Blood Stained Rose

Party for the happy couple

Party for the Happy Couple

​My phone buzzes on the side table. A groan escapes my lips and I turn over to check it. I have three unread messages from Braydon. Each one asking if I want to go to his baseball game at eleven. I check the time and decide I have enough time to get ready. I walk down stairs a drink a glass of milk and eat a banana. I walk through the living room and dad is sitting in his recliner, still in his pajamas. His hair stick up on one side, the side he slept on last night. He wears a new pair of glasses that just came in instead of the old ones that somehow fell down the stairs and were broken. He looks up at me and mutes the TV.
​"You're up early for a Saturday morning," dad says, sarcastically. I roll my eyes and he laughs.
​"Braydon asked me if I could go to his baseball game at eleven. Is that okay with you?" I ask.
​"Yes, are you just going to the game or going to hang out with him afterwards?" I shrug. "Text me and let me know okay? I think I'm going to go hang out with Jared."
​I nod and then head up the stairs to get ready. I throw on a t-shirt and some jean shorts. A baseball cap and a ponytail are all I do for my hair. My reflection isn't anything special but I don't care. I don't have anyone to impress anyway. Braydon should like me for me not just for the way I dress. Downstairs Dad hasn't moved so I grab my keys and head out the door.
​After finding a parking spot in the overcrowded parking lot of the Ruidoso baseball field I search for a familiar face. I swallow back a scream when someone grabs me from behind. It's only Braydon.
​"You came!" He picks me up and I wrap my arms around his neck. A smile stretches across his face when he sets me down. I nod and smile. "Here you can sit with my parents."
​Braydon places his hand gently in the small of my back and leads me to the bleachers where his parents sit. They both stand up and I hug his mom, Megan, and shake his dad's hand, John. I've known the Whitlock's since forever but this is a more formal meeting. The last time I was introduced I was just a friend. Somehow this is different: Megan's smile is a little bigger, John's eyes a little softer, and Braydon a lot of everything. It's a good thing, I actually like it. Braydon jogs back to his team and I watch him go. Megan drags me into another conversation.
​We cheer and encourage like a faithful fan should. We're in the fourth inning and Braydon is pitching and Shaun is catching. The opposing team is up by two and Braydon has struck out two batters in a row. One more strike and it will be our turn to bat. Braydon's parents and I are on our feet cheering them on. Braydon releases the ball and I hold my breath. The batter misjudges the ball by a mere second and swings too early. I let out a breath and jump into the air screaming Braydon's name.
​After the game we clear out of the bleachers. Braydon meets us in the parking lot. He jogs up to us and before I can say a word he lifts me into his arms. Oh, how I love when he does it. He spins me around and I giggle and he laughs. He sets me on my feet and pecks me on the lips. He turns to his parents and they congratulate him. He grabs my hand and we walk together to the rest of the team.
​"Boys, I'd like to introduce you to my girl," Braydon says proudly gesturing to me with his free hand. The boys howl and whistle and I just laugh. Shaun doesn't look too happy about it though.
​"Hey, we still on for TCBY for our win?" One of the other baseball players asks. All the boys agree. I crinkle my nose at the smell of the bunch of them. They're all covered in a layer of caramel brown colored dust and sweat. I do have to admit they look real good in their baseball pants, especially Braydon. I tear my eyes away and blush to myself. Braydon turns to me with a smile.
​"Are you coming to TCBY with us?" I nod and his smile grows wider. The guys clear out and Braydon and I walk over to Braydon's parents.
​"What's the plan?" Megan asks.
​"The guys want us to go out for ice cream. Then Alice and I just want to hang out."
​"You don't have a car."
​"I have mine," I pipe in. She smiles at me.
​"Okay, that's fine."
​"Thanks see you later." We walk together, hand in hand, to my car. Braydon opens the passenger seat door for me. After he starts the car he reaches for my hand and I give it to him. We talk about the game and being with him feels so natural, easy. We park and get out together. Everyone is already there and has their ice cream. Braydon refuses to let me pay for mine so I eventually just give in. The guys laugh and talk about the highlights of the game. After about an hour everybody clears out. The guys give me hugs as they leave. Braydon and I leave when we're left with two of the guys that are just lingering because they're waiting for their ride.
​"Where are we going?" I ask. Braydon smiles and I squeeze his hand.
​"I was thinking a movie date." I lean over and kiss his cheek.
​"That sounds great to me." We pull into the parking lot of the movie theatre. Braydon walks around the car and opens the door for me. He takes my hand and helps me out like I'm royalty. We head into the theatre and pay for our tickets and snacks. We enter the theatre with our arms full of popcorn and candy and sodas. I've done this with Braydon before but it wasn't a date and we weren't alone. All the other guys were here and we were just enjoying a movie with friends. We talk amongst ourselves until the movie starts and we get quiet. We laugh and gasp at the appropriate moments just like the rest of the audience.
​The movie ends and we leave our seats. The light from outside the theatre seems foreign and unwelcoming. I shield my eyes with my hand and we laugh. We get back into the car and pause. Braydon searches my eyes and puts his hand in my hair. I take a breath and he leans in. Our kiss is passionate and I never want it to end. We break the kiss to take a breath and my phone buzzes. I reach into my purse and pull it out. It's a message from my dad asking where I am.
​"I should probably be heading back. The text was from my dad." Braydon nods and starts the car. We pull into his driveway and he leans over and kisses me. He cradles my head in both of his hands.
​Once Braydon is out of the car and I'm down the street the butterflies in my stomach calm, my heartbeat regulates, and I can think clearly. I take a deep breath and grip the steering wheel. I pull into the driveway and dad is sitting on the porch. He smiles when he sees me.
​"How was your day?" Dad asks.
​"Perfect." Dad smiles and I head upstairs to finish up some homework. I end up falling asleep on all my books and notes.
​I wake up with a piece of notebook paper stuck to my face. I clean up my books and put them away and start getting ready for church. I put on one of my good church dresses and walk downstairs to get some coffee.
​"Morning, Alice. Did you have a rough night?" Dad asks. He's already sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee and reading the morning paper.
​"Um no actually I fell asleep while doing homework last night. Why?" Dad's eyebrows knit together and I know something's wrong.
​"I heard someone downstairs last night, someone messing around with things. I assumed it was you so I didn't go check."
​"No. It wasn't me." I say, swallowing hard. I look around to see if anything is missing from our house. Nope, everything looks to be intact. The only thing that is different is my keys are thrown on the floor across the room from where I set them. Strange, I think, and pick them up. I turn to dad to see if he saw but he's too busy fussing with his tie.
​"Are you ready to go?" I ask and dad looks up. He nods and grabs his keys. The ride to church is quiet. My bible and phone rest in my lap and I stay straight forward. My mind wanders to who could've possibly been in my house last night. Why hadn't dad jumped up with his gun to investigate? He's done that with me a couple of times. He's come down the stairs and pointed a loaded gun at me, finger ready to pull the trigger if needed, but that's just part of having your dad working as a cop and I'm used to it by now. Could this mean something? What if it really was an intruder last night?
​When we walk into the sanctuary I find Braydon. He shakes my dad's hand and sits with my dad and me. I sit, attentively throughout the whole sermon. Afterwards Braydon's family comes and invites Dad and me to a picnic at the park. We agree and set a time. Braydon asks if I could come home with him and his family to help get the picnic food ready and dad agrees to that as well.
​Megan chats the whole way home. I don't mind it but I can feel how tense and frustrated Braydon is. John isn't too thrilled about it either; he grips the steering wheel and grinds his teeth together. We clear out of the car and immediately start packing the food into the car. Obviously, they've been planning this because they have everything in the perfect quantity. Braydon packs the cooler with sodas and water and I make the sandwiches. Before I know it we are all loaded up in the car and heading to the park. John parks the car and together we all carry the picnic stuff to a great spot under a shady tree. Dad joins us shortly after and we start eating. Everything is perfect like a scene from a movie. Dad and Braydon's parents get along really well so Braydon and I sneak off by ourselves, hand in hand. We decide to climb a tree together. I go first but Braydon keeps a protective hand on my back at all times. We get to a comfortable branch and sit together side by side. I turn my body so I can lean against the trunk of the tree and Braydon shimmies past me so he can sit next to me.
​I look at him and he leans in to kiss me. A wave of déjà vu hits me because I've seen this before. I don't know where I have seen it before but I know I've seen this before. The déjà vu causes me to hesitate and it alarms Braydon.
​"Is there something wrong?"
​"Um, no, it's just déjà vu. I'm sorry."
​"Are you sure you're okay?" I nod and he gives me a funny look. I lean in and kiss him. I guess that's enough to convince him. Our feet dangle below us and everything seems so serene and romantic. The temperature is perfect, not too hot and not too cold. The river flows rapidly beneath us. Downstream a couple a male ducks splash around. We decide to climb down and join our family again. Almost perfect timing because they were ready to pack up and go home anyway. I help clean and pack up and then Braydon and I bid our goodbyes. He kisses my cheek and I giggle.
​"Come on, lovebirds." Megan says laughing. Dad and I ride home in silence. I get home and finish up some of my homework that I didn't finish last night.
​The school day is uneventful except for lunch. Lunch was abnormal just because of my friends. Of course, they didn't shut up about Braydon and I being a couple. That and the baseball game was mostly all we talked about. Braydon and I agreed that I would stay for his practice and then we would have a study date at my house. So I'm sitting on the bleachers at the baseball fields watching the guys stretch in their sweat pants. Their sweat pants are definitely not as hot as their baseball pants but whatever. I plug in my earphones to my iPod and jam out in my own little world. Braydon brings me back to Earth with a kiss after he gets done from practice. He takes my hand and leads me to my car. Like the perfect gentlemen he is, he opens the passenger side door for me. I smile and get in after handing him my keys. He starts my car and we drive home together. I take his hand and crank the music.
​Braydon opens the door for us with my keys. We laugh and I grab something out of the fridge for us to eat. A little red number one is flashing on the answering machine so I press the button that makes it replay the messages.
​"Hey, Alice, it's dad. I just wanted to tell you that I went to Roswell to help with the homicide case. They needed some back-up desperately and I left my cell at the office so I'm borrowing Tim's. Dinner is in the freezer and I'll be back tomorrow before you get home from school, I promise. I love you so much, Alice. Please forgive me for not asking and telling you about this first but I know you would've disapproved and they need me. Take care of yourself. I love you and I will see you soon."
​I stand beside the answering machine, frozen. How could he do this to me? I can't sleep in this house alone! Braydon stands behind me, trying to comfort me but I don't even acknowledge him. My shock stops every nerve ending in my body and none of my limbs seem to be able to work. I want to sit or tell Braydon I am okay but my legs or mouth won't work like I want them to. I grow pale and I feel faint.
​"It's okay. If you want I can call my mom and you can come over to my house for the night."
​"No, I'll be fine. Really," I'm not really sure who I'm trying to convince myself or Braydon. "Besides it's a school night and I shouldn't be at my boyfriend's house."
​He seems to understand because he doesn't push anymore. We sit and do our homework together until Braydon decides it's time for him to go home. I kiss him goodnight and lock the door behind him. I watch him drive away from the window. I turn off all the lights off downstairs and get ready for bed. I continuously look over my shoulder expecting to see someone there each time. I finally lay in my bed but I can't get to sleep. Every noise I hear makes me sit straight up in my bed. Eventually my eyelids grow very heavy and I'm forced into a fitful sleep.
​ I wake up and dad's still not home. I get ready in a rush and take my breakfast on the road just because I don't want to be in that house alone anymore than I have to.

I sit on the couch watching cartoons with dad when the home phone rings. I get up and answer it.
​"Hello?"
​"Is this Alice?"
​"It is. What can I do for you?"
​"Nothing, this is Mrs. Whitlock, Braydon's mother. We're having a formal get together tonight and we'd be overjoyed to have your father and you attend."
​"We'd love to. What time?" I ask.
​"Six thirty, tonight."
​"Okay, we'll be there. Thank you." I return to the living room and sit on the couch.
​"Who was that?" Dad asks.
​"It was Braydon's mother. She invited us to a formal party tonight at their house. I said we would go."
​"Alright, we'll go."
​I curl my hair in ringlets. I put most of it up in a loose bun at the back of my head and leave two loose strands hanging in front of my ears. I put on my mother's diamond earrings and put stick on hair jewels into the bun. I put on a silky grey dress that used to belong to my mother. It has little fake diamonds on the top. I put on light make up and small silver heels. I walk down stairs where my father is waiting for me.
​"Are you ready to go?" Dad asks. I nod and we walk out the door. "I have to take my own car because I have to go to the station after the party."
​"Okay." I grab my keys and lock the door behind us. I get into my bug and drive to Braydon's house. When I get there I have to park farther away because there are so many cars. Dad and I walk in together. Everyone is talking having a good time. Braydon pushes his way through the crowd to get to us. He shakes my dad's hand, respectively and then hugs me.
​"You look so beautiful tonight." I smile and blush. Jared finds dad and me. He gives me a hug and then starts talking to my dad. Braydon and I make our way through the crowd to our group.
​"Hey, look who finally made it!" Aiden says. He gives me a hug.
​"Well, boy. Don't you look nice," I say, tugging on Aiden's tuxedo jacket. He flashes a smile and gives me a wink.
​"Of course, I have to look nice for the ladies." We all laugh. I look around and notice Brian's missing.
​"Where's Brian?" I ask. Josh smirks and nudges his head over to the punch bowl.
​"Lover boy is making big 'goo goo' eyes at the lady over there," Josh says. I turn to see Brian staring desperately at Michelle.
​"Excuse me, boys. I'll be right back." I walk right up to Michelle.
​"Michelle, it's so good to see you! I love your dress!" I say in a girly, annoying voice,
​"Thank you! But no yours is far more elegant than mine! Look at you, you're a star!"
​"Thank you so much, Michelle. Listen, I have a friend, Brian and I think you two would really get along. Would you like to meet him?"
​"Wait, Brian Scott? The Brian Scott, the line backer on the football team? Of course I want to meet him!"
"Oh so you do know each other. Brilliant." I say under my breath, sarcastically. I give her a smile and hold up my forefinger. I grab Brian and tow him to Michelle.
​"Michelle this is Brian. Brian this is Michelle. I think you two have a lot more in common than you think. Have fun," I say and leave them to talk. I return to Braydon's side.
​"I have something for you. Follow me," Braydon says taking my hand. Braydon leads me to his bedroom. He pulls out a long, skinny, velvet box. I gasp when he opens it. In the box is a diamond bracelet.
​"Oh, Braydon, you shouldn't have!" I whisper.
​"But I did."
​"Thank you." Braydon takes it out and puts it on my wrist. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. The kiss grows a little violent and pushed. I try to pull away but Braydon is stronger. We collapse on the bed and he tries to pull off my dress.
​"Braydon, please stop!" I scream. Braydon stops and I press my hands against his chest. I run out of his room before he can see me crying. Most people have cleared out and gone home. I thank Braydon's parents and leave quickly. I start to run towards my car but the tears come hard and fast. I sit on the curb and cry.
​"Alice?" I gasp thinking it is Braydon. He's the last person I want to see right now, but its Shaun. "Hey, are you okay?" Shaun wraps his arms around me and I lean into his chest and cry harder.
​"I don't want to talk about it," I say when I finally get a hold of myself.
​"Do you want to come over? We could watch movies and just hang out until your dad comes home. Want to call and ask him?" I nod and he grabs my cell from my bag and hands it to me. I dial dad's number and wait while it rings.
​"Hello?"
​"Daddy, can I go over to Shaun's, just until you get home from the station?" I ask.
​"Of course you can, sweetie. Have fun." I hang up the phone and throw it back in my bag.
​"Can we take your car? My parents are still inside with Braydon's parents. I have a key." I nod and I take him to my car. He sticks his hand out indicating he wants the keys. I hand them over and willingly climb into the passenger seat. My phone beeps twice in my bag. I pull it out and look at it, two messages from Braydon.
Babe, I'm sorry. Please come back.
Where r u?
​We pull into Shaun's driveway and we get out. He takes me inside.
​"What do you want to watch?" Shaun asks. I shrug and pull my knees up to my chest. "Okay then, I'm picking and I pick Toy Story!" I roll my eyes and he puts in the movie. He sits next to me on the couch and the movie starts.