Black Rose

Thirty-Two

Slamming the door to his parents' house, Raine jogged down the three steps and the cobble stone driveway to the car where Melrose sat impatiently burning up from the heat inside of the car. She had every intention on walking to wherever just to get away from the Merciers but she remembered she had no idea of how to get around this part of the city, so she had no choice but to wait around for Raine. It bothered her how she never saw the resemblance between him and his dad until they were standing before her at the same time. There were times Winter seemed extremely familiar to her, but she didn't think anything of it. Everyone has a twin somewhere. Winter being his father wasn't the issue. Apart from his strange behavior, Melrose didn't have any problems with him prior to the visit but after the disastrous run in, he was an enemy in her eyes. Although she'd shown herself out of the room and her back was turned, Melrose heard the commotion going on in the dining room and Raine struggling to keep Winter from trailing behind her. She couldn't believe a grown man was purposely trying to break free to harm her when she did nothing wrong. He and his dumb ass wife and their dumb ass fight is the root of the problem, yet she felt they were aiming to make her the culprit. That's what guilty people strive for though. To make themselves out to be the innocents.

Raine opened the door, letting the hot air exit the car as he entered, and Melrose sighed in relief now that she could properly breathe. Catching on, Raine slightly frowned, wondering why she sat here with the windows up and doors closed like an idiot but kept his mouth closed. One wrong thing can set her off and that's exactly what he didn't need. However, Melrose caught the look he gave her and answered the question he asked internally.

"I'm stubborn." She shrugged, keeping her eyes forward, shooting daggers at the house. "You know that."

"So, you'd rather fry like chicken in hot grease rather than wait for me inside of the house where there's air and it's cool?"

"Yup." She made sure to pop the p extra hard. "I don't want to be around your parents and they didn't want me there, so out here was better for us all."

"If that's your reason and you like it, I love it." Raine didn't have the energy to entertain something that wasn't as nearly as huge as the issue he's been faced with. Starting the engine, he turned the air on full blast and as a result a gush of ice cold air shot from the dashboard vents and floor vents, sending an unexpected chill down Melrose's exposed arms. "Sorry." Raine apologized, seeing her close the vents immediately. She was hot, yes but she wasn't dying from the heat.

The drive back to the urban environment was filled with silence, tension, awkwardness, and more silence. What is there to say after you find out your SO/parents are responsible for the death of your only child? Nothing at all. Each of them would steal quick glances at the other when they weren't paying attention.

"Oh, Jesus." Melrose sat up and placed her hand on her stomach, failing to stop the rumbling noises it made. "Maybe I should've stayed to eat dinner." She mumbled.

Raine chuckled, looking out the corner of his eyes. "What you want to eat?"

"It doesn't matter. Wing Stop sounds delicious right now."

"Wing Stop it is."

They drove for an additional thirty minutes just to reach the greasy fast food restaurant. When Raine pulled around to the menu, Melrose relayed the order she craved. "Get the 30-piece mix combo of atomic, original hot and Teriyaki wings with two sides of seasoned and cheese fries and four rolls and two Cokes."

"I hope you're including me in this order because if not I need to know if you're eating for another person who isn't me." Raine frowned, staring at Melrose in disbelief. He's never known for her to eat this much even though food is her second love.