Beautiful Rose (8 page)

"It's a long story," I finally answered. I pushed the empty plate away from me and looked at her square in the eye. She couldn't have been any older than me. Her long straight black hair was dyed blue at the ends, and tattoos curled around her left arm, all the way up to her collarbone. Her tight black tee shirt and black pants showed off her tiny frame.

She glanced around the empty diner and laughed. "Trust me, I got time."

My eyes widened. She really couldn't take a hint, could she?

"My parents and I had a disagreement. They kicked me out." I replied evenly, my eyes not leaving hers. 

"Do you do drugs? Alcohol?"

"No," I scoffed. Who the fuck was this chick? And more importantly, did I really look like the type of person who was into drugs? Scratch that, right now I probably did.

"Look, my mom owns this place. Would you be interested in a couple of shifts?" I gaped at her. The last thing I’d expected was a job offer.

"Do you often accost your customers into working for you?" I asked dryly as my mind processed her offer. A second job. Not the worst idea in the world. If things didn't work out at one, then I'd still have the other. And there was also the fact that I felt better when I had things to do. If I was left alone with my own thoughts for too long, things went downhill quickly. Another reason I had to get out of that damn hospital.

She laughed. "Only the ones who look desperate enough to say yes," she shot back. "We've had a sign in the window for about a month, and an ad in the newspaper with no luck. You looked like someone who might say yes." She shrugged. “And frankly, until Ma finds someone, I'm stuck doing everything. I haven't seen my boyfriend in two weeks.” Ah. The truth was finally coming out. See? Nobody did anything without an agenda these days.

"Well, I can't do evenings. I'm starting another job tonight." I said, finishing off my coffee. I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a hair tie. Gathering my hair into a ponytail, I looped the band around it a few times.

"That's cool. Mornings is when we get the most traffic." She saw me survey the empty diner and laughed. "Eight till twelve is our busy time." She stood up. "You'll need to meet Ma. She's out back." She nudged her head toward the back and stood up. I did too. We walked through the kitchen, and outside. Set back on the block was a brick house. It looked okay, much better than the drug den I was expecting. And cats. I have no idea why, but I’d been expecting lots of cats.

I timidly stepped through the front door arch with my new friend, whose name I didn't even know. I could hear a television playing cartoons, and the smell of eggs wafted through the house. Was it odd that cartoons and the smell of eggs lessened my anxiety? Of course that was odd. There had to be something in that for my psychiatrist.

"Ma!" the girl screeched. I jumped, instinctively wrapping my arms around myself. 'Ma' was a plump woman all of about five feet. She appeared from out of nowhere, glancing at me curiously. Her hair was the same dark shade as her daughters, only the roots were beginning to gray. She was still in her bathrobe, bright pink with blue flowers, which she pulled tightly around herself, readjusting the belt. Two little faces appeared from around the living room corner, both looking very intrigued.

"How many times have I told you not to yell, Reena?" She tilted her head as she continued to look me over, as if she were trying to decide whether or not I was a threat "Whose this?" she sniffed.

"Rose." I said, smiling, trying my best to look friendly.

"Rose is interested in filling the job," Reena announced.

"Do you have experience, Rose?" 'Ma' asked me, her arms crossed over her chest. Suddenly she didn't look so friendly.

"I've just started an evening job at '
The Chill Bar'”
I said, in what I hoped was a confident voice. It didn't really answer the question, but I was going for the logic that if someone else had hired me I must be alright.

"Okay. How about a trial run tomorrow? If that works out, the job is yours."

""Great." I smiled." You won’t regret this."

“Sure I won’t.” she smiled. I couldn't tell if that was sarcasm or not.

Chapter Eight

Rose

I left the diner feeling a sense of accomplishment. I could have taken the events of the last hour as pity, but instead I chose to look at it another way. I was working, two jobs in fact. Now I just needed a place to stay. I climbed into my car and grabbed my phone, an idea forming in my head. I scrolled through my phone book app and found the nearest used car dealership.

This was perfect. Why hadn't I thought of this earlier?

I drove the two miles to
Pete's Luxury Seconds
. Despite the name (which I thought was better suited to a lower class brothel), the place looked okay. I had done my research on what to expect for a BMW in this condition, so I felt reasonably prepared. I knew how these guys worked. They saw a pretty girl and right away assumed she knew nothing. Well, they weren't about to fuck me over. I walked around the yard, hoping I looked like I knew what I was doing. There had to be about forty cars in the place, all lined up neatly in rows, one after the other. Three men who I guessed worked there stood near the office smoking, and watching me. In the far back corner, a small sedan caught my eye. Something like that was all I needed. Cheap and practical.

"Can I help you?"

I jumped, not realizing one of the men had walked over to me. He smiled. I nodded toward the car. My heart was racing, sure he could tell how little I knew about cars. I couldn’t even tell what model the sedan was.

"I'm thinking of trading in my car, for something like this. What kind of deal could you offer me?" I asked sweetly, tilting my head. I bit my lip, playing up on the innocence card. Let him think I was hopeless and then BAM! Out of nowhere I’d recite all the facts I’d memorized about my car.

He grinned, and slapped the roof of the car. "Good choice right here." He glanced over my shoulder toward the convertible. "Not a fan of the Beamer?"

"I need cash more than I need that. So?" I prompted. "Not trying to rush you, I just have an appointment at another dealer," I said, gazing up at him. My fingers played with the hem of my dress as I stuck my leg forward slightly, as his eyes wandered up and down my leg.

He reddened, and repositioned himself next to the car. I almost burst out laughing. Was he serious? This was way too easy. "Okay, well I think we can work something out. You don't need to go all the way over there when you'll only end up back here anyway," He winked at me.

I giggled, flipping my hair over my shoulder. "Thank you sir! That would be amazing!" I flashed him another smile. He was old enough to be my grandfather, but apparently that didn't bother him. His eyes had barely left my chest for the last five minutes, except to check out my legs.

"I can offer you the trade in, and five grand, cash."

"How much is that?" I asked innocently, pointing to the sedan. I pretended I couldn't see the huge red and white sign displaying the price.

"Two thousand, nine hundred."

"Oh." I stopped, pretending to think for a moment. "Okay, I think I should try the other place. They told me over the phone I should be able to get at least twenty thousand for mine."

He chuckled. "Twenty grand? Not going to happen, honey. It might be worth that much, but we have to make something off it, or what’s the point?"

"Right, so you need to make twelve grand off it to be ‘worth your while’? Thanks anyway." I smiled, and began to walk away.

"Wait!" he called. My heart began to slow to normal pace. I was near the front gate, and for a moment I thought he was going to let me leave. "Ten and the trade."

"Done," I said, sticking out my hand.

I drove out of the dealership with my new (old) car feeling a sense of accomplishment. I could just imagine the look on Dads face when he found out I'd pawned my Twenty-First birthday present for this piece of shit. My phone buzzed, indicating a message. I pulled over and shuffled through my bag, eventually grasping my hand on my phone. It was from Darcy.

Hey, the room is still free if you're interested. You can come look at it anytime today. Darcy xx

I texted back right away asking for the address. I still had a little bit of time before I was supposed to meet the psychiatrist. Following Darcy's directions to an apartment complex around the corner from the bar, I parked the car and walked over. It looked much more modern than I was expecting.

I walked through the foyer feeling much more comfortable about everything. I'd expected Darcy and Benj to live in a dive, not a moderately expensive-looking complex in the middle of Brooklyn. I instantly felt guilty. Gosh, how bad was I? I had done the one thing I despised most; I'd just assumed something about a person based on the very little I knew about them.

I swallowed, the nerves in my stomach making me feel sick, and pressed the elevator button. When the doors opened, I stepped in and pressed the fifth floor. Darcy said she'd meet me at her friends place. I wondered what floor they lived on? The elevator rang as the doors opened. Darcy stood there waiting for me, a huge smile on her face.

"Hey, it’s just up here." She smiled. I followed her along the hall a short distance, to apartment number fifty-seven. "Marina! She's here!" I cringed. Darcy was so loud. How could someone so tiny have so much energy, especially so early in the morning?

A pretty woman appeared, a smile on her face. "You must be Rose."

"Hi, it’s lovely to meet you," I said, extending my hand. Marina looked about thirty-five. She was short like Darcy, but heavy set. Her dark hair was tied up in a messy bun. She looked as though she was ready to leave for work. Her uniform I recognized as American Airlines from our last family trip to Vancouver.

"You too, Rose. Sorry, I don't have long, I'm due at work soon. I'll show you the room, and we can go from there if you think this place suits your needs." She led the way down the hall to what would become my bedroom.

The room was small, but with its own bathroom and balcony. A double bed sat across the room dressed with a comforter and way too many pillows. The built-in wardrobe had mirrored doors which made the room appear much bigger than it was. I walked over to the balcony, moving the ivory drapes across so I could access the sliding door. Opening it, I stepped out and took in the view of the park across the street. Back inside, I smiled. The carpet was thick and luxurious, and I resisted the urge to take off my shoes and run my toes over the soft shag. It was perfect.

 “I really like it,” I told Marina. “If you're happy with me as a housemate, I can move in whenever.”

Her face broke into a smile. “Perfect! Darc told me you're a good girl, so I'd love for you to live here. Rent is fifteen hundred dollars a month, plus bills. Does that sound okay?” she asked.

I nodded, trying to calculate how much that would leave me with each month.

“Great! I have to run, but move in whenever you like. Darc has a spare key that you can use now. I'll be back later and we can draw up a contract with some ground rules.”

“Sounds perfect,” I smiled.

Marina grabbed her purse and raced out, leaving me and Darcy standing in the living room. Wow. I had a place. My own room that would be paid for with my own money.

The rest of the apartment was as nice as my room; tastefully furnished with modern furniture and was spotlessly clean. The living area led out to a massive balcony, giving lots of natural light to the place. The view from the living room wasn’t much; it looked directly into the neighboring complex, but so long as there weren’t any exhibitionists, I’d be fine with it.

“I'm so excited!” Darcy screamed, jumping up and down. It was hard not to be caught up in her enthusiasm. I grinned at her. “We're going to be neighbors! Hey, you wanna see my place? It's the next floor up.”

“Sure,” I said.

We took the elevator up a level. I followed Darcy down the hallway to apartment sixty-nine. I giggled, and Darcy rolled her eyes.

“Benj loves the fact that we live in number sixty-nine. I won't tell you what he made us do our first night here,” she sniggered, opening the door. I screwed up my nose.

Eww, way too much information!

She stepped aside to let me through. The layout was nearly identical to the place downstairs, only opposite. Where she had her living room to the right, ours was to the left. Their taste was much more eclectic, with mismatched furniture and huge pieces of artwork hanging on the walls. Next to the small faded blue sofa lay two giant beanbags.

“I can't get over how nice these apartments are,” I mused.

“I know. You should have seen the dump we were living in before here. Actually, Jack hooked us up. He was living here, and when this place became available, so we moved in.” My head perked up at the sound of his name. Darcy noticed and giggled. “He actually used to live in the apartment you’re in,” she added, laughing.

“Don't start,” I groaned.

I walked over to the sofa and sat down as Darcy got us a drink. Everyone seemed to have some thoughts on Jack and me and it made me feel sick because I was so attracted to him. And one minute I was positive there was something there for him too, but then he would do or say something that left me convinced otherwise. I wasn’t talking about love, because come-on, it had been two days…that would be creepy. But, from that first day at the hospital there was
something
there.

“I didn't say anything,” Darcy giggled, handing me a glass of lemonade.

She set a bowl of olives on the table. Olives? I looked at her, confused.

“It’s the only thing I have,” she responded defensively. She picked one up and threw it in her mouth, as if to make a point. “Yum.” I shook my head and laughed. Darcy certainly was unique.

“You didn't have to say anything. It's the way you look at me. Not just you, it's everyone,” I grumbled, getting back to Jack.

“Honey, it's not you their giggling at. It’s obvious the guy is hot for you, and when you’ve known him as long as we have, you know how rare that is.” She smiled at me sympathetically. “Jack is the king of masking his feelings.” I rolled my eyes. Great. That made me feel
so
much better.