Rosette

Chapter 9: Daffodils

Jake was frozen, feeling hesitant at what she was about to say, and dreadfully fearing her saying it can't happen again, but knowing that one of them has to say it. "We can't do that again, Rose."

"Why?" Rosette asked, feeling her throat begin to tighten, she had to slow her breathing and swallow it down to stop herself from crying. "I thought you liked it."

"I did, but you know why, Rose," he said, blinking a lot faster now. "I have to put Olivia first. She's my daughter, and as a father I have to put my feelings away because she comes first for me."

It was silent for a moment, Rosette thinking whether to just accept that they can't be together or trying to save her one chance of love.

"Jake, Olivia will still love you, she can't not, and she'll always be my best friend, you've done a lot for her, a lot more than most fathers ever do, and I like to think I've helped her a lot too. If she truly loves you, she'll understand that for once you're giving love a chance, I know the story Jake, she's told me, and I'm sorry the woman that did that to you was awful, giving you a child and running off without ever contacting you again, it wasn't fair to you. And if Olivia really loves me, she'll understand that for once I've found hope in my life. Olivia is understanding, she tries to look at things from everyone's perspective, she can give us this one thing," Rosette said, her voices croaking towards the end. Her tears became hard to hold back. "It's Olivia we're talking about."

"You know, what's funny, I've always looked at you differently from her other friends, mainly before, I don't know what's happened but lately you've changed. And it hurts me so bad to see you so sad all of the time, Rose. I don't know how to help, but I can't just leave you like this. You cry all the time at night."

"Jake, things have changed for me. Two months ago," she began, when she broke down in tears, and Jake pulled her back in a hug for a moment, until slowly her breathing turned normal and she pushed herself away from his chest, making him frown a little, wishing she'd stay there. "I saw my dad hit my mom. I don't know how long it's been happening, he's always had a temper and always yells at Mom and I a lot but now he hits her and doesn't care if I'm there or not. I wish you didn't have to see me like this, I wasn't always this scared and nervous all of the time. I wish I didn't seem like a child, maybe then you'd like me."

"Who said I don't like you?"

"I mean like me as more than a friend," she said when he suddenly took both her hands in his.

"I do like you as more than a friend and a lot more than a father should like his daughter's friend. I really like you, Rose. And all of those little nervous habits of yours don't make you look like a child in my eyes, I just see a really socially anxious rose trying to fit in with the grass," he said, a smile coming onto her lips as she looked down, feeling flushed from the compliment, and the poetic sentiment. He let out a short, soft laugh and brought his forehead against hers, his heart hammering against his chest. "Rose, I've tried to hold myself back from you for long enough, it's always been different with you. I want to try with you, to just go on a date to see what would happen, and if neither of us feels a spark-"

"Then that's it," she finished.

"Then that's it."

A/N

I hope you've enjoyed this. I'm getting excited for the really cute cuddly parts that will later show up. I just love love and I know that soon enough I can live vicariously through these characters. Also, who do you guys picture Jake to be?

The poem for this chapter is: Daffodils, by Wordsworth.