Flushed
So, I decided to flex my very limited Photoshop skills, and I made a banner for this story. (It took me a week to figure each aspect out, too.) Here it is!
And without further ado . . .
Chapter 7: Home Again
“Oooff!” Rose and Jamie tumbled across the floor. Rose sprawled inelegantly
across Jamie for a moment before rolling away laughing uproariously.
“You alright?” Jamie asked as he climbed to his feet, looking
concerned as Rose continued giggling madly. Rose took a few deep breaths before
managing to reign in her snickers.
“It’s nothing. You take me to the nicest places, is all” she teased
before accepting his hand up and looking around. “Where are we?”
“This would be the upstairs guest room” he replied, turning away
from the open window to gesture to the hall. “The master suite is just down the
hall. That’s where all the jewels are kept.” He kept up a rambling commentary
of the features of the house as they walked down the hall.
Rose smiled in amusement at his stories of grand misadventures and
scandal connected to seemingly every decorative painting or vase. They scaled the dresser and Jamie quickly lifted
the lid of the wooden jewelry box.
Rose’s eyes glistened with unshed tears seeing so much wealth so
casually discarded inside the box. Each piece could bring enough to feed her
family for a year, and here it all was, just jumbled up together in a careless
tangle. She suddenly felt very small; as though she and everyone she knew were
running in pointless circles while those up above lived a life of ease and
plenty.
Jamie leaned toward her, breaking Rose out of her contemplation
and placing the daimond he had pooped out of an earring in her paw.
“The lady of the house won’t even notice it’s gone” he stated quietly.
“That white point star is bigger than the one that broke. It’s probably worth
twice what that one would have been if it was real.”
He stuck his hand back
inside the box, pulling a pendant with a large rectangular sapphire off its
chain and handing it to Rose. “And this one, I think, should just bout cover
the Bad Wolf mark two.”
Finally
meeting her eyes, he let out a small nervous breath before continuing, “I
really am sorry about the Bad Wolf.
And, thank you. For helping me. For bringing me home. I just . . . I’m so glad
I met you.”
Rose smiled and reached out for his paw. Interlocking their
fingers, she pulled him back into the hallway. “So, which one’s your room?”
“Ah . . . you don’t want to see my room. It’s boring. It’s almost
tea time. Let’s go to the kitchen and I’ll make us something, shall I?” Jamie
pulled Rose down the hallway a bit faster, hoping to distract her long enough to
pass Reinette’s open door without her noticing his cage under the window.
“Who lives there?” Rose pulled away to get a better look at the
elaborate cage in what looked like a child’s room.
“Ahh. Well. Ah, that is my apartment. I like to have my own space.
Get away from the comings and goings. The hustle and bustle, you know.” His
rambling explanation trailed off at the heartbreak on her face.
“It’s just you, isn’t it? How long have you been alone, without any
other rats? Without any family?”
“There’s only been me. For such a long time now,” Jamie sighed. “I
mean, Reinette is lovely. She takes care of everything I need, really. But . .
.”
“But you’re lonely” Rose finished. “Why didn’t you say? Why didn’t
you tell me you were a pet? You don’t have to stay here. You could come back
with me.”
“I can’t. I have responsibilities. Reinette depends on me. She’d
be heartbroken if I wasn’t here when they return. And, I don’t have anyone down
there either. I’d still be alone.”
“There’s me. I mean, I thought we were . . . I guess I got it
wrong,” Rose dropped her paw back to her side.
Jamie opened his mouth, the words heavy on his tongue when a noisy
shape in a football jersey barged into the room.
“Hey, you’re back” Mickey shouted. “Thought I was well rid of you.”
“Oh Rose, let me introduce you to . . . my brother. Rickey.”
“Hey Micks,” Rose waved at the darker rat. “How’s your Gran?”
“Rosie! Fancy seeing you up here. Your dad doin’ ok? Gran wants
you to come round. She misses you.” Mickey glanced at Jamie before bursting
into gales of laughter. “Your brother! Who would believe that, Mate? You’re not near handsome enough to be my brother.” He turned to Rose,
elbowing her gently in the side and throwing his arm across her shoulders
before stage whispering “You think I should tell him you used to be my girl?
Oh, what a lark. I ain’t laughed like that in years.”
Rose shrugged Mickey’s arm off and stepped away from them. “I can’t
stay. I have to go back. Jamie, you could come with me.” At the slight,
despondent shake of his head, she turned to go.
“Rose,” Jamie gasped as she turned the corner and disappeared down
the hall. A heavy weight settled in the pit of his stomach when he realized she
was really gone. Even Mickey had wandered back to the telly to watch the game.
Jamie looked around at the room he had lived so long in. What had
felt comfortable, extravagant even, just yesterday now felt claustrophobic. How
could his world have changed so drastically in just the few short hours he’d
spent in her company? He knew one thing for sure. His world had never been lonelier,
now that she was gone.
No comments:
Post a Comment