A Burning Rose: Book One

Chapter 5

Ora



I sat in the passenger seat and Mr. James started the engine. I feel awkward that my teacher is taking me home. I don’t care about the type of place that I’m living in. It’s what I can afford. I clutch onto my satchel that is on my lap. We do not drive away yet but I can feel his gaze on me.

“Please, put on your seat belt,” he says softly.

“Oh, sorry,” I say as I put the seat belt on, and then we drove away from school.

“Where do you live?” He asked.

“94 Orchard Street,” I said as I looked ahead.

“I can see why you are all to yourself.” He stated and I looked at him. He doesn’t take his eyes off the road.

Just looking at him from this angle, he looks handsome. I take in his features and then they linger on his lips but then he looked at me and his magnetic blue eyes held my gaze. His lips curl on one side. “You can always talk to me,” he said and I looked away. I didn’t realize that we came to a stop at the traffic light which was red.

“There is nothing to talk about. Just because I live in a lower-class neighborhood doesn’t mean that anything is going on,” I said. I see out of my peripheral vision that he looked ahead at the road again and he started to drive.

“Sometimes, there is a whole lot more going on internally. Sometimes, it can be what goes on behind closed doors. An abusive family, struggles that happen, an absent parent,” he said, it doesn’t seem like he will drop the topic. I clutch my satchel tighter.

He is right about many things, for me, it is internal. I do not have absent parents but I have no one. I will not be telling anyone about that. Perhaps if they search the internet, they will be able to see who I am…or was. The sky turned gray, perhaps it will be a light rain that is coming.

I try to distract my mind from the internal battles but his scent…is delicious. What fragrance does he use? That would be something that I will never ask. All I can do is breathe it all in, just for it to be exhaled out again.

“Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio Profumo.” He stated.

“What?” I asked, snapping out of my moment, and looking at him.

“That is the fragrance that I am wearing.” He said with a smile, not taking his eyes off the road.

“Oh, okay.” it’s like he read my mind.

“I could see out of the corner of my eye that you breathed in my scent, it’s quite potent, isn’t it?” he smiled, looking at me for a brief moment before he focused on the road again.

“It is,” I said.

“Perhaps you can get one for your father for Christmas,” he said as we pulled up in front of my apartment. I do not have a father that I can buy gifts for and that is sad.

I unbuckle the seat belt and I fumbled with the door handle, eager to get out. He stirred something in me…something that I didn’t want to be stirred. That was my parents. I opened the door. “Thank you. I said.

“Wait.” He stopped me and he got out of the car. He opened up the back door and I heard him fumbling and then the door closed. He got back inside the car.

He handed the Treasures at the Castle of Good Hope book to me, I took it from him. “Isn’t this supposed to be in the library?” I asked.

“I took it so that you can study from it. I plan to test you and the others tomorrow who failed the first test, no one else showed up today that failed, they are the students that asked for my help in the first place,” he said.

“I can get into trouble for having this book,” I said, looking up at him.

“I will protect you. No one will know about it except for me,” he replied.

I licked my bottom lip, “Thank you, Mr. James.” I said and I got out of the car.

I walked up the path towards the front door. I can feel his eyes burn into me, he doesn’t drive away yet. I got inside the building and I can hear the other people talking in their apartment, a baby crying and the volume of the television that is on full blast. Welcome to my life. I close the door behind me and I pressed my back against it, holding onto my satchel and the book that he gave to me.

I took in a deep breath, closing my eyes. I finally heard him drive away. He has a fancy car but it doesn’t cause any reaction from me like the other guys at school to admire it. Opening my eyes, I walked up the stairs to my apartment. The wooden floor creaked as I walk. I’m happy that he didn’t follow me inside because I didn’t want him to know that I am all by myself with no one.

Not even my friends know. I just lie and tell them that my parents are out on business. That was my life before. I do not have it in me to explain the same situation about them to anyone. It is easier for me this way.

I walked inside my apartment, shutting the door behind me. I have a tiny kitchen and a little table inside of it. I have a mini lounge with one sofa. I enter my bedroom and I placed my things on my bed.

I have to get ready for my shift. What is amazing about the coffee shop is that on the other side of it is a restaurant. When it gets busy in the evenings, Carlos, the owner, always asks me to help out.

I am always happy to help out because that means extra cash for me. Anything that helps to pay the bills, I will be happy to do more at work for it. No one knows that I work there, that is how private I am about myself and I haven’t run into anyone there that I know yet.