His Rose

Pops of rosy reds and cotton pinks illuminated the deep purple skies. It’s almost as if they were ordinary fireworks. But, these hues were different. They formed something abnormal. They formed a face. His face. It was odd really. It’s almost as if Rose could put her hand out there and he would appear in front of her. 

“Looking for me darling?” Levi asked in a husky tone near the shell of her ear. It was almost as if she had conjured him with her thoughts.

His voice sent tingles through her body. And all Rose wanted to do was reach up and kiss him. Kiss him until her worries were irrelevant and she was engulfed in him. Engulfed in his taste, touch, and feel. But something was wrong. Something felt off.

“Levi? But, how? Wh-,” Rose tried to ask. But, her words died in her mouth, because the scene changed.

Rose was no longer in front of the picturesque sky. Instead, she was watching Levi at the bar. She was watching Levi kiss the girl. Oh god. Rose turned around and ran blindly towards the door. But it seemed as if she couldn’t get away. Everywhere she looked Levi was there. With the girl. 

Tears streamed down Rose’s face in salty rivulets. She acutely wondered what she had done to deserve such a betrayal. She believed in charity. She had never bullied anyone. Her karma was as good as it could get. So why did he cheat on you?

The military-style alarm clock near Rose’s bed woke her with a start. Sweat drenched her body, pasting her hair flush against her face and causing a slight tremor through her body. It’s fine. It was just a dream. But what had happened was not a dream. Levi had really kissed that girl. He had kissed that girl at the bar while Rose drove like a madwoman looking for him, thinking something had happened. Did it make her a bad person that she almost wished something had happened to him? Physical pain is bearable, but the gaping wound inside her heart may never heal.

Levi twisted the picture over and over in his hands. It was a photo of her. Of his Rose. She stood in the middle of their coffee shop. Her body was at an angle so that it seemed as if she was just turning around to pose. Her arms were outstretched wide, almost like an airplane, and her smile was heartbreakingly stunning. Levi was very proud of the photo. He had even gotten it printed out just so he could keep her close to him. 

Another picture caught his eye. One of him and a man. His dad. They both stood side by side looking like carbon copies of each other. The resemblance between the two was uncanny. They both sported the same unruly brown hair and tumultuous gray eyes. The only difference was that while Levi was tall and muscular and his dad seemed frail and sickly. That was the last photo Levi had taken with his dad, before his untimely death. Cancer was truly a death sentence. 

That was the reason Levi was at the bar that night. He was trying to drink away his sorrow. Even though the two had never been particularly close there was still a sense that something was missing. It hurt the most seeing his mom. She seemed so tiny and helpless after she heard the news. The light had left her eyes and now she worked like a robot, timely and efficiently. But at the end of the day, she wept herself to sleep.

Levi has taken at least eight shots of tequila and drank three glasses of scotch that night. He still remembered how the room swayed and all he could hear was the thump of the music. Everything had seemed so vivid, that was until he laid eyes on his Rose. 

Making his way through the maze of tables and people he had reached her. Without a second thought, he had grabbed her face and kissed her. He thought his Rose had found him. He could taste the salt on her lips, mixed with something more potent — vodka? He remembered thinking how his Rose didn’t drink because she hated the taste of alcohol. 

He had opened his eyes and pulled back. The familiar warm brown eyes of his Rose hadn’t met his gray ones. Instead, they were pitch black orbs. His Rose didn’t have black eyes. Levi turned around only to see someone, with curly black hair, dashing out of the bar. Huh. That girl’s hair looked exactly like his Rose’s. That was odd, he had thought right before passing out.

It had been two weeks, four hours, and twenty-six minutes since Rose had last spoken to Levi, not that she was counting. She was currently laying in her bed and reading trashy romance novels to numb the loneliness. It was crazy how inaccurate they were. The two protagonists didn’t always end up together, she thought bitterly. 

Rose sighed as she delved back into her novel. Currently, both the male and female leads were blissfully in love. They had overcome the insignificant obstacles that had initially littered their paths. In fact, the male protagonist was set to propose tonight. Rose thought it was awfully soon for the two to be wedded since they had known each other all but two months, but they were called ‘trashy’ romances for a reason, right?

The book switched to the females' point of view. She described in astonishing detail how she felt about her boyfriend. But every time the woman in the book spoke, Rose couldn’t help but see herself. He was the one that she got butterflies for. The one her heart beat a little faster for. The one she couldn’t— try as she may— get out of her head. It was a curse. Levi was a curse. 

Even though she caught Levi cheating on her, Rose still loved him. She hated it. She hated this feeling of powerlessness. She hated that her breathing increased every time he walked into a room. She hated the little flutters in her chest every time he flashed her a charming smile. Because I must be really pathetic if I still love the man who cheated on me. And even as she told herself all this, the only thing she wanted to do was run into his arms.

Two weeks was enough time to give someone ‘space’, right? Levi exhaled a billowing breath. Why did he have to screw up so bad? If he hadn’t kissed that insignificant girl, his Rose would be curled up next to him. Albeit she would probably reading one of her ‘trashy’ romance books as she called them. He hated those books. They always took up his Rose’s attention. He knew it was petty to be jealous of a book, but Rose had a way of bringing out the caveman in him.

Levi tossed and turned under the covers. He couldn’t sleep without his Rose. He stared at the ceiling as guilt invaded his mind. His Rose shouldn’t have been there to see that kiss. God, I’m such a scumbag. His Rose had driven miles to come get him because she was worried and what had she seen? She saw you with another girl, the voice in Levi’s head taunted.

What was even worse was that Levi couldn’t even gather the courage to go apologize or leave her with some sort of explanation. It hit him acutely that if he didn’t try and make amends he would never get his Rose back. But how did a relationship even recover from this?

Levi glanced at the clock on his ceiling. The neon red numbers read 1:20 AM. Was it too late or early to show up at someone’s house, beg for forgiveness, and offer an apology at one in the morning?

 But he knew that if he waited until morning he wouldn’t be able to muster the tenacity to make his way to her. So instead of wallowing in self-pity, Levi got out of bed ready to go bring back his Rose. Bring her back to him. Where she belonged. 

A knocking on Rose’s door woke her up from an uneasy slumber. She groaned as she rubbed her eyes and glanced at the time. 1:40 AM. Who would be at her house at nearly two in the morning? 

Waves of panic put Rose on full alert. What if it was a burglar? She was too young to die. She still had the rest of her life. She couldn’t die now. A tremble started to overtake her body. She needed to calm down. 

After taking a few calming breaths Rose started for the door, but not before grabbing a saucepan to knock out the enemy. She crept slowly towards the front making sure to stay as quiet as possible. Once she made it to the door she sent a silent prayer to god in hopes that he would protect her. 

Rose took a deep breath and opened the door just a crack. But the opening was big enough to recognize the familiar silky brown hair. It was Levi. 

She opened the door fully now revealing Levi dressed in pressed trousers, a crisp white shirt, and a leather jacket that clung to his physique, outline his muscular arms.

“I-Uh, May I come in,” Levi asked in a weak voice.

“Sure,” Rose replied cooly, making sure the shock of his visit didn’t seep into her words.

“I brought you these,” he said while offering her a box of chocolates. She took the candies from his hands, Ferrero Rocher, her favorite. Rose almost melted just then and there. But as much as she loved the chocolates he would have to do a lot better to deserve her forgiveness. The ball was in his court now.

What am I doing? Those were the first words that crossed Levi’s mind as soon as Rose opened the door. She looked as stunning as ever even in mere pajamas. His heart rate started to increase as she let him in and accepted his delectable peace offering.

He took in his surroundings. It was as neat as ever with nay a scrap out of place. Rose had always been a neat freak. 

“Um, uh would you like something to drink,” she asked hesitantly. His Rose had always been so kind-hearted and hospitable.

“No thank you, I’m good,” Levi answered with a smile that didn’t meet his eyes.

“Cool, cool,” Rose replied.

They stood there awkwardly for what felt like hours before they tried to engage in conversation. 

“I’m sorry-”

“Why are-”

“You first,” Levi ordered.

She wasted no time in speaking her mind. “Why are you here Levi? I didn’t get a single call or text for two weeks and then you suddenly show up at my house at two in the fricken morning? Am I a joke to you? I mean do you honestly believe that you can just kiss a girl in front of me and not say anything about it for two whole weeks? Do I mean so little to you that you think you can just waltz in here with your stupid box of chocolates?” Rose asked in a broken voice. Tears streaked her face as she continued on. “Was I ever anything, but a pretty face to warm your bed?”

Rose’s words were like a punch to Levi’s gut. How could he hurt the woman he loved and let her believe that she was inconsequential? What kind of pig did that?

“I thought it was you darling,” Levi said in a low voice. “The entire time I thought it was those chocolate eyes that looked up at me. I thought it was those dainty fingers wrapped around my neck. I thought it was that citrus scent that invaded my senses. I thought it was you darling.” And against his will Levi started rambling, the words just seemed to pop right out of his mouth. “And I know it’s not an excuse, but trust me I was crazy drunk and genui-” But before he could finish a pair of lips cut him off. 

Rose had captured Levi’s mouth in a kiss. A kiss so deep and so passionate it made words seem trivial. With every taste and touch, tingles shot through both of them. Sparks flew openly until they were burning with passion. With love. 

“I forgive you,” Rose declared in a breathy voice while pulling back. She tried to keep a cool demeanor on the outside but she was really doing cartwheels on the inside. Levi had thought it was her and that alone made her giddy. Rose wasn’t naive enough to believe that he was telling the truth, but something in her gut made her believe that every word Levi had said was real. “I forgive you, Levi.”

“B-But why would you do that,” Levi asked while silently cursing at himself for not just thanking her over and over for her forgiveness.

“Because I love you,” Rose replied without a moment’s hesitation. Her eyes were locked with his in an enduring trance and he could see that what she had said wasn’t a lie. A blush started to creep up the sides of her face after Levi still hadn’t acknowledged her words.

Instead of responding with words Levi kissed Rose on her forehead and grabbed her by the waist, bringing her close to his side. But not before whispering to his Rose that he loved her more than she could begin to comprehend.

And there was peace in that for them both. She was his and he had won back his Rose.