other people became annoyed because my mother and I hugged each other more than once, and it seemed like we couldn’t let go of each other.

  Her boss even needed to remind her that they didn’t have much time and that she needed to leave me now.

  She looked at me for the last time and moved her lips to tell me that she loved me, to which I responded with a “I love you, too!”

  Then she entered the terminal, and I couldn’t see her anymore.

  “We should go home. You need to rest,” Tyler said as he pulled me closer.

  Obviously, he was the one who needed to rest, because he had just come back from work and accompanied us to the airport.

  Also, the dark circles underneath his eyes couldn’t hide his fatigue.

  I tightened my grip around his and smiled softly.

  His familiar scent hovered around me, his warmth gave me strength to move with him.

  I had missed Tyler.

  We hadn’t seen each other for a few days, but it felt like a decade to me.

  “How is your back?” he asked as I took the seat next to him.

  “It’s getting better.”

  I said and leaned back.

  “How are you?”

  “I am fine, Tyler. I should be the one asking since you look pretty tired.” I moved my hand just to tap his arm. He laughed softly which made my heart skip a beat.

  “I am sorry for the way I look.”

  Even though he looked tired, he still was fine. I mean, his loose blond hair looked awesome, even though it was a little messy.

  His eyes were red due to the lack of sleep, but his deep blue was still mesmerising.

  He had a two-day old beard, which made him look older than he was, but it matched his appearance.

  I lifted my arm and tried to tame his beautiful soft hair. It made him sigh deeply as I did that.

  “You know… if you do this while I am driving, I can’t really concentrate,” Tyler said with a little smirk.

  I blushed from embarrassment and moved back to my seat, letting my hands fall on my lap.

  “Sorry.”

  He smiled more widely, his gaze on my eyes.

  “I love it …” he whispered.

  “What?” I asked, puzzled.

  “I love how you blush and stutter …”

  I grabbed my hair after he said those words, trying to cover my face with it.

  “How nervous you are, how sweet … And the fact that it happens around me makes me love it even more.”

  Chapter 13

  After Tyler said those words, I couldn’t think anymore … It felt like I was on cloud nine.

  He finished his sentence by taking my hand and kissing the back of it. His lips on my skin were giving me a rush of feelings and left my body crave for more.

  Something about him was making me feel well and unwell at the same time.

  It was his calm and gentle side that made me feel good— but, because of my past I didn’t feel well, I couldn’t trust people so easily, I just couldn’t help myself but feel uncertain about people.

  Even if it was Tyler who was next to me, I didn’t know if there were different types of liking.

  I loved my mother and my late father, and I loved Alice.

  I liked Bob, Jeffrey, Linette, Charlotte, and Amy.

  But what was it with Tyler?

  I did like him … But what was different from the others?

  What was it?

  Is this what they call love?

  Could it be that I had fallen in love with him?

  Yet, could I love someone?

  Was I allowed to be in love?

  I didn’t know. I never had the chance to experience a normal life.

  Even now, I wasn’t really cured— the past, the questions, and the people now!

  I wasn’t used to this.

  A broken girl who still was looking for a way to live an average life, a girl who had been stomped on by people, making me the victim, making me look like a disgusting person.

  I was never accepted by the world, even after the time with those monsters.

  I thought that I could live normally… but I only got bullied by people. They were afraid and disgusted of me.

  Only Alice, Bob, and Jeffrey treated me normally.

  And in Florida, there were only my parents, I didn’t have any friends …

  I struggled a lot— I was still struggling.
r />   A girl who would hide her emotions, faking to be okay, a child of sorrow.

  This is who I was.

  I was not allowed to feel love!

  As long as I didn’t know myself, as long as I was still having problems— until I settled everything, until then… I could never live a normal life.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  Tyler’s deep voice interrupted my thoughts.

  I swallowed the answer to his question, and he knew that I wouldn’t tell him about my thoughts.

  That’s why he didn’t ask again.

  I looked out the window and noticed that we were in front of a big apartment building.

  “We’re here,” Tyler announced.

  He drove through a gate which lead us to an underground garage.

  There he parked his car in a parking spot with his license plate on it.

  It was the first time that I was visiting his place.

  I wasn’t familiar with it. The big underground garage was wide and had a lot of possible ways out…Yet, there weren’t many cars in it. Some reserved places were empty, the tall pillars separated them, so anyone could see which parking spot belonged to whom.

  I stiffened a bit when the lights which kept the dark garage a little lively started to flicker.

  It looked scary somehow.

  “You don’t need to be afraid. I promise, as long as I am with you, nothing will ever happen to you,” Tyler said.

  I sighed heavily, because again… he could sense my fear.

  Without talking much, I got out of his car and got my bag from the trunk. Before we had guided Elise to the airport, I had already packed some things for the week that I would be staying with Tyler.

  Well, my mother did that because she thought that I didn’t know how to handle it.

  “Let me take it.”

  Like the gentleman he was, Tyler took the bag and carried it for me.

  “We will take the elevator. My apartment is on the ninth floor, so taking the stairs won’t be a good idea.”

  I nodded at his comment and followed him quietly.

  We went through a door which led us to a corridor with two more doors.

  One door was for the staircase and the other one for the elevator.

  Tyler pressed a button. After a few seconds a chime started playing, and the elevator door opened.

  I was surprised to see how much space the elevator had.

  Over 25 people could fit into it.

  And it looked clean and beautiful with all the mirrors in it.

  Tyler let me in first and followed.

  There were only ten push buttons. Zero was the floor we were on now, and nine was the last floor.

  Tyler pressed the last button and smiled slightly when the door closed.

  “I am sorry, I am not really talkative…”

  He leaned against the mirrored wall and looked directly into my eyes.

  “You shouldn’t be worried, everything is fine,” I said while observing his every move.

  “I am a little tired but also … nervous.”

  I cocked my head, puzzled.

  “Why?”

  The elevator stopped, and a few seconds later the door opened again.

  “You,” he whispered.

  “Me?” I repeated, completely confused, which just made him sigh.

  He guided me out of the elevator and led the way to his door.

  Well, there was only this door on the floor, so it could only be his apartment.

  “Welcome home.”

  Tyler said and opened the door with a card.

  We were greeted by a little entree, which led us directly to his big living room.

  With a modern and simple design.

  The living room had big windows and a glass door that showed his beautiful roof deck.

  Tyler gently pushed me in and closed the door.

  I glared at him after he pushed me again, but when I saw his tired look, I felt guilty… He needed to rest.

  “Feel free to use everything. This is also your home now!”

  His gentle voice made me calm down.

  “I know, it is not as good as your house, but still make yourself comfortable.”

  I was still standing at the entree from the little hall and continued to look around.

  Next to the living room was a kitchen which looked like it was never being used. It was clean, and the tiles gleamed. The dining room was between the kitchen and living room. Everything was open so you could see all the rooms.

  I was not surprised to find his home neat and simple— it matched his appearance.

  “I will show you your room.”

  Tyler grabbed my wrist and led me through the corridor which was a little longer than the entree hall. It had three doors.

  The first door on the hallway was on the left. It led into a big bathroom which looked very luxurious…

  “This is my bathroom. If you want to use it, you may. Your guest room also has a bathroom, not as big as this one, but if you want to use mine, you can do that.”

  I nodded at his words, not really processing them because I felt shy somehow.

  He pulled me to the next door.

  “This is my room. You can feel free to use it, too. If you don’t like the guest room, you can have this room.”

  His room was also simple and modern. It had a big twin bed in it and large windows with a balcony. A dressing room and a entire workstation in his room.

  “Sorry for the mess!” he apologised, after I noticed his desk stacked with papers.

  “What mess are you talking about?”

  I laughed at his comment and turned back to him.

  “After seeing your home, I feel like a messy person.”

  His beautiful smile was back on his lips.

  “Your home is beautiful! It matches your style.”

  He approached me slowly and before I realised, he was standing right in front of me.

  “What style?”

  “Err … s-simple and clean…”

  He leaned over to me and let his forehead sink on my shoulder.

  “I am glad you like it.”

  His breath was on my neck. It gave me goose bumps.

  “Later … should we go out?”

  I knew that he wanted to do me a favour by taking me out.

  But not today, he needed to rest!

  “No, I think today was a stressful day. You need to rest.”

  I moved away from him and managed to maintain a safe distance.

  His little smile grew bigger, his hot gaze was on me as if he was under a spell.

  It made me swallow hard, and it also made me want to get closer to him.

  Yet, I could control my body because my mind was alarming me. Being in his room wasn’t a good idea…

  Because I suddenly remembered the time when Tyler had whispered naughty words to me.

  “The dress looks really good on you, but it would look better on my bedroom floor.”

  This sudden memory made the heat creep into my face.

  “Let me show you the guest room.”

  Pulling my arm, we left his room and moved to the last door.

  The guest room looked different than all the other rooms in his apartment.

  It had a bed with sheets that looked … cute, with beautiful flowers on them. A big wardrobe and a desk next to it where I could do my homework. The windows were large, without a balcony, but it had a view on a lake. It was calming and to my liking.

  “If you want to change the room-”

  “No, it’s beautiful. Thank you,” I whispered.

  “Okay, then I will give you some space, so you can make yourself comfortable.”

  Tyler let my bag sink on the bed and left me alone in the guest room.

  I was still standing in front of the windows and watched the beautiful view for a while before I moved to the bed and grabbed some clothes out of the bag.

  It was a good moment to freshen up.

  The lack of s
leep and the check-up at the hospital had tired me out.

  I still hadn’t quite realised that Elise was now far away from me.

  It was the first time in four years that we would be separated for an entire week.

  And the incident with the scary person didn’t make the separation any easier.

  Don’t get me wrong, I felt safe with Tyler, but Elise was the one who could calm me down.

  I felt at home and safe with her.

  With Tyler I also felt safe, but the other things I felt made me tense and nervous around him…

  A heavy sigh left my mouth as I moved to the bathroom. I changed into comfy clothes after I applied ointment on the wound on my back.

  Normally, I would have asked Elise to do this for me, but since she wasn’t there, I needed to do it alone. — I couldn’t ask Tyler because I didn’t want him to see my broken body.

  I managed to apply the lotion on my back… well, sort of… I wasn’t sure if I did it correctly since it was hard to reach the scar. I washed my face and returned to the bedroom.

  Then I laid face down on the bed.

  The wound still hurt a bit, and I didn’t want to strain it, which was why I tried to avoid putting weight on my back.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  The sheets had a bit of Tyler’s scent on.

  It made me smile.

  Somehow, it felt like he was next to me, and I really liked it like this.

  I felt at ease and calm, which made my mind slowly drift away.

  But … some thoughts kept me from sleeping.

  What if the creepy guy was wandering around my house?

  What if he was looking for me?

  No, I shouldn’t think about that! Bob would find him… Yeah, he would catch him, and everything would turn out to be fine.

  I shouldn’t worry much.

  All I needed now was a clear mind and good sleep.

  Leaving my thoughts aside, I started to concentrate about the here and now, tried to listen to my breathing sound, and my slow heartbeat.

  My eyes went to the window. I watched the rain pour down the window. The grey clouds were darkening the sky.

  I hoped that at least Elise would have better weather where she was now…

  Even though the rain was beautiful…

  It had something hypnotising, the rain drops looked endless, the wind moved them from side to side.

  Some drops even splashed against the window, as if they wanted to get in…

  I nearly dozed off, but a knock on my door made me open my eyes.