The Dawsons

Chapter 10 - Disputes

"He heard us ... making love," Rosa whispered, pulling him away only enough so she could look at him.

Francesco, staring into her green eyes, was racked with remorse, pain, and guilt. "It's my fault," he replied painfully.

"No, no. Of course it isn't," Rosa breathed out hastily, brushing her hands over his face.

"He didn't even see us. I left before he—" Francesco went on, thinking back.

"I know," Rosa said, cutting him off.

"Did he—?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Please!" Rosa begged, shaking her head to dismiss the terrible recollection of earlier that morning. She didn't want to think about how much she hated the king. Rosa knew he was cruel, but he had never laid a hand on her, and she would never look at him the same again. She had lost any respect she'd had for him the second he'd touched her.

"Yeah, of course," Francesco replied with understanding and held her close to him once more.

"Never let go!" Rosa said softly, closing her eyes tiredly as she spoke. She held onto him tightly, and he kissed her forehead and comfortingly rubbed her back.

"I'll never let go!" Francesco said with emotion, and with all his heart, he meant it.

"I love you so much!" Rosa cried.

Tears appeared in Francesco's eyes. "I love you more than life itself," he said truthfully, placing her cold face in his hands. She grinned. The bell rang, and students started to fill the halls. Francesco brushed his hands gently down Rosa's arms and gave her hands a small squeeze before quickly letting go. He wished he could kiss her and comfort her more.

"I will see you after class," Rosa said, eyeing the students with concern.

"You can count on it," Francesco chuckled, hoping to cheer her up. In the blink of an eye, he softly kissed her cheek and then headed down the hall and entered one of the last classrooms.

Rosa smiled, brushing her fingers over her now healed cheek, her healing abilities had finally kicked in and the pain had vanished. She did not see Francesco's kiss but she had felt it. Francesco's touch had left a warm patch on her skin, making her feel loved and happy on a day she'd felt that would be impossible.

"Did you apologise to Mr. Dawson?" Rose asked, her tone curious, when she and their friends joined Rosa.

Rosa grinned at Rose as they started to walk to their first class. "Yes," she answered, content in the moment.

"What did you do to Mr. Dawson?" Madeline inquired as they all walked into the classroom by the boy's bathroom.

"Nothing worth mentioning again," Rosa said, pretending to have no interest in the boy, though secretly he was all she ever thought about.

"How is Jason?" Rose asked Caroline as they sat in their seats.

"He's good. Thank you," she replied cheerfully.

"Oh that's great," Rose said with a grin.

"You should have seen him yesterday. He couldn't stop laughing," Peter joined in with a chuckle.

"That's because you wouldn't stop giving him funny faces," Caroline added, giggling.

Peter smiled as he leaned forward and kissed her, and Rose grinned, praying one day she would have what they had—true love and a family of her own.

"Hello, boys," Patrice said, mocking the group as she strutted in front of them and slowly sat in a chair in front of Peter. She placed her large designer bag on her desk and then turned to face him. "I would be careful if I were you. You wouldn't want to knock up your ugly wife again. I mean you never know; she might die this time," Patrice continued sarcastically, her elbow hanging over the back of her chair.