His Princess || DISCONTINUED

O.20

O.20// Diamond in the Rough

"I should teach you more of Cade's favorite recipes more often. But for tonight I'm jet-lagged, and I can only make his all time favorite brownies." Rose commented, watching as I stirred the batter ingredients together.

"I could manage probably if you wrote some down for me? I'm interested in new dishes." 

"Sure thing, I'd have to wait until I flew back home and I could take pictures and send it to you." 

"You can put your number in my phone, there's no password." I saw Cade's head peek up at that but when I gave him a warning glare he looked back at his homework which Rose actually made him do. Funny thing is, he never does it unless his mother tells him to. I actually really liked Rose and had already formed a mother-daughter bond, one that I never really had with my own mom.

"Right, so I'm going to go actually work on my job, and I'll leave you two ladies to it." Cade left his mess, as expected, and traveled up the stairs. I suddenly felt the silence was awkward, but when Rose spoke again the heavy panic on my chest was lifted. I couldn't really just choose not to have social anxiety, so I'd have to work through that too.

"He always leaves his messes to clean up later. Such a procrastinator, that boy." She tisked and I giggled at her comment, putting the stirring spoon down.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question, Rose?" I faced her, no safety net in my makeup and dressy clothes.

"Of course."

"Why did you move to a different state if you originally lived here, with Cade?" She sighed and bit her lip, nodding in her own thinking.

"Well, when Daniel died in his own gang business we found out that my daughter, Natasha, had lung cancer." I gasped and apologized profusely about ever asking, but she stopped me. "Don't apologize for getting answers to connect the dots." I nodded at that. "Anyways, I had to move to Oregon with Natasha for her treatment and we're still staying there." 

"How is she doing?"

"Okay, for now that is. You never really know if they'll be perfectly fine one day or terrible the next. It's like a dragged out waiting game."

"So Cade was left to running his father's gang business and taking care of the house?"

"And going to school. Such a busy boy, yet he found a diamond in the rough."

"Diamond? How much did he get out of it?" Rose laughed at me and gripped my wrists.

"Dear, I was talking about you. You shine a new type of light into Cade's life."

"And him into mine I guess." Rose smiled and we stood in a short silence.

"Let's find a pan and bake the hell out of these tasty brownies." Rose clapped her hands and opened various cabinets.

•

A doorbell woke me up at nine in the morning, and I groaned when I saw that Cade was still dead ass asleep. So, I went downstairs and grabbed a knife from the kitchen table and opened the front door on my own. But not a second after did I instantly regret ever answering the door. My parents stood beside each other patiently waiting, smiling at me when I answered.

"Go back home or wherever you've been these past couple of months." I started to close the door, but they stopped it from shutting and I sighed, putting the knife back down on a nearby table.

"Honey, we've missed you! Give us a hug." My mom held her hands out and I stared with no emotion back into her dull eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't recognize either of you." I responded, and my dad's face dropped.