Fate

Chapter 12

Vince

As soon as Vince stepped out of the bus, he called Rose. This was his usual after-work routine. He hated talking on the phone on the bus like so many of the other riders did and let the rest of the people on the bus in on their conversation. So he'd texted her until he got off.

So far their text conversation had been the usual, updating each other on how their days had gone, until she let him know what she was in the middle of.

I've been looking up apartments in this area. La Jolla is pretty pricey, but the surrounding areas aren't too bad.

That was the last text he got before he got off the bus. He hadn't bothered responding to that since he was off the bus now and could call her. He spoke as soon as she answered. "Rosie, I told you the whole thing about us moving in together wouldn't be for a while. I don't even know how long it'll take me to get the business going once I finish school. It might be longer than I was thinking."

There was silence on the other end for a moment. "I uh...I wasn't looking this up for us. I know it'll be a while before we look into this. Grace asked me to look up some prices for my mom. She might be moving down here soon. I just thought I'd mention it because I didn't realize how expensive this area was...that's all."

Feeling like an ass that he'd sounded nearly panicked, he backpedaled, trying to make up for it now. "I don't want you think that I wouldn't want to this soon if we could afford to, okay? It's just that...well I thought that maybe..."

"I'm planning our wedding already?"

Vince couldn't make out if she was teasing or upset. "No, that's not what I was gonna say. And if you were that wouldn't be a bad thing, but right now..."

She finally laughed softly, making Vince exhale in relief. "Relax, Vincent. Maybe I should've mentioned I was looking for my mom. I can see why you'd get the idea that I was apartment shopping for us."

Not wanting to stick his foot in his mouth again, he thought about what to say next. There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. Moments like this were unusual for them, and he didn't like it.

She cleared her throat and spoke before he did. "Listen there was something else I wanted to talk to you about."

Grateful for the change in subject, he didn't care what the subject was until he heard what it was. "It's about Ben."

Rose's prom date had only come up one other time after that day at the park. She'd told Vince that he texted her. Her friend Candace had given him Rose's new number, and the guy had texted her a few times before she mentioned it to Vincent. She explained that the only reason she hadn't mentioned it sooner was because she thought it might be one or two casual texts, but he'd sent her a longer one asking more personal stuff about Rose and her new boyfriend. She finally responded that she didn't feel comfortable talking about it, nor did she think Vince would like the jackass texting her. Damn straight he didn't like it. She stopped responding to his texts, and they'd since lessened, until they stopped all together.

Feeling the immediate annoyance, he slowed his pace. "What about him?"

"I ran into him last night."

This was exactly what Vince had been worried about when he'd gone back home after summer was over. He knew he could trust Rose, but even something like this was enough to have him reacting in a way that might make him say or do something he shouldn't.

Rose had gone to a party with her friends the night before, and afterwards there'd been a bonfire at the beach. Vince hadn't been able to make it out at the last minute because he'd worked late, and even though he wasn't thrilled about it, he said he was okay with her going without him. He was actually a little surprised that she'd still want to, but he bit his tongue when she said she'd go so her friend Candace wouldn't feel like a third wheel there with just Alison and her boyfriend.