Black Rose

Postlude.

This one is for Alex.

Putting a bright smile on my face, I emerged from behind the dark blue curtains and began to make my way towards the table I'd be sitting at. I made sure to wave as I made my way to the table. Once sitting down in the cushioned seat, my eyes gazed around at the many people sitting in chairs with books in their hands. There was also a section to my left where many reporters and camera men were. In the large balcony there were even more people who sat and stood. My heartbeat increased at the thought of this many people caring to hear what I had to say. There weren't this many people attending my speech last month

This many people bought my book? Now I see why it's a New York Times Best Seller.

"Hi," I smiled into the microphone that was attached to the table. "I just want to start off by thanking you all for coming out and supporting me. I appreciate it so much." I continued to smile, full of genuine happiness as the many cameras flashed and caught this moment. "So, I guess we can start off with questions?"

Many hands quickly raised, but I chose a reporter from New York Times first just to get a bit more publicity.

"Miss Collins, how do you feel about the success of your book and will there be a sequel your fans can look forward to?" The young blonde woman spoke into the microphone that was provided for her.

Unintentionally, I pulled at my bottom lip with my thumb and index finger while humming softly. "I'm honestly shocked about how well my book has done, but nevertheless, I appreciate it. Unfortunately, there will not be a sequel for the book, but I will work on new books."

She thanked me before writing down everything she needed.

In the meantime, I called on someone from the audience. "Uh, you in the yellow dress. That's gorgeous by the way."

The dark skinned woman smiled and thanked me in return. "I'm such a huge fan!" She exclaimed excitedly. "I'm just curious on how you chose the title Black Rose."

"Well, I thought of him as a rose. To me he was a rose," I admitted. "But he wasn't just an ordinary rose. He inflicted pain, yet love at the same time."

"Wow," she gasped in amazement.

With a large smile on my face, I called on a white man dressed in a dark blue suit. "What was your opinion on abusive relationships before you were in one? What's your opinion now? And has this past marriage with this man made you not want to be in another relationship?"

Wow, that was quite a few questions..

"My before opinion was why don't those girls leave. I assumed they could just leave but they chose to stay. Now I've learned it's the complete opposite. Even when you want to leave, you feel as if you deserve the pain the man is giving you." Quickly gazing up at the ceiling, I felt tears burning the brim of my eyes. I didn't look up long, just killing enough to avoid the tears. "My past relationship hasn't made me scared to be in another relationship. I just haven't been in one since he passed away because I needed to rebuild what he knocked down. Five years later and I'm still trying to do that."

The questions went on with me answering them without a problem. Some even caused me to laugh a bit.

When a brown skinned woman in the front row raised her hand it seemed as if time froze. With squinting eyes, I leaned forward into the table trying to see if my eyes were deceiving me.