Rose's Rush Hour.

Chapter Twenty-two

Callum

Rose was...quite something.

I’d never met anyone like her. I hadn’t met a lot of people, but I was sure she was the only one capable of stirring up certain feelings within me that I didn’t even know existed. She challenged me to think about concepts I never thought of before, while still accepting who I was. She was a storm, starting a rise to alter perceptions, but still vulnerable to the perceptions of those she cared about deeply. Regardless of it all, she stood tall and proud, relentless when it came to her goals.

I envied and admired her the same way a moth was drawn to light. In this case, the light that was her boldness, persistence, her spirited lively nature; the light that I wanted wrapped around me for as long as I could handle it.

Would I...would I be able to handle it – handle her? Or would I end up getting seared because the light got too hot?

“So what are you going to do about it, Callum Vaughn?”

Hand it to Rose to pose a question that left me tossing and turning that very night. It wasn’t the first time I’d lost sleep at night just from thinking about her – whether it was blissful thoughts or ponders that caused my heart to wrench in dejection.

Whichever emotion I felt that surrounded her, I couldn’t deny that I was completely and utterly enamoured by her. So enamoured, that the thought of being seared by her seemed like a sweet pleasure.

*****

“So when are you going to confess?”

Ben’s question made my hands freeze and the hairs at the back of my neck stand up. It was Friday afternoon, and I was seated with my brothers at the dining table. I was sorting the rice for supper on a platter. Ben sat across from me, apparently reading a book on medical procedures. He had always wanted to be a doctor, and would soon start internship at Richard Hospital.

Next to him was Abe. He pretended to be doing a crossword puzzle in the newspapers but he was clearly interested in my answer.

I had had to spill the beans to them the previous night after they cornered me and demanded why I was so flustered. As expected, they were excited and teasing at the same time, but I had made it clear that I would sort this out on my own.

And now here they were.

“You are going to confess, right?” Ben prodded.   

His way of giving me advice wasn’t subtle.

I kept my eyes on the rice I was sorting, occasionally taking out small stones I saw. “Yes,” I mumbled, already feeling my face warm up.

“Finally!” Ben groaned as Abe snickered. “We’ve been waiting for this for more than two months and it still took the girl to make the first move.”

I flushed in embarrassment. Sure I’d been crushing on Rose since three months ago, but I hadn’t expected her to end up returning my feelings. “She’s a bold one.”

“And thank God for that because otherwise, we’d have to wait three more months just for you to grow a pair,” Abe stated, his puzzle long forgotten. In fact, he tossed it aside so he could focus on me. He nodded, piercing me with his hard green gaze. “So how are you going to confess, baby brother?”

Ben nudged him. “Come now, Abe. He can figure that part out himself. Can’t you, Cal?”

I simply stared at each of them, and they collectively sighed. That meant they were about to tell me what to do.

“Take charge,” said Abe.

“It’s been her leading this whole time so now it’s your turn,” said Ben.