A Shot In The Dark

Chapter 36

"What does that mean?" I asked Ross. I was taken aback by his news.

"That means I can't just sit back and watch Riker and Rocky fight over you without trying to fight for you too." Ross sighed.

"Ross, I thought we already talked about this." I was trying to stay calm.

"I can't stop my feelings." He looked away. "You can choose to acknowledge them or not, but I can't. I just needed you to know."

There was awkward silence between us. I didn't know what else to say to him. I knew I still had feelings for him too, but I couldn't fight them for Rocky. Did Rocky deserve another chance? He hasn't learned from the seven I gave him beforehand.

"Maybe we should get back." I stood up and started throwing stuff into my beach bag.

He looked hurt. "I'll grab Rory."

We made our way back to the car as the sun was setting. It had been a great day until Ross threw that on me.

The ride home was filled with awkward silence. Neither of us spoke. When we pulled up the driveway I practically jumped out of the car and started grabbing Rory and the beach bag. Ross slowly climbed out and took Rose into the house. I led the way to the guest room and set Rory's car seat on the bed while I started unpacking the beach bag. Ross set Rose down beside Rory and stood by the bed.

"Do you need any help with anything?" He whispered.

I glanced over and saw him watching me. "No. I should be good. I'm just gonna bath them then feed them so they can go to bed. It's been a long day."

"I can help you bath them." He tried again.

"Really. I got it." I threw the beach towels in the hamper.

"Well I could start while you finish unpacking."

"I said I'm good." I snapped. "Really, Ross, you can go now."

His hands dropped to his sides as he slowly walked out of the room.

I turned back to my bag and pushed it off the side of the dresser. It crashed onto the floor and I turned away rubbing my eyes. I didn't want to yell at him. I just didn't want to be around him right now. I needed time to think.

Rory started to fuss so I grabbed him and Rose and headed to the bathroom to bath them. Rose was still sleeping so Rory went first. While I unbuckled him from the seat I started running the water. Rory was covered in sand and sunscreen. It took forever to get him bathed and Rose was the same way.

Once they were bathed and dressed, I took them back to my new room and set them on the bed while I cleaned up. Rory started gurgling and playing with his feet.

"Are you hungry?" I smiled down at him. "You ready to eat?"

He giggled at my voice. I picked him and Rose up and took them to the kitchen. Oddly enough, I didn't see any of the boys the entire time.

Rose and Rory were incredibly tired from the all day beach trip, so I took them to bed early. I was pretty tired too. I decided to take a quick shower and go to bed.

My hair was soaking wet when I laid down, but I didn't care. My pillow would just get wet tonight.

I couldn't sleep with my mind racing. Rocky and I were fighting, Riker was being Riker, and Ross was trying to fight for me again. Nothing was easy. I just couldn't win. I missed Brittany.

Riker was easy to deal with. If I could fight my temptations, I would just keep pushing him off. Ross and Rocky were the problem. Ross always cared for me. It didn't matter what was going on, he was there. Rocky was the same way, but he never had faith in me.