Evanescent

12 | L E A V I N G

If only the day Rosa decided to spill the way she felt; her dad was out of it. But of course, that's not how things worked.

"And how old is this man that you think you might have feelings for?"

"I don't know? Like... twenty five."

She saw the way her father visibly cringed and she suddenly felt disgusted with herself.

"I know I wanted you to come to me with a good problem to solve and love and feelings aren't something to be played with. You need to take things like that seriously. But... do you think this might just be a little crush, lust, orrr..."

She sifted through the things in her head before nodding. "Just a little crush."

Her dad nodded to himself and played with the wedding band around his finger.

"I wish I had all the answers for you... but I don't."

"I know."

"You just need to remember that you're sixteen and he's... twenty five. And I wish I could say age is just a number, but unfortunately it's an illegal one at the moment. And he's had more time to know what love really feels like. Just know, it will hurt if he plays with your heart."

She nodded in understanding. "He said he'd take care of me."

"Men say such things all the time," he said dismissively and Rosa sighed. One of the only reasons she was even considering going out with the handsome man was so she could help her dad. But how was she supposed to help her dad if he didn't approve of her method?

"He's very sweet," she offered weakly. Though, she realized then that she hardly knew anything about him. And he didn't know her real age. He didn't know that she wasn't legal.

Her moving any further with Noah would be like her claiming she could fly a plane carrying hundreds of people.

Enevitably, everything would crash and burn.

She suddenly began to wonder what the handsome man saw in her.

She felt herself plain compared to him. Nothing special.

What did he see in her sixteen year old self?

That's when she remembered that she had lied. He thought she was eighteen and she was even more disgusted with herself.

"I don't want you to be with this man," he answered gruffly and she shakily nodded.

"Okay, I understand."

If her dad didn't want her seeing Noah, she wasn't going to go against his wishes. Especially if they were one of his last ones.

___

Goosebumps rose on her exposed shoulders as she stepped out of her house and closed the door behind her.

She carefully tucked away her lip gloss into her brown bag and just as she looked up, she caught sight of her annoyingly, ugly and persistent landlord.

"Rosaaa," he exclaimed as he patted her on the shoulder. "Today's rent day."

Her shoulders slumped when she realized she had just paid off one of her father's doctors bills. No money was left except for about thirty dollars that she was using for fruits, vegetables and feminine products.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stone. Can you give me one more day, i'll have the money by then."

"I've been giving you too much slack," he tsked as he snaked his slimey hand around her waist.

"I know," she said as she pulled away. "And i'm sorry. Bu-"

"I can call child services," he threatened, his round face adopting that dirty smile she was so familiar with.

"You can't do that," she hissed, trying to sound as strong and unaffected as possible.

Her eyes widened as he pulled out his phone and held his fat thumb over 3, the speed dial he had put specifically for child services.

"No, don't. If you call them, i'll have to go back to school and I won't be able to pay for my dads bills," she pleaded.

His eyes raked over her and she sneered in disgust. He knew just how old she was - and he held the power over her for knowing. Rosa hated that such men existed in the world. There were too many of them preying on the beauty and innocence of young girls and what was sad was that Rosa had enough experience to know that things like that really did happen. She had faced it first hand.

"Where are you going all dressed up like that?"

She pursed her lips in frustration before glaring up at him. "Its really none of your business, Mr. Stone."

"You seem to forget that you're just a child and not only am I like a guardian to you but I also have control over whether you have a home or not."

You're just a child

"Just giv-"

"Is everything okay here?"

The deep voice that came from behind her sent a rush of butterflies right to her slightly bloated tummy. She'd eaten two slices of vannila cake that she got as a reward for working so well at the restaurant earlier.

"Yes," Mr. Stone said and she cringed as he grabbed onto her arm and pulled her towards her apartment door. "We were just having a discussion."

She stumbled into the apartment and her eyes widened as Noah shoved his large foot between the door before Mr. Stone could close it.

"Come here," Noah grumbled as he glared down at Mr. Stone.

Rosa pulled herself out of Mr. Stone's grip and she scrambled over to Noah who protectively pushed her gently behind him.

"I suggest you leave Stone. I know you don't just do simple talks so leave before I report you. You're already on parole."

Mr. Stone's broad shoulders slumped but he glared as he made his way out of her apartment and down the hall.

An embarrassed whimper escaped Rosa's lips as Noah stepped into her apartment - the wrecked place being the only thing she could afford. He closed the door and she took note of how he hardly judged the place, instead his eyes were on her.

He dropped a single sunflower onto the wobbly coffee table along with a small box before approaching her slowly. His large frame towered over her small one and she felt as if she were shrinking the closer he came.

"How often do things like this happen?"

"That was the first time," she said quietly as she avoided eye contact.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

He nodded before looking around her apartment carefully, his dark eyes taking in every detail before he looked back at her, his eyes melting as he gazed down at her nervous stature.

"You have a duffel here?"

She furrowed her brows. "Yes."

"Pack what you need. We're going and you're going to let me take care of you."