Entangled (Entangled Trilogy #1) (17 page)

“Oh yeah? I triple-dog-dare you,”
I retorted. Yeah, Savvy, take that.

“I can’t. You know I love him.
Anyways, I’ve gotta head home. I’ll see you later, Rose. Please,
consider the Adrian thing and go talk to your brother,” Savvy told
me. I sighed and walked her to the door. After she left, I headed
over to Elliot’s room. He was standing in front of his balcony,
looking out.

“Elliot,” I whispered as he turned
to face me. His eyebrows shot up and he ran over to me, lifted me
off the ground and hugged me tightly. I hugged him back while I
cried into his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Rose. I’m really,
really, really sorry. Please, forgive me. Please don’t kill
yourself or leave me. I need you. I love you. I don’t hate you,
lil’ sis. I can’t bear to lose you. Please forgive me. I don’t know
what I would do if I lost my little sister,” Elliot murmured into
my hair. “You’re the only thing I have left. The only one who is my
family.”

“I’m sorry, too,” I
murmured.

“No,
I’m
sorry.”

“No,
I’m
sorry.” We went at each other’s
throat like that until he gave up and we both doubled over,
laughing like two weirdos.

“No, but seriously, I’m sorry,
Rose,” Elliot said as he pulled me in for another hug.

“It’s okay,” I smiled.

“If you want to know anything,
anything at all, I’ll try my best to tell you, but I can’t promise
you any answers because I have to protect you. Sometimes, the truth
can be dangerous,” Elliot said. I smiled and he led me over to the
dining room for breakfast. Apologize to Elliot:
Check
. Deal with Adrian:
Handle on Monday.

* * * * *

“Roza! Roza, my Roza. All mine. No
one else can have you, Roza. You’re all mine,” Adrian murmured into
my hair repetitively as he pulled me in for a tight hug. Great, two
tight hugs to begin the week.
Yay
me!

“Roza, please forgive me for all
the pain I’ve put you through,” Adrian apologized.

“What are you talking about? You
didn’t cause me any pain,” I shook my head and smiled.

“Yes, I did. If I didn’t, then you
wouldn’t have run away from me that evening,” Adrian blushed. I
thought that it was nearly impossible for guys to blush. It was an
uncommon moment when you caught a guy red-faced.

“No, you didn’t, Adrian. I just
wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for ignoring what’s between us. I
really want to give ‘us’ a chance, if you are willing to do the
same,” I told him as his face lit up. His eyes were all sparkly and
he was grinning from ear to ear.

“I love you, Roza,” Adrian said as
he hugged me again.

“I love you too, Adrian,” I
laughed. Adrian pulled away and kissed me tenderly. For the first
time, I actually kissed him back, letting him know that I really
did love him. He pulled away with a mischievous grin on his
face.

“
Umm . . . Adrian?” I
asked.

“Yes, Roza?”

“Why are you all playful all of a
sudden?”

“I finally feel confident enough
to ask you what I wanted to.”

“Which is?”

“Will you go out with me
after-school for a walk in the park?”

“I would love to, but my brother
is expecting me home after-school, no exceptions.”

“What if I asked him and he said
yes?”

“I doubt that. You’re a sweet guy
and all, but no exceptions.”

“We’ll see, sweetheart, we’ll
see,” Adrian grinned before pulling me in for another kiss. I guess
we’ll see. Just wait and see.

* * * * *

“Let’s go, Roza. C’mon, hurry up,”
Adrian whined as he wrapped his arms around my waist from the back.
I laughed again as he nuzzled into my neck.

“Where is your patience now?” I
asked.

“On a vacation in Hawaii,” Adrian
teased as he pulled me in for yet another kiss. Apparently, Elliot
allowed him to take me to the park. I guess Adrian was an
exception. After I said yes to Adrian this morning, he couldn’t
keep his hands to himself. Either his hands were around my waist or
around my shoulders or just intertwined with mine. He couldn’t even
stop kissing me. We’ve kissed like a million times
today.

“Where are we going?” I
asked.

“To the park, as I promised,”
Adrian said as he intertwined our hands together. With that, we
were headed off to the park to fulfill his promise.

CHAPTER 15

A WALK TO REMEMBER

I love to take long walks in the
parks like this. Not the ones with swings, but the ones that showed
off nature’s beauty. Adrian‘s hand gave me a playful squeeze to get
my attention and I looked up at his towering figure.

“Roza, do you like it?” he asked,
clearly nervous about my preferences. I patted him on the shoulder
awkwardly and shook my head. He instantly let go of my hand and
pulled away from me. Adrian’s eyes were shining with tears and I
knew that he felt futile and angry at himself. Some guys can be so
sensitive some times.

“No, Adrian. I don’t like it at
all,” I shook my head.

“You don’t?” Adrian questioned as
a tear had managed to escape from his eye. He felt like a failure
and I somehow sensed all of his emotions. I don’t know how, but I
just sensed it.

I stepped up and guided his hands
towards my waist as I wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him
closer to me. I looked up into his eyes, but he didn’t dare meet my
gaze. He was so sensitive and I didn’t like that in a guy, but I
liked it in him.

“Adrian, I don’t like it at all. I
love it. I love, love, love it. I love it, Adrian. Thank you so
much,” I said as Adrian sighed in relief and his hold on me
tightened as he buried his face in the crook of my neck. I smiled
at his shyness, hugging him back, reassuring him that I truly did
love it and most importantly, I loved him.

“I love you, Roza. I really do,”
he murmured.

“I love you, too, Adrian,” I
mumbled back.

“Do you, Roza? I feel as if you
love James more than me,” Adrian pulled away as his expression
became infused with jealousy.

“Oh, no. Adrian, I can’t believe
you feel that way,” I shook my head again.

“I don’t. I feel like a failure,”
he replied.

“You’re not a failure,” I
reassured him.

“Love is what causes madness. If
someone seems crazy to you and all those people who are mad and
crazy, those people in the mental asylums, are the true warriors of
love. They are the future Romeo and Juliet. You love everyone
freely. You don’t judge but you choose who you love very carefully.
You love like he’s what is keeping you in pieces. Why is that? What
is it that you see in him and not me? What does he have and I
don’t? I’ve watched millions of people fall in love, get married
and have kids. I’ve seen how they all look at each other in that
special way. Why don’t you look at me that way? Am I not perfect
enough for you? Am I that badly messed up? Do you think I’m a
failure too?

“
I know I may not be good-looking.
I make millions of mistakes and it is hard to control me sometimes.
I may not be perfect but you could at least give me a real chance.
What is it that he has and I don’t? How come you look up at him in
adoration and not me? I try, Roza, I really do try to change
myself, to become the man of your dreams, to become your Romeo but
I fail again and again,” Adrian finished off as I gasped and
instantly wrapped my arms around him. I couldn’t even believe that
he, my Adrian, felt this way about me. I felt a familiar lump in my
throat and tried to push it back down.

Adrian thought that his speech was
enough to get me to listen to him and try to actually love him.
That’s not true. I really do love him. Now, it’s my turn for a
speech. Let’s just say I have a thing for speeches myself. He’s not
the only one.

“
Humans are made of 95% flaws and
5% perfection, Adrian. That 5% is what your boyfriend or your
husband or your brother may think of you as. To the rest of the
world, you are mysterious and unknown. No one really cares about
what you do. So, instead of trying to change who you are and trying
to discard your flaws, you should embrace them because a perfect
life is boring. Trying to change that 95% of you is like trying to
suicide. Don’t hide your flaws and make an attempt at being someone
else. You don’t know what they do behind your back. The outside
doesn’t matter, the inside does. Take a chocolate bar, for
instance. The package looks really pretty but you are not eating
the package. You are eating what is on the inside, the chocolate.
Embrace your flaws, don’t hide them. Flaws make you human and that
is better than nothing,” I finished off as Adrian wrapped his
muscular arms around my petite frame.

I cried and cried into his
shoulder. I wish I could change myself. He shouldn’t change
himself. He is perfect. Adrian is always there for me. Adrian held
onto me tighter and sang comforting words into my ear.

“
Roza, oh God, I’m so sorry. I
didn’t mean for you to cry. I am so sorry. Forgive me? God I feel
like an idiot right now. I hate it when you cry. Please forgive me,
love,” Adrian pouted and I could tell that it wasn’t a fake
pout.

“
I will forgive you in one
condition,” I smiled.

“
Which is . . .,” Adrian arched an
eyebrow at me.

“
You have to stop underestimating
everything you say and do,” I said. Adrian nodded and leaned down
to kiss me. One thing I loved about his kisses was that he wouldn’t
rush into anything. It would be tender, as if he was afraid of
losing me if he pressured me. Adrian pulled away and leaned his
forehead against mine.

“
A chocolate bar? Really? You
couldn’t think of a better example?” he teased.

“
Shut up,” I blushed. Adrian
leaned down to kiss my blushing cheeks and pulled me closer to him.
I was so glad that he was finally being himself. As if he read my
mind, Adrian grinned.

“
I glad that I
can make you happy,” he said and leaned down to kiss me again. This
was definitely going to be a walk to remember. It will always be
glued to my brain. Especially his words of wisdom:
What is it that he has and I don’t? How come you
look up at him in adoration and not me? I try, Roza, I really do
try to change myself, to become the man of your dreams, to become
your Romeo but I fail again and again.

I wish I could make it all better,
Adrian,
I thought to him, realizing then
that he couldn’t hear my thoughts like James.

CHAPTER 16

A NIGHTMARE DRESSED LIKE A
DAYDREAM

Adrian was truly an amazing
boyfriend. He is the kind of guy anyone’s parent would approve of
for dating. He’s the sweetest guy on earth. He was a million times
better than James. Before you ask why, I want you to know that I
have my reasons for this belief. First of all, Adrian doesn’t hurt
me. Second of all, he isn’t possessive or forceful. I mean, he’s
possessive, but in a good way. Third of all, he is kind and loving.
And I guess you guys get the idea. He really loves me. I had begun
to love this whole week until
they
ruined it. Care to guess who they are?

“Ah, Rosemarie. We meet again,”
James smiled as he dramatically spread his arms out. To be honest,
the whole week was really cold so I had a hard time concentrating
on him because I was too busy trying not to freeze my butt off on
the roof.

If James tried to do something to
me, I would have to depend on myself because Adrian wasn’t here. I
don’t need his help anyways. I am strong enough to help myself. If
anything happens, I can always try and run away from
him.

* * * * *

“Roza . . .,” Adrian
whined.

“What is it?” I smiled.

“I need to go somewhere after
school and I can’t drop you off at home tonight,” Adrian said as he
wrapped his arms around me.

“And this is making you sad
because . . .,” I said.

“You have after school and I’m
scared to leave you alone. Please don’t hate me, Roza. If you want,
I can just stay and skip what I had to do after school—,” Adrian
started, but I cut him off with a quick kiss.

“
Don’t be sorry and definitely
don’t blow off something important because of me. I’ll be fine. I’m
a big girl and I can handle myself. Don’t you trust me?” I told
Adrian and added the cute-adorable-sparkly thingy eyes as the
bonus.

“
I do trust you. It’s them I don’t
trust,” Adrian said as he kissed me again. He didn’t need to tell
me their name for me to understand who he was talking
about.

* * * * *

“
What do you want from me?” I
asked, my voice strong and confident.

“What do you think?” he smirked
once before leaping off from his current position to get on top of
me. I somehow saw this coming and dodged his attack and turned
around to face him. If James was surprised by this, he didn’t show
it on his not-so-smug-anymore face.