IF ROSES BLED INK

CHAPTER 20: "CHANGES"

Ever since Rose and I made things official I couldn’t help but notice the changes happening in our lives.

I had never felt closer to her before. Even though some people warned us that not all is calm outside the eye of the storm, we were sure things would be okay with the people around us.

Melinda was at home, alone a lot more often these days because Rose and I were always out doing something. We weren’t really sure what she was doing with all this free time but whatever it was, it was doing a lot of good for her. She was fitter than ever and even seemed to have a glow about her. She also meditated a lot more which improved her tolerance towards the people around her. She was like a machine, if we left any longer I swear she’d turn into some super goddess with mind powers. Allen gave me work a lot less often now, even though the pay had increased significantly. I was now earning enough to comfortably take care of my family back home and myself.

Allen was also a lot less intense on the job, infact the guys seemed to be laughing a lot more and having fun during deliveries. For the first time the clubhouse, which was where we conducted operations from, was a place I actually didn’t mind going to. In addition to all of this, I had come to the decision to move permanently into Rose’s place. Not that I’d already been staying there almost everyday, I just felt like it would do a lot more good to state my presence.

The time to hand in our Biology project had finally come. Rose and I generally didn’t work that hard for most of the year but in recent weeks we had really kicked in an extra shift or two.

We didn’t wait that long, maybe forty minutes before having our results emailed to us.

“What the hell!”

“Oh my gosh!”

“How did we?”

“We did it babe!”, Rose screamed with joy.

“Eighty seven out of a hundred!”

“This is honestly amazing.”

I looked at her with a smug expression on my face.

“Carlos? What is it", She asked, still smiling.

“I knew this wasn’t a mistake", I said.

“What wasn’t a mistake?", She laughed.

“Us. The first day we met in Bio. I felt something I hadn’t felt before. I don’t know if it was just me or some kind of sign. All I know is, we’re together for a reason, I wouldn’t want to share this with anyone else.”

“Oh my word babe. That’s amazing. You’re amazing. Come here!”

She jumped into my arms and we kissed like we were in a scene from some teenage love story. I enjoyed every moment of it though.

There was an overwhelming sense of relief now that we had faced our project and came out victorious.

Things really were going our way.

Judging by the look on Melinda’s face when we got home, things were about to get better.

“Melinda? What’s got you in such a good mood?”, I asked feeling a little confused.

“Actually, it’s someone", She said with the look of an excited 4 year old.

“Someone special? As in special, special. Not just regular special", Rose asked with a suspicious smile.

“As special as you can get", She replied.

“Well, Who is he? Don’t just leave us hanging here!”

“Actually, about that, he’s here", She said as she looked at the kitchen door.

“Babe! You can come in now."

I don’t know if it was supposed to feel so unexpected but I could guarantee you I absolutely did not see this coming at all.

In that moment I finally knew what it was like to see a ghost. First the denial, then the disbelief and the shock all at once. Rose didn’t seem as phased as I did but of coarse she didn’t have a reason to.

“Uhm, You?”, I responded in disbelief.

The whole mood of the room seemed to change in a split second. It felt like more of a confrontation than a revelation.

“Wait what! Carlos?”

Melinda interrupted at this point looking more confused than anyone else.

“Uhm, you guys seem to know eachother but for some reason I feel like it’s not a good thing", she said.

“That would be a gross understatement babe. You see Carlos and I don’t just know eachother. It’s much, much deeper than that.”

The tension in the room sky rocketed. Rose was worried now.

Worried about me.

“Babe, you don’t look okay. What’s he talking about?”, she asked.


“Rose, This is my half brother. Danilo.”