Winner

by Belle Brooks

  “We were.”

  “The day it happened ... I met her, that is … I was on my way home from a fast-food outlet where I had been flipping burgers for most of the day. Penny was a sitting duck where I saw her sitting.” I close my eyes and try to picture her there. “She was curled up on a bench seat like an injured bird, only she had a fur coat draped over her. It was the coat that had me changing direction to where she lay. My mind was screaming at me not to approach her, but I couldn’t just allow her to stay there.” Picturing her long jet-black hair has me swallowing hard. “She was crying, and it was such a pain-filled cry … one I’d never heard before, and one I thought meant she’d been attacked.”

  “Had she?”

  “No. But she was running away from something.”

  “What?”

  “Her family.”

  “Why?” Rose is quick to ask.

  “She was engaged to be married to a wealthy man she’d never met … It was an arranged marriage. You see, Rose, Penny had something in common with you. She was from a very wealthy family and—”

  “She was …” Rose gasps. “Her father’s desire was for her to marry someone with more wealth.”

  “Yes.”

  “And she ran away to escape them and the marriage?”

  “She did. I still have no idea how she made it to the part of Hoffman she did, and she never told me.”

  “She just came to be there.”

  “Somehow. Rose, all I know is she had travelled over eight hours to arrive at that bus bench because she came from Berbax …”

  “Penelope Brighton-Smith,” she whispers.

  “Yes.” How does Rose know her name? Rolling my head towards Rose, I’m caught completely off-guard when her eyes are bugged. “How did you know her name?”

  “Everybody knows about her death. You were her Romeo.”

  “What?”

  “It’s what all the media referred to you as. Penelope was a rich girl fleeing a privileged life, and she landed right into the arms of a squatter who she refused to leave for any money or reasoning. He was her love … he was her Romeo.”

  “Romeo.” I’m confused.

  “The story. You know, Romeo and Juliet.” She says this as if it’s common knowledge.

  “Oh. Yeah. I’m with you. That play with all the weird talking?”

  “Yes.” Rose smiles. “Is that what happened?” Rose is searching me for the answers because her eyes are wavering and her breathing is ragged.

  “Penny was petrified, Rose, and she begged for me to keep her safe … I was drawn to her.”

  “You were?”

  “From the moment I pushed away the coat from her body until it fell to the ground where it remained long after I took her hand to mine and led her away, I knew I was going to love her. I don’t know how, I just did.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “To a house I shared with Blocker, Rance, Sailor, and Tardo. We all lived together, and together we kept Penny safe.”

  “You’ve been friends for a long time?”

  “Since I was eight. We grew up together.”

  “Wow.”

  “I’m sure you have many friends from school of your own.”

  Rose bats her eyelashes at first before her eyelids seal completely … I believe she’s sheltering herself from me by doing so.

  “Rose?”

  She laughs so loudly it has me puzzled. What’s so funny?

  “I don’t have any friends at all, Fin.” Rose manages to entwine words into her laughter.

  “You don’t have any friends?”

  Rose stares at me. “No. I socialise with the ladies at the country club and I was home-schooled. I do have my sisters, and of course my parents, and I believe our alliance is the reason for never needing anybody else. I think you might just be my first real friend, Fin.”

  I smile. Her first friend. I like it.

  “What about your family?” she asks.

  “I didn’t have parents or siblings, so maybe this is why I’m so close to my friends.”

  “You don’t have family?” Rose slips her nail between her teeth.

  “Not blood. I was a foster kid from five years of age.”

  “A foster kid.” Her tone is more than shocked—it’s borderline distraught.

  “Yes. Tessa, who is living with me, is my foster mother.”

  “And she’s all you’ve had to rely on?”

  “No, I’ve have my friends, and for a period of my life, I also had Penny.”

  Without warning, Rose removes her nail from her mouth and reaches out her hand until she rests it gently to my cheek.

  “Rose,” I breathe.

  “You fell in love with Penny, and she fell in love with you.”

  “Yes. We did.”

  “And then when you were coming home from a movie she was killed? It’s what the papers reported.”

  “Yes.” My throat constricts. “They thought I hurt her, and for a while I was the prime suspect.”

  “I’m so sorry, Fin.”

  I can’t answer.

  “They haven’t found who did this to Penny, have they?”

  I shake my head slightly under Rose’s palm before her fingertips splay out across my face. Her pinkie finger runs midway across my bottom lip and halts.

  “Fin, do you feel the same intense feeling as when you first met Penny with me?”

  Again, I can’t find an answer for Rose … I don’t know how to express how it is I feel when I’m around her.

  “I only ask because when I’m near you, it’s intense ... in a good way. In a way I’ve never experienced.”

  It’s a confession I never saw coming. I knew Rose was attracted to me, she didn’t do a good job at hiding that, but I’d no idea she felt something more intense. Does she really feel the same way about me as I do about her? I swallow hard, and even though I’m telling myself to look away from Rose and get up, I don’t divert my eyes or move a muscle. Slowly, I shift my mouth in the direction of hers. I have to kiss her. I need to kiss her.

  “Roselette Horton, get off the ground immediately.” It’s a booming instruction.

  “Mumma.” Rose gasps, bolting upright until she’s in a seated position.

  “We’re leaving, now,” she orders.

  As I find my way onto my bottom, I drop my head between my parted knees for a moment before rolling my neck in the direction of Rose, who stands at my feet.

  She hurries to redress and her mother, who I finally offer my attention to, is glaring at me as I stand upright before her. Mrs Horton looks like a more mature image of her daughter; it’s uncanny.

  “Do you think I wouldn’t have found her out here with you?” She’s more than unimpressed, and as her face reddens, I try to think of something worth any value to reply with.

  “It’s not what it looks like.” I hope for this to bring truth and possibly calm to the situation.

  “I’m sure it’s not, but my daughter has no place being here with you. Hurry up, Roselette.” She shifts her attention from me to Rose.

  “Mumma, how did you find me?”

  “Never you mind. You are an engaged woman. You have no business fornicating with this man.”

  “I’m not. We’re friends.” Rose has a fearful rattle in her voice.

  “Your father is waiting.”

  “I’m coming, Mumma,” Rose pleads as she pulls the running shoes I gifted her onto either foot.

  “Stay away from my daughter.” It’s a tone filled with a promise that she’ll ensure this happens.

  “Your daughter isn’t a child. You can’t—”

  “It’s okay.” Rose stands between her mother and me, placing her hand to my cheek. “Fin, it’s okay—they’d never hurt me. My parents love me. My mother loves me. I have to go.”

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

  “I will. Thank you for today. I really needed someone to talk to, and you were so gracious in giving me a companion to share my worries with.”


  “Rose,” I say softly.

  “Goodbye, Fin.” It’s an attempted smile, nothing more than a mere lift of her upper lip, which fades away too quickly.

  As her hand slides from my face, Rose turns her back to me, not even offering a slight glance back over her shoulder as she marches away.

  I guess I have as much chance of saving Rose as I did of saving Penny.

  I’m sluggish when I arrive at Lad’s Motorcycles. It’s the grand opening day, and the joy I thought I’d feel is non-existent. I can’t stop thinking about Rose. Three days and I haven’t caught a glimpse of her, not in the flesh and not through her window—it’s remained a space of complete darkness. I can’t help thinking Rose has been shipped off somewhere with Slade to work at a future together.

  Three new text messages have been saved to my mobile device, each one of them from Rose, and each one informing me she’s okay in the simplest form: ‘I’m okay’. And even though I prodded and pried for more information on reply, Rose didn’t reply to a single one of my questions asking where she was.

  I know Tessa’s right, and I’ve no place trying to save a woman who cannot be saved, but it’s almost a compulsory need built within me—I’m a sucker for a damsel in distress.

  As I enter through the back entrance of the fully set-up store, I’m gifted with a surprise I wasn’t expecting. Tessa’s here.

  “You’ve done a great job.” Her wide-stretched lips are the welcome I needed today.

  “How? Who brought you?”

  “Rance did, when he picked Alan up this morning from the house. Where were you, by the way?”

  “Clearing my head,” I mumble. The only place I can clear my head now is at the waterfall, and I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t also hope that maybe Rose would be standing there when I reached it.

  “Still thinking about Rose.”

  I know Tessa thinks I need to let this go, but it’s not a simple task to shake this off and walk away.

  “Yeah,” I say, almost inaudible.

  “If Rose is telling you she’s okay, then she’s okay, Tank. You have to give her space just like we discussed last night.”

  “I heard you loud and clear, Tess … Don’t worry about it.”

  “Good.”

  Woof. Woof.

  Roxie dances at my feet, and with a stretched arm, I scoop her up and place her to my chest. Running my hand through her thick coat has Roxie’s snout sniffing the length of my neck. “What do you think of the place, Rox?” I ask as she whips her tongue onto my lips.

  “You mangy dog.” I jerk my head back. “Come on. We better get these doors opened to the public.”

  Alan, Blocker, Rance, Tardo, and Sailor are wearing their black Lad’s Motorcycle polos, just as I am, and even though the kid is only supposed to work after-school shifts here, he skipped a full day for the grand opening. I’m glad he did.

  “Right, are we all ready?” I ask as the lads stand in a line.

  “Yep.” Rance thumps me in the arm with one hard blow. “This is what dreams are made of right here, Tank.”

  “Let’s just see how the day pans out.”

  We don’t stop. Not for a moment. And the only time one of us does leave the shop is when Rance takes Tessa and Roxie home.

  Watching Alan as he works the sales counter makes me proud. I believe things will only become easier for him when he receives his prosthetic leg on Friday. He’s mastered walking with one in his physiotherapy sessions, and his custom-made leg will be here tomorrow, ready for our scheduled appointment.

  Alan has come a long way from the abandoned kid I took home from the hospital. He’s concentrating at school and doing well generally, although there’s still a darkness … emptiness in his eyes. He’s been taken under the wing of these four lads who took me under theirs when we were kids, and he has Tessa to keep him on track. The mood swings he has, suck. And he’s still having some trouble with the kids at school. But, we see some improvement in Alan. A young lass came to study with him on Monday at the house and I have a feeling she’s looking for more than friendship … I think Alan is, too. Time will tell.

  “Fifteen minutes, boys, and we’re locking these doors,” Blocker calls across the showroom floor.

  Holy shit, where did the time go?

  “Come on, boys, get your arses moving,” Rance cheers.

  “While you start bringing the display bikes inside, I’m going to get the tools put away in the workshop … I’ll also get the Esky of beers ready for when you have the place locked up,” I inform them before heading down the long pathway in the direction of the workshop at the back of the property.

  I’m busied with ensuring everything is in its place at first, but in no time, I’m opening the fridge door and loading the Esky with a cold brew for each of us. Six chairs are set into a circle and when I slide the Esky into the centre, I glance down at my watch to see it’s 5:05 p.m.

  Doors will be closed. A successful first day.

  “It’s amazing, Fin.” Her voice is sweet and calm.

  “Rose.” I swivel quickly.

  “Hi.” She’s smiling, although I can see her obvious unease. “I wanted to come see how everything came together. Blocker and Rance escorted me on a tour of the property before telling me where I’d find you.” Rose places an overnight bag she’s holding to the ground before ironing her palms down the sides of a tight-fitting navy dress. She’s made up to suit her usual high-society status.

  “Oh.” I’m relieved to see her, but I’m worried her bag implies this might be the last time I ever do.

  “Sailor said it was a very successful day for you today.”

  “Yeah. It was better than I expected it would go.”

  Her smile broadens.

  “Are you okay?” I take a few steps closer.

  “I am.”

  “I’m glad. Hey, aren’t you supposed to be in New York? Isn’t that what you said? You couldn’t come to the grand opening because you’d be away?”

  “I must admit, I haven’t come here today just to see how everything went. I came to ask something of you.” Rose shifts uncomfortably from each thin peg heel.

  “Okay. What do you need?”

  It’s a long, drawn-out silence, until she clears her throat. “A place to stay for just a really short while. I know it’s a big imposition, and I promise I wouldn’t be asking this of you if I didn’t need assistance. I could do with some space from everything happening in my life at the moment, and I was hoping you’d allow me to stay in one of your spare bedrooms. As you can see, I didn’t go to New York.”

  “They’re not furnished,” I blurt out. Why did I just say that?

  “They’re not furnished?” Rose is shocked by this … why?

  “No. I didn’t see the need to as I had nobody who would be living in them. It would have been silly, really, to furnish them. The boys always head home after nights at mine. I don’t know, I just never did.”

  “Oh. Okay. I understand. I’ll surely be able to…”

  “You can stay in my room if you need to for the night, and I can get a few things for one of the rooms tomorrow for you.” I want to send her away. I should, but I can’t. She’s asking for my help.

  “Ummm …”

  “Oh no, not like that.” I wave my hands in front of my torso. “I’ll sleep elsewhere. My lounge chair is more comfortable than the bed I used to sleep on anyway.”

  “Are you sure? This would be too much of me to ask of you.”

  “Yeah. Of course. No, not at all. I want you to stay. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

  “Yes.”

  “What are friends for?”

  “Thank you.” It’s now I realise her shoulders were perched by her ears because they drop down with a sudden exhale I can only assume is due to relief.

  “Do your parents know, Rose?”

  She rocks on her heels. “Well …”

  “They don’t, do they?”

  “No. They don’t.”
/>   “You know they are only going to come looking for you there.”

  “Yeah, I do. I was hoping for just a little while, and I promise it will only be a short span of time, that you could maybe offer me some shelter and keep them away.”

  “I can do that for you.” It’s not something I take time to think about. She’s here. She’s safe. She needs help.

  “Thank you.”

  “Why now, though?” I’m curious.

  “Why am I asking this of you today?”

  “Yes.”

  “Because I’m supposed to be packed and ready to travel to our private airstrip by nine p.m. tonight … I’ve been ordered to fly to New York to meet up with Slade.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “I wish I were.” Her eyes glaze with moisture, and I worry she’s about to cry.

  “Get the fuck out of here, you clown ...”

  “Whatever, you loser.” We hear the boys coming towards the shed, so I grab a seventh plastic chair and gesture for Rose to take a seat.

  “Are you sure?” It’s almost as if the word nervous is written in the small creases invading her forehead.

  “Of course.” I smile.

  “We’re all closed up, you fucker.” Rance and his big mouth. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were still here, Rose.”

  Rose releases a small giggle as she sits down in the chair I previously offered her. “Don’t mind me.”

  “I’m as thirsty as a camel—bring on the beer. Are you having a beer, Rose?” Blocker runs his eyes from her feet until he connects to her eyes. Fucking perv.

  “I’ve never had a beer before, so I’m unsure as to whether I’d like it, but if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to try.”

  “Sure, sweetheart. Let me pop a cap off one for you.”

  “Thank you.” She giggles.

  Why the fuck did I ask her to join us? These tools are just that, tools, and will probably frighten her away before she even ends up back at my place.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Rose

  Tessa and Alan were both welcoming and open to the idea of me staying with them for a short period. Alan even offered me his bed to sleep on, until Finlay explained I’d be staying in his room for the evening and he’d take the lounge.