Page 50 of Beautiful Rose
“Fuck. Zander, you’re wasted,” Zach states as he and Zane glare down at me.
“What the hell are you two doing here?” I rub my forehead to ward off the growing headache. I just wanted to be alone with a bottle of Scotch. Instead, I got the persistent bartender and now my brothers breathing down my neck.
Can’t a man have a moment of peace?
“Part-t-ty’s over. We could-dn’t find you, s-s-so I called Greg.” Zane plops down on a barstool beside me.
“What the fuck is going on, man? Since when do you keep secrets from us? First a secret girlfriend, now a secret bar visit.” Zach slams his hand on the bar, making my empty glass jerk.
The bartender rushes to us, removing the glass along with the bottle of Johnnie Walker before giving us the stink eye. But Zach doesn’t waver. His fist remains clenched, and his lips pinched tight. He shakes his head and mutters, “It’s like we don’t know you anymore.”
I hate the expression resembling betrayal on my brothers’ faces.
“She isn’t my girlfriend, or wasn’t until this evening.”
“We’ll need a little more than that, Zander.” Zach crosses his arms over his chest and looks down at me.
I know he isn’t knowingly trying to overpower me. It’s a defense mechanism we developed as teenagers for every time we felt the need to protect ourselves from someone or something.
“Can you please sit?” I nudge the next barstool closer to him with my foot.
Zach shakes his head before settling down and ordering a drink. Taking a large swig of his beer, he inquires, “Are you going to say something or what?”
I look at my brothers once again and then tell them everything from the moment I caught Marr falling from the couch the first morning till tonight when I walked out of the hotel suite with her.
I watch as everyone, including the bartender, an additional audience to my story, throws back a few shots. They all flinch when I tell them about the scars on her back and the incidences that led her to having those wounds. Fuck, I flinched myself while narrating the story.
“You like a girl named Rose? Fuck, Zander. Why didn’t you say anything?” Zach looks at me in confusion.
“I wanted to know what it was first, for myself.” I look away from his perplexed stare. Is it so weird that I like someone named that?
“And you d-d-do now?” Zane raises an eyebrow, his demeanor much cooler than Zach’s.
“I know that I like her.” As I say the words, a strange thrill unfurls inside me.
“She is different. You need to be sure before this goes any further.” This is something I never thought I would hear from Zach. He’s never been the caring one, especially when it comes to the feelings of a woman.
“What, man? Stop fucking staring at me like that. You do not mess with girls like her. I might act like…” He pauses, trying to find the right word.
“An asshole,” I supply, causing Zane to chuckle.
“Yes, and I don’t regret it. But you cannot be an asshole here, Zander. She has suffered a lot.”
“Give it t-t-time. Who knows-s-s, maybe s-s-she won’t like him for long.” Zane chuckles.
“Fuck man, it stings.” I snicker, rubbing my forehead. Talking to my brothers about her is liberating. My heavy chest unclenches.
“Does this mean one of the hottest bachelors in the country is no longer on the market?” Zach playfully shoves me forward.
“It appears so.” My adrenaline spikes just saying those words. Hope builds inside me. Maybe she and I, two broken souls, can rescue each other after all.
“I’ll drink to that.” Zach waves his hand to the bartender, who instead of making our drinks, scowls at me.
“You left her?” she mutters in disbelief.
“What?” I have no idea what she’s getting at, but her voice hurts my head. Maybe I should’ve skipped that last drink.
“She told you about her, and you said, Okay, thanks. But now you need to leave with your friend.” Her glare could’ve burned me right here, the bar providing enough tinder for her cause.