Red Eyes and Roses

Chapter 6

A slight sizzle snaps us out of our warm moment. I quickly release myself from her arms and rush over to the stove. The garlic I was previously sauteing is nearly finished thanks to me forgetting it was even there. Gently, I move it around with the spatula. A fresh Italian smell wafts into the room. I open a box of pasta, ready to dump it into the boiling water. For my said meal, I'm making spaghetti with homemade sauce and garlic bread. My way of saying thank you.

A bell like giggle compliments my moms loud laughter. Curiosity flies through me as I walk into the living room. The two most important people in my life are sitting in the window watching outside. As I walk closer, I see Luke's car parked in the driveway. Him and Jocelyn are walking together. Well, more like Jocelyn has Luke carrying her on his back. Laughter pours out of me as I watch my best friend slap Luke on the back of his head. The two play fight as they walk up to the door. Over the past couple days, Jocelyn and Luke have gotten close. I know that the feelings aren't romantic, but it still pulls at my heart to see the two messing around.

Shaking off the jealousy, I rush to open the door. Nearly as soon as it's opened, Jocelyn launches herself into my arms. She has grown fiercely protective of me since the accident. I can tell that she was just as shaken up as I was. Her best friend nearly died. The memories that we would have been unable to make were things that she freaked out over. No matter how many times I reassure her that I'm okay, no matter how many times she sees me walking around alive, she still nearly lost me.

I hold her close to me and breathe in her scent. Like always, she smells like daisies. Her signature smell. Luke clears his throat behind us. If no one was here to bring us back to reality, we would probably never leave each others arms. I release Jocelyn and move to hug Luke. Once I turn towards him, he pulls a bouquet of red roses from behind his back. One dozen red roses to match the red in his eyes. One dozen red roses to show his compassion and love. One dozen red roses to make happiness well up inside of my chest. I take the flowers from him and smile. I've had plenty of people over to my house but none have ever brought me flowers. Without me even reaching him fully, he picks me up and spins me around.

"Last day off of school!" There's a strong emotion in his voice that I just can't name. He sounds both happy and worried. The smile on his face brings me enough ease to laugh it off. He gently places me on the ground with a kiss on my forehead. I lead the two of them to the living room where my mom and Ember still sit. A bunch of hugs and happy exclaims, mostly from my sister, and I am able to escape back into the kitchen.

The music is still playing from earlier. Slowly, I allow my body to fall into the routine of dancing and cooking. With each note, I move by body from side to side, sometimes going the whole way around. Nothing intense. During the middle of one turn, someone's hand grabs my own and finishes spinning me around. I shoot my head around in order to look behind me.

My mom stands there with a small smile on her face. "I haven't seen you dance around in so long." There's a sharp sadness in her voice. Once my depression got so bad, I stopped moving. Anything that once caused me joy seemed irrelevant. I used to dance around the kitchen and the whole house. No boundaries, no stops. I've always been a natural performer. Without even realizing it, my happiness has returned.

"I feel happy, mom." A smile lights up my entire face. For the rest of the song, we continue to dance. Taking turns spinning one another, taking turns cooking the food. We just be happy together.

Laughter pours in from the living room and I realize that she left Luke with Ember. It's not uncommon for her to leave Jocelyn with my sister, but she never leaves a guy with her. Neither of us realized it, but we have let Luke into our lives. There's so much trust for him. From her, from me, from Ember.