My Yellow

Part 36 - Theo

"That's what I walked in on," I say to Soojin. "Him hitting her, then yelling. Can I go back to make sure she's okay I don't want her to be alone."

"That's all we needed, thank you Theo. If we need to talk to her, we'll come get her," Soojin nods. "Go make sure she's okay." I nod and walk away from her. I go to our room and open the door. It's silent. My heart starts to beat fast.

"Rose?" I call. No answer. I run and go to the bathroom. She's hovering over the toilet. I walk to her, my breathing calming seeing she's not hurt. I place my hand on her back and she immediately freaks out and moves away from me, kicking her feet. "Whoa whoa hey it's okay," I whisper gently. I get on my knees and move to her. "It's just me." She puts her hand on her chest, she blinks her eyes.

"I'm sorry I'm just jumpy," she whispers, she shoves me back a bit and goes to the toilet, flushing it. She stands up and I stand with her.

"Don't be sorry," I shake my head. "Did you throw up?" I ask her.

"Just acid," she says quietly and goes to the sink. She gets her toothbrush and toothpaste and starts brushing her teeth. I watch her in the mirror.

"Are you okay?" I ask, knowing it was a dumb question but she doesn't seem too upset.

"Eh," she shrugs. "I knew deep down he was a creep so I kinda figured this would happen. But like right after the whole John thing? Poor taste. Did he think I was gonna be some scared girl? Very much not." She turns to me as she brushes her teeth. I study her face. Her eyes look tired, her cheek is swollen and red. "And like," she holds up a finger, Spits in the sink, then goes back to brushing as she runs the water. "Did he not see the camera? What a dumbass."

"I wish I would've slapped him," I say and Rose smiles.

"You would've been kicked out. I'm not worth all that." Rose shakes her head and turns off the sink. She rinses her tooth brush off, then leans down and puts water in her mouth.

"But you are," I say to her. She looks at me with a mouth full of water, her cheeks turning a tint of dark red. She swishes the water around then spits and puts her toothbrush back. I watch her as she looks at herself in the mirror and she jumps back, her head swiftly turning next to her. I watch her fall nearly to the floor, I move and grab her, pulling her up. "What's wrong?"

"John," she breathes out. I furrow my brows.

"What?" I ask gently.

"He was right next to me," she says, I hold her up with my left arm, then with my right I check her pulse. Her heart is beating way too fast.

"He's not here flower I promise, it's just us," I say and put her arm around my shoulder. I know she can walk, but I don't want to risk her falling. I set her down on the bed and sit down next to her. She now has her eyes shut, trying to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry," she says quietly. "I keep seeing him, just randomly. It's messing with me."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, you went through a lot I understand," I say and lift my hand to touch her back, then stop. "Can I touch you?"

"Yes," she says and looks at me. "Thank you for asking." I nod and put my hand on her back rubbing slightly.

"You should get some rest," I say gently. "Your mind had to deal with a lot today so far and it's not even noon."

"Hm," she lays her head on my shoulder. "Jiung texted me earlier saying how he wanted to talk to me about something, so he might come by."

"Are you feeling up to it?" I ask her.

"Mhm, I think he wants to ask out Maddy," she nods. I blink.

"Off topic," I clear my throat. "But is Maddy free?"

"She should be," I feel Rose lift her head off of my shoulder. "Why do you want to ask her out too?" Rose laughs a bit.

"No," I shake my head. "No no, I just wanted to ask her about... some new dance we learned." I nod. "So yeah..."

"Ah," Rose tucks hair behind her ear, she looks so tired and torn. I bite the inside of my cheek and place my hand under her chin, I lean down close to her, my heart is beating fast.

"Can I ki-" someone knocks at the door. "Every. Single. Time." I whisper to myself and stand up. I open the door and Jiung smiles. I look down at his hands, he's holding a giant poster with two Spanish words written on it.

"Is Rose here?" He asks.

"Yeah she is," I move out of the way and Jiung walks in. "I'm going to go see Maddy, you guys... have fun." I turn to the door.

"Theo?" Rose calls I turn to her.

"Hm?"

"I would've said yes," she says with a small smile. I furrow my brows then realize she's referring to me asking if I can kiss her. I open my mouth, then shut it.

"I'll be back." I say quickly and walk out. I walk to Maddy's room and knock.

"Come in!" Maddy calls. I open the door and step in. Maddy is sitting at her desk, doing work. "Hey Theo what's up?"

"Can I ask you something?" I stare at her.

"Shoot."

"How can I ask Rose out?"