Rose and Her Thornes

Chapter Four

I turned one more corner and walked the length of the hallway before I stopped at the single door in the corridor. Pulling out the key Mia had thrown at me earlier, I opened the door and stepped inside with a happy sigh. Since it was noon, the sun was shining brightly and lit up the whole room with a golden glow. I had left the windows slightly open so a cool breeze swept through. Outside the window, the birds were chirping and the plants moved with the wind.

I let out another sigh, whether it was a happy or sad one, I don't know.

The garden that covered this section of the campus could only be seen from this classroom and hallway. This garden was landscaped by my mother and grandmother. They both love gardening and have some pretty good green thumbs. A variety of beautiful flowers, trees, and shrubs cover the lush green. From azaleas to hydrangeas, Japanese maples to willows, even a few fruit bearing trees.

But what really catches your eyes are the sixteen different kinds of roses. A different rose is planted every year on the week of my birthday, family tradition that started the day I was born.

My grandmother (without my mother, who complains about this to this day) had planted the first rose plant, crimson hybrid tea roses, at the center of the garden. From that day on, my mother and my grandmother came here on my birthday to plant a new rose plant. Since I was twelve, however, my mother stopped coming here to garden. Her schedule became too busy and she didn't have time for "silly things like that." Now my grandmother is the only one to carry on the tradition, with my help of course.

"You and your grandmother did a great job. Those roses are beautiful."

Snapping back to present, I turned to see Kyle standing next to me. While he looked put the window, he handed me a cup of what I'm guessing was coffee and half of a sandwich. I smiled and took them, taking a generous sip of the coffee-which was exactly how I like it- and unwrapping the turkey avocado sandwich. "Thanks and of course they are! As if my grandmother was was capable of anything less than beautiful," I said with a smile.

He turned to face me and took a slight step closer. With an impish grin, he answered, "You're proof of that. You're beautiful, Seraphina Rose."

....................What?

My eyes widened, and I felt my cheeks start to burn red. My grip on the coffee wavered, slowly beginning to slip out of my grasp.

That was, until Kyle grabbed a hold of the cup of coffee.

And my hand.

I looked at our hands, his on top of mine, and blushed even harder before looking down at the floor.

The guy I like just told me I'm beautiful and now he's holding my hand. What am I supposed to do?!

As I stared at my Converses, his Vans suddenly made their way in front of mine, almost touching them. From here, I could smell his cologne. It was musky, maybe a bit too musky, but it was comforting. It was him. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my heart rate.

"Come on, Sera. Don't get all shy with me now. Look up."

Suddenly warm fingers cupped my chin and lifted up my head. As I opened my eyes, I met his. Brown eyes that always seemed to melt my heart.

Blushing, I replied,"This lunch break seems a bit different than our usual... And thank you, by the way. For calling me..." and I sighed. I couldn't say that word. Not when it was about me.

"It's true. You really are beautiful."

As if he read my mind, Kyle spoke those words that made me blush even harder. And I couldn't stop smiling. Hearing him say those words, having him so close, liking the way it felt as he held my hand. It was almost perfect, but then other thoughts came through.