Reckless Passion

Chapter 60

— Chapter 60 —

Song Themes For This Chapter: Someone Like You – Adele; Between You And I – Every Avenue

— Rose —

A wide smile spreads on my face as the door of the warehouse is gently opened and I see Louis standing before me.

He blinks in surprise.  “Rose.  You’re here.”

“My father drove me.”  I say, smiling.

His eyes widen as he peeks his head out and scans around.  “Is he waiting for you out here?!  Does he have you wired?!  Is he here to kill me after all?!”

I laugh and decrease the space between us as I place my hands on his shoulders.  “No, Louis.  He willingly drove me here and I’m able to go home whenever I’m ready.”

He doesn’t say anything; I can see the utter surprise in his expression.  I chuckle lightly as I maneuver past him to step inside, taking his hand in mine and gently guiding him to follow me.

We walk in silence to Louis’ bedroom; I give the other boys a small smile as we pass them.

“I’m not being sent away to a reform school anymore.”  I say as I sit on his bed.

Louis turns to me, smiling as he closes the bedroom door before coming to sit down beside me.  “I’m so happy to hear that.”  He says.  His voice comes out like a deep breath of relief.

I nod.  “Things are peaceful, for once.  It almost seems too good to be true.  I didn’t think I would remember what peace was in my home life.”

Louis’ blue eyes shine as he smiles at me.  He lifts a hand to brush some of my hair behind my ear.

“I even told my parents that I’m thinking of going for creative writing at a university.. not Princeton.  I’m mapping out my own life and although Princeton is an option, I’m thoroughly examining all of my options.”

His smile widens.  “Baby, that’s great news!”

I smile.  “I think so… but…”  My smile fades as I shift my eyes to the floor.

“What?  What is it?”  He asks softly, cupping his hand over mine.

I look back up at him with a sad smile.  “If I go away to university… and you’re here-”

“We won’t be able to see each other…”  He murmurs, finishing my sentence; realization flashing over his face.

“So come with me.”  I breathe.

“Rose…”  He begins to protest.

“Please.”  I beg.  “Come with me, you could start a new life with me.  We can go to university together-”

“Rose, you know I can’t afford that… and I still have my drug addiction.  I have to get rid of that first before I can even think about getting a job to save money for anything.”

“Then I’ll wait.”  I say.  “I’ll wait and stay here with you until we get rid of your drug addiction and we can both get jobs until we have enough money and then we can go off to university together and then we-”

“Rose.”  He whispers, cupping my face in his hands and forcing me to look into his eyes.

He smiles sympathetically.  “I don’t want to hold you back.”

I shake my head in his hands.  “You’re not holding me back-”

“Let me finish.”  He says softly.  “I think… no, I know that going to university now is the best thing for you to do for yourself.  I want you to do this for yourself.  I need to stay here and fix my inner problems and then once I make it through, I can live my life better.  But I don’t think I can fight my addiction with you here, you work as a distraction from it which is good but whenever there’s drama or an argument between us, I end up fighting myself to go back to it.  You’re not the problem, Rose, I don’t want you to think that.  You’re more of a reward.  A reward that I don’t deserve unless I’ve successfully completed the desired task.”