Forever His & His Ghost

Chapter 12: The Rose

9 years Later

      "Are you just trying to tick me off?" Marie clenches her jaw as she lays down the latest to my story.

      "No."

      "Happy Birthday Sis." Preston kisses me on the cheek taking his cup of coffee and taking a seat to read like Marie had just done.

      "Oh, that's right, it's the birthday girl. So, tell me have you checked this morning?" Marie hissed. I knew she was aggravated with me.

      "I haven't but I expect it to be there. It has been for the last eight years. Even though I have no idea how it gets there, and I am pretty sure you guys do." I squinted my eyes, but they neither one looked like they were hiding something from me. "Fine I am going."

      I turned from them heading to my bedroom, and when I opened the door, there it was, a single fresh lavender rose on my pillow. I walked over picking it up and putting it under my nose as I laid down on my bed. For eight years, on my birthday there is always a fresh cut lavender rose left on my pillow. No note, nothing, just a rose.

      When it first happened, I blamed it on Jaxon, but he just laughed it off, and then seemed to get jealous someone was leaving me flowers. After the first time, I never spoke of it to him again, and when I tried to blame my friend and family, they always looked at me like I had lost my mind. We even went as far as putting a camera up in my room, and guess what, nothing, no one, so it has become a mystery. I even started sleeping somewhere else besides my bedroom the night before my birthday, so I didn't feel so freaked out. Looking at the rose, I remembered, I don't feel freaked out, I feel wanted, for the first time in a long time every time I get it. I don't know if my secret flower person knows it or not, but the color lavender in a rose means love at fist sight. I giggled to myself, standing to find my favorite book, Cinderella. As always, I took one last sniff of the rose, snapped the flower off and tucked it into my book for safe keeping, with the rest of them. Call me a hopeless romantic, still believing in fairy tale endings. I sighed to myself and made my way back to the kitchen.

       "It was there as always." I sighed taking a seat across from them. "This is torture, how in the world could it possibly get there. I mean when we were in the city I get it, but I fell off the grid, and still here it is." I ran my fingers through my hair.

       I heard a throat clear behind me and I turned to see my mom. "Happy Birthday baby girl," she smiled wrapping her arms around me, and I lost it right there. I melted in her arms like I was sixteen again.

      "Mom, you weren't do in till day after tomorrow."

      "I know but I wanted to surprise you, and since it's so hard to do, I worked extra hard at it this time." She saw the papers in front of Marie and her eyes lit up, before I could stop her, she had them clutched in her hands. "Is this the book?"

      "Yea, and you don't want to read it." Preston grumbled.

      "Why, my daughter is talented, and I am sure this is going to be just wonderful." Mom retaliated.

      "Well, see, mom, it isn't just a book, it's my life. They wanted personal, and well," I pointed to the papers. "That is about as personal as it gets, there are things in there I don't know that you want to read."

      She waved her hand, "Nonsense." She walked to the living room leaving us sitting in the kitchen.

      "I am going to take a nap in my bed. Just tell her to wake me when she is done." I nodded to Marie and Preston and headed to my bed. This isn't going to be good, I thought to myself.

      Sometime later I was being shook awake by a hysterical, crying mom. I wiped my eyes and she wrapped me in her arms before I had time to think. "Skyla why, why didn't you tell us?"

      I gave her a weak smile, "Mom, it was my burden to bear. I knew what I was getting into, and my heart won the game, I stepped in feet first and took the beating as I fell."

      "I know you loved him; I just never had any idea what you went through to even have the time you did with him." I wiped my tears. "But you need to think about something." I raised a brow, "Honey, you need to make an ending. Don't let it end here. I know you are successful, and I also know you are smart and loving and deserve to have a better ending than this. Heck you deserve a better ending than what happened, you know with the accident and all."

      "You sound like my editor," I laughed.

      "Well smart women think alike. And you just wait till I get my hands on that eldest child of mine, I am going to ring her neck."

       I placed my hand on hers, "No mom, please don't. Let it be, it's all in the past, life goes on, and nothing we can do about it now. Learn and live, right?"

      She just shook her head, "Okay well, get your butt up, Marie said the plane is ready and we are going out for the weekend. Me, myself could use a few stiff drinks and a night out with my kids." She got up and left and I just screamed into my pillow. Would it be okay if I just told everyone to leave me alone and let me wallow in my own self pity party for my birthday? "Right now, Skyla!" Mom shouted from the kitchen. Geez, I feel like I was totally sixteen again.

      Six hours later we were checking into a suite in one of the highest end hotels in LA. The view from the suite was breathtaking overlooking the city lights below us, a city that never sleeps. I hadn't stepped foot in this city in almost three years now, it felt all too familiar, while filling like it was a thousand lifetimes ago.

      "Feel good enough to go out?" Marie piped in from behind me.

      "Sure." It wasn't a very happy sure, but I will try. They are doing this for me after all.

      "Perfect," she squealed, wrapping her arms around my waist from behind and putting her head on my back. "Now I have your gift hanging behind the door, and you better wear it, meet you out front in an hour. And Skyla, forget it all, forget it all if just for tonight. Let's have some fun."

      "Okay," I whispered. I listened as she left the room and I sighed slumping with my forehead on the glass. "I don't think I can do this, my life ended so many years ago, I feel like I am only existing these days." Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, "No." I whispered yelled, "I am not going to do that. I didn't do anything wrong."

      An hour later I grabbed my clutch and took one last look in the mirror. Marie has good taste, the dress was a simple black form fitting top, with no back and tied around my neck, the bottom came mid-thigh and matched with the sparkling black three-inch stilettos, it left no imagination to my long-fit legs and showed all the curves. I decided to put my hair up in a high clip, leaving ringlets flow loosely around my face and neck. The rest of it flowed like a water fall out of the clip down my back. I also went a little crazy with the make-up, I was shooting for a mermaid look, with a little glitter, rosy cheeks and the perfect blend of green and pink eye shadow. Slutty, maybe, but tonight I am not going to care, tonight I am going to let loose, for the first time in a very long time.

       We caught a cab, and headed toward the hottest new club in town, Roux. Then something caught my eye, a blue eyed, curly, blond-haired boy I hadn't seen since I left the city. My boy next door, Isaac. That adorable face plastered on a billboard, in an unbuttoned white shirt showing off the perfect bronze shade of his abs, and those tight jeans. No matter how I felt about him, he was a Hollywood Playboy. I can't believe I fell for his foolish antics either.

      "Hunk a hunk a burning love," Marie cat called staring at the billboard.

      "Oh, not you too," Preston rolled his eyes and Marie looked at me with questioning eyes.

       Then it dawned on me, she had no idea who he was, I had never divulged too much in that. "Marie, meet Isaac, billboard Isaac meet Marie."

       We all laughed, even mom. "Oh, so I see you have a type, tall, dark, handsome and absolutely scrumptious," Marie drooled. And we laughed again. Only my life.

      Marie, mom and I had just finished an hour-long dance marathon on the floor at Roux. I was burning up and feeling a pretty good buzz. Preston stood like a bouncer to the side, just watching us, like he was ready to pounce at the first sign of danger.

     The beat of the music finally shifted to a slower song, and we began to walk to our table, I felt a hand wrap around my arm, and I almost screamed, until I heard the clearing of a throat. I turned slowly, and when I looked up to see those brown eyes, my heart sunk. There was some kind of familiarity, but I couldn't for the life of me place it.

     "May I have this dance?" he smiled. Not trusting my voice, I nodded and let him lead me to the floor. He turned to face me and placed his hands just above my hips lightly while I put mine on his upper arms. "So, you from around here?" His voice faltered just a little and I finally got a good look at him under the lights of the floor.

     I felt my heart start to race, and then it dawned on me, crap! I shouted in my mind,  I had to get out of there. I hid the emotions on my face almost as quick as they had showed.

      "Nope, I am from up north, just visiting. Wanted to see what the fuss was all about." I finally spat out, like the nervous teenage girl trying to sound perfectly fine.

      He clenched his jaw like he was angry, "I see." He took a few deep breaths, "What's your name?"

       I giggled trying to play off again as a bimbo, "Lexi, Lexi Anders. And you?" I was secretly counting down till it was time to leave the floor, without him becoming suspicious.

      "Trey, Trey Harrison."

      I gave him a smile, totally fake but I hoped it was enough to mask the fear I was feeling in that moment. "Nice to meet you Trey, so where you from?"

      He smirked, oh no, he knows, my mind screamed.

      "Small town out east." He squeezed my hips just a bit, "I hope not to sound rude, but you remind me so much of a girl I used to know. She died though; I think."

      I felt my heart drop, "Died? I am so sorry to hear that." I had not seen those eyes since that night, and I needed to get out of here quick, or all my hard work would be lost.

     He shrugged his shoulders, and I felt his grip loosen just a bit, "It was for the best, she was headed down the wrong road. At least I know she is in peace now."

     The song ended and I waited no time getting away from him, I didn't even look back, I sent and SOS to Marie with my phone and I knew she would get the meaning, meet me back at the plane. I did everything I had learned to do over the last several years to make sure I wasn't traced or followed, I ditched the phone after sending the SOS, changed cabs at least ten times before finally arriving at the airport and boarded waiting patiently for the others to join me.

      I closed my eyes, a memory I had long forgot flashing in my eyes. A washed out back country road, the loss of control, the sound of crunching and rushing water. I hugged myself, praying it would pass, it would fall back to that deep part of my mind where it stayed hidden.

      "Skyla, what the heck?" Marie slurred as she climbed on the plane with her bags and Preston and mom in tow behind her with my bags with them.

     "We have to get out of here now." I whispered.

      "Oh dear, you are white as a ghost. What happened?" Mom asked rushing to my side.

      The only thing I could get out was the one word, one word I hoped I would never have to say again. "Trey."

      Marie dropped the bags and rushed to my side, Preston said a line of really bad words that would make a sailor blush, and me, I just wanted to disappear right there. I wanted to close my eyes and never open them again. I couldn't help but laugh, he promised to always catch me when I fell, and I fell so many times over the years, if only he was here.

      That was my last thought as I closed my eyes and let the tears carry me away.