Twelve of Roses

“Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked me for the fifth time. It made me feel like shit—she was the one who had lost someone she knew.

“I promise, I’m fine.” I gave her yet another fake smile before looking back down at the magazine I was pretending to read.

“Today isn’t all bad. Joshua is taking me to the Peak on Sunday,” she damn near squealed like a teenage girl.

Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’ started playing in my head. Did I respond to this news with matched excitement?

The Peak was for couples that liked to fuck in the car after high school basketball games. At least, that’s what I overheard while grabbing a sandwich from the deli a few nights ago. My high school days were far behind me at this point in my life, but Lauren was religiously saved and had been dating this Joshua guy since before I moved to town.

Unless she was ready to sin, the situation didn’t exactly scream raunchy-sex-in-the-car to me.

“That should be fun, right?” I settled with, looking at her for some clarification.

“Yes. Annnd,” she sang, leaning forward like she was about to share something life changing. Her brown eyes were round with excitement. “He has a friend—”

“Absolutely not.” I cut her off before she could even get the sentence out of her mouth.

I looked back down at my magazine and saw the section headlined: ‘Top twelve tips on how to land a hot date.’ The irony wasn’t lost on me. Was the universe giving me a sign to stop acting like a whore? Oh well, the universe could kiss my ass. It had never done me any favors before.

“Oh, come on, Rosie!” She crossed her arms and poked out her lower lip.

“After what just happened, we need to do something to lift the mood.”

I gritted my teeth. Did she forget how much older I was than her? And I’d asked her not to call me Rosie about a hundred times.

“No,” I said, harsher than I intended.

Her expression fell, making me feel even worse. I had too much on my mind to deal with this. I didn’t want to be there, but I needed a job to survive adulthood, and it wouldn’t be right to ditch Lauren.

“Look, why don’t we just meet up for pizza or something one night after your date?” That was my compromise. She had offered me olive branch after olive branch ever since I applied for this job, and I kept turning her down.

She let out a loud whoop, practically jumping up and down. Ignoring her excited tirade, I pulled my cell from my back pocket to check the time.

The hours couldn’t fly by fast enough.

Chapter Ten

Present

By time I finished locking the store up, it was well past eight thirty in the evening.

I hadn’t heard from Max, so I let Lauren leave an hour early. I regretted that act of kindness as I walked through the back parking lot. My Camry was the only car left.

I opened the door, tossed my purse across to the passenger side, and got in. With a loud yawn, I started the car and checked my mirrors, doing a double take at what was reflected in the rearview. Time seemed to freeze. I gripped the steering wheel with clammy hands when they began to shake.

I’m not sure how long I stayed like that before slowly turning my head.

I stared into the backseat at my old brown bear, which should have burned up right along with the Burrows’ cabin.

He was missing his right eye, the brown fur that was once bright had faded significantly, and the button that served as his nose was gone.

It was my bear.

The single rose laid across a white box sitting on his lap solidified that. That feeling I had of being watched came back so strong I physically felt it, like a heated iron was being pressed into my skin.

Turning back around, I hit the lock button on the doors and had my car in reverse in two seconds flat, peeling out of the parking lot. I wanted as much distance between me and the salon as possible.

Driving with one hand, I reached for my purse, manically digging for my cell. Once I had it, I hit send on the last call I’d made, putting it on speakerphone.

Every few seconds, I glanced in the mirror, as if the bear were going to spring into action.

“Hello, beautiful,” Molly sang through my speaker. It felt good to hear her voice, but now that I had her on the line, I was questioning why I’d called in the first place.

She would be back in two days. If I told her not to come back at all, she would come immediately. If I mentioned my little surprise in the backseat, she’d probably levitate back home before we hung up. I wasn’t even sure if it was safe for her here.