Until now.
Chapter Seventeen
Rose
Alone again. Most of the time I loved having my own space, but every now and then I missed the company of others.
Like tonight. After walking out of work, I wasn't even sure if I had a job to go back to. Then again, I didn't even know if I still wanted the job, given the way
things were with Jack.
I grabbed a spoon, a pint of ice cream from the freezer, and lay down on the sofa in the darkness. I liked the darkness. In a strange way, it comforted me. Even as a child I'd preferred a pitch-black room over a light filled one. I'd never used a nightlight.
The knock at the door startled me. For a brief moment, I wondered if it was Jack . . . no, I hoped it was Jack. In the back of my mind I knew it wasn't, though. The spoon hanging from my mouth, I flung the door open to see Darcy standing there, smiling at me sympathetically. I managed a smile back. How could I nicely say that I wanted to be alone? I wasn't in the mood for company, and if we started talking about Jack, which I knew we would, I was sure to burst into tears.
Again. Right now, I wanted to forget. And eat ice cream.
“Are you okay?”
“I'm fine. We just had a fight. I had to leave.” I took the spoon from my mouth. Darcy looked at it questionably. “Ice cream,” I explained. “Was he mad?”
“Frustrated,” Darcy responded. “But not angry. He sent us all home.” Her voice spiked. I eyed her, wondering if she was telling the truth. The bar had been busy. It was odd that Jack would close down for the night. Not exactly great for business.
Hearing that sent a little tingle running down my spine. Maybe it was him? I shook my head. The last thing I needed to think about right now was Jack. How had I managed to turn this two-minute conversation toward him?
“I'm just going to go to bed,” I lied, stifling a fake yawn and trying to look convincing.
She nodded, but I got the feeling she didn't believe me.
“Okay, well, call me if you need me.”
“I will. I'll come over tomorrow.” I smiled. I shut the door and resumed my position on the sofa.
So Jack had closed early. I glanced at my phone and saw it was just past eight. Really early. And just like that, I was back to thinking about him. What he was thinking, I had no idea. I thought I was hot and cold when it came to relationships, but he was on a whole other level. He made me look stable.
I giggled at the thought. The truth was, thinking about Jack occupied my mind and stopped me thinking about other things.
I sighed as another rap on the door filled the room. Getting up, this time I took the ice cream with me. I opened the door and saw Alex standing there, grinning.
“Hey,” I began, shocked to see him. I'd have expected Jack before I did Alex.
“Hey,” he replied, looking embarrassed. I hid the tub of ice cream behind my back and reached over to flick the lights on. Alex turning up at my home made me awkward. But maybe that was just because I was feeling low, and having him here to witness that made me feel like my progress was taking a step back. “Look, I'm sorry just to rock up like this, but I wanted to check on you.”
“Check on me?” I repeated. “So, obviously you've spoken to Jack.”
“Can I come in, Rose?” he asked, avoiding the question. I nodded, stepping back against the wall. The ice cream container slipped out of my hands and rolled across the floor.
Laughing, Alex bent over to retrieve it.
“Things that good?” he joked, handing it to me. I took it, my face red.
“Do you want some?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Why not?” He watched me as I walked into the kitchen to grab another spoon. “So, you were sitting here, in the dark, eating ice cream?”
“So what?” I replied defensively. “You can relax, Alex. I'm not about to throw myself off the balcony because your brother is an ass.”
“You're right. He is an ass. He has this amazing, beautiful woman right in front of him, and he's too scared to move on,” he said, lightly. I glanced at him, surprised at the underlying emotion I could hear in his voice. He almost sounded angry.