Breathless ✓

Sixteen ✔

Surely he isn't here because of me. It's simply a coincidence.

Keep telling yourself that, Victoria.

"I'm famished, wanna get some food? Vic?" Sam's voice breaks into my hazy thoughts. "You zoned out again. You should really stop doing that, it creeps me out."

Her curious voice seems far away, speaking through the wall of water that is rising around my body. I quickly excuse myself, pushing through the mass of chattering people. I have no clue what I'll say once I catch up to him, but it won't be remotely friendly.

Muttering my apologies, I continue wading through the throng of guests, desperately trying to keep the man in sight.

I briefly lose him and when the crowd parts slightly, to my utter surprise and horror, I catch sight of him speaking to my Uncle.

What the-

"Ma'am?" A hand grips onto my shoulder and I spin around, facing an attendant of the venue. "This was dropped off for Victoria Forbes."

"Yes, that's me."

I stare as he produces a single red rose from behind his back, handing it to me with a smile.

Forcing my heavy breathing to calm slightly, I take the rose and wrap my fingers around it's stem, careful to keep clear of the sharp thorns.

"Who is it from?" My eyebrows wrinkle in confusion.

"I don't know, ma'am. It was given to us anonymously."

I nod slightly, dismissing the man who quickly turns and disappears through a side door. Curiosity is beginning to rise in me and I let my eyes sweep the entirety of the hall, wondering who on earth would give me a rose, let alone one of this beauty. It's delicate petals are the deepest red, seemingly perfect in the shimmering lights above.

Noticing a small piece of white paper wrapped around the stem, I hurry to unwind it. There is a simple message written in black ink.

The red rose.

A symbol of love never ageing;

Even bathed in blood,

It's colour,

Never changing.

My breath hitches in my throat.

Rico, that bastard. I'm gonna kill him.

...

Murder.

That was the first thought as I woke up this morning. The fact that sleep seems to be as far away as the heavens above gave me enough time to plan Rico's demise. Of course, it would look like an accident, a trip down the stairs or perhaps an overdose in lethal drugs; no one at the hospital would notice a single missing bottle from the medicine cabinet. And, purely by chance, a single red rose would be found next to him.

I sigh. That's something, I notice, I've been doing quite a lot lately. Trying to lift the weight that settled onto my shoulders, hoping that perhaps the air blowing from my lungs might help alleviate the pain throbbing in my heart.

My tired body seems to melt into the soft leather of my car as I make yet another journey to the hospital. Some people might casually ask one another if they ever had to go to the place of sorrow and death, my answer would be much different from theirs. Day by day I am surrounded by mourning and loss. So much pain.

But that is not all, there is also life. Whether it is new life, seen through the curious eyes of a baby, or life that was thought to be lost; the life of someone who gave everything to survive, to fight through illness and come out with a new kind of strength and wisdom. This is what keeps me going, knowing that I can help in some way gives me the strength to drive down this same road every single day, knowing it will be a challenge to get through the day.