Twelve of Roses

She hadn’t mentioned this to me at all.

Of course, she didn’t have to, but wouldn’t someone usually tell their best friend they’d done something this drastic?

Was I overreacting?

The driver’s door opened, and a man—Ryan—got out. I couldn’t see much of his face. He was wearing sunglasses and a OKC Thunder hat. Beneath it, I spotted chocolate brown hair. There was a cross earring in his left ear. He was tall, and the Under Armor top he had on highlighted how muscular he was.

He reached back into the car and I stepped away from the window so that I could unlock my front door. I took a breath and smoothed down my spring dress, undoing the top two locks, the dead bolt, and then finally the door chain.

By time I swung it open, Darcy was on my porch, holding a brown bag from the local bakery. Her fiancé was behind her with a cup holder. I peeked at him over her shoulder, swallowing as I felt his eyes meet mine.

You know how you instinctively know something isn’t right? That’s exactly how I felt at that moment.

“Look at how adorable you are!” Darcy gushed, rushing into the house.

“Thanks,” I replied with a forced smile.

“Oh, Ryan, this is Roselynn. Rose, this is my Ryan.”

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” I lied through my teeth.

“Same here. Darcy’s told me all about you.”

He grinned, and every hair on my body rose. My grip on the doorknob tightened until the skin on my palm pulled taut.

“I’m sure she did.”

He walked into my home and made his way straight towards the kitchen, as if he’d been here enough to know the layout. I shut the door, only partially listening to what Darcy was going on and on about.

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to tell him to get the fuck out of my house.

And Darcy...she had no idea who she’d fallen for. How ironic that she’d been the one to warn me about him all those years ago. Of course, she wouldn’t recognize him as the same Constantine from back then. She hadn’t seen him since we were seniors in high school. He’d changed his entire face since then. But I knew him.

The slightly lighter hair and earring were the only changes he’d made since being Max. I followed them, taking note of the gun tucked in the back of Con’s pants, half listening as Darcy described their road trip.

Happily.

She was happy—with him.

What the hell did I do now? I refused to play his twisted game of cat and mouse again. I couldn’t let him wreak havoc on this town like he’d done Black Pine. I had too much to lose.

I rolled my lower lip between my teeth and bit down. What the fuck did I do?

Telling them to leave wasn’t an option. I didn’t trust him not to hurt her. There was no way in hell he’d gone and wormed his way into her life because of some sudden internet love. He knew she was all I had left.

Or…she had been.

I should’ve seen this coming. Why did I think Darcy was safe? He had to have been planning this move for a while now. Darcy mentioned ‘Ryan’ months ago, before everything fell apart again.

“Rose?”

I snapped out of my daze and looked over at her. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“…Vanilla bean, right?”

“Yeah.”

She grabbed one of the drinks from the holder and held it out for me to take. As she looked at me closely, her green eyes filled with concern. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I replied with another forced smile. “Actually, I’m kinda tired. I went to sleep later than I should’ve.”

I could tell she didn’t entirely believe me, but she didn’t push either. With a determined nod, she perked up and grabbed me a straw.

“Well, eat something and then go nap while we unload the car and get settled.”

“Okay. But what is all this? I was supposed to cook for you, remember?” I pulled out one of the barstools and sat at the breakfast bar, busying myself with opening my straw so I didn’t have to look at Constantine.

The air was stifling.

“I know, but I thought it’d be better if we brought you breakfast instead,” she chirped. “Anyways, I super gotta pee. Babe, can you get the muffins from the bag?”

“Of course,” he replied happily.

His voice sent chills down my spine.

This was the way he spoke as Max.

Darcy thanked him and walked down the hall off the kitchen, towards the first-floor bathroom.

I was now all alone with him.

“What kind would you like? We got blueberry, chocolate chip, chocolate, and banana muffin. Darcy told me you were eating for two, so I grabbed a few different kinds.”

I instinctively placed a hand on the small bump I was sporting, wishing I could hide it from his penetrating stare.

“What are you doing?” I questioned through my teeth.