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-&-

Chapter 37

       8 years ago.

       "Time to go Rosalyn."

       The grip on the trash bag almost twice the size of me tightened as Mr. Duncan nudged me towards his car. The cute little two story house that held some of the ugliest people I had ever met faded behind us as we walked down the drive.

       "W-what about Jax?" A pair of dark eyes blinked down at me through an even darker pair of sunglasses. He rubbed his palm against his clenched jaw.

       "It's hard enough keeping siblings together, you know that."

       "But he came last time!"

       "Enough Rosalyn! We are not going through this every time. Get in the car." He stood tall and scary next to the open door of his shiny silver car.

       I pushed the tears back and crammed myself and my garbage bag into the backseat. I didn't need to feel upset. Jax said he was coming, that he would never let me go alone. And he hasn't broken that promise yet.

       "What went wrong this time?" Mr. Duncan finally asked as he pulled the car away from the horrible house.

       "I'm sure they told you." I mumbled around the stuffed animal squished to my chest. Jax gave it to me for my birthday, even though I had no idea how he got it. He would always tell me not to worry about it. Jax didn't always do the best things, but he never got caught. I always thought that was the important part.

       I could feel Mr. Duncan's eyes staring at me through the rearview mirror, but I just kept mine pointed toward the window. "But I always ask for your side too." I clutched the bear tighter to my chest and didn't say anything. It's not like he would believe me.

       He never did.

       He sighed and dropped his eyes back to the road. "If you don't tell me what keeps setting you off Rose, we'll never be able to find you a proper home."

       "I don't want a proper home. I want Jax!"

      "I said enough about that." The sneer he sent me was enough to have me zipping my mouth shut fast. "Ugh." He groaned a moment later and pushed his glasses up enough to run a hand over his face. "I know it's hard, but you're only making it harder by acting up."

       "She pushed me first." I mumbled against the toy animal, the trash bag next to me crumbling with each bump in the road.

       "You pushed her down the stairs."

       "No, I pushed her back. She just happened to be right in front of the stairs."

       "Good God, child-"

       "It's not like she broke anything. She's fine." I grumbled over his visible irritation.

       "That's not the point. You are nine years old. You don't need to be written off as dangerous in your file, kid. No one will want you." His grip was tight on the steering wheel, but nowhere near as tight as the pain that gripped my chest.

       "I know."

-&-

       9 years ago

       The door was huge. The biggest door I had ever seen... and it scared me. I don't know how long I stood there watching it, one hand gripped on the stuff animal beside me on the floor, the other gripping the end of my shirt tightly.

       "Are you okay Rosie?" I blinked over at Jax as he walked up the stairs behind me, worry clear in his bright blue eyes.

       I nodded, but his frown only grew. "You were here when I left earlier too." I shrugged as his hand reached for my tiny one. I gave it to him and turned my eyes back to the dark wooden door.

       "What's wrong with it?" He asked softly as the warm grip he had on my hand tightened.

       "It's..." I paused and glanced around us, like the monsters hiding inside would hear and jump out at any moment. "There's darkness on the other side." My voice was no louder than a whisper, but it was all I could manage. His hand pulled me closer into his side. Even at ten he was already twice the size of most kids, and I found comfort in that.

       "You saw it?" His voice was soft now too, and his bright eyes stared almost as intensely at the door as mine did.

       I nodded as voices began to file into the area below us. "They took a girl in there this morning. I saw it when they opened the door. She was screaming and crying Jax." I let him curl me into him as fear started to replace the initial shock at the room behind the giant door. "They haven't let her out since then."

       "It's okay Rosie. I won't let them take you in there. You'll never have to deal with that ever again." His voice was so stern, and firm like he believed every word. I nodded, because I believed him too, and I let him pull me away from that darkness that always seemed to want to eat me.

-&-

       "Hey Rose! Wait up!" I glanced over my shoulder in surprise as a voice I didn't recognize called after me. A dark-haired boy I've seen once or twice in class before was jogging down the hall with a warm smile plastered on his face.

       Mine fell into a confused frown.

       "Um yeah?" I asked uncertainly as he jogged to a stop a few feet away from me. I clutched my binder nervously to my chest. The passing period between second and third was one of the only times that Rex didn't walk me to class, and I knew if I didn't get there when I usually did he would be upset.

       "Hey, I'm James." He held his hand out invitingly, but I just kind of... stared at it. He seemed nice and all, but Rex didn't even like me touching his friends. And honestly I had no idea what this guy was playing at.

       "I know. We've had classes together since freshmen year." His smile faltered as I took a small step away and clutched my binder tighter. No one ever talks to me except for the Big Four, and ever since the whole Jason thing I wasn't comfortable around anyone else in this school.

       "Right, sorry." A small tinge of red grew on his cheeks as he pulled his hand away and ran it through his soft looking hair. My frown grew.

       "Well, have a nice day." I muttered and started to turn around, but he stopped me again.

       "Wait!"

       Ugh.

       I groaned as I glanced down at the clock on my phone. I only had two minutes to get to class before the bell rang, and I was one hundred percent positive Rex was starting to get worried. Just as the thought crossed my mind my phone lit up with a text, and I had to force myself not to read it as I turned back towards James.

       "Look, I'm really sorry, but I have to go or I'll be late for class-"

       "You're Rex's girl, right? Like, you two are a thing?"

       Warning bells shot off in my brain and I began to slowly edge away from him once again. "U-uh yeah... I guess..." I mumbled as he ran his hand through his hair again.

       What is he trying to get at...?

       "And I'm actually supposed to be meeting him right now, so I need to go-" My phone lit up again and I gulped as his name flashed across the tiny screen.

      "Wait," He mumbled again as he began fishing around in his jacket pocket. My grip tightened on my phone as it grew silent... For ten seconds, then it was ringing again.

       Oh god. He's getting upset.

       "Here." James shoved a wad of green paper at me. His hand stood awkwardly in the air as I stared down at it with a confused frown. "Don't worry." He laughed at my expression before gesturing towards the money. "I owe him fifty bucks."

       "Why?" I asked as I grabbed my ringing phone and binder in one hand before slowly reaching for the money.

       He shrugged and gave me a soft smile. "Lost a bet to him at Echo." My frown grew but I grabbed the money anyways.

       "Why can't you give it to him?" I only grew more confused as his smile fell and worry flashed briefly through his dark brown eyes.

       "Honestly? He scares the crap out of me. I don't know how you deal with it." I flushed and clutched the stuff in my hands tighter as he shoved his into his pockets.

       "He doesn't scare me." I mumbled as his eyes flashed down the hall. My phone began ringing again.

       Okay, well maybe right now I was a little nervous...

      He shot me a small smile until his eyes flickered up and turned wide. "What's going on kid?" Brett's deep voice grumbled from behind me and I jumped, but honestly I shouldn't have been surprised. This was his free period and he was always lurking around.

      "N-nothing." I started as James began walking away with wide, and fearful eyes. I guess Rex wasn't the only one who scared him.

      "Who's the stiff?" He nodded towards the quickly disappearing James, his bright blue eyes almost seemed icy. I sighed as I gripped the money tighter.

       "James, he gave me fifty dollars and said he owed it to Rex."

       He grunted and his blue eyes followed the fleeing James all the way down the hall until he turned a corner. When it seemed like he wasn't coming back anytime soon, Brett reached up and grabbed my binder as I struggled to arrange everything. I shot him a smile.

       "Speaking of that ass hole." He grumbled as we started walking down the hallway. The bell had just rung and Rex was already worried, so there wasn't any reason to really rush anymore. "Please call him or something. He keeps blowing up my phone and it's annoying."

       I laughed despite the tension in my shoulders. My phone had actually stopped ringing when Brett showed up and I wasn't sure if that was necessarily a good thing. If anything, it only made me more nervous. I was fixing to unlock my phone and text Rex when I plowed face first into a brick wall.

       "Ow..." I groaned and tried to rub my sore nose, but a pair of iron arms wrapped around my back and lifted me until I was pinned against the same painful wall.

       "There you are." Rex muttered into my hair as he squished my front against his.

       "Why aren't you in class?" I mumbled against his shirt as he gently set my feet back on the floor. His dark eyes hardened and turned icy.

       I gulped.

       "Why aren't you in class?" He growled instead and gripped my upper arms tightly as his eyes glared holes into mine. My face flushed and I quickly held up the wad of money between the two of us. Brett stood completely forgotten behind me.

       Rex's gaze dropped down to the money in my hand before the ice in them disappeared and turned into confusion. One of his hands let go of me and reached for the waded fifty. "Some guy named James stopped me in the hall and gave it to me. He said he lost a bet to you..."

       Realization dawned on his face, but his jaw locked anyway. "And why couldn't he fucking give it to me himself?" He growled even though his words weren't directed at anyone in general. I shrugged and let my arms wander soothingly around his waist as he shoved the bill into his pocket.

      "Because you scare him." I admitted nonchalantly as he rubbed one hand along my back.

       He snorted.

       "So he goes to you? Fucking pansy..." He grumbled under his breath as he turned towards the older Dimajio.

       Brett handed him my binder and said a quick goodbye before heading off back the way we came. My arms dropped to my sides, but Rex's free hand quickly shot out and grabbed ahold of mine.

       "No more not showing up Roza. I was worried." He grumbled as he lead the way back down the hall.

       "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to worry you."

       "I know."

       We stayed silent the whole way back to third period, and with the way everyone was staring at us didn't hide what they thought we had been doing. I felt my face heat up and turn as bright as a tomato. It was hard resisting the urge to hide behind the safety of Rex's back, but I somehow managed. The teacher shot us a look and ground her teeth together before nodding towards our seats.

       To say I was surprised was an understatement. I guess that boy wasn't the only one afraid of Rex...

       The rest of the day went by rather smoothly. I didn't really hear anything floating around the gossip mill about Rex and 'that girl' showing up late to third period together, but then again, the school had juicier scandals to gossip about. The rest of the week went by smoothly too.

       It was nice for a change, except Rex didn't really seem to want any more of those "Hey, you're Rex's girl right?" moments and he literally made me wait at the end of every single class for him. I kind of liked it though, it just gave me more chances during the day to see him.

       It was Friday night when something invaded our ignorant little bubble. It was nothing major really, but enough to make my heart jittery in my chest.

       "Rosalyn?"

       I glanced over my shoulder at the bulky form of my father crowding the kitchen doorway. He was leaning against the frame with his arms crossed over his chest, and his dark hair looking very disheveled. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks, and knowing my dad he probably hasn't. I tried to give him a small smile as he watched me stir the pasta noodles on the stove.

       "What's up dad?"

       His eyes flitted away from mine for a moment to stare out the kitchen window as he rolled his shoulders like they were in pain. His eyes snapped back to mine.

       "Where's Rex?"

       My heart skitted at his name and I had to force down the goofy smile at the thought of him. "He had to go home for a few minutes to get some stuff. He said he should be back in ten." I glanced over the clock on the stove as I said that. I knew it took a lot longer than ten minutes to get to his apartment, but I couldn't help the small tinge of worry settling in my stomach.

       He always got into so much trouble when I wasn't with him...

       "You okay dad?" I asked a minute later as silence crept up around us. It was uncomfortable and filled with tension. That type of silence never meant anything good.

       "I think..." He licked his lips and glanced around the kitchen again before continuing. "I think you should go stay with him for a few days.

       I frowned.

       Him being completely cool with Rex pretty much living here was a thing of its own, but now he was actually suggesting that I could stay with him for a while? That didn't really settle right in my stomach.

       "A-are you sure?"
       He ran a giant bear-like hand through his hair before he let out a soft chuckle, the tension in the room slowly leaving.

       "Yeah kiddo, I just think it would be a good idea for a while. Get you out of the house just in case... Well, you know..." His tone trailed off and my grip on the wooden spoon tightened.

       Yeah, I guess I did know.

       He didn't want me to go just so I could stay with Rex, he wanted me to go in case his parents showed up here. They didn't know about Rex, I didn't think they did at least. I prayed to God they didn't actually, and staying with him for a while might give my dad the break he needed.

       I got that.

       "If you think that's best."

       He gave me a small smile and nodded before turning around and heading back to his office. I heard the door close behind him. It wasn't that I didn't want to stay with Rex, because I did with almost everything in me, but my father kinda of just pushing me out had me worried.

       Had they called again? Did they drive buy and my dad saw them? Did they mail him something? Did they mail me something?

       I leaned over the boiling water as panic gripped my chest. It didn't come as hard or fast as before, but it was enough to make my breath catch in my throat.

       "Rosalyn!"

       Oh great.

       Of course that's how Rex would have found me.

       "I-I'm okay..." I gasped as his hands basically ripped me from the stove and cradled me against him. He squished my face so far into his chest that it was even harder to breathe than through the panic.

       "Rex, air." I gasped into his jacket and his hands softened a fraction.

       "Are you okay? What was that?" His thick fingers gripped my chin tightly and pulled me away from his chest just enough to angle my face up to his worried one.

       "My dad just... freaked me out a little." I blinked up at those dark, worried, chestnut eyes and watched as they traveled the expanse of my face, looking for injuries that weren't there.

       He was still wet from the light drizzle outside and the heat radiating from inside his jacket where I wound my arms around his waist overpowered the cold lingering to the old leather.

       His eyes darkened.

       "I'm fine Rex, see." I even gave him a giant, eye watering smile to prove it. It was true too, the minute those hands of his had cradled me to his chest I had been fine.

       "How did he freak you out?"

       The tone in his voice made me want to role my eyes, but I held myself in check. "He told me to go stay with you for a while."

       His slightly irate face pulled down in a frown and I resisted the urge to reach out and smooth out the lines it caused on his forehead. "And that freaked you out?" His frown turned into a pout and for a moment I let a bubble of laughter escape me. His pout slightly eased.

       "No silly, I was just upset cause I didn't know why he wanted me to."

       Understanding dawned on his face and he let go of my chin to wrap his arms around my waist. "And you thought it was because of them..."

       It wasn't a question, but I nodded my head anyway.

       "Yeah."

       The sound of dripping water sizzling loudly caught my attention, and I jumped as I looked over my shoulder. The water in the pot had started boiling over and splashed onto the stove.

       "Crap!"

       I jerked away from the warmth that was Rex and turned the burner off. He leaned against the counter top next to me and chuckled. "Look at you, burning water." I sent him a glare that only made him laugh more.

       "I didn't burn it, you jerk. It just boiled over." I sent him a glare as I spooned the noodles apart to try and see if any were damaged. "It's impossible to burn water." I grumbled under my breath.

       "You know you love me." He teased and poked my side a couple of times before I gave in and laughed with him.

       "Only a little." I stuck my tongue out at him which he just raised an eyebrow at.

       "Oh yeah?"

       "Yeah."

       He leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Liar, liar." He breathed into my ear as his arm went to snake around my waist again. I tried to ignore the shiver his touch was sending through me, as some form of defiance, but that just made him try harder.

       His lips brushed against the shell of my ear and then across my jaw line, and down my neck as I tried my hardest to ignore him. But he was good.

       "Rex I'm trying to cook." I grumbled as his thumb brushed against the bare skin the edge of my shirt revealed. That small simple touch sent a sharp tingle through