CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

 

Feeling like she was going to see Vincent again for the first time since he left, Rose’s insides were all out of whack. She was so anxious to see him again she was giving herself an upset stomach.

She almost wished not so many people were there. As selfish as it felt, she wanted him all to herself. They had so much to catch up on, and she knew tonight everyone would want a piece of him.

The medicine cabinet in the guest bathroom was the last place she’d seen the stomach meds she needed to calm her anxious insides. Grace walked by just as she rummaged through it. “What are you looking for?”

“My stomach feels a little queasy. I think it’s all the excitement. I don’t want to be feeling sick when Vincent gets here.”

Grace walked halfway into the bathroom and opened the other door to the medicine cabinet. Rose giggled that Grace couldn’t get very close because of huge baby belly.

“Here, is this what you’re looking for?” She handed a small white bottle to Rose.

“Yes.” Rose smiled.

Grace didn’t move her big stomach out of the way; instead she stayed there and peered at Rose. “Are you sure it’s just the excitement that has your stomach upset?”

Rose pinched her brows. “Yeah, I guess. It’s been getting worse with every minute that goes by and Vincent isn’t here yet.”

Grace lowered her voice. “I wanted to talk to you about today.”

“What about today?”

“You and Lorenzo here alone in your bedroom with the door closed?”

“I told you he was checking—”

“I know what you said, but you’re the worst liar on the planet. I thought you were gonna break into song the way your voice went all over the place. And when we first got here and I called out to you, your response was I need to finish getting dressed. What was that about?”

“Yeah, what the hell was that about?”

Both Grace and Rose flinched at the sound of Vincent’s voice. Rose dropped the bottle of medicine, and she bumped her head against Grace’s belly trying to reach down for it. Grace moved out of the way, and Rose bent down at a loss for how to explain this. They both made their way out of the restroom, and to her surprise Vincent didn’t seem mad. He seemed nervous—almost scared.

“What’s going on Rose? Something happen between you and Enzo while I was gone?”

“What? No!”

Now he seemed angry. His brow lifted sharply. “Is that your bra in his car?”

She thought quick and remembered a few things were missing from her soccer bag. One of them was her white bra. “Yeah, I think.”

“It is?” Grace asked seemingly stunned by this.

“Well, yeah.” Rose looked back at Grace.

“Is that right?” Vince was louder now. “And he was in your bedroom today, door closed?” He pointed at Grace, “And you told her you had to get dressed, but nothing is going on?”

“Just tell them, Rose.” They all turned to Lorenzo who stood at the end of the hallway.

“You,” Vince pointed at Lorenzo his jaw going tight, “stay over there. You do not wanna be anywhere near me right now.” He turned back to Rose again. “So go ahead. Just tell me.”

Exhaling she dropped her head back. “This is not the time or place for this.”

“Damn it Rose, if you think I’m gonna wait—”

“Okay, okay,” she still couldn’t believe she was really standing here talking to Vincent. “It’s not what you’re thinking. I know it looks bad,” she turned to Grace, “but you’ll probably be more upset about the real truth.”

“What is it?” Grace asked already looking concerned.

“Lorenzo’s been giving me injections.”

“What?” Both Vince and Grace asked at the same time.

Vince turned and looked at his brother in disbelief.

“Can we go into your bedroom, please?” She asked Grace. “I don’t want anyone else overhearing.”

Grace started to her room, and Rose reached out for Vincent’s hand, turning back to Lorenzo. “You too, Lorenzo.” Then she turned to Vincent. “It’s not at all what you’re thinking, so you can stop threatening your brother.”

“Your bra is in the backseat of his car.” Vincent reminded her flatly.

She couldn’t help giggle at the absurdity of it all. “I can explain that, too.”

Her giggling seemed to ease Vincent a little, very little, though he did take her hand firmly in his.

Once in Grace’s bedroom she explained it all. Grace wanted details, such as her exact red-blood-cell count, which Rose hadn’t even thought to ask about. She wanted to know Rose’s next appointment date, and Grace was adamant that unless she was in the hospital giving birth, she’d be there with her. Vincent said he would be, too. She told them everything. The only thing she left out was who had originally been giving her the injections. But that was a conversation she’d save for another day: a conversation she planned on having with Vincent alone.

After Grace’s interrogation, a still stunned-looking Vincent adjusted her hand in his. His eyes spoke volumes. She’d seen him nervous before, but this was more than nervous. He’d been staring at her silently the entire time she explained everything. Now he blinked, still staring, but he seemed almost afraid to speak. “How…” He stopped to swallow then take a breath. “How bad is this, Rosie?”

“It’s not.” She squeezed his hand attempting to assure him.

“But you need injections. My grandpa…” He looked away as if to shake the thought away.

He’d shared with her about his grandpa’s death after losing his battle with diabetes. She hated for him to be thinking this was that bad.

“It’s just a vitamin deficiency, Vincent. The doctor said because of my age and because I’m so healthy otherwise, this can easily be controlled. The very minor symptoms have completely gone away already.”

That seemed to calm him a bit, but not a whole lot, so she wrapped her arms around his waist. “I feel fine. I really do.” She turned to Grace. “I promise you both. I’ll be fine, okay?”

Sal stuck his head in the door. “There you are. Everyone’s looking for you, Vince. What’s going on? Why are you all in here?”

“I’ll explain later,” Grace said. “But we’re done,” she turned to Rose, “for now.”

Lorenzo walked out after Grace and Sal. Rose and Vincent began walking out until he pulled her to him then pinned her to the wall. “So why was your bra in Enzo’s car?”

She could see he was serious, but the smirk told her he knew there was a legit explanation. Happy to see his worry had been put aside, though she knew it was only for now, she smiled playfully “Well you see, the last time me and him…”

Vincent eyes opened wide, and he pushed his body against her even harder making her laugh. “He gave me a ride to my game today, silly. I was late, so I had to change in his backseat. You’ve seen me change in and out of my uniforms, so you know he didn’t see a thing. But I ran out of the car so fast a few things must’ve fallen out of my bag.”

He stared in her eyes for a moment, turning her insides into liquid like he always had then kissed her deeply, stopping only to look in her eyes again. “I want my bra back.” She smirked. “It’s one of my lucky ones.”

“You’re not getting it back.”

“Why not?”

“Because after having to deal with seeing my girlfriend’s bra in the backseat of another guy’s car—my brother’s car—I deserve some kind of compensation.”

Rose laughed. “So you’re gonna hold my bra hostage?”

“Yes.”

She tsked, unbuttoning the top button of his army fatigues. Something about seeing him in them was such a turn on. “Pity, there are so many better ways I can think of to compensate you.”

He groaned, leaning in and kissing her like she’d missed for too long. She didn’t even care that they were standing in Grace and Sal’s bedroom doorway. She kissed him back with the same unabashed hunger as he kissed her.

“Vicente!”

Vincent pulled away instantly. His mother stood at the doorway of the guest bathroom, glaring at them. Okay, now Rose cared. She felt her face heat instantly. His mother pursed her lips and shook her head pointing to the other end of the hallway then walked into the bathroom without saying another word and closed the door behind her.

Vincent turned back to Rose then laughed. “Man, I’ve never seen you so red. C’mon,” he pulled her hand down the hall. “This is nothing. Just wait till she finds out it’s your bra in the backseat of Enzo’s car. She’s the one that found it.”

Rose covered her face with her hand, groaning. “No!”

“Yes!” Vincent laughed.

The rest of the evening, as expected, Vincent was pulled from one person to the next. Everyone wanted to hear his story. Rose had heard it several times, and already she knew no matter how many times he told it, no matter how many times they all heard it, no one would really get the magnitude of what Vincent had gone through. It’d be with him forever, and she hated that. She hated that these images and terrifying memories would most likely haunt him forever.

“I really thought that was it.” Vince said deep in thought. “They were coming in and with a purpose. Neither one of us understood what they were saying, but the way they were tearing down that bunker to get to whoever was down there, there was never any doubt they were going to kill us. Of course, I wasn’t gonna go down without a fight, but I could barely move. The pain was so bad already, and I was unarmed. I’d already begun to thank God for all the blessings he’d given me up until then.” He turned to Rose and squeezed her hand. “Thanked him for the people in my life I’d been so lucky to have spent some time with.”

Rose smiled at him, feeling choked up all over again, and he turned back to his cousins and some of the others that were listening intently. “That’s when the gunfire erupted. Me and the Sarg took cover with what we could and listened to the chaos above us. When it was all over like a miracle we heard our names being called out.” Vincent laughed just like he had the first time she’d heard him tell it. “They weren’t just there on accident; they’d been sent there to look for us, and they’d arrived just in the nick of time. It was nothing short of a miracle.”

He went on to tell them about how he and the sergeant had gone nuts yelling out that they were down in the bunker and how the soldiers dug them out. Then they were flown by helicopter again to the nearest base where medics were already waiting for them.

As absorbing as his rescue story was, Romero seemed more interested in his tactical arms training. He went back to the beginning of Vince’s story. “So, no shit, they were gonna send you back here to train, and your ass chose to go to Iraq instead?”

Vincent glanced at Rose for a moment then turned back to Romero. “It’s complicated but something like that.”

After hours of having felt nothing but pure bliss, Rose felt the guilt sink in fast. He’d chosen Iraq over coming back home because of her. She spent the rest of the evening trying to keep up the fake smiles, but she couldn’t help feeling terrible that because of her Vincent had gone through all that he had.

Once everyone was gone, they sat on the sofa in the family room alone.

“So what happened?”

Rose tilted her head not understanding Vincent’s question. “When?”

“Tonight. You seemed happy enough the first part of evening then something happened and that changed. You just tired? Too much excitement for one day?”

She shrugged, playing with his dog tags, feeling herself getting choked up again. “I just hate that it was entirely my fault you had to go through everything you went through.”

Vince sat up, pulling away swiftly, so as to get a better view of her face. “Your fault? How was it your fault?”

“If I hadn’t been so stubborn and believed in you more, I would’ve read your letters and known sooner why you left. I never would’ve had to fake having a boyfriend, and you never would’ve thought I moved on.” She looked in his eyes now. “That’s why you went to Iraq, right?”

Vincent caressed her face, and she leaned into his hand. “Baby, my having to enlist in the first place was all my fault. I mean Enzo is the one that was doing the dealing, but I didn’t have to cover for him. I chose to. And he had nothing to do with me kicking that asshole’s ass next door. No one did but me. I had a choice there, too, and I made mine, so it cost me.”

“But you could’ve come back here to train instead of going to Iraq.”

“My choice again. It’s not your fault I made a stupid choice, but you know what? You’re the reason I’m even here. You’re what kept me going. Do you really think it’s a coincidence my entire squad didn’t make it out of there but I did?” He traced her lips with his finger. “You were there with me, Rose, and I fought hard even in pain for you, to get back to you. You’ve always been my incentive.”

She smiled, remembering how often she’d questioned why he would go back to dealing when he’d always claimed he wanted to better himself for her. Then she remembered something.

“Vincent, I was gonna wait for another time, but I want this behind us already. I want us to start all over starting now with nothing hanging over our heads…or my head, I should say, that I’d be dreading to do or talk to you about.”

He pulled away searching her eyes. “You don’t have to dread talking to me about anything, Rose.”

“It’s about Ben.”

His expression changed instantly. “Ben? What about Ben?”

She pressed her lips together not sure where to start. Vincent showed up so suddenly she never even got a chance to think through how she’d explain this. He started to pull away from her, but she reached for his hand. “Don’t.”

He stopped and stared at her. “What about him? Just say it; you’re making me nervous.”

“Don’t be. It’s nothing like that. We just started talking again after you left, and we hung out a few times, but it’s never been more than a friendship with him. Then when I had to lie about having a boyfriend so Grace could stop worrying…well you know how this family is. Every gathering I showed up without my so-called boyfriend; they wanted to know where he was.”

Caressing his hand, she hoped he wasn’t getting angry. She couldn’t make out what he was thinking, but he said nothing.

“I uh…I asked him if he’d show up at one of the parties and pretend to be my boyfriend.”

“What?” He started to pull away again, but she didn’t let him squeezing his hand. “It was just the one time, and I felt so awful when Lorenzo called me on it, that I never did it again.”

“Lorenzo called you on it? What did he say?”

She shrugged. “He asked how long I’d waited after you left then threatened to beat him up, right here in Sal’s house.”

Even as appalling as she made that sound, Vincent still laughed. “That would’ve been hilarious.”

“Well he didn’t, but you wanna know what else your brother did?”

“Absolutely,” he said looking far too amused.

Even though this was not meant to be funny, she was glad his mood had switched.

“When he found out Ben was the one giving me the injections, he practically blackmailed me to make him stop.”

“Ben was giving you the injections?” Vincent’s eyebrows lifted. “And while you’re at it, where exactly on your body are these injections?”

Rose gulped; his cheery demeanor was waning. “Ben is a pre-med student, so he’s trained.”

“Pre-med my ass. You don’t need to go to med school to give an injection.”

“Oh my God, that’s exactly what Lorenzo said.”

“Yeah, no shit. But you fell for it?”

Rose dropped his hand, but he took her hand right back in his. “No I didn’t fall for it, Vincent. I asked him if he would, and he was nice enough to take the time to come do it twice a week.”

“Oh, I bet he was. And where was he giving you these shots, Rose, on your ass?”

He squeezed her hand when she tried to let go again. “On my thigh,” she said almost through her teeth.

Vincent stared at her for a moment without saying anything then he smirked. “So how did Enzo blackmail you?”

She sat up for this. “After he told me the whole truth about why you really left, how it was him dealing, not you, but you took the fall for him, I admitted that I’d made the whole thing up about being with Ben. I told him I was still in love with you and that I’d write you to tell you and that I’d end the fake relationship I had with Ben. Then a few days later Ben showed up at the restaurant for my injection. Your brother followed me out of the restaurant demanding to know why he was there to see me again.”

“Good man. Good man.” Vincent nodded smiling. “Go on.”

She had to smile now. “So because he wouldn’t back down, I had to tell him about the injections. Then he said the same thing you did.” She did her best to imitate both of their caustic tones. “Pre-med my ass.”

Vincent laughed at that then kissed her. “All right, so what happened next?”

“He threatened to tell you about it if I didn’t stop and just let him give me the injections.” She stared at him for a moment, suddenly feeling emotional again. “I didn’t want you thinking I’d actually moved on and with all guys, Ben. So I had no choice but to tell Ben I didn’t need him to do it anymore.”

Vincent leaned his forehead against hers, smiling.” Where’s my phone?”

“What?” she pulled back to look at him.

“I gotta call my brother to tell him I love him.”

Rose fell into him. “You and your brother. Holy hell, I thought I only had you to deal with!”

“Well, now you know.” Vince smiled, kissing her as he moved her body onto his on the sofa. “But Ben’s gone, babe. You gotta know that, right?” She made herself more comfortable lying on top of him. “I can’t deal with his ass. I’m just letting you know that right now. He might be a nice guy, and he’s your friend and all, but I can’t stand the way he looks at you. Lorenzo saw it too. As long as you’re cool with not being around this guy when I’m not there, we can work something out.”

“He might be at some of my games. He said he wanted to watch the finals.”

“That’s cool,” Vincent said, kissing her a little deeper than he had all night, “because I’ll be at all of those games, too.

His hand slipped into her shorts making her squirm. “Remember where we’re at,” she reminded him, feeling her body tingle as his fingers made their way to that perfect place.

“I do,” he said moving those magic fingers like only he knew how. “We’re fully dressed in case anyone walks in, but Sal and Grace looked tired as shit. I have plans for us tomorrow when I’ll get mine, but tonight I wanna feel you get yours.” His fingers moved perfectly, making her spread her legs to accommodate him going in deeper. She buried her face in his chest, trying to stifle a moan. “This is mine?” he asked tickling that perfect spot.

“Yes!” She lifted herself, spreading even wider for him.

Taking advantage of her spread, he slipped two more fingers in. “All mine?”

She licked his neck then sucked it, making him straighten out real quick. “All yours, baby.”

Over a year was long enough; she pushed his pants down just low enough and pulled him out. He was up and erect and as beautiful as she remembered. Without taking anything off, she pulled her shorts aside and slid right onto him.

She covered his mouth and had to stifle her own moans. “Shh!”

“Nobody’s waiting until tomorrow,” she whispered.

She began riding him up and down, letting her foot hit the floor, so he was all the way in. Then she lifted her foot off the floor, feeling him go even deeper. Sliding up and down him again and again she began to feel his body stiffen and she knew he was getting close. Then she stopped for a moment and just sat there, her eyes rolling back as she felt him in her as deep as he could possibly go. “Vincent, baby, I missed you so much” she whispered breathlessly.

“I’m gonna come, babe, and I’m not wearing a condom.”

“I don’t care! Do it!”

In the next second, he grabbed her waist and lifted himself up, pushing himself into her and froze that way. “Auughh!”

She came, just feeling the heat of him explode inside her. There was nothing more satisfying. She sat on him for a few minutes longer, enjoying the euphoria, trying to catch her breath. A little surprised he hadn’t asked again, she smiled, looking down at him. “You own this forever.”

He smiled without opening his eyes but squeezed her behind. “I know.”

“You do?”

“Yep, I figured it out in Iraq. This ass was made for me. That’s why I had to come back and claim it.”

Rose giggled tilting her head. “Really now?”

Vincent opened his playful eyes, smiled even bigger, and squeezed her behind with both hands now. “And let me tell you. It was worth every broken bone.”

She leaned in to kiss him, laughing softly but laughed outright when she felt him squeeze her ass with both hands like he was kneading dough.

One of his hands finally left her behind but only to cover her mouth. “Shh! You’re gonna wake Sal, and he’s gonna come out here and break my other arm.”

Stifling her laughter, she got off him and hurried to the bathroom to clean up and brush her teeth then made a pit stop at her room to grab a certain teddy bear she’d become so accustomed to sleeping with. By the time she made it back to the family room, Vincent was dozing off. He woke when she climbed in under the blanket next to him.

“You’re gonna sleep with me?” he asked already adjusting himself and pulling her body even closer to him, so he could spoon her.

“Yes,” she said, making herself comfortable on his big arm with a grin. “I mean really, Vincent. What can they possible think we’d do on this crowded sofa?”

Slipping his hand between her legs, he kissed the side of her face. “I can’t imagine.”

As if they weren’t close enough, Rose snuggled into him even more, and he pulled his arm around her even tighter. “You know I really do own all this,” he said kissing her ear and neck.

“I know.”

“No, you think I’m kidding, but I plan on making it official.” Rose turned to look at him, not exactly sure what he was saying but feeling excited already. “Oh yeah,” he said tracing her lips with his fingers. “I’m getting the papers and everything. You and I have whole lot to talk about.”

Rose lay back down, and they assumed the snuggling position again. All that time she’d spent theorizing about his reasons for leaving, one of the them being that she’d scared him off with her moving-in talk, she dared not bring up that or any talk of marriage unless he specifically used those words himself. Even now those were not the words he was using, but she would say one thing. “You’ve owned me completely from that very first summer, Vincent, and I think you knew it even back then.”

“Not really, but I do now.” He kissed her neck again. “I still want it in writing.”

Rose laughed. “God, it’s good to have you back. I love you so much, Vincent.”

Squeezing her even tighter, he buried his face in her neck. “I love you too, Rosie.”

 

~*~

 

Rose held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut as she waited to feel the needle on her lower back. “All done.”

She turned around thinking Vincent might be kidding, but he held an empty syringe and wore a big proud smile. “See I told you I could do this.”

“That was awesome! I didn’t feel a thing.” Vincent finished wiping the area with a cotton ball still smiling proudly. “Even with Ben I’d at least feel a tiny pinch.”

The instant frown on Vincent’s face had her immediately regretting bringing up Ben, but then she remembered. “He’ll be there today. You’ll be nice, right?”

Vincent’s frown morphed into an evil little grin. “You know me.”

She turned all the way around, and his arm came around her waist pulling her to him as if by habit now. Rose loved the way she felt in his big strong arms. It was exactly where she belonged. “Yes, I know you, Vincent. So promise me you’ll behave. He’s my friend, and he knows and respects that you are my boyfriend. But this is the final, and he wants to be there.”

Vincent didn’t respond to that; instead he just kissed her. Rose knew he’d never make any promises about this kind of stuff. But she trusted him now—completely—trusted that he’d never again do anything to jeopardize their relationship or their time together.

With the kiss getting a little too heavy and very much aware that they were still in her bedroom with her mother only a few doors down, she pulled away breathlessly.

Vincent leaned his forehead against hers. “I gotta go. But I’ll be right there front and center. You got this, babe.”

Rose kissed him one last time and walked him out, not mentioning that he completely ignored her request to behave around Ben. She went back inside and finished gathering her things then headed out of her bedroom.

With all the excitement of Vincent being back and her team making it all the way to the state final, Rose hadn’t put much thought into how often her mother wasn’t around lately.

She’d been so caught up with Vincent, but the finals and the extra practices for them were also taking up a lot of her time. She stopped at her mother’s bedroom door. Her mother was sitting on a chair staring out the window.

“You okay?” Rose asked.

Her mother turned to her with a smile and nodded. “You have a minute?”

Rose looked down at the phone in her hand. She had a few, so she walked in the room, and her mother motioned to the bed. Rose sat on it feeling a little nervous. Talks with her mom were so rare. “I’ve been a fool, Rose. I owe you not only an apology but an explanation. I wasted my entire life waiting to die, and here I am an old woman, alive and kicking. I should’ve enjoyed my life—my daughters. Instead I never allowed myself to get too close to anyone, to you,” she stopped looking down at her hands as she intertwined them nervously, “especially you, and it was so unfair.”

Rose didn’t understand. “What do you mean waiting to die?”

“My mother died when I was very young, and it tore me apart. Then my oldest sister, who like you and Grace I’d become so close to after my mother’s death, died also of the same thing—cervical cancer. I wanted to die, Rose. And I almost got my wish too. I was also diagnosed with cervical cancer at age twenty.”

Rose was stunned. She had no idea, but she was speechless, so she stared at her mother and continued to listen silently.

“I was certain that like my mother and my sister I’d share their same fate and die young, but then it went into remission. I was still very bitter because I just knew it would come back. Why would it take my mother and my sister but not me? Then I met your father, and I got pregnant.” Her tired eyes looked away from Rose and she continued to stare out the window. “I didn’t want to have you, Rose. Not because I didn’t want you, but because I was afraid I’d pass on my curse. I begged your father. I told him he already had Grace. I’d help him raise her, and that would be good enough, but he insisted I have you.” Her mother turned back to Rose. “I was angry for a very long time. I let him and your grandmother and Grace do all the nurturing because I was certain that I was going to die and leave you devastated the way I’d been, or worse you’d get the curse and I would have to endure losing someone I loved and was so close to again.” She sat up at the edge of her chair and reached for Rose’s hand. “I couldn’t do it. Then just when I began to believe that maybe, just maybe, we’d be okay, your father was murdered. I can’t even begin to explain to you what that did to me. So like a coward I retreated back into my world of not letting anyone in—not even you, or I should say especially you.”

Her mother took a deep breath before going on. “I helped raise Grace from the time she was a little girl, but I knew deep inside you were all I really had. I pushed you away. I refused to let you get close. I wanted you to have all the love you needed, but not from someone that was going to leave you suddenly. It was a terrible thing to do, but it was the only way I could think of to protect you from having to go through the hell I had.” Patting Rose’s hand, she said the next sentence like it was no big deal. “The cancer came back earlier this year.”

“What?” Obviously her mother’s plan to keep her at bay so that she wouldn’t care was bust, because Rose did care. This terrified her. “It’s back?”

Her mother smiled. “Just like the first time, it came and it went, Rose. It’s taunting me. After months of chemo and treatments, it went into remission again. I still have to go in often to be tested, but so far it hasn’t come back.”

Rose’s heart was still beating against her chest, but the relief was enormous.

“That’s when I decided to move back here and be with you, but I keep thinking maybe it’s too late.”

“It’s not,” Rose said quickly.

“You have your life. Grace has hers.”

“And you’re part of it. You should’ve always been, and now we’re gonna make sure everything is different.” Rose frowned. “But you’re right. It was a terrible thing to do, and it was completely unfair to me. For the longest time, I thought you hated me.”

Her mother held her arms open, and Rose hugged her, feeling warmth from her mother for the first time. “Corazon, it feels so good to finally be able to hold you like this. I may’ve never told you this, Rosie, and I’m so sorry now that I didn’t,” she said smoothing her hair, “but I love you, baby girl, and I’ve never been more proud of anything in my life than you. I’ll make sure you know this every day of your life from here on.”

Hearing her mother say she loved her was more overwhelming than she could’ve ever imagined. She cried into her mother’s shoulder, but much like the tears she shed when Vincent held her for the first time since he’d left, they were tears of pure and utter bliss. Suddenly she felt seven-years-old again. “I love you too, Mommy.”