~If You Help Me Escape~

When Trey's matress had nearly swallowed him in its tempting softness and the intoxicating tendrils of sleep had almost lured him into unconsciousness, the light creak of the bedsprings and a soft bounce pulled him back to reality. As Rosie plopped down on the bed next to him, Trey rolled onto his side to face her- and his breath caught in his throat at the sight before him. His eyes scanned Rose from head to toe. Her hair, recently brushed, framed her face perfectly in long brown waves, subtley accenting the blue in her longing gaze as she stared into his brown eyes. Red lips stood out boldly against her fair skin, leading Trey's eyes down the strong line of her jaw, to her neck, along her gently protruding collarbone, and to her bare shoulders, from which one arm extended to lean indolently on an elbow. The red dress, which he had been reluctant to lay eyes on before, framed her curves from her shoulders to her waist, the loose skirt crumpling against the matress as she lay there on her side, facing him. On second thought, maybe I could get used to red for a while. Trey had called Rosie pretty, but now he saw that it had been an understatement. Rosie was beautiful. It was times like this that really made him think he should do something about it.

And it was times like this that really made it suck that he couldn't.

"It's your turn," Rosie declared, interrupting his thoughts. A few rays of light filtered in through the window, sneaking through the cracks in his blinds and illuminating her hair with a light glow, outlining each individual brown strand. A delicate hand reached out slowly, finding Trey's black mop of hair, and Rosie's fingers were soon lost in the dark tangles as her eyes met his. It was so quiet in that moment that Trey could hear each soft breath match his own. Reaching out, he wrapped a strand of her hand around his finger and twirled it slowly as he thought of a question. She had pretty hair- soft and brown, a little wavy in some places. They had both quickly become accustomed to this closeness- it didn't bother either of them anymore.

He smiled as his question came to him. "If you could have three wishes, for anything, what would they be?" Trey asked, his voice rumbling softly. "And you can't wish for more wishes." Flashing her a jokingly stern look, he laughed and waited for her to reply.

Trey knew what his wishes would be. First, he'd bring Drew back. Then he'd wish for his parents to have more money so his dad wouldn't have to wake up so early for work. And for his third wish, he'd want Rosie to stay with him and never get hurt again. Then he'd never have to worry about her... and their kisses wouldn't have to feel so wrong. There were times when he longed for the touch of her lips against his... but the kiss they'd shared this morning hadn't felt quite right. It wouldn't work out, he kept telling himself. You'd hurt her, just like you've done to so many other girls. She doesn't deserve to be hurt anymore. But then why, when they were laying here like this, did he still feel such an urge to lean forward and kiss her again?

But all he could do right now about Rosie's lips was wait for them to utter an answer.

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”One would be to have my mom back. She died when I was little, and that’s why my dad turned to alcohol.” Trey had wondered where her mother was, and why she wasn’t there to step in when her father had been so abusive. It was strange that the man had turned to alcohol, though- it hadn’t seemed like he was capable of any kind of love. Immediately, he felt sorry for her, even though he knew she wouldn’t want him to. Trey didn’t know what he would do without his mother- the only woman that really seemed very significant in his life, except for Rosie now of course.

”I wish I could be in the woods all day, every day. It reminds me of my mom, and now, of you,” Rosie said for her second wish. That could definitely be arranged. Trey spent most of his time in the woods anyway- they were his escape from the rest of the world, a place where the only things to interrupt his thoughts would be the occasional knock of a woodpecker or the sound of a squirrel scampering up a branch. If she was going to hang around with him, she’d be seeing the woods a lot more often that before.

His eyebrows furrowed as he saw the hesitant look on her face, as if she were trying to say something but couldn’t find the right words. He smiled slightly, encouraging her to go on- there wasn’t much she couldn’t tell him anymore. He wouldn’t judge her, and he wanted her to know that. ”My last wish,” she said finally, ”Is us. Not just you and me but… us.” Recognition registered on his face, but apparently she didn’t see the doubt in his gaze, because she was leaning in once again to kiss him, grabbing onto the back of his neck and pulling him in without consent.

The moment in which his lips locked with hers was what he had been longing for all day, but once again, it felt the same. The sweet poison of her mouth pressed against his made his heart speed up, but again there was a voice nagging at the back of his skull, telling him that it was wrong, that he shouldn’t be doing this. She pulled away first, letting go of him quickly, seeming ashamed of what she had done. Shit. Why couldn’t he make her happy? It was his fault, he was the one staring back into her eyes, returning her touch, twirling her hair, leading her on and on and on. It wasn’t something he meant to do, it was just that he felt so drawn to her, like all these things were normal. But he knew that if they kissed like this, he’d mess it up. It wasn’t her mistake, being attracted to him and wanting something more, it was his for letting her, being so nice to her. He was the one who should be ashamed, not her, she shouldn’t be sitting on the edge of his bed, avoiding his gaze. Why was it that the more he tried not to hurt her, the more he ended up doing so?

”That was selfish of me. You don’t owe me anything, you’ve done so much already.” Trey shook his head furiously as she started to get up. No, this was wrong, all wrong. The truth was, he didn’t mind doing things for her. Trey would have given her anything to make her happy, to see those red lips part into a smile and let out a soft giggle that rung in his ears like a melody that he couldn’t get out of his head. Unlike the other girls he had been around, he realized, he cared about Rosie. He wanted to be around her, but he was just so afraid that he would mess it up just like he did everything else. All he wanted was for her to be happy, why didn’t she understand that? She just needed to understand how he felt.

Before she could walk out the door, Trey grabbed her hand and held it. ”Rosie, no. Please, it’s just, I’m not that great with girls. I’m a total klutz, Rose, I mess everything up, just trust me, you wouldn’t want to…” he tried desperately to explain but ended with a sigh, realizing that no matter what he said she wouldn’t care, she’d still want to be with him. When he stood up next to her, he seemed to tower over even more so than before, grabbing her shoulders and turning her to face him, tilting her chin up with a large index finger so she was forced to look into his eyes, forced to see the pain within them. He wanted her to know the reason behind the ache in his chest, the agony in his voice, but he couldn’t find the words.

What was so different about her that made him so desperate to explain himself, so intent on making her happy? Why was she so unlike other girls he’d met? This wrenching pain in his chest confused him, and the way his emotions kept twisting together confused him even more. This girl was unintentionally driving him absolutely mad each time she spoke, each time she smiled, each time she matched his gaze, with every breath and step she took and every time her lips pressed against his.

Somewhere inside, he knew he couldn’t just blow her off like this. Real men didn’t do things like this to women they cared about, they didn’t cause them this much pain. He wanted to be with her too, but he was holding himself back, dreading what might happen. The fear of her getting hurt further was slowly killing them, he knew, and her feelings were suffering injuries despite the fact that it had been exactly what he had been avoiding. His eyebrows furrowed even further, the conflicting emotions completely visible in his eyes, as he realized that he had to act.

Trey was tired of being afraid.

”Dammit, Rose. You’re gonna drive me insane.” His words came in a low rumble, the ache in his voice clear.

Trey wrapped an arm around her waist, suddenly pulling her close to him before he could second guess himself. His lips pressed against hers with surprising force, and he closed his eyes as he kissed her. Trey’s heart raced and pounded- this was what a kiss should feel like. It was real, and passionate, and… so right. He no longer cared about the future, right now was the only thing that mattered. Here, in this room, at this moment, the soft feel of her lips intertwined with his own and the heat of her body pressed against his - this was all that he cared about at the moment. And it was incredible. Reluctantly, he had to pull away to breathe. Even though it wasn’t really necessary at this point, his finger stayed at her chin, tilting it up so her gaze met his. The corners of his mouth showed a slightly tired smile as he quietly made his first request of the day.

”Smile for me, will you?” he asked, so softly it was almost a whisper.

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It didn't take long for Rosie to smile in reply, and soon she was hugging him tightly, burying her face in his chest. When she pulled away, they way she bit her lip and giggled made him grin back at her for what seemed like the eightieth time today. But this grin was different- this smile was because he knew it was ok for Rosie to bite her lip, and it was perfectly fine for him to kiss her. Trey realized, the future could screw itself for all he cared, because he was happy right now. Rosie was standing in front of him right now, holding his hands and giggling happily right after he had kissed her.

When she mentioned going back to her house for clothes, Trey opened his mouth to object, but she seemed to see it coming and blocked his words with an index finger. She continued her attempts to persuade him, but he still wasn't convinced. That was the one part of the future that he had been reluctant to face, though he knew they would have to do something about Rosie's clothing situation. Unfortunately, she couldn't stay in that dress forever- even though she looked damn good in it, even better than she did when Trey had first seen her lying in it on the bed. He shook his head when she suggested that she go alone. There was no way she was going alone and getting hurt again. He didn't want to take a chance at meeting her dad again, but Trey supposed they were going to have to go back sometime.

"Can't we go tomorrow?" he asked, his deep voice hiding a bit of a whine underneath its surface. "You can wear my mom's clothes until then, she won't mind." Leaning down and touching his forehead to hers, he muttered, pleading, "You've been through a lot in two days, Rose. Why don't you kick off your shoes and stay for dinner?" For the sake of persuasion, and also just because he could, he tilted her head back and gave her a short kiss on the lips again.

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Until dinner time, Trey and Rosie passed the hours with Trey showing her around the house, teaching her where everything was. When he had nothing else to show her, they returned to his room, and they found themselves in the same spot they had been standing in earlier, their gazes locked together, Rose's fingers wrapped in his dark mop of hair. And soon, like before, Trey felt her arms around his neck and the heat of her body pressed again his. "You know, I have been through a lot in the past two days, but I don't think I've smiled this much in a year or two," Rosie said, and Trey answered her with a grin.

Whenever mom called them into the kitchen for dinner, Trey suddenly held her close and whispered with fake terror in his voice, "Oh no. It's dinner time. Act natural, my parents are nuts." Then as he laughed, he grabbed Rosie's hand and led her to a table laden with food: Mashed potatoes and gravy, lima beans, and a pan of chicken breasts sat there, sending a delicious aroma into the surrounding air. Like his gentlemanly father had taught him to do, Trey pulled out Rosie's chair for her before sitting down next to her. "Help yourself," he told her with a slight jerk of his head towards the food, before scooping a sizeable helping of each dish onto his plate.

Trey's mother and father sat across from them, and even though Mom seemed very into her food, Dad kept stealing glances at Rosie between bites of mashed potatoes- he seemed to be trying to analyze her or something. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak, talking through a mouthful of chicken. "So... Rosie, is it?" The man swallowed before continuing. "So, um... do either of you want to explain what's going on?"

Trey rushed to explain before Rosie could. "Yeah, Dad, um... I met her in the woods, she fell and hurt her ankle, so I thought I should walk her home. Basically, her father didn't like me or his own daughter, so he gave her that there side gash with a big 'ol knife-" he gestured to Rosie's side- "and so, we ended up getting out of there and I brought her to Mom, and now she's here and all stitched up." He didn't elaborate on the whole "Trey saving the day" thing- he didn't want to feel like he was bragging. That experience had not been enjoyable, and the last thing he wanted to do was brag about it. If Rosie wanted to tell more about it, that was okay, but he didn't feel like saying anything else.

OOC: Oh good golly this is bad >.> I just wanted to get a post in, I'm really busy...

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Rosie seemed really distressed about everything that she was telling Trey’s parents, and Trey was a little surprised when she got up suddenly and ran into his room. She had left her half-eaten plate of food on the table, so Trey picked it up and carried it with him as he followed after her, shooting an apologetic look to his confused parents.

He found Rosie lying on his bed, her face in his pillow, her back rising and falling irregularly as she sobbed. Sitting the plate down on the bedside table next to the seven or so unfinished carvings, Trey proceeded to sit down on the bed next to her, trying to think of something to say. Until he found the words, he ran his fingers through her hair soothingly, and as her sobs started to die down, Trey knew it was helping. The way she was positioned made it impossible to see her face, so with strong hands he turned her over and slid an arm under her back, pulling her into a sitting position and letting her lean her head on his shoulder, leaving his arm to linger around her waist.

”Rose, don’t be upset, please,” he implored her, murmuring the words into the crown of her head. He’d had too much unhappiness for two days. What’d happened to the smile that had been there just a half hour ago? ”Everything that happened, it’s in the past. There’s nothing we can do about it, so you don’t need to get all worked up over something that you can’t change. You’re here now, and you’re safe, and that’s all that matters.” Grabbing her shoulders, he turned her around to face him so she could see he was serious. ”My parents aren’t mad at you either. Really, Rose, if Dad came home from work and saw that I had brought home a pregnant pony that was sitting on the couch next to me, he wouldn’t be angry. And you’re not pregnant, or covered in hair, and you speak English, and I think you can probably control your bowels a lot better than a pony, too. So I think we’re good to go.” He finished his statement with a smirk, miserably failing his attempt at seriousness.

With a calloused thumb, Trey wiped a tear off her cheek. ”I brought your food in. My mother will kill us both if you don’t eat her cooking,” he told her with a smile that was only half-kidding. Jody got mad at Trey for wasting food of any kind, portion, or flavor- almost as much as she got mad at people for not getting proper nutrition. It was a good idea to bring in Rosie’s food before Mom shoved it down her throat personally.

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“Thank you. I am just.. I just haven't.. I haven't cried in forever. I needed that. I can't even explain how I feel.” Trey shook his head at her- she didn’t need to explain. While she ate, he observed quietly and waited for her to finish. Despite how upset she had been a moment earlier, Rose didn’t seem to have lost her appetite- she was shoveling it down like there was no tomorrow. You’d think the girl had never seen mashed potatoes before. ”I can eat like a pregnant pony, just so you know,” she declared when she was finished. For a moment, she glanced out the window, and then gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Just then, the bedroom door opened, its old hinges creaking loudly as Jody Cooper entered the room, a bundle of bed sheets and blankets in her hands. ”Could you two help me make a bed for Roselyn?” she asked, and both teenagers nodded in reply. They walked to the end of the hall and turned left into the small bedroom closest to Trey’s parents’ room. Mom tugged on a small chain and soon a dim light bulb cast its soft glow upon the room to reveal a twin-sized bed with an unclothed mattress, and a small table sitting next to it. The furniture probably could have used a bit of a dusting-off; it hadn’t been used since the last time Drew had come to spend the night.

Stepping into that room sent a new rush of memories through Trey’s head. He remembered the day he had helped his father build the bed frame, and how afterwards they’d put the mattress on and made the bed- the tiny room had previously been used to store things that the Coopers had inherited from Trey’s great-grandmother when she died. Drew had always spent just as much time at Trey’s house as he did his own, and so his parents thought it was appropriate to give him his own room. He and Trey were getting too old to sleep together, so from then on, Drew slept in the new room. The last time he’d lain his head on that lumpy old pillow had been a year ago, about a month before the 61st reaping.

For now, though, Trey supposed it would have to be Rosie’s room, even though he hated to see this room and all the bittersweet memories it held. But then again, his parents probably wouldn’t let him go in a girl’s room on their watch anyway. Trying to avoid thinking about his deceased friend, Trey helped his mother and Rosie spread the sheets and tuck covers under corners, watching the sheets billow and slowly fall to the mattress after they were lifted up like blankets of thin snow. When they were finished, his mother said, ”Okay, you two. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to bed. I’m exhausted.” Without another word, she disappeared into the hall, leaving Trey alone with Rosie.

”I’m gonna hit the sack too, Rose, if that’s okay,” Trey said with a yawn that was perfectly on cue. When she climbed into bed, he tucked her in and gave her a quiet kiss on the cheek. “Good night, Jumpy,” he said, too exhausted both physically and mentally to say anything else. Getting up and walking towards the door, Trey pulled the cord hanging from the light fixture, cloaking the room in darkness before walking through the doorway and down the hall to his room.

Not bothering to change out of his clothes, Trey flopped down on his bed and wrapped himself up in his blankets, burying his head in the soft pillow. At this point, he didn’t fight the urge to close his eyelids, and soon sleep came to him, crawling like a fog up the side of his bed until his breaths became shallow and soon he was totally immersed in a dream.

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