Gunned | SatoSere

Chapter 14 - Bloody Apology

He chuckles light-heartedly and dries his hands on his gray pants after he sets the hose down. "Well, we met so briefly, I don't expect you to remember. But I'll always remember you, after all, you saved my life."

Serena lets out a small sound of shock and bows at her waist stiffly. "It's good to see you again, sorry, I wasn't expecting to run into anyone," she admits sheepishly, rubbing at the back of her neck when she meets his eyes again. She must've looked like a completely different woman from that rainy day. "I didn't know you worked here."

"I'm a gardener myself." He waves a hand nonchalantly. "I volunteer here every now and then. The flowers are beautiful, aren't they?"

Serena agrees with a soft smile and a nod. "They are. Maybe you could help me with something...?"

"Not a problem at all. I'm Ramos. It's nice to finally meet you properly," he introduces and the way his voice wheezes along with the smile lines on his face makes Serena feel a little bittersweet. Her train of thought breaks when he speaks up again. "What can I help you find?"

"I'm looking for..." Ash passes over her mind like a breeze, a thrum in her heart that turns into a pang when she thinks of his eyes from the previous night once again. His voice, a plea, asking her to wait where she was, but Serena did nothing but run. "An apology from the heart."

He gives her a sympathetic smile and she says nothing more, in fear that he could see right through her. He rubs his chin, going through the white hairs of his beard, in contemplation before his eyes brighten with a thought. Suddenly, he's off to the back, leaving Serena trying to peer over the row of flowers, pushing up on her tiptoes. He returns moments later, with a full bouquet of tiny fluttering petals that blossom in a blush blue color.

He offers them to her and she can feel the subtle floral scent waft into her senses accompanied by a wave of calm. "These are hydrangeas. They mean exactly what you're looking for," he remarks proudly.

"They're beautiful," Serena says, the paper crinkling in her palms as she takes the bundle gently. "How much?"

"For you and Ash, nothing at all," he replies easily and she nearly chokes on her own breath.

"Ramos, I can't just-"

His hand goes up, waving nonchalantly at her sputter. "Take them as repayment for what you did for me, please." Serena still looks at him sternly, her lips pursing in doubt and right over another protest before he interrupts her again, words that stop her right in her tracks. "I can spend more days with my grandson and animals, thanks to you."

Her arm doesn't really hurt anymore, the stitches removed a few days back, but she feels the phantom heat and the coolness of the pendant against her sternum when she looks at the smile on his face and the way his beard wisp around his sun-blotted skin.

It's a testament to who she is now, who she is with Ash, and how she could have ever thought she would be better without them — without Misty and Dawn and their banter that felt like the two sisters she never had. Gary and Brock enjoying their lives without limits despite the horror around them and even Miette, offering her silent strength without treating her like a child.

Without Ash.

There were only so many seats in her life, so few spots that could be taken that she would let her heart be swayed by. Before she knew it, within her journey, all of them were filled and some were still pulling up their chairs to surround, and cradle her heart. The tears push behind her eyes, the paper crumpling a little between her fingers.

"Serena?"

She shakes her head, wiping the stray tear before it can fall on her blazer sleeve. "It's nothing. Must be allergies or something. Thank you, Ramos. I'll make sure to say hello to Ash."