Chapter 11

eleven

Rose – Two Days Later

“I cannot tell you how happy we are you got back early, Rose. It’s been so busy with tourist season; my feet feel swollen as hell,” Natalie groans as she sits on the stool, and I chuckle a little.

We’ve finally got a quiet blip after five hours of constant movement, and we’re taking advantage of it. No one is here except for old man Tom, who is happy with his six pancakes and cup of joe.

I wasn’t supposed to be back. I was supposed to be at my dad’s for another twelve days, but as soon as I saw Noah, and then my brother, I just couldn’t be there anymore.

My dad refused to bring me back to Fremont, so I ended up calling a cab using money I couldn’t afford to spend, and got a train with Diego, which was interesting, to say the least.

The poor boy didn’t know whether to squeal with delight or cry.

As soon as I got back into town, Katie saw me and begged me to come to work. Peter has had to take over as cook. Our usual cook, Frank, is off sick, and Katie needed me. With Mrs. Cannon at her son’s for the week, I had to place Diego into daycare, but Katie has promised to pay the fee.

She was desperate and, honestly, I won’t say no to the extra money she’s paying me.

“How are you doing?” Natalie asks, and I shrug, not knowing what to say.

It’s been two days since I returned, and I’m all over the place. I didn’t expect to see Noah, Alejandro, or Vanessa. I wasn’t prepared.

My dad royally screwed me, and then yesterday, I went into Jarold’s Family Law for a few hours to finish my report for my classes, only to bump into my flipping brother.

“Thanks, Jarold, for the report. My professor will be pleased,” I say as I put the papers in my bag.

He chuckles. “No problem. When are you starting on campus classes?”

I half smile. “Actually, I won’t be. They said I can complete everything online because I’m working part-time for you, so that’s a blessing in disguise.”

Granted, I won’t get the whole college experience, but I’m a mom trying to make ends meet.

He nods, his light blue eyes looking at me with concern, and he says, “Just take some time for yourself as well, yeah, girl?”

I swear Jarold is like the grandfather I never had. He’s so sweet, and always looks out for me.

“I will,” I promise, even though we both know I don’t mean it. I have too much going on to think about my time; Diego is my priority.

After giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, I turn and leave, heading to the daycare room to pick my boy up.

When I got back into town, I called Jarold and mentioned I didn’t need the vacation time any longer. He wasn’t happy but agreed I could come in today only to complete my assignment, wanting me to try and relax.

Smiling a little, I head down the hall, but my smile soon fades with the voice I’ve come to despise calls out.

“Little Bit….”

You have got to be kidding me….

Biting my inner cheek, I ignore Alejandro and continue walking until he opens his mouth again.

“You going to just ignore me, your brother ?”

I curl my lip and turn my head in his direction. He’s standing tall in a suit, not at all bothered that he’s in one of my places of work, and potentially causing a scene.

I raise a brow. “Funny, because last I checked, I died when Mom did.”

He flinche., “I didn’t mean it, Rose. I was angry for Noah, Vanessa, she ? —"

I cut him off, “Oh yeah, I know. The girl who I saw as a sister believed I could cheat on the guy I gave my heart to, my virginity.” He scrunches up his nose, and I shake my head. “You allowed your girl to give you an ultimatum, and you chose her over me. You stood there and allowed her to hit me when I was struggling with the fact that not only was I pregnant at seventeen but also that the love of my life believed I could cheat on him. God, you didn’t even bother to tell me you got engaged, let alone married; you let me find out with everyone else. You threatened me not to show up to Cal’s funeral, Cal, who was like a brother to me. You, again, chose your wife over your sister, and allowed her to say bye to guy I knew first, a guy I grew up with.” I look him up and down with disgust, not recognizing him anymore, and snap, “You said I was dead like Mom, so why don’t you stick to your words of anger, turn around, and get back to your life.”

I turn and walk toward the double doors at the end of the hallway, and he says, “I was wrong, Little Bit, and you have another think coming if you think I’ll allow you to cut us out of your life, out of my nephew’s. If you can’t forgive me then, fine, I’ll earn it, but I’m not giving up.”

I just scoff and continue walking as I state, “You might as well, Alejandro; remember, I died when Mom did.”

“I don’t know how to feel,” I tell her the truth, my conversation with my brother still in the front of my mind. “I didn’t expect to see them. I thought I was there for my dad and for Tamara to see her grandson, you know….”

Natalie nods, then asks, “Does Noah know that his mom has a relationship with Diego?”

I snort, picking up my coffee, and state, “He seems to think I cheated, so somehow, even if he knows of Diego’s existence, he won’t believe the paternity anyway; he’s too busy sleeping around, living the high life.”

I can’t help the bitterness in my voice. I resent Noah, my father, my brother…. They all left me to fend for myself when I did everything for them.

Natalie’s dark brown eyes blaze with anger, and she opens her mouth to speak, but the bell for the door tinkles, and we both wince, not ready to get back to work. However, Katie is paying me double, with childcare, so with a groan that makes Natalie grin, I stand and turn, but everything in me stills, my eyes locking on the dark blue ones I see every day in our son.

Noah….

He is wearing a dark gray V-neck, black ripped jeans, and boots. His hair is messy, and his muscles seem larger. My eyes take him in as he rolls…wait, hang on a second…is that a tongue bar he’s rolling along his bottom lip?

When in the heck did he get his tongue pierced, and more importantly, why?

Jealousy fills me like no other, and this is why I made it my mission not to look him up over the past two years.

My eyes take him in again, lingering on his forearm tattoo with several more roses on it.

Why does this man have to look good every time I see him, or is it because he’s my only and my libido has decided to wake up?

Yeah, that must be it….

“Rose?” Natalie questions, snapping me out of my daze of jealousy, lust, and pain, so much goddamn pain.

Noah doesn’t move, keeping his sole focus on me, and I rasp, “Natalie, can you please take this customer?”

Natalie stands as Noah smirks and says, “I’m not going to disappear just because you’ve asked someone else to serve me, Petal; we need to talk.”

I flinch at his nickname for me and turn, my eyes tearing up while my body vibrates, hating the emotional hold he has over me.

Natalie realizes who he is by his nickname for me after the stories I’ve told, and she nods, standing with a wince, but carries on.

She tries to act professional, putting on a fake smile, and I head over to old man Tom, who’s put his hand up, grateful for the distraction. Natalie’s, “Just because you’re a rock star doesn’t mean I like you. I’m team Rose all day, every day,” hits my ears.

I smile a little at her support, but it soon fades when Noah replies, “Well, I’ll just have to win you over then, because I’m not going anywhere until Rose and I talk, something we should have done a few years back.”

That little….

I grit my teeth and smile at Tom, grabbing his plate just as the bell above the door tinkles again, and a girl’s whiny voice squeals, “Oh my God, I knew I saw you come in here. You’re Noah Scott, the lead singer and songwriter for The Delinquents.”

Oh Lord, please give me strength.

“Can I hug you?” she squeals, and I flinch unintentionally as I go to the cubby hole where we put dirty dishes. I hand the plate to Peter, who raises his eyebrows, but I just send a sad smile in return, and grab the coffee pot from the warmer.

I don’t hear Noah’s reply to the girl, and I don’t look his way, but I do hear her disappointment when she says, “Damn, I thought they were just rumors…. Can I have an autograph? I have to tell you your song “My Petal” is my favorite….”

I nearly flinch again, that song being the first one he wrote about me when he was fifteen, but I push on as I fill up Tom’s coffee mug, and then walk over to the family of four who have just walked in, ensuring I don’t look at the guy who broke my heart but, in a way, made me stronger by leaving.

That’s the only thing I’m grateful for, with all this crap that has happened in my life; I’m stronger for it, even if I do seem older than my nineteen years.

I continue the rest of my shift, with Natalie and Peter checking in on me. Each time Peter has come out and given me a side hug, I hear a growl from the other side of the room, but I ignore it while hoping he’ll leave, but he doesn’t, he orders coffee after coffee.

It isn’t until my shift ends that he finally leaves, and I sigh in relief.

I’m not stupid. I know how he found me, just like my brother did, through my father, the traitor.

I don’t know why he followed me home, and honestly, I don’t care. He ran, not the other way around, and now I’m at a stage in my life where I’m just done. My only focus is on my son. He’s all I need, all I’ll ever need, not someone who believed in a lie, not family members who turned their backs on me.

Screw him and screw them….

I wave bye to Natalie as I walk out of the diner, hating that the bitterness I’ve tried to push away over the years is overcoming me. Heading to the bike I bought Noah, I again wish I’d bought a car when I could, because it would be extremely useful now, but I can’t afford to waste money.

Normally, I’ll ride the bike from home to work, but because Diego is going to daycare, I have to walk it two miles with him strapped in the seat I purchased last month.

I’ve been told it's safe, but I haven’t had the guts to ride with him yet.

I look through my bag for my keys, and then walk over to the bike, putting my bag in the saddle, ready to see my baby, but I look up in shock and hurt when Noah snaps, “Let me guess, your boyfriend’s bike?”

Our eyes connect, and anger and hurt shine through his.

Huh, right, what an absolute joke. He’s hurt and angry over a fake man he’s just made up, over a bike that I bought him, when he’s been with multiple women since he left.

My eyes tear up, and instantly, I hate myself and him.

Damn my heart, and damn him!