I paced around my kitchen the next day, racking my mind of ways to get Lucian. In the middle of my fifth lap, my phone rang, my mother's face filling up the screen.
"Hello, momma?"
"Rose! How are you doing, baby?" my mom asked, her voice warm, surrounding me.
"I'm okay, how's dad?"
"He's doing better, his back not so well."
"Did the medication the doctor prescribed not work?" I sat down at the kitchen table, staring out the window as I spoke.
"You can ask him yourself at dinner tonight! Come at seven tonight." It took me a moment to process exactly what my mother was saying. "Hello?"
"Yes, I'm here. I'm a little busy, I'm not sure if I can make it..." I trailed off, scratching my back. I was stressed, sure, but not busy enough to not see my parents. But, I wasn't ready to face my parents and tell them about the baby.
"Rosaline," my mother said sternly. "I have not seen you in over two months and I live just outside the city! It's not like I'm asking you to fly over here."
I sighed internally. "Okay, momma. I'll be there."
"Good!" I could hear her smile. "I'll make your favourites! See you then, baby!" I placed my phone on the table and took a deep, shaky breath, holding my head in my hands. My mother hadn't hung up for even a minute before my phone rang again. But this time my boyfriend's face was on the screen. I picked up.
"Hey, Ales," I said tiredly.
"How are you, Rosa?" he asked.
"I'm okay. My mom invited me over for dinner tonight."
"And?"
"I don't want to tell her about the baby. But I can't lie to my own mother," I explained, feeling more stressed with every minute that ticked by.
"So you want to tell her but are scared of her reaction?"
"Basically. I don't want to fight with my parents right now."
Ales cleared his throat. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you scared of her reaction? You're a grown woman, not exactly a teenager living with them anymore."
"My parents are traditional, Ales. I'm not married and I'm having a baby." A pause.
"Would it help if I went with you? I don't mean to overstep any boundaries because it's quite early in our relationship but I can offer some support," Ales offered. I smiled, so eternally grateful for this new man in my life.
"Yes, thank you. That would be amazing," I sighed in relief.
"I'll pick you up at six thirty, yeah?'
"Perfect." I put the phone down feeling much lighter than I did when he called.
***
I got into Ales' car which was waiting in the drop off zone in front of my building. The second I saw him, I smiled, leaning over to kiss him softly.
"What's the address?" he asked, holding up a GPS app. I told him and he set it up on the dashboard and started driving. I held his hand as he drove, letting myself sink into his comforting touch. After a few moments, we pulled up to a stoplight, and he frowned at me. "What's wrong?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing." I shook my head. Ales raised my hand and gently kissed the back of it.
"You know you can tell me anything right?" I nodded. "So tell me what's wrong."
"It's just work, Ales. Nothing you have to worry about," I reasoned.
"But I do. Isn't that how relationships work?" He looked at me. "I just want to be there for you, Rosa."
I blushed at the way he looked at me. Like he was peeling my layers away and exposing the vulnerable side of me. "I have a case I need to close in less than two months. The person I'm looking for is a criminal who is very good at hiding his tracks." Ales kept his gaze on the road, but I could tell he was listening attentively. "Me and my partner have been struggling to find out who he is but we had a lead recently."
"That's good news." I shook my head.
"It was. Until I came up with the stupid idea to talk to him at a bar. I don't even know what I was thinking, or how that was going to help." I looked out the window, disappointment creeping up on me. "Either way, we got no evidence. He slipped right through my fingers and that's not even the worst part."
"What happened?" Ales asked softly.
"I think he knows who I am. At least he knows we're trying to track him down. I don't know how he knows, but my partner is really convinced of it," I let out a breath, rubbing my free hand across my forehead.
"Who is he?"
"I can't tell you who he is, at least not yet. All I can say is that he's an extremely dangerous man and is high up in the criminal underworld." Ales let go of my hand and placed it on my thigh.
"This is too dangerous for you. What if he hurts you?" His brows were knitted together in concern, knuckles white.
"That's what we're afraid of. And because of me, we have to lay low for a little bit." I looked up and began seeing the familiar buildings of my childhood. "If I don't find him in two months, I'm getting fired. And I need money. I need money for this baby, I- I just can't risk losing my job right now."
"I believe in you, Rosa. You're going to find him and you're going to kick his ass," he said, almost sadly. I went to say something but saw us drive by another building.
"That's my highschool!" Ales followed my finger and looked. "I hated it."
"I'm imagining you in highschool. I bet you were adorable," he teased. "Pigtails, overalls-"
"You do realize I was 15. Not 5."
"Oh, that's right. I still bet you were hot." I slapped his arm, laughing.
"I was not! I was such a loner."
"Really? I don't believe that."
"Well, believe it or not, it's true." Ales took a right into my neighbourhood, pulling into my parent's driveway. "Fuck," I whispered under my breath, realizing what was about to happen. Ales turned the ignition off, facing me. He held the side of my head, his thumb touching my cheek.
"Breathe, Rosa. You can do this." He leaned in and I kissed those luscious brown-pink lips of his. I pulled back, resting my forehead against his. "Like I said, I believe in you." I nodded, pursing my lips together. I opened the door and we got out, climbing the stairs up to the door. I took in a deep breath and rang the doorbell. It opened instantly.
"Rosaline!" She stopped when she saw Ales. "And you are..."
"Alessandro. Ales for short," he greeted, holding his hand out. My mom took it, smiling almost dreamily at him.
"You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend, Rosaline," she scolded, letting us inside. I was about to deny our relationship, then remembered we were dating.
"Your daughter wouldn't let me meet you earlier, Ms.Acanti," Ales said.
"Please call me Kelsea. Come in." She walked inside. "You also didn't tell me your boyfriend was a model," she whispered to me as she passed by me. Ales followed me as I took my shoes off, entering the living room. I threw my arms around my father who sat on the couch, a warm smile on his face. I pulled away, gesturing Ales to come close.
"So, are you going to introduce me to this young man?" My dad's eyes scanned Ales, not looking very impressed.
"Dad, this is my boyfriend, Ales."
"Boyfriend, huh? Haven't seen one of those in a while," my dad muttered, using his cane to get to his feet. I rolled my eyes, my face flushing. Ales offered my dad his hand, shaking it.
"Dad," I groaned. "Be nice."
My dad laughed. "I am nice! Fine, I'm Anthony, welcome to the family."
"Thank you, Anthony." My dad limped into the kitchen and I watched him go, feeling horrible for not visiting more often. Last time I saw him, he was walking without a cane. "Your parents are nice."
"My mom has a total crush on you," I said. Ales chuckled putting his arm around my shoulders, pulling me towards him. He guided me to the photos lining the top of the fireplace.
"Of course she does, what's not to like?"
"You're so full of yourself," I joked. He pressed a kiss against the side of my head, then focused his attention on the pictures. "I knew you were an adorable kid." The picture frames started after I was ten years old, as soon as my parents adopted me. The first photograph was me at my eleventh birthday party, chubby, wearing overalls and pigtails. Then the photos got progressively worse, as I gained weight and became insanely insecure about my body. Even my highschool graduation photo which I begged my parents not to get, was terrible. I remembered the morning of the photo day, looking at myself in the mirror and hating every single thing I saw. I remembered sobbing and pulling at my skin, absolutely disgusted with myself. Even in the picture, my eyes were a little puffy from all the tears.
"Rose?" Ales shook me from my thoughts. I blinked my tears away, smiling up at him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just reliving some bad memories. I told you, highschool was horrible." My mother came out of the kitchen, carrying a stack of plates and setting them on the dining table.
"Well don't just stand there, come set the table," she called. Ales let go of me, walking over. My dad reentered, holding the utensils in his free hand.
"Let me," Ales said, taking the cutlery from my dad.
"Dad, sit down. Let me and Ales set the table," I offered. My dad nodded, sitting at one of the seats. I distributed the plates as Ales placed the utensils down, and folded the napkins. I helped my mom bring the dishes out, my mouth watering at all my favourite food laid out before us. We all took a seat and joined hands in the way I was raised too.
"Lord, thank You for the food before us, the family and friends beside us and the love between us. Amen," my mom said, her head lowered and eyes closed.
"Amen," we all murmured, including Ales. Everyone began serving themselves and I was awfully hungry, craving a homemade meal. A few minutes of silent eating, my mom piped up.
"So Ales, how did you and Rosaline meet?" I took a sip of my water, looking at him.
"Well actually, it was at a coffee shop. She had spilled coffee all over herself-"
"Someone bumped into me!" I interrupted, laughing.
"Yes, I'm sorry, love." He squeezed my hand. "Either way, I helped her clean up and I guess the rest is history."
"How long have you two been dating?" Ales opened his mouth to answer but I cut in.
"A couple of months," I lied. I hated lying to my parents but I knew making our relationship seem more serious would lighten to blow of a pregnancy. I put my fork down, pushing my chair back. "If you'll excuse me, I have to use the restroom." I patted Ales' hand before hurrying to the bathroom. I locked the door behind me, trying to calm my erratic breathing. Everything is going to be okay, I repeated in my head. I squeezed my eyes closed, thinking of happy thoughts of me and Ales, Blake, and Ryan.
There was a knock at the door. "Rose? Are you okay?" I let him in, closing the door behind him. "Oh baby, come here." He tucked me into his chest and I held onto him, trying but struggling to calm my breathing.
"How do I tell them it's Aerion's?" Ales lifted my chin.
"Tell them it's mine," he said.
"They're going to hate you."
"It's going to be alright." He paused. "Let's go." He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, then opened the door. We walked back to the table, hand in hand, my parent's concerned gazes falling on me.
"Do you feel ill, Rosaline?" my dad asked. I shook my head and we took a seat.
"I actually have something very important to tell you both," I trailed off, my heart beating loud, I was sure everyone could hear. Ales squeezed my hand. "I am pregnant." My mother gasped, the colour dripping out of my face. Disbelief clouded my dad's face then disappointment curtained over.
"What have you done?" my father asked, his lower lip curling. I lowered my gaze, chewing on my lower lip anxiously. "Are you the father?" Though my head stayed down, I could feel his eyes glaring holes into Ales. My boyfriend's grip on me tightened.
"Yessir," was all Ales said. His voice had lowered, sounding angrier than I had ever heard him before. My father swore.
"Why would you this, Rosaline? We raised you to have good morals and be a good person," my dad spat, disgust dripping off his hurtful words. Through blurry vision, I glanced up to see my mother silent, her arms around herself. "What will people say?"
I raised my head. "I don't care what people say, dad! I just care about what you and mom have to say!"
"Nothing! We have nothing to say to you, Rosaline!" My dad violently pushed his chair back, grabbing his cane and as fast as he could, walked out of the house. The door slammed shut, the loud noise echoing in my ears, as I stared numbly at my lap. A minute of silence passed.
"Do you hate me too, momma?" I asked.
"Look at me Rosaline," my mother's soft voice cooed. "I could never hate you and neither does your father. He just needs some time to adjust, you know how he is." She took in a deep breath. "Congratulations on the baby. Unfortunately, if you ever have any questions, I won't be able to answer it." She smiled sadly.
"I think we should go," I whispered to her. My mother nodding, standing with me and Ales. I hugged her briefly, kissing her cheek. "I love you, momma."
"I love you more." I walked to the front door, gathering my jacket. My mother pulled Ales back and whispered something in his ear to which he nodded to. "It was nice meeting you Ales."
"Same to you, Kelsea. Have a good night," Ales replied. And we left the house. We stood in front of the car, staring at each other.
"I'm sorry for the awful night," I began but was promptly cut off by Ales wrapping his thick arms around me. I threw myself around his neck, hugging him fiercely, kissing him just as fiercely. He rested his hands on the small of my back, pecking my forehead.
"Let's go home." We got into our respective seats and began reversing out of the parking lot but as we did so, I couldn't help but notice something in the rearview mirror. It was my father, standing a distance away, watching me. I looked at his reflection for a second longer before averting my gaze, having nothing to say to him.