The Rose Boys

Chapter Twenty-Three

I didn't have to wait long, Darren was here before sunset. I imagined his eyes full of fire and face full of rage. I heard him yelling and banging on the door from inside Alan's room. I was transferred back into Alan's room from the Barn once he knew for a fact that Darren was coming over to rescue me. 

The room was a little dark since the sun set on the opposite side of the house and Alan hadn't bothered to turn the light on in his room before he tossed me into his room, arms tied behind my back yet again. It was a monotonous cycle it seemed, you date the rich boy and get kidnapped by someone who has some kind of vendetta against him, tries to use you against your rich boyfriend and in the end everyone is happy and justice is served.

I wondered if that was the way it was going to be here. God, after seeing 18 year old boys with guns, I didn't know what to think. I sprawled sideways on the bed, soft, purple rose blanket rubbing against my bare arms. It was chilly in the house but not unbearably so. The dark room didn't smell so much like a garage when I had spent hours after hours alone in it. I was actually quite bored with the sleepy little farm with it's tiny little house that smelled like cookies and old lady perfume.

The bang jolted me from my thoughts, like someone had kicked the whole door off it's hinges. I sat up, my tied arms a hindering my progress. I stood from the bed and peered out the small, dingy window which faced the exact opposite direction. I heard loud shouts and some muffled noises, the sounds of a scuffle that got closer and closer and as I turned to face the door, he was there. 

"D-Darren." I croaked his name like I hadn't said it in years. "You came to get me." 

He rushed forward and with a breath of relief he gathered me into his arms. "January, you have no idea how worried I've been about you." 

I closed my eyes against his chest as he reached for my arms, still tied behind my back. A quick second and he'd cut them carefully with a small pocket knife he'd pulled from what I assumed was his pocket. I wrapped my sore arms around him, ignoring the ache deep in my shoulders. 

"We have to go." He said, pulling me from him as he closed a large hand around mine. "Follow me." 

"What did you do to Alan?" I blurted as we left the bedroom. 

"Nothing he didn't already deserve." He said, looking over at my attire. "Maybe I didn't do enough."

The rest of the house was silent as we ran by, through the small, dainty kitchen and out the door. The cool air erupted prickly goose flesh as soon as we burst into it. I followed after him in the light of the setting sun, pretty and golden as pink clouds puckered vivid and angry against the molten sky. 

My feet couldn't seem to find the footing I needed, the rough terrain seemed almost too much for me as we continued on. I knew that Darren was slowing just for me. "Come on January, you can do it." He urged as I stumbled again.

We were headed towards the Barn, the old building looked right at home amongst the thick trees behind it. The closer we got to it, the worse I felt, the less I felt like I could run. "Darren," I gasped. "Just wait." 

"Come on." I could hear him saying, not hearing a word I was saying. There was something that he was afraid of and that scared me more than I could even describe. I shut my mouth and continued to focus on following him, realizing that there was a shiny black car parked just behind the rough looking old, brown Barn.

The car came up faster than I thought, Darren let go of my hand and ran to the driver's side of the vehicle, pulling the jangling keys from the pocket of his neat black pants. He jammed the key into the lock and whipped the door open as a rough hand grabbed the back of my arm and pulled me painfully close.

"Don't move," The voice was loud behind my ear. My eyes widened in surprise as Darren looked up.  "Or we're all in trouble." That familiar smell filled my nostrils, it smelled like Vanilla, Rose Water, Musk and Cookies. That older voice filled my ears, the voice of Alan's Mother. Her fingernails dug painfully into the flesh of my arm as I tried to pull away. Then she pressed the point of a large hunting knife to my side and I stopped struggling. "Good girl." She murmured.

Darren stared at her speechless. "Our business here is done." He straigtened from the car and stepped to stand at the front of it. "Why are you here? I spoke to your son." 

"Yeah," She growled. "You spoke to my son. But you didn't speak to me." 

"Then what do you want?" 

"What do you think I want?" She spat. "I want what I had. I want my life back, I want my husband back and I want my Son to have the life he used to have." 

Darren stared at her helplessly. "I can't do anything about that." 

"It was your father who killed him you know," She spoke so quickly I had to make an effort to keep up with what she was saying. "Putting that much pressure on him. He didn't last long in that company and your father knew he was too hard on him. When John got sick, your father told him he expected him in an hour after the appointment with the doctor. Two hours after the consultation with the specialist. It was a never-ending cycle of work for him." 

Darren shook his head. "I'm sorry, I had no idea Ma'am."

"Of course you didn't." You rich brats get to go on your way, not knowing what it's like to worry while us normal folks have to worry about how we are going to continue to live on another day. Do you think we like not having money?" It was almost a laugh at the end of her rant.

"I'm not my Father though, I didn't do anything to your Son." 

"Didn't you?" She shouted. "Didn't you do anything to my Son? I remember Alan coming home from that damned academy, upset about how awful people made him feel about being less wealthy than everyone else! Do you have any idea how expensive that schooling is? Do you? We weren't wealthy but God damn it we weren't as poor as the garbage you keep close to you!" She pulled my arm back, forcing me to lean painfully onto the knife. I gasped in pain as it seemed the knife entered my flesh, I was too scared to look down and see for myself.

"Stop!" Darren shouted, his voice echoing through the empty grounds. "I'll give you whatever you want, just let her go!" 

I knew she shook her head before she did it and when she did, I felt her do it. "It's too late." She whispered, and I knew it was over. Darren ran to catch her before she did it but I already knew it was too late. I locked eyes with a helpless looking Darren, and knew that he knew too. I felt the knife inside me as I crumpled to the ground like a doll and wood snapped and fell with noises like thunder and lightening. 

The beautiful sky grew darker and darker as I stared up at it almost lovingly. It was a hell of a way to die, I thought. I felt a smile on my lips as I left, and knew that I just might have found the real reason for life. We were born to find our other part and when we do, even death doesn't seem so scary. 

My eyelids were so heavy, my limbs even more so. I felt frantic hands on my face, cries just barely reaching my ears and I could smell that clean, spicy scent of him. That smell I'd loved the second I smelled it, exotic and so calming. I fought the weight that seemed to lay over me like a lead blanket, as I stared up at the black figure in my vision, blocking my view of the sky.

My hand brushed his face, soft and wet and I whispered his name as the darkness rushed over me like a friend's visit that came much sooner than I'd expected. 

If you could do it all over again, would you?

Those words seemed to hang heavy in the air as the pain dissipated like water draining from a bottle. 

Would I have done it all over again? Never. Not ever.