A LITTLE TOUCH OF ROSE - EPISODE 16

???? Rosita’s standpoint ????

I was fuming as I served the customers at the store. Everything that happened between Zed and I was still replaying in my head. Our arguement went to killing zone today, been a while. Then I had to grab his… Geez! What was I thinking?! What the bloody hell was I thinking!

He is fucking huge! My hand knows what it felt!

The thought of it alone was planting images in my head and making my thighs tingling and a sensitive part of me throb.

Heavens, get him out of my head!

“Rosita-honey,” mom called with concern, “are you alright?” I opened my eyes and turned to her.

“I’m fine, why would you think otherwise?”

“You have been stomping around serving customers with eyes close while muttering and grumbling, so are you okay?”

I slammed the tray on the counter and screamed with frustration. “No, I’m not. It’s that stupid dick head who won’t learn to respect me. I mean, does he know the amount of things I do for him in a day? Does he know how I keep his dirty little ass safe? No, he doesn’t. Yet he has to give me a hard time like he has always done since forever. Every time he makes fun of my body and annoy the life out of him. I want to squeeze the life out of him, strangle him until his spleen and guts fall out his ass and ends pathetic life!”

She smiled at me. “So, you like him a lot and him making fun of your body makes you feel ashame of yourself.” She said as a matter-of-fact.

“What!” I shrieked at the top of my voice. “Didn’t you just hear all the ‘I hate him’ and ‘I want to kill him’ part? I don’t like him, why would I like him?”

“Because all I heard from what you lament is that you are finding a hard time accepting that you are starting to grow feelings for a guy you have hated all your life. But yet again, Rosita-honey, when have any of this sort of relationship ever not end with love?”

I blinked with shock and disbelief at her outrageous statement. I scoffed and flipped my ponytail. “That’s nonsense, I will never like that guy, it’s unreasonable.” I scoffed out. She leaned her elbows on the counter and cutely rest her cheeks in her palms.

“Then, Rosita, why are you blushing?” I squeeze my lips and nose and gave her a dirty look as I blushed harder. She started laughing, her mother know-it-all laughing.

“What are you even doing here?” I asked frowningly.

“Can’t I come meet my baby again?”

“Mom, what do you want?”

“You to go kiss your boyfriend,”

“Haha,” I whined. She burst into laughter again.

“Okay, okay, just get me the package under Tachi,” I nodded and ran inside with the tray. I dropped the tray with the chef and went to the storage room. I followed the alphabet order of arrangement I did myself. Before, it was a mess finding anything here until I rearranged it. I didn’t see it there so I had to search everywhere while fighting the thought of actually liking Zed or the fact that I touched his…

Ugh! Stop thinking!

“Found you!” I shouted. I grabbed the package and rushed out. When I got back to the counter, what I saw made me blink thrice. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was dreaming, then walked back in and out four times but I wasn’t dreaming.

“I was only gone for ten minutes!” I cried. It was mom and the enemy. The only thing was that Zed was blushing like a girl with hands tucked between his legs as he giggled while mom played with his hair and fed him.

How did this happen in ten minutes!

“Oh, hey baby, what took you so long? You were gone for twenty minutes,” she evenly corrected. Zed lost that cuteness immediately he saw him. His face morphed into a scowl.

“What are you doing here?” He asked harshly.

“I work here you bag of seed,” I snarled, slamming the package on the counter.

“Bag of seeds, you dummy,”

“I know what I said, seed, not seeds,” he understood the double meaning of the words as his eyes darkened.

He smirked. “You have been thinking about all of me, haven’t you?” I would have denied it if I didn’t blush. He smirked smugly.

“Rosita, what have gotten into you? You are harassing this young man. I didn’t raise you to be disrespectful,” mom scolded.

“You didn’t raise me,” I snapped at her. I shouldn’t have said that, it hurt her feeling as her smile fell. “Mom, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, I’m just really pissed at him and… I’m so sorry, mom, please don’t be mad at me,” I pleaded. She grinned.

“Now, that is the woman I raised,” I almost facepalmed myself. I forgot she was as energetic and uncrushable as Bloom. The hurt face was a show.

“Mom? Wait, mom?” Zed asked as he looked between us. I leaned on the counter and sighed.

“Mom, this is the prick I was just talking about. Prick, meet my mom,” I said, waving my hand carelessly. Mom smacked my head. “Hey! What did I do?”

“Don’t be rude to this nice young man, he’s a sweetheart. Now apologise,” she commanded.

“Mom, you don’t even know him,” I cried.

“Yes I do, and he’s the sweetest,” she cooed, pinching his cheek. Zed giggled girlishly. “Now, be nice to him and apologise,”

“Ne…” I choke on my saliva when she cut my word with her glare.

Zed chuckled. “So that’s where she got it from.”

“Rosita, I’m waiting,”

“Sorry that you have to be such a prick,” I said, “mom, you don’t have to support him, I’m your daughter and he is the stranger you met not even up to thirty minutes ago!”

“What are you talking about? I’ve known him for longer? Darra, my beautiful cute baby boy, always brings him home with him whenever he comes visit. So, I know him and know he is a sweetheart. Wait, he is the guy you were just telling me you were in love with?”

“Mom! I didn’t say anything like that! You assumed, you assumed.” I cried distraughtly. Zed was enjoying it. He kept chuckling.

“So, you are my future son-in-law, come here,” she pulled him into a big hug and he was blushing again. His eyes were glittering.

Oh my God! Zedekiah has a crush on my mom!

“How dare you!” I screamed and launched myself over the counter to strangle him. But it looked like mom predicted my move and pushed me back.

“Stop being so weird, Rosita, be as compose as he is. I know you love him, and it’s perfectly normal to be jealous. But you have to remember that I am your mother and would never do anything to hurt your feelings. You can have him all to yourself if you just ask.” She said all this with eyes close, the words rolling out of her tongue like it was nothing.

Zed almost fell off the chair as he laughed. Now he knew I had a embarrassing mother too. He hit the counter as he laughed his stomach out. I was staring at him blankly. I was now fully aware of the girls shrieking because of his laughing but wouldn’t approach because of the law of the shop. When he was done, he opened his eyes and I couldn’t help how it was shimmering like diamonds. The green of his eyes had turn lighter and the golden brown thin out. The diamonds in his eyes were everywhere!

I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe!

“Why are you not wearing your eye lens?” I growled.

“Because, I said it makes him look cute,” mom cooed again and pinched his cheek. Zedekiah’s face turned red as he giggled.

“Oh God,” I palmed my face and shook my head, “this is unbelievable,” I dropped my hand and pushed her package to her, “go home, mom.”

“Should I drive you back?” Zed asked quickly. Mom laughed.

“Of course,”

“But you didn’t drive me home,” I said angrily.

“Yeah, because your mom is prettier,” he said sheepishly.

Jesus! What is this?!

“Awwwn, come on then, my love,” mom strutted out majestically. Zed followed behind while arranging his hair and clothes like a girl doing for her crush. I was angry. He liked my mother, my own mother and she liked him too. I called Sakura immediately.

“You didn’t tell me mom knew Darra and Zed!”

She sighed heavily. “Was it important?” I stepped into the backroom.

“Yes! Because you should have warned me that Zedekiah has a huge crush on mom!”

“You were already at loggerhead with him, I didn’t want to add how he would always tag along anytime Darra came home, just to see mom. Trust me, it weird me out too. If it will make you feel any better, Darra, Alvin, Cedric and all the boys in Reece’s school and my former school are in love with her too.”

“How is that suppose to make me feel any better! Alvin and Cedric too?!”

“They only came three times, but I hid from them. Alvin asked mom to marry him and Cedric literally did all her work for her in other to win her favour. They ended up fighting because of mom at the third visit so mistress ban them from coming to her house.”

“I know mom is hot, but not to this level. And she isn’t even trying,” I cried. I felt like shit. Imagine mom becomes a teacher in Gempire. All the male teachers and boys would follow her everywhere. Mom is a darling that would keep them all not knowing what she is doing.

I can see why dad loves her.

“This is so gross,” I sobbed, “Zed was drooling,”

She chuckled, “you’ll get use to it, Neesan, just ignore it.”

Ignore. I can do that.

“It’s really gross,” I whined.

“You are not even her biological daughter and it creeps you out, how do you think I feel since she is my mom?” Sometimes I forget only Reece knew I was really their sister.

But the thought of Zed and my mom was just making me feel somehow.

Isaac’s standpoint

I sat on my bed staring at the album of Sakura and I. I traced my fingers along my favourite one, the one she took at a beach I took her to. She was standing in the water in her loose dress, hand holding down the cartwheel hat. The wind blew her hair and dress wildly, flying her dress open as she laughed and tried to hold down her dress too. She looked absolutely breathtaking under the sunset, in the water, laughing because I made her happy. I brought that joy to her.

But then I took it away.

I ruined her, I ruined her joy. Sakura never smiled again, she never laughed for real since that day even if she wasn’t aware. She always carried sadness and heavy darkness in her heart, until Rosita came. Rosita gave her back her happiness, the happiness I snatched from both her and myself.

I sniffed as my eyes blurred with tears. I ran my thumb over her face. I didn’t mean to hurt her, I didn’t mean to but I thought I had to. I didn’t mean to cause her pain, I didn’t mean to cause me sorrow as well. I was in a situation I should have handled better. I should have fought harder for what I wanted.

I wiped the tear that had fallen on the picture and then dabbed the rest out of my face. Every day I woke up with heaviness in my heart, a new dose of bitterness eating at my strength and depression weighing down my soul.

Hopeless, I was hopeless.

I grabbed my ringing phone without looking at the caller and answered it. “Konbanwa, watashi wa tsukare sugite hanasu koto ga dekinainode, anata ga hoshī mono o oshietekudasai.”

“Isaac, beibī, soreha watashida, mama,” my grip on my phone tighten as blood rushed into my head. I flared my nostrils. Rage was always the only thing I felt whenever I heard her voice or even see her. She caused everything, she ruined everything.

“What do you want, witch?” I spat angrily. A strangled sob left her mouth. “Talk while I’m still listening.”

“I…I… Isaac, I called to ask if you’ll be home soon. It’s just that…”

“I can see you don’t have any better thing to say, don’t call my number again.” I hung up and angrily threw the phone on the couch. The audacity she had to call me after everything she made me go through. One whole year I cried and endured pain, I broke the heart of the girl I loved. And for what? Nothing.

I hate her.

I hate her for all the pains she caused me and the ones she is causing me.

My phone rang again. I angrily got to the bed, picked it up and answered it. “What is it?” I snapped.

“Junpei, what did you tell your mother?” Father yelled. “How many times have I told you to…” I switched the phone off. I threw it back on the bed and exhaled. I was about to leave when my phone on the nightstand vibrated. I picked it up to see a message from Sakura.

My heart skipped a beat. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead. I swallowed the lump in my throat. She didn’t know I had her new number, she didn’t know I took it the moment she changed it after we broke up. Every morning, I stared at it, every night before I went to sleep, I dial it but never let it ring. And whenever I do get the courage to let it ring, I endure the torture of her sweet voice saying “hello”? Or “hello, this is Sakura half dead from stress and drowsiness, how may I help you”? Sometimes I chuckle, sometimes I laugh, most times I cry.

But it all end up with one thing, the satisfaction of just knowing that she is still there and hanging on, picking up the shattered pieces of her heart. All I do is to have that one thing I felt I would never have again.

‘Isaac, you better make sure you eat or I will make sure I punish you. Eat, okay?’

That one thing I’ve forgotten, the one thing I’d given up on, the one thing life and my mother took away from me. Staring at her text message with a wide smile on my face and tears rolling down my cheeks, and beyond, I felt that thing blossom in my heart once more. It warmth spread around my body, spread allover my heart and gave me the peace I hadn’t felt since I lost it. After months of sorrow, I finally had hope.