I stop walking. I look up at him and know exactly what I need to do. “You have new day and night guards now. Are the weekend guards all new too?”
He looks at me for a moment. “Yes, they are all new. You want to go there.” He doesn’t say it as a question. He knows I won't be able to leave for a month while I am worried about Grace and Dex.
“You don’t have to come. If you don’t mind cutting the hike short, I can go back, grab a few things and make the train. I won’t go inside; I don’t want to tip anyone off. I'll just talk to them through the fence to check on Grace, give her a few things and try to cheer her up.”
Green sighs and mumbles something under his breath that sounds a lot like “Creepy freaking kids.” Then he looks up at me and says, “Let’s go then.”
“Seriously, Sebastian, you don’t have to go. It’s your day off and I will be fine. I can use a meeting with the new guards before I leave as my cover. I’ll even put it in my official report so it won't make the Council suspicious, so I won't need you for anything.”
“And you don’t think showing up out of the blue to meet the new guards without an escort is going to make the new guards suspicious? The old guards know too much; it is good timing that we had to switch out, but we can’t let them see you getting all weepy at the gate. No, I’ll go with you. You’ll go inside after you bring a bunch of crap with you for them. It will look less suspicious that way. But don’t think I’m doing this out of the goodness of my heart. I want a nice home-cooked meal, and apple pie…with ice cream.”
I smile widely and hug him tight. “You got it! Thank you so much, Sebastian, really. I don’t know what I would do without you. I’ll have Miriam make extra food and send you home with plenty for tomorrow’s dinner.”
He chortles at me. “Now you’re talking! Let’s head back already so we can get this done, my stomach is rumbling just thinking about that dinner.” I laugh as we head down the trail. Green seems to be a typical man, all it takes is the promise of food, maybe a few tears, and they immediately become putty in your hands!
We make it back to the house where I fix a quick sandwich for him and then I hurry to change and stop by Molly’s room on my way to mine.
“Hey Mol, would you mind doing me a huge favor?”
She looks up at me from whatever she is doing on her floor. “Anything for you, Miss President!” she says with a smirk.
“Do you think you’d be able to make an apple pie for dinner today?”
She eyes me suspiciously. “What’s it for?”
She looks intrigued but she doesn’t say no, so I know I’ll have her with my next statement.
“A gorgeous single guy…whom I’m not interested in.” I add in case she thinks it’s for me.
She shoots me a brilliant smile. “Of course! I would have done it for an ugly chick if you asked me, but since it’s for a gorgeous, single guy, consider it my pleasure!” I smile at my silly friend.
“Thanks, Molly, and he’s down stairs eating a sandwich right now, you know; just in case you want to keep him company while I go shower really fast.” The look she gives me is so hilarious and when she blows past me before I can talk further, I laugh even harder.
I take the fastest shower of my life and braid my wet hair so I don't have to worry about it. I don’t feel like dressing up even though this is a supposed to be a formal meeting, but I can’t go in jeans either since I am meeting the guards, so I just don my summer yellow dress; it is casual but dressy enough to work. Besides, it doesn’t hurt that it always makes me feel pretty.
I’m glad now that I asked Rose to make me some little girl dresses out of any scraps of fabric she had left over. She looked at me like I was crazy at first, but she still made me a ton of dress-up clothes which I thought of putting in a box to have Green deliver later. But since I am going with him now, this gives me a wonderful excuse to go in the gate. At the last minute, I pick up Rocco the rock that is sitting on my night stand. He has given me comfort for years, and I think it’s time to pass some of that comfort on now.
I put the box by the front door and make my way into the kitchen. I see Molly pouring a glass of milk for Green as he devours a plate of cookies. He smiles up at me and tosses a wink over at Molly who I’m pretty sure has just melted into a puddle of goo. “Anytime you want to make these little Sunday deals, I’m in.” I roll my eyes at him and motion for Molly to mop up the drool on her face. She glares at me but quickly turns to a smile when Green turns her way.
“I was just telling Sebastian here that we would love to have him over anytime,” she says sweetly.
“You keep baking like this Molly girl, and you won’t be able to keep me away!”
Great. What have I gotten myself into? She is going to have a mile-wide crush and poor Miles is going to be left in the dust. I go over to the cupboard to grab the rest of the cookies; Green tries to snatch another one but I slap his hand. Once I have the cookies and the dress-up clothes, I am finally good to go.
“I just made a fresh batch of lemonade this morning if you want to take that wherever you're going. I don’t mind making another.” Molly says, still grinning like a fool at Sebastian. That’s not a bad idea. I bet these kids have never even tasted the sweet and tart drink; it will be a treat indeed. I thank her and I go to the fridge to get it.
“I think I might have just found the perfect woman! How do you feel about creepy kids?” I can’t stop the snort that has just escaped me. Really, Sebastian? This of course makes Molly glow, the kids comment doesn't even faze her. If anyone will be fine without kids, it would be Molly.
“Can’t stand the nasty little buggers,” she says, holding her breath and hoping that it is the right answer, which of course it is.
Sebastian holds his hand over his heart. “Will you marry me?” Before this can get even more out of control, I grab his arm. “Let’s go, lover boy. She’s old enough to be your kid, remember?”
“Spoil sport!” he mock pouts.
We head out the door and toward the train station.
Once there, Green scolds me. “You had to go and ruin a good thing. I was this close to talking her into making me sweet rolls for breakfast!”
I roll my eyes at him and say, “You break her heart and I will get Masters to break your pretty face!”
This knocks the teasing right out of him. “Women,” he whispers under his breath.
I can’t help the excitement building up in me at seeing Dex and Grace again. The closer we get, the harder it is for me to contain my excitement and nerves. Finally, the train comes to a stop.
“Remember, your purpose is to make sure that the new guards are acceptable before you leave on your trip. They need to believe that, so you can’t go running up to the gate and blubbering before you meet the new guards. Got it?” He is right, and I am glad for the reminder. I try to school my features to indifference before I step off the train. We get our scooters from the shed, and Green fastens the box on the back of his. When we pull up to the compound, you can see the unease on the guards’ faces. They both look older than the last guards, and have a seriousness about them that the others lacked. They stand rigid and they exchanged an unsure look upon seeing me join Green. We make our way over to them.
One man spoke up first. “Sir, is everything okay?” He keeps on shifting his eyes from Green to me.
“Everything is fine, Davis. This is President Thatcher. She is going on another tour tomorrow and she wants to meet the new guards first to make sure that they understand the seriousness of this job.” Green’s announcement now gets both of their attention.
I step up to extend my hand to both of them.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m President Rosaline Thatcher. I’m sorry to catch you off guard but I want to make sure that you two are capable and have everything under control before I leave. I hope you understand.”
“Of course, Miss Thatcher. We understand and we take our jobs very seriously. My name is Davis; this is Anderson.” He nod
s at me, but Davis doesn’t smile.
“Thank you, I appreciate it. I tend to be much more hands on. Can you give me a site rep, please?” They share another look between the two of them, and Davis gives a nod of appreciation.
“Of course, Miss. We came on at 7:00; the night crew had no activity to report. It has been just as quite this morning as it has been since we started this week.” I nod to him and look to Anderson. I don’t want Davis to do all the talking; I want to get a feel for both of them.
“Anderson, how have the people been since you’ve come on this site? What is your take on them?” He looks at me for a moment and then speaks up.
“They are peaceful, Miss. They haven’t given us a hard time. A few of them have introduced themselves and haven’t been any trouble, Miss. We have stayed alert even though nothing has been out of the ordinary.”
I genuinely smile at them. “This is good to hear, thank you very much. I’m glad that I get to meet you before I leave. I don’t expect anyone to be out here, but if by chance anyone does come only very few people have clearance. Those that do should contact Green directly; however, if someone does come if they have clearance or not, please notify Masters instantly.”
They both nod their heads and say “Yes, Miss Thatcher.”
“Very well. It’s great to meet you both and now I know that I will be able to rest much easier knowing that you both are here.” I earn two small smiles from that comment of mine.
“Now I must deliver these supplies and be on my way. Green?” I look at him.
That is his cue to grab the box and follow me to the gate. The men then go in two different directions to take up their posts by the gate.
“I’m actually very glad that we met them. I feel much better too having them here. The last guards were nice enough, but not half as professional; also, Holder gives me the creeps!”
Green looks at me intensely. “Why didn’t you say anything to me or to Masters about that, Roz?”
I just shrug. “There wasn’t anything to say. It was just the way he would look at me, especially when I wore a dress. You know, like he was undressing me with his eyes?”
Green’s look hardens now; he is in full warrior mode. “Rosaline, you have to tell us when things like that happen. He may not have done anything, but you are the President and it’s his job to protect you, not to make you uncomfortable. From now on you tell one of us, understand?” I nod.
“Yes, thank you. I am glad that I talked to the new guards though. I like them. Oh and Green, can you just scan us in, and um…not put my code in please?” He smirks at me and says, “I understand, Miss President.”
He does as I asked and instantly, we have drawn a crowd. I can’t see Dex or Grace among them, but it's early still on Sunday so most people are at home, and Dex likes to spend all his free time with Grace. I am greeting everyone and saying my hellos when my favorite group of princesses approaches me. They come up to me and I get down on my knees to greet them as well.
“If it isn’t my favorite princesses. I have brought something for all of you.” They jump up and down with excitement after hearing my words. I take a dress one at a time out of the box. “Princess Karin, this is to impress your Prince Charming.” I hand her a dress and she giggles with delight. Then I proceed to the other girls: “Princess Karly, Princess Debra, Princess Ava, and Princess Cindy…” I go down the line of beaming little girls. I have just enough dresses and still a few to spare. I hand out everything but one to a mother who is standing near the group. I saved one of the dresses, and snagged the bag of cookies for Grace. I tell everyone to follow Green to the kitchen to get a very tasty surprise.
Green tosses me a wink over his shoulder. “I’ll take this lemonade in the kitchen and then keep myself busy. You go find your little one and I’ll meet you whenever you’re ready; don’t worry about me.”
I smile my thanks to him and then I take off as fast as my tiny legs will take me towards the housing section. I take a deep breath when I come to the one I am seeking; I knock hard on Dex’s door before I can lose my nerve. The door opens and a very confused-looking Dex stands there, just staring at me. “Roz?” he asks in disbelief.
Well it isn’t exactly the greeting I’m expecting. Running into my arms, twirling me around, and declaring his love are all of the things that might have crossed my mind, so a very stern-looking Dex standing there with his arms crossed while staring down at me doesn’t exactly make me feel warm and fuzzy.
He turns and whispers something inside and then he comes out on the porch and shuts the door behind him. “Roz, what are you doing here?” Wow, just go ahead and pour some salt in my wounds, why don’t you? I wanted to run off but instead, anger has flared inside of me.
“Well, it’s nice to see you too, Dex. What am I doing here? Oh I don’t know, I haven’t heard from you and I am worried about Grace. I can’t just leave for a month without knowing if you guys are alright, but if I'd had known that this is the kind of welcome I was going to get, I wouldn't have bothered. If you’ll just let me see her, I’ll give her a few things and then I’ll be on my way out immediately.” I am mad, but I am desperately trying to hold my tears at bay.
Dex exhales and starts rubbing his forehead. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Roz.”
What, he won't even let me see Grace? I am livid now.
“I might not have meant anything to you, Dexter, but I know good and well that I mean something to that sweet girl. I just want to make sure that she is fine and I want to give her a gift. You can throw me aside all you want, but don’t do that to Grace.” I don’t understand how he can be so cold. So that’s why he hasn’t written back. Green is wrong by assuming that Dex is trying to protect me; he is just done with me. It stings my heart much worse than I’d like to admit. Those traitorous tears are still trying to appear again, but I can’t just stand here begging. As much as I want to see Grace, he obviously isn’t going to let that happen. I just drop everything on his porch and turn around and start to run. I can’t stop the tears from flowing. I hear Dex swear and come up behind me.
“Roz, will you stop? Just stop, okay? Don’t cry. You just caught me off guard, that’s all.”
I don’t say anything. I just continue looking down at the ground.
“Roz, please, just don’t cry. We need to talk. Let me see if the neighbor can sit with Grace, okay? Will you meet me at the pond?”
I don’t want to. I just want to go straight home and lick my wounds, but I know I won’t be satisfied until I hear why Dex is being so cold. As much as I hate it, I need a reason. I nod and I take off for our tree by the pond. Our tree…pfft, what a joke.
I sit down by the tree and try to dry my face. I can do this.
Soon, I hear his footsteps approach, but I don’t take my eyes off of the pond. He eases down beside me and he doesn’t say anything for a moment. Then he shocks me by running his hand down the side of my face. “You look nice.”
Is this guy for real? He should be on meds, like seriously he’s straight-up loony if he thinks he can be cold and angry one second and then just flip on the charm and make it go away. I pull away from his touch. “Seriously, Dex, is this a joke to you? It’s not funny! You are the most aggravating man I’ve ever met. Why do you constantly have to go around huffing and puffing and ruining perfectly good moments? I show up at your door, telling you that I have missed you, I’m worried about you and I need to see you and Grace, and you stand there. You just stand there, Dex! You stare me down with your cold closed off-stare; you tell me to leave and that’s that. Then all of a sudden you come over telling me I look nice? It doesn’t work that way, Dexter. You don’t get to act like a total jerk and then give me a compliment and expect it to go away. You have some major problems!”
He chuckles softly. “I know, and I’m sorry. You’re right; everything you said is right. I’m rude and I’m a jerk, I know this. I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. I should have hugged you and told you I missed you and how good i
t was to see you. And it is, Roz, good to see you.” I just scoff. I can’t believe this guy.
“I’m not a good person, Roz. I ran away when I should have fought, I’m full of anger and I’m broken. The only good in me is that little girl in there, and I’m even failing her. I can’t make you happy, Rosaline. It isn’t fair for me to try to hold onto you when you deserve so much more than me. And it isn’t fair to Grace to have you showing up here when you can’t stay. It’s only going to confuse and upset her more.”
He may have been right about Grace, but that’s where it ends.
“You have no right to tell me who to love, Dexter. So you are angry and broken, and you run away. That’s what you do, but it’s not who you are, and you don’t have to become the person you’ve been because obviously, being that person hasn’t worked for you. I refuse to let you fall back on this “I’m broken” bull crap! And that’s what it is, Dex. You’ve had a bad go of it. Your parents didn’t understand how good they had it, they might have run, Dex, but that’s exactly what you are doing now. Yes you are scary and mean, and you hurt me more than you should, but you are also kind and loving and funny, and you make me feel safe and happy…at least when you aren’t being a jerk. You don’t get to decide what is best for me. I only want to check on you; if you don’t want to be with me, fine. After all, you aren’t exactly looking like a prize to me either right now. But don’t you use Grace as a pawn. I will never do anything to hurt her. Green told me that she isn’t doing well so I have a few things here to cheer her up, and to show her that people leave, but they also come back. She needs to know I’ll come back. Even if her brother is like a fire-breathing dragon that uses his height and bulk to scare me off, I’ll still come back to see her because that’s what you do when you love someone. You. Come. Back!” I try to catch my breath after my litany. Dex has seriously pissed me off.
He just looks at me with complete and utter disbelief. I’m not sure if it’s because I basically have just declared my love for him while insulting and screaming at him, or because nobody has ever had the guts to scream at him in love before. But I am not going to let him charm me anymore. I don’t like this feeling, this anger and sadness mixed with hope that I get every time he makes me mad. I stand up and look down on him.
Divided (The United Trilogy Book 2) Page 11
