Authors: Riley Jean
I laughed. “Now there’s the brother I know.”
“Ah hell, don’t give me shit about my language. This is still the military.”
“Touché. So mama said you call home regularly?” It still seemed strange. Then again, I supposed that made about as much sense as him calling to talk to
me.
“Is that weird?”
“Eh… it’s better than when I had to live there, you know? Hey,” he chuckled, “does ma send you little care packages, too? Geez, what’s up with those things?”
“Um, no,” I said curiously.
“Oh… Sorry I just thought—”
“It’s okay,” I assured him, hopeful. “It’s not like I’m the one living overseas.” It was actually really sweet that our mama sent special care packages just for him. He always had trouble seeing my parents’ love through their meddling and discipline. I hoped he knew now. If nothing else, I hoped he realized how much mama loved him.
“Yeah, I guess.”
And just when I thought our conversation was coming to an end, it kept going.
“So… how’s Texas?”
“It’s big,” I laughed. “How’s Japan?”
* * *
Scarlett: I love you because you lead by lifting others up
* * *
“Sweet sassafras,” Claire said between fits of laughter as she and Anthony stumbled through the door. “That was the funniest darn thing I’ve ever seen in my life!”
“Easy for you to say, darlin’, you weren’t the one who made a fool of yourself!” he teased, but he was laughing just as hard as her.
I smiled from the couch, laptop perched on my knees. “Hey, guys! No-bake cookies are on the counter, help yourself.”
“Scarlett, you will never believe what just happened!” she said, grabbing a cookie and bounding over to me.
“It’s a boring story,” said Anthony. “You don’t want to hear a long, boring story, do you Scarlett?”
I grinned. “I happen to love boring stories.”
Claire continued. “So we’re takin’ a walk around the lake when all of a sudden, we start hearin’ these funny noises!”
“Something big was rustlin’ in the bushes,” he explained. “I thought it was some kind of animal. I didn’t want her to get scared.”
“So he says, ‘fear not, fair maiden, I’ll protect you,’ all brave-like, and put his arms up like this, and started stompin’ over to it, like this, saying ‘Roar! Roar! Get back you wild beasts!’ to scare it away!”
I giggled at the visual of Anthony coming to her rescue by sneaking up on a bush like some bear.
“That’s not the best part!” she insisted. “Guess what came out of the bushes?”
“Here we go,” Anthony said, hiding his face in shame.
“Sure enough, it was a woman… running away while buttoning up her blouse! And ten seconds later, she was followed by a shirtless man!”
We both squealed with laughter and kicked our feet. I definitely never would’ve guessed that. I never understood why people got off on the whole exhibition thing. It was gross and awkward but Claire was right, it was the funniest thing I’d heard in a long time.
Anthony’s cheeks turned a little pink. “A real riot. I was just trying to protect you. Y’all wouldn’t be laughing right now if it turned out to be one of them werewolves.”
She kissed him on his pinkish cheek. “You were very brave.”
* * *
Scarlett: I love you because your heart brought mine back to life
* * *
This strategic analysis class was kicking my butt.
Who knew there were so many different approaches that went into business decisions? Blue ocean strategy. Value chains. Five forces. SWOT. A little bit of accounting, marketing, and competitive intelligence all rolled into one. Good thing I was only taking two classes this summer, this one required a lot of brain space all on its own.
I had to admit, my years of work experience with my father were a huge help in bringing context to many of the business courses I took in my first semester. But I had little personal knowledge in this area, which made this three-page paper an arduous process. Although I liked writing, this was not a subject that flowed naturally for me.
Right in the middle of a paragraph, there came a knock.
“One second!” I called out. It was probably one of Claire’s friends, but she wouldn’t be home for at least another hour. I rushed to type out a few last sentences before the ideas fell out of my brain. After adding the final period, I clicked save and made my way over to open the door.
My cordial smile slid right off when I came face-to-face with expectant, but hesitant-looking, olive green eyes.
My breath caught. We held each other’s gaze. I couldn’t move.
He was here. In Texas. In the flesh.
Before I got the chance to recover, he said, “I don’t know what I’m doing here.”
“Oh.” I chewed anxiously on the corner of my lip, then peeked up at him. “Not here for a booty call, then?”
Admittedly, an ill-timed joke. He didn’t even crack a smile. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”
“No…!” I said, at a loss for words. I couldn’t believe he came all the way here. For me. I didn’t want him to leave and I certainly didn’t want him to regret coming. I just had a sudden obsession with staring at him.
“Sorry,” I shook it off. “Please, come in, come in!”
I moved aside to allow him more than enough space to enter, but rather than taking advantage, he slowly stepped right up to me and paused, brushing my body with his. I returned his cutting stare, unblinking at the delectable invasion of personal space. I never thought I’d get another chance to be this close to him.
“I’m not going to kiss you,” he informed me.
I blinked repeatedly. “Probably not a good idea,” I agreed.
He moved further into the room, taking in what had become my dwelling. It wasn’t much, what with our sparse furnishings and meager belongings, but it was warm and inviting, small yet eclectic.
He eyed the colorful painting on the wall, as well as the guitar and the cross. Other than a small shelf of books, I had very limited personal items of my own displayed. Even so, he found them.
Pinned to a small corkboard above my bed were three dried roses of different colors, a Spill Canvas ticket stub, and the picture of Vance and I at the lake, holding up a fish and grinning like fools. I caught him staring at the collage and felt my cheeks grow warm.
I cleared my throat. “It was all I wanted to remember from California.”
He turned to me, his eyes intent and deeply sad. “All that effort spent running away. And you took me with you.”
I met his stare. “I had a lot of issues, Vance. That never stopped me from loving you. Even if I had a funny way of showing it.”
This time he didn’t wince when I said it. Although he didn’t smile either. I was unsure how to take that. He wasn’t really letting me in at all.
He studied me. “Your hair’s different.”
I rubbed the base of my scalp self-consciously. “I got it as close as possible to my natural color… I think my dyeing days are over.”
I quickly bit my lip.
Stupid, stupid words.
We just stared at each other.
“Looks good on you,” he said.
I blushed and looked down at my wringing hands. “So… you sold the condo?” I inquired, remembering the boxes and bubble wrap from my last visit.
“I did.”
“Where are you living now?”
He eyed me. “I’m kind of in-between places at the moment.”
“Was it hard?” I asked, curious if he’d grown sentimental about his first place in the end.
He shot me a look like it was a ridiculous question. I wasn’t sure if that was because it was none of my business anymore, or if the answer should’ve been obvious in light of everything else.
I swallowed nervously.
Okay. Small talk it is.
“How is everyone? Summer? Kiki? Cole?”
“They tried to talk me out of coming here.”
I nodded in understanding. “I left a mess behind.”
“You did.”
Geez. He wasn’t going to sugarcoat any of it, was he?
“And yet you’re here…”
He turned to give me his full attention. “I couldn’t seem to say goodbye to you, Rosie. I almost did. But then you showed up again. Why did you come back? Was it all because of Phoenix?”
“No,” I said, adamant. Phoenix may have inspired me that day, but it wasn’t how he thought. “I went to the funeral for Phoenix. I came to your house because of
you.
I didn’t plan that the way it happened. I wanted to tell you so many times, except I didn’t think it was fair…”
He stepped closer to me, but still not close enough to touch. “Tell me what?” he implored. His mask was beginning to slip, revealing emotion in his eyes.
“That I’m done with living in fear and letting the past hold me back. I’m in love with you, Vance. You’re all I want.”
It had taken time to heal from all the hurt in my past, but love is a force not to be underestimated. My heart finally felt whole again, and I was ready and willing to place it in the hands of the man I trusted most.
He shook his head solemnly. “I waited, Rosie. Even after you left, I didn’t give up. If you had called I would’ve run all the way here. Were you ever going to call?”
I stood before him, willing to bare my soul. “I know I messed up, Vance. Believe me. I know. I’m so late and I sure as heck don’t deserve it. But if you could somehow find it in your heart to try… you’d see how much I need you… simply because I’m in love with you, and not for any other reason.”
“But what about… him?” he asked delicately. “What about Gabriel?”
“Gavin,” I amended. I wanted to show him how far I’d come in eradicating those false thoughts. “I used to think that night stole the very best parts of me,” I explained. “But it didn’t. Hearts can break—and mine took quite the beating—but they can also be restored. And my soul? It was never his to take. I escaped with my life that night. I was given a second chance for a purpose. I’ve just been too caught up to realize it.”
His lips tilted up slightly. “And what purpose would that be?”
“That I still had a lot to learn about love,” I said sadly. “Before you, I thought I had it all figured out. I gave my heart three times, but it was never real. None of it has ever been real.” I took his hands in mine. “This, Vance, this is real. This wipes out every last doubt that ‘real’ truly exists. And if there is such a thing as soul mates in this world, you are mine. You always have been mine, and you always will be.”
With a certainty that exceeded every truth I’d come to know in my lifetime, I knew that Vance was the one for me. Every cynical doubt was hereby null and void. He was my light. He was my reason. He was my heart.
“You’ve really changed,” he said, much to my delight.
“Everything has changed,” I insisted. “I’m working through things. Healing is a journey; I’m not all the way there, but every day it gets a little bit better.”
At that he pulled out a notebook. His fingertips ran over the familiar vintage musical notes. “So it’s all true?”
My eyes locked on the journal. I swallowed, knowing he had read it all. Months of psychoanalysis, my innermost thoughts, feelings about him as well as others in my past. It was a front row seat to the breaking of my mind. The darkest and the ugliest parts of me. Along with the journey of healing, and the restoration of my sanity.
He held it all in his hands. No secrets, no walls. And still he was here.
I met his eyes, firm. “Every word.”
“Even the poetry?” He lifted a brow.
I laughed shyly. “I told you it wasn’t very good.”
“And the song… you wrote that too?”
“What can I say? I had a lot of inspiration.”
That was the truth. In all ways he inspired me.
He sighed, weighing my words. “It’s been hard, Rosie. It would be hard to forgive each other and learn to trust again.” He was watching me, measuring me. “But I ask myself… is it harder than trying to live without you?”
There it was. A seed of hope.
“We can start over,” I suggested. “Hi. I’m Scarlett Rossi. But you can call me Rosie. I like music, swings, pancakes—especially after midnight. I even like myself. Most days. I’m a baker of cookies and a snuggle hog. I tend to ramble when I’m sleepy. I’m a sophomore at this fine institution, majoring in business with an emphasis in communications. I attend a book club, I go to church on Sundays and I sing with the worship band two weeks out of every month.”
“What are you doing?” he chuckled.
“Starting over,” I said. His small smile made my hope take root. “I can come back to California, Vance. We’ll pick up where we left off. Everything will be just like it was before, only better.”
He shook his head. “You’re doing so well here. You think I’d take you away from this place?”
My expression fell. “But I want to be where you are.”