Only Skin

Chapter 6

A normal and uneventful day had passed, and I was still not back to normal. My body had this...hatred that consumed it. I felt like nothing but pure anger coursed through my very veins into my core.

When night fell, I knew I had to escape a different route to see Rose. She would expect me to come through the back door leading to the gazebo, and more than likely would avoid it. Instead, I decided to climb from my balcony. This way, there was no chance of me being spotted through the house, which was a good thing.

I wore my best boots for the job, and after a lot of climbing and hand scraping from stone, I landed softly on my feet. My agility was certainly more advanced than I presumed it to be. As I turned the corner to the gazebo, my heart raced. I was afraid of Rose's feelings about me now. What if I had done the wrong thing? I made her a target now. There's always the chance Charolette could use it against me.

When I arrived to my destination, I learned my suspicions were correct. Rose was sitting on the ground, outside the edge of the gazebo's walls. She was positioned so if I was coming through from the door, she would have been invisible to my eye.

I carefully walked across the rotting boards, making my way to meet Rose on the floor. Without any notice, I sat down beside her. "I'm sorry." I began, without looking at her. Instead, I focused on the moonlight that beamed down upon us. "I should not have acted so brashly. I've made you a target now." Her head snapped to face me, a look of confused sprawled across her skin. "What'd you mean? I was goin' to apologize to you." "What? What for?" Her eyebrows furred in concentration. "I should not have given away your name like that. My slip up could have ruined everything we have together." Everything we have together? "Rose no!" I said in an exclamatory but hushed voice. "You did nothing wrong here. We both make mistakes. No one is perfect after all." Rose's full lips spread across into a flash of a smile, and her shoulders relaxed along with it."

"I'm sorry. I am so used to bein' told how much of a screw up I am, constantly." "I get how you feel." I replied. But for some reason, I felt that our situations were very different, and regretted my reply soon after. "Despite what they tell you, you are not a mistake Rose. You are a fantastic and beautiful young lady. No one can tell you otherwise." A light blush fluttered across her cheeks, but she made quick to ignore it. "Thank you."

"As to you." "Was that the lady who you're marryin'?" I let out an exasperated chuckle and said "unfortunately, yes." "She's quite the charmer, ain't she?" She said with a laugh to join mine. I moved my hand to be on top of hers, wanting to hold it in mine. For a moment, she balled her hand into a fist, refusing me to latch onto hers. But after relaxing like always, she let me hold her hand. It was warm, and relinquished a feeling inside me I could not explain entirely. I just decided to enjoy the moment with Rose, as we gazed upon the moon.

Rose broke the silence, turned herself to face me, hand still in tact, and said "Tell me about you, Henry. I feel like I know nothin' about yo' life. Heck, you know most o' mine." "Well," I began, thinking about what to tell her. I decided that I owed her the truth, so I spoke it. "I am 19, but I'll be turning 20 next month. I-" "what day?" Rose interrupted. "Oh, uh the 22nd. It'll be a great birthday, I share one with the great Colonel-" "oh shush and get on with tha' damn story." I laughed despite my ruined attempt at trying to stray from the topic. "Alright. I'm an only child, as far as I know of. But, my father is quite the player, so I have no doubt that there are some ineligible children of his out there, meaning a few or so half-siblings of mine. I am ranged to marry Charolette Carson, your typical prestige lady, but she is a horrible woman on the inside, despite the outer shell. I've grown up and had to face the same, boring and uneventful life besides the grooming for my fathers position, and the constant manners I was taught to uphold."

Rose sat, and looked as if she was enjoying my run-down of my life. When I stopped, her face was...frustrated almost? "That's all?" She said, unlatching my hand from hers. She flailed her hands around when she spoke, and needed to have them both free I suppose. "Tell me more about yo'self. Like, do you have hobbies?" Rose picked up my hand and placed it in hers once more, motioning for me to get on with the story. "I like to write, I suppose." "Ooh. Like what?" She asked curiously. "I don't really know, just some poesy. I'm currently writing a book? It's nothing, really." "No no go on. Tell me about it."

I began to explain to her the plot, hoping she would not be too bored with my summarization. To my surprise, she seemed to be enthralled the entire time, listening contently to me as I spoke. After I finished speaking, Rose spoke again. "You talk about your father a lot. What about your mother?" I was rendered off guard, and it took me a pause to collect my emotions. "Truth be told, I never knew her. She died while in labor with me, I believe. I've only seen various photographs and whatnot about her, but that's all. My father married Elizabeth shortly after her death, so I was really raised by only a father figure. A horrid one at that."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I don't know how you do it, Henry. If my momma left me, hell, I don't know what I'd do." "Oh you're one to talk, Rose. You told me you never had a father. You must feel pain for him, too." "I suppose," she stated rather bluntly. I decided not to speak, but she went ahead and asked me "Henry?" "Yes, Rose?" I replied. "I'm glad I have you." "I feel the same."

She leaned her head onto my shoulder, and for once I was the one who tensed up. I've never experienced this type of affection before. But, I would learn to grow to appreciate it.