Saving Rose

Chapter Twelve

I opened my eyes to see myself surrounded with piles and piles of brown boxes. I rolled over expecting to Rose, but then I remembered that we had already moved into our new home.

I had the upstairs bedroom, and all that was in my room so far was my bed, dresser, and bookshelf. Everything else was still in the boxes, which we had been trying to unpack, little by little, the past week.

Jacob had been coming to the daycare everyday at lunch, and he had been speaking more to me which was surprising. He was able to act civil around me at least, and every once and awhile, I was able to crack a smile out of his hard shell. I had learned that he was an insurance lawyer, and he was going to court for the second time next month, which meant that he would have no free time until the trial was over.

My phone vibrated on the table next to my bed. I rolled over, reaching for it. It was a text from Luke.

Can we have dinner tonight? I need to talk to you. Just found out my mom is sick.

I replied quickly, not wanting to make him wait.

Sounds great. Tell me when you're on your way to my house.

Even though my family wasn't the best, I still wished that I had family. Especially now with Sarah gone, Rose was my only family.

Walking downstairs, I peeked my head into Rose's room to make sure she was still asleep. I went to the kitchen to try and find a frying pan so I could make omelets.

I heard Rose's footsteps a few minutes later coming down the hallway into the kitchen.

"Good morning." She was wearing footie pajamas with sheep printed all over them. Her hair was a mess and she was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Morning," came her short, tired reply.

"Are you excited to spend the whole day with me?" I didn't have any plans, other than dinner with Luke, so I could spend some quality time with her since I hadn't done that in a while.

She nodded, sitting at the counter. "Mmm, smells good." I set a plate and a jar of warm syrup in front of her. Seconds after it was set down, she started to dig in.

"What would you like to do today?" I asked her, after she had swallowed her food.

"It's Valentine's Day soon, can we make cards for my classmates?" It was in a little over a month, and I had completely forgotten about it.

In Elementary School, I loved all the cards and candy we got from all the other students. Then, high school hit, and all around, there were girlfriends with flowers and chocolates from their boyfriends.

Throughout high school, my friends and I would buy each other Valentine's presents so that we wouldn't feel left out. Sometimes I wished that I could go back to high school, but at the same time, there were so many incredible things that had happened after I graduated.

"That would be great. We can handmake them," I told her. "If we can find supplies somewhere in these boxes."

I made myself a plate and sat down beside Rose. "We can go buy chocolates to put on them as well. I need to go to the store today since we don't have much in the house." We had a bit of food in the cupboards, but near to nothing in the refrigerator.

"My teacher said that we're going to have a party on that day too. We're going to have cookies, and make a bunch of crafts." Rose was super artsy, I could imagine her growing up to become an artist.

"I should do that with the kids at the daycare as well." Sydney and I always tried to have something fun for the kids on holidays since instead of being with their parents, they were with us.