Anthony's Forbidden Melody

Chapter VI

Rosette skipped her breakfast and lunch. She locked herself in her room, eyes were flooded with tears. Her mind was preoccupied by the incident and her conscience slowly ate her.

Anthony's words were carved in her mind.

If she only listened to his warning and did not steal anything from him, maybe Anie would still be alive and happily eating her meal by now.

It was her first time to encounter a suicide incident, personally, and it really rocked her whole being. Life can be cruel sometimes, but it never entered in her mind to end her life just that.

Why did she?

She still could not believe it. Especially after knowing the truth about her children's death. Anie was stronger than everyone thought. She managed to live her life like nothing was wrong. But how did she ended up that way?

No matter how many times Rosette tried to think of any other reason, she would still came back to his words.

Was there any curse in that melody that can trigger someone's anxiety?

Her thoughts were cut off with a knock. She ignored it thinking that it was Clarisse again... reminding her to eat her meal. But it was not.

"Rozi..."

She heard his familiar deep voice coming from outside of her room.

"Collin?" She got up instantly and opened her door. "It's really you!" Se smiled as she wiped her wet cheeks.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"A friend ended her life. We've just talked last night, and now..." She breathe in deeply to calm herself. "And now she's gone." Her tears overflowed once more. She had no control over it.

Collin enveloped her in his arms and tapped her back. She felt secure in his tight embrace. She was grateful to have a friend like him.

He guided her to sit on her bed and gave her a glass of water. Later on, he got out and came back with a tray on his hand. He tried to feed her but she refused. She took the spoon from his hand and started eating.

The food that she ate tasted bland that she almost spit it. It seemed like it was cooked hours ago and was reheated. She could still remember the taste of Anie's food. And she missed it.

"It's my fault. It was all my fault, Collin," she whispered while staring at her food.

"Hey, don't say that." He touched her chin and urged her to look at him. "You did not do anything, okay? And most importantly, you didn't kill her," he said.

"But I could have accompanied her last night... I could have changed her mind, Collin. If only I had seen it coming. If only..." She wept again.

"It's not your fault, Rozi, come on! Don't imprison yourself in something that you didn't do and you can't predict." Collin shook her shoulders.

"But..." She lost her words.

How could she tell him that it was partly her fault? That she had stolen something that might be the reason why Anie took her life?

"Rest for now. I'll cook for you." He gently pushed her and laid her down on the bed.

His actions slowly calmed her and added weight to her eyelids. Soon, her drowsiness swallowed her.

The darkness of the room welcomed her sight. Rosette got up and looked for her flashlight. She thought that it was already past ten o'clock. But she froze when a light flickered.

Collin was sitting on a chair, facing a table full with foods that he surely cooked. The wine added a height at the center, along with the three candles that gave a warm ambience to room.

"What time is it?" she asked. She was worried if he starved himself while waiting for her to wake up.

Collin checked his wristwatch. "It's past seven." He stood up and pulled the other chair for her. "Shall we eat?" He smiled, showing his dimple on the left.

"Oh, sorry." She sauntered towards him and sat on the chair. "Did you lift the table and the chairs by yourself?" She knew that he borrowed them from the dining judging by the looks.

"Yep. No worries." He winked.

She stared at him as he filled her plate with food. Rosette knew exactly why he was doing this... To divert her attention away from the incident. And it was somewhat effective. She smiled at his thoughtfulness. She wanted to accept him as her boyfriend if only he would ask her again.

"Why don't you eat? Don't you love the food?" he asked. Worry mirrored in his eyes.

"I loved them and you..." The last two words came out a murmur, but she covered it with a smile.

She lifted up her spoon and fork and started eating. Smile never faded on Collin's lips as he watch her, even when he ate. After feeding a few spoonfuls, he poured their glasses with wine.

"I know it's not a good timing, but..."

Her eyebrows raised when she heard him talk. She knew he liked to eat in silence. And if there was something he would like to discuss with, he would wait until they finished their foods.

"I really want to ask this every time we eat like this..." He bit his lower lip when he paused. "And I think I should give it a try... again." He drunk his wine in just one shot.

Rosette's heart started to beat loudly. The butterflies in her stomach had gone wild. And her mind was out of words but it already knew his question.

She was expecting this moment to happen... but it never crossed in her mind that she would be excited like this. Guessed her little crush on him had blossomed.

"Do I have a chance? If Yes, please be my girlfriend." Red tint slowly painted his face. He looked cute with his shy expression but she tried her best to hide her smile.

"And if it's a No?" She acted as if she did not like his question. She lifted her wineglass and sipped from it. Her stoic face remained.

He was speechless for a minute. "Sorry... I should have known better." He ran his fingers through his hair as he closed his eyes. Trying to hide the redness in it.

"Yah. You should have asked that to me a little earlier. We could have been dating by now." She simply poured some wine into his glass. "I like you... a lot," she confessed.

"But it's not me that you love. I know." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"I do... I mean, I do love you, Collin."