Saving Rose

Chapter Seventeen

"Elizabeth?" I called, peeking my head inside of the closet. "Where are you?"

I heard a giggle come from behind the couch. "I wonder where that sound is coming from."

Behind the couch, I saw a mess of brown hair. Jackson. "You're not Elizabeth." I told him, bopping him on the head.

"Ah, you found me!" He cried, but the grin stayed put on his face.

I leaned down, "how about you help me find Betsy?" He nodded, and we began crawling around the rest of the living room calling out her name.

I pointed to where she sat on the floor behind a big potted plant. "Go get her."

Jackson began to military crawl across the rest of the floor, then he popped up on his feet, "got you!" He shouted.

"I'm last though, right?" She called out to me.

I gave her a nod.

"I win! What do I get?"

"How about," I glanced outside, "a piggyback ride around the property until lunch is ready?"

"Yay," she giggled and ran over to me. I bent down so she could crawl on my back.

"Let us know when lunch is ready," I yelled at Sydney as we made our way outside.

On our way toward the parking lot, I saw a figure with a briefcase in hand. Jacob. I felt an involuntary grin form on my face.

He saw me coming, so he began to walk towards me. "Who is that goofball?" He called once I was in earshot.

I gave a small shrug, and it sent Betsy into a fit of giggles. She was one of those kids that giggled at everything.

The day after Jacob's trial, and my breakdown, Rose came into the living room to wake me up where I was wrapped up in his arms. We hadn't spoken much since that day last week.

But that didn't mean that he wasn't on my mind. Constantly.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the delicious lunch that my sister is making." We began to walk back to the daycare.

"Delicious? You mean the pasta that she burnt?" I joked.

That earned me a light hit on the arm.

Once we were back inside, I let Betsy off my back.

"How's work going?" I asked, trying to make light conversation.

"It's alright. Busy as ever." I heard the kids getting their food in the kitchen. "How are you doing?"

I opened my mouth to answer. "How are you really doing? I don't want your usual 'I'm good' reply either." I felt his eyes on me, but I couldn't look at him.

"I'm doing well. This week has been pretty busy here at the daycare so that's been good. Rose has spent a lot of time with her friends. It gives me time to reflect on everything, and get my emotions out." I had barely cried over Luke this week, and that was because I had someone else on my mind instead. Someone who I never thought would be on my mind, except being angry with him.

Jacob gave me a small smile, "good. If you ever need anything. Feel free to ask. You know I'm here for you."

I nodded, but I couldn't talk to him about everything going on because it was about him. Suddenly, I remembered a conversation that we had never finished, and I let him know.

"You know that conversation that was interrupted by Rose the day that Luke broke up with me? We never got around to finishing it." I shifted uncomfortably, afraid to make eye contact.