The Rose

Chapter 1

"Lacey." A sluggish voice grunted from her phone.

"Yes, Chase?" Lacey sighed. She hated it when Chase was like this, drunk and useless.

"There's no more beer in the house," Chase said while gurgling down something that sounded awfully like beer.

"I'll get three pints after work." Lacey exhaled, too tired to argue that she just heard him gurgle beer. "Anything else?"

"No, darling." Chase swooned, and Lacey cut the call, turning back to her computer. In a way, she was glad Chase had called after all the students had long been dismissed, saving her the embarassment of having to run out of the classroom, her cheek flushing with colour. She didn't really want to relive the numourous occasions when it had happened.

"Lacey, everything okay?" Jeremy asked, his eyes wide in concern.

"Everything's fine," Lacey replied with a thin smile.

"If you're sure," Jeremy replied hesitantly, turning back to his work slowly.

"I'm sure," Lacey replied, avoiding his gaze. She didn't really like how Jeremy always fretted around her over the tiniest things, like making sure she was fine after every single phone call. She was extremely grateful, but he was just over the top with it. Sometimes. 

He definitely cared a lot more than Chase did though. Not to mention that Lacey secretly liked it sometimes, and also cared for Jeremy, but she just pushed it down and hid it with a faint smile.

Lacey and Jeremy continued typing in silence for the remaining hours; luckily Chase didn't call again. At long last, their working hours were over, and Lacey had just finished off her presentation for tomorrow assembly when Jeremy surprised her.

"Lacey? Can I have a moment?" Lacey paused.

"Sure." She replied uncertainly. She hoped it wouldn't take long. She had promised Chase that she would go to his place for dinner and she didn't want to be late. It was Valentine's Day, and she was hoping he would surprise her, even if the hope was thin. 

As if he read her mind, he said, "This won't take long." Lacey nodded and paused in her packing, her stern face turning to face him.

Jeremy pulled a wrinkled rose out of his briefcase that smelled faintly of shampoo and placed it on her hand gently, before whispering in his husky voice, "Happy Valentine's Day, Lacey."

A tear fell from Lacey's weak eyes and onto the rose as she accepted it, clamping the stem tightly in her sweaty palms as she tried not to cry in front of him.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Jeremy." She croaked, the lump lodging itself in her throat, refusing to move.

Jeremy's head gave a hint of a nod as he stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"See you tomorrow, Lacey," Jeremy said finally. He opened the door and it swung shut behind him, and he vanished from Lacey's sight.

When Lacey was absolutely positive that Jeremy was gone, she let her tears run free. In her twenty-four years of existence, no one had ever given her something that resembled love, not even Chase, who she wasn't even sure loved her. 

She tucked her laptop into her handbag and let a few more tears fall, before she wiped them off her face and left the room, locking it as she left, the rose still tightly clenched in her hand.

——

She was blindly heading home, a mess of emotions, and it wasn't until she was halfway home when she realized that she was supposed to meet Chase. She didn't want to go anymore. She felt like she'd rather die than be trapped in Chase's house for the next three hours, and possibly the whole night.

The four words and the gift that Jeremy had given her was enough to keep her heart fluttering for the week, and hopefully, give her the courage to cut things off with Chase.

She knew she shouldn't be thinking so far ahead yet, but it was too hard to resist. Jeremy cared about her, although sometimes over exaggerated, Lacey's heart forced her to admit that she cared about him too.

By then, she'd reached her house with no dinner plans. She'd just heat some leftovers and tell Chase that she wasn't feeling well. She hadn't even bought him the beer, but she honestly couldn't be bothered.

Because Jeremy had made his move.