French Rose

Chapter 8

The next day rolled in faster than I thought.

The conversation I had with almost everyone in my family ended up in what we all expected, pity. They all believed me and mom, who never liked Alex or her mom, fumed in anger after I explained everything. If it wasn't for dad's peaceful attitude, something worse may have happened as a result. I didn't think I would see mom so mad, I thought they would see something wrong in what I did. She proceeded to explain how Stacy Coleman, Alex's mother, spilled orange juice during her first visit to Nigeria. Then, Stacy still had this crush on dad and apparently didn't like mom cause she was getting in the way.

Sounds like a classic high school drama but I see where it comes from.

Besides during parties, Stacy and I didn't talk much. Our conversations were limited to her giving me a smile and admiring my dress which only lasted for ten seconds or less. Hating someone for reasons assumed by people or me without confirming myself wasn't my kind of thing. It probably came from the fact I usually didn't hate people that much or pay that much attention to how they treated me. Alex, for instance, had done a lot of things in the past like spilling stuff on me cause it's definitely not so cliche. Yet, I didn't really hate her till she did what she did today and no, I didn't hate Stacy Coleman in any way cause I had no cnversation with her or seen her humiliate people but if she really was as bad as mom said, I don't care.

Good for her, I guess.

Dad advised to stay indoors till it became better. I didn't see a reason to go anywhere outside the house. I had in mind that whatever made me leave those doors would be my last day here in France and that wouldn't happen till dad came himself to pick me up. That was my solid decision but just as life decided it to be, I got a call from Leo that night and things changed.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that Christina. If I knew, I wouldn't have left your side"

"It's okay, it's not like it's your fault anyways. It's just how things were supposed to happen, I guess"

"I didn't call you earlier cause I thought you would be angry with me. It's not late and I can still come over If you like"

"No, it's eleven pm. It's not safe to be outside by this time and once again, it's not your fault. You're not Alex, are you?"

"I'll be sure to talk to her about this"

"Why do you believe me so much? Hasn't Alex been your friends since you were kids?"

"I know you didn't say any of those things and she humiliated you first. Let me make it up to you, I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning, if you're not too busy of course"

I didn't know why Leo trusted me so much. I mean, he was right but at the same time, the girl in question has been friends with him since when they were kids. Why would he know that and still believe me? He could be saying it to make me feel better so I didn't want to be too sure about it.

"I don't think it's a good idea to go outside after all that has happened"

"You won't have to leave the car and you can be assured you wouldn't meet anyone you don't want to. Things wouldn't get uncomfortable and you can leave if you feel the slighted discomfort"

"That's sweet of you and I really appreciate this but I'll pass"

"It's an opportunity to get things off your mind. Just think about it and get back to me when you decide"

"You know what? I'll be ready in two hours"

I could've covered it up with a lie but with all that happened, lying was at the bottom of my list. Then i contacted aunt Kayla and she said it wasn't much of a problem cause Leonardo didn't expose himself to the public that much and wouldn't take me to places I'd have so many people around me. Besides that, I'd have to spend a lot of time at home till it became better.

Bathing earlier was a problem. I got red spots all over my body, mostly on my neck, cause I couldn't move my hands without accidentally scratching it with my nails. I couldn't cope with it, it was getting to a point where I considered chopping them off. Then I had to have smoothie for breakfast cause I couldn't use a fork and knife. It took a while before I finally took it upon myself to get rid of it and there I was in the kitchen with a knife in my hand trying to get it off my nails.

Now, the major problem is, I accidentally took the knife too close to my skin, it slipped and cut my knuckle. It oozed out thick crimson liquid and stained the white counter. It was more of a cut than a scratch but wasn't too deep to need stiches. I was gradually staining the space around me and I tried pressing my hand down against it as a form of compression but it hurt.

"Is everything alright ma'am?"

Just when I thought life had showed me enough.

"Yeah, it's fine. Just a little cu_"

"You're injured!" His exclamation made it look more than it actually was. I don't think he was okay with seeing things like this at all "We need to get to the hospital"

"It's just a little cut, I'll survive"

"I should go get the nurse_"

"No" I cut him off "I don't need a nurse, I'll get it all cleaned up now."

"But that's a lot of blood"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes" He said, taking his palms off his face "I'm sorry about that"

"No, it's okay. Not everyone is okay with blood, I can't blame you for that"

"I'll just get the first aid kit"

"We need to wash the blood off first"

"Maybe I should do it myself, you didn't look so good earlier"

Yeah, he might be helpful but I couldn't have him fainting while getting rid of the blood. I mean, he got all red and uncomfortable just by staring at it, I couldn't imagine how worse it would get by making physical contact Then it would go from Christina King humiliates Alex Coleman to Christina King murders chef cause she totally hates humanity.

It could get even worse.

"It's okay, I can help you"

"Geez, calm down. I'm not gonna fire you or something. It's just a stupid cut and once again, not everyone is okay with blood and I totally understand if you can't stand the sight"

"I sometimes manage first aid when the nurse doesn't make it on time"

"You sure? I can do this myself"

"Of course, let's clean it up so it doesn't get infected"

"If you're good with it, okay but please walk away if you feel dizzy"

"It might hurt but just a bit, nothing to worry about"

The faucet was turned on and the blood easily came off my skin, revealing about one centimeter wide cut. It wasn't much, just a bandaid was enough to cover the whole thing up. The pressure of the water opened it more and made me flinch. That was the hint to turn it off and soon, we moved to applying stuff on it. I didn't understand the kit well but it looked like he did so i let him work his magic.

"Thannks Lucas, you see it wasn't the bad"

He smiled in return and went on to clean the whole area while I sat there watching. "If I may ask" I started "Why were you so alarmed earlier? Have any issues with blood in the past?"

"Kind of"

"Something you want to talk about? I'll be sure to not call you filth if that's what you're wondering"

"No, that's not what I was thinking. Honestly, it wasn't on my mind at all. I wouldn't_"

"It's okay if you think I'm a bad person. I don't expect you to understand anyways" I came out a little too harsh and realised it when the words were already out of my mouth. It came from the fact I wasn't completely okay yet and it just felt like the only reason he was acting that way is because of his job.

"I've been around a lot of people like you and from what I've seen so far, you don't look like someone that would say something like that" I didn't know which was weirder, that he spoke like he actually trusted me or that he was walking away while doing it.