Black Roses

You And Me

It took Bridget a full nineteen seconds to finally realize she was awake when she heard whispers coming from her left. 'She's awake!'

Bridget cracked open one eye and saw the most stunning pair of dark blue eyes. She felt herself shiver as she blinked. I must be dreaming…no one has that kind of eyes. She thought to herself.

'Hey…'

Bridget found that the voice was vaguely familiar, having heard that voice just a few minutes ago. She sighed. With all the energy she could muster on the spot, all she could say was: 'Your eyes are weird.' And there goes the Bachelor of Arts and Science down the drain.

'That's the nicest compliment anyone has ever given me.' His voice indicated that he was joking and Bridget couldn't help but crack a weak smile. 'I uh…I brought visitors.'

Bridget slowly sat up, groaning when her head spun, making her see double of everything. 'Easy does it.' The weird-eyed guy steadied her before she could fall and she brushed away the hair that obscured her vision.

'Bee-Bee.' She was then crushed into a bear hug by someone who smelled of cigarettes and aftershave. Not a good combination but familiar to her. She laid her head on the person's shoulder, still wondering who he was. When the person let her go, she could see clearly. 'Jordie?' The twins, Ethan and Devon, hugged her simultaneously after. Logan came next with a frown on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. Bridget pulled him into the hug, knowing that his pride would get in the way.

'Oh God, Logan. Three years hasn't changed you, has it?' Bridget smiled when she released the youngest male in the Cohen clan. Logan ran his fingers through his unruly dark brown hair.

Amidst the family reunion, the weird-eyed boy had slipped out of the room, not wanting to ruin the moment. He'll have to find the pretty girl whose face he almost smashed to a pulp and apologize to her. At least that gave him a reason to see her again. Chris Rivers smiled to himself at that revelation. Now…to go to the library before it closes.

Meanwhile, Bridget smiled at all her brothers. Everyone was here except…

'Where's Anthony?' she asked, c*****g her head slightly to lessen the pain. No one answered and she sighed. 'Do I look that hideous?' she asked, searching for a mirror or at least a glass that she can see her reflection.

'You just have a really long scar from your forehead and down to your left cheek. I assume that was where your laptop had landed. Your nose is a bit scratched up but other than that, you could still get away with lookin’ like a model.' Ethan grinned. Devon smacked the back of his head to shut him up.

Bridget smiled as she placed her fingers on her face. Jordan guided her forefinger to the start of her scar and she followed the bump down to her cheek. It was a diagonal line and she grinned. 'I have a scar. Adds to the whole mystery of being a Cohen.' She chuckled.

The door to the nurse's office close to burst open and Anthony and Jeremy came in, panting.

'We came here as fast we could.' Jeremy said, clutching his chest.

'Jeez, Bridge. I leave you for a day and you've managed to get hurt and bring the whole family out to see you.' Anthony said between gasps. 'I'm in awe.'

The rest of the Cohen brothers leapt at their older brother, tackled him to the floor and chanted the Cohen chant.

'C to the O to the H-E-N. We're the brothers Cohen till the end. Blood to vein, vein to heart, no one can break us apart.'

Bridget snorted at her five brothers. Their father made it up to psyche his team when he was coach, before he became a lawyer. Then, he changed the words to make it so that his sons could use it. They had tried to teach Bridget the same thing but she refused to do it with them since she wasn't a Cohen 'brother'.

Jeremy snorted as he made his way to Bridget. He kissed Bridget's temple. 'And that was the infamous Cohen chant. That’s the one they do before every game, right?' Jeremy asked as both of them witnessed the Cohen brothers giving each other noogies and slaps behind the back.

'It was Dad's idea. Anthony was captain and he psyched the team up with that chant. Jordan followed when he was captain. Followed by the twins and then Logan. Kept the family from falling to pieces.' Bridget smiled sadly. Jeremy's strokes on her back soothed her. Jeremy and Bridget have always gotten along really good and she was glad that hasn't changed even though they haven't seen each other for more than a decade.

Anthony finally came to Bridget with a kiss on top of her head. 'Come on…we're bringing you home.'

Protests immediately filled the room and Jeremy quieted them all down with a single whistle blow.

'I meant to her apartment, you ninnies.' Anthony glared at his younger brothers. 'We'll freshen you up and then all of us go for dinner. My treat.'

'Not gonna argue with that.' The twins said in unison.

'How does one turn down free food?' Logan raised an eyebrow.

'Fine by me.' Jordan replied quietly.

'Good then. We'll meet at that new restaurant. What is it called?'

'Skyler Café.' Logan supplied.

'That one. We'll meet there at around eight. I'll be picking you guys up.' Anthony pointed at the twins. They gave him a 'Why me?' look. 'You guys are never on time. It's a good thing all of us decided we should live near each other.' Anthony smiled gleefully at himself.

Jeremy and Bridget shared a look and both of them whispered, 'Self-absorbed,' with a grin.

'You're on couch duty.' Anthony glared at Jeremy who grinned wickedly at Bridget who snorted softly.

'Okay…Bridge needs some rest.' Jeremy helped Bridget climb down from the bed and all of them exited the nurse's office together before going their own ways.

At the café, which doubled as a restaurant and a pub, was filled by the time the Cohen family got a table. The place was quite trendy with a family oriented ambience. The walls were covered with posters of upcoming movies and also old ones. There were booths, long tables which resembled the dinner table the Cohens had at home and some smaller ones that could be occupied by couples or small groups. The whole restaurant was painted in tastefully bright colours. It was a perfect place for gatherings, parties and also a romantic first date.

The Cohen family and Jeremy were the largest group yet so they were ushered to the long tables. A young dark haired man in a white smart shirt and black pants walked to them and handed them their menus before walking away with a polite smile and a nod.

Bridget looked at the prices and her eyes widened when she saw that a glass of coke was triple what she had to pay if she just kicked a broken vending machine which swallowed her quarters. 'Are you sure you can afford it?' five different voices said in sync. Anthony raised an eyebrow before placing the menu down on the table. 'If I couldn't, I wouldn't have asked you people to come.' He said levelly. Everyone shrugged and looked back at the menu. When they decided what to order, Anthony flagged down a waiter, who happened to be the one who had given them the menus. 'What can I get you?' he asked politely.

When the waiter had written down their orders, he smiled politely and the family started talking. Bridget looked around her, taking in everything around. The noise, the sight, the smells. Man…the food smelled great. This place really was off the hook. Critics would have a blast eating here, definitely, despite the noise. But the noise, she guessed, was the attraction as well. Families, couples and friends have gathered here for the reunions and gatherings. And she was one of those families. Then she took a good look at them. The oldest of them all was Jeremy. Jeremy Landon. Bridget used to have the biggest crush on him but then when she found out that he was gay, she got a bit sad, not traumatized because he had found his partner in her oldest brother. Jeremy was then wearing a gray dress shirt that brought out his eyes, and black pants. His honey coloured hair was combed neatly and she noticed highlights had been added at the tips of his hair. She smiled at his perfectly-sculptured face. He had that boyish look on his face which just made you want to pinch his cheeks so hard but then you realize he was a man who could control a troop of frantic interns with just a look. Such command was rare in the corporate world but this sweet thirty-four year old man had it and Bridget respected him for it.

Then, her light green eyes traveled to her very own flesh and blood. Anthony Jackson Cohen. Anthony had this laidback aura about him that just made him irresistible. And now, in his navy blue t-shirt which emphasized his taut and lean body accompanied by cargo pants, he exuded that aura more so than usual. Anthony had always been able to carry himself confidently and had never been one to back down without a fight. He could be calm when at gunpoint (She knew this because they were once mugged in their quaint little neighborhood. She thanked God till this day that it was only a BB gun. Anthony had been so calm he even blew his bubblegum at the attacker.) But if anyone so dared to hurt one of them, she knew he would even endure prison charges just to get back at the person who hurt any of them. Though Anthony had a scruffy look, with his unshaved face, he also had a twinkle in his eyes that made almost everyone who knew him think twice on pulling a prank on him.

Then, her second eldest brother, Jordan Marcus Cohen. Nothing could be said of him except that he was quiet. He was a man of few words. The last time she heard him speak more than three words was at graduation day. He was named valedictorian and he had to give a speech. Even then, all he had to say was thank you to all his teachers (he named every single one of his teachers) and congratulated his friends and that was it. But that didn't stop him from being the captain of the debate team, football team, chess club and every other imaginable teams the school had to offer. He was, in short, Fairview High's golden boy. No one doubted that he would make it big and he had proven everyone right. He was now the best-sought lawyer in New York City. Under his soft voice and all around nice guy complex lies a tiger sharpening his claws just waiting to strike at anyone who dared cross his path in the court rooms. Jordan was famous for his sharp tongue and unnerving glance that usually undid any person in the 'Cockpit of Doom' as a lot of people called the witness stand whenever Jordan was handling a case. Bridget smiled at his shy look of embarrassment at the point when Ethan mentioned the equally sharp-tongued lawyer, Christina Denver. Underneath everything else, Jordan was still the shy and quiet second brother Bridget had grown to love and adore.

Who could forget the always smartly dressed twins? This time, both were wearing black silk shirts tucked neatly in dark smart pants. Bridget swore, if there were any big pranksters out there, Ethan James and Devon Lucas Cohen could challenge them and come out as winners. Unscathed. Both of them were identical in so many ways. Both of them had light blond hair which was always styled the same ever since they were kids. Spiked and standing tall. Both of them had inherited their father's eyes which were really dark brown they were almost black. The two pranksters have been notorious for the pranks they staged. Each one better than the previous. The climax of it all was on graduation day. They had toilet papered the school and sprayed whipped cream on the windows that said: 'Last day of school suckers! Enjoy!' They were helped by most of the graduating classes to glue every single entrance to the school. When the janitors had finally unglued every single entrance, balloons flew out of the halls. Principal Lowell, who was a good-natured woman, had a smile on her face that day. She was happy and sad at the same time, Bridget knew. She had lost and finally got rid of her 'Naughty Pets' as she loved to call them. Bridget of course heard all this from Mark Young, her best friend, because at the time, she was already unpacking her stuff in her Harvard dorm.

And lastly, in his dark long sleeved t-shirt and baggy dark blue jeans, the youngest male in the Cohen family was Logan Joseph Cohen the Second. Despite his ever present frown, Logan was a softie when it came to Bridget, she knew. Logan would do anything to make Bridget happy and if that made him unhappy, so be it. Logan had the tall, dark, mysterious, and handsome act to a T. He was always hiding in his shell and the great big concrete wall he had built around himself. Bridget didn't doubt that when someone finally digs through that wall, she would be the happiest person to live because Logan was a wonderful person. He was quirky yet lovable when he showed them. He would make it his job to avoid any physical contact but he would snuggle up to Bridget and their dad whenever it was possible. He had a special drawer for his socks which had little boxes that had colour tags. He would pretend that something wasn't funny but when he's in his room or with Bridget, he'll laugh out loud at the smallest things and recount every single funny thing that had happened.

These were the people in her lives. People she can never separate from. But there were two gaping holes in her heart and she knew who could help her fill it. But Jeffrey Cohen was too proud of a man to say sorry to Bridget when he knew he was at wrong. And the other hole…that was left undecided.

'You okay Bridge? Your food's here and you're in Mars…or Venus…or Bridgeville.' Bridget's eyes roamed until she met with dark green eyes, which in some ways were identical to hers in which they both inherited it from their mother. Anthony had a lot of questions in those dark pools and he knew better than to think she would answer them at all. Bridget was in so many ways like her father and Logan who would lock up entire feelings just so that she couldn't get hurt. She decided that a smile and a shrug were sufficient at the moment. 'Nothing…just thinking.'

The other brothers smiled and nodded. They knew their sister too well not to notice she wasn't spiritually and mentally there with them but they didn't want to question her any further. She'll tell them when she wanted to. That they were sure of.

::-::-::-::-::-::

'Bridget, how's Harvard treating you?' Ethan asked as he stuffed a piece of braised chicken in his mouth.

'Been there done that…I dunno. It's pretty much the same all year round. People come and go, lecturers spit on you and then raise heckles on your back. You know the usual.' Bridget shrugged. The rest sniggered.

'Would you like to order your dessert now?' the previous waiter came again and asked, ever so politely. The service here is remarkable!

'What's dinner without dessert?' Bridget announced cheerily.

Everyone ordered dessert which consisted of a peach cobbler pie, three chocolate sundaes, a banana split and two tiramisus.

As they waited for their dessert, a busboy picked up the empty plates and left with a smile on his face. 'Enjoy your desserts.' He said cheerfully.

'Is it me or is this place too happy?' Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow. Bridget laughed quietly and the rest shrugged.

'Where's dad?' Anthony asked. Immediately, the atmosphere in their group changed. 'One way or another, I'll find out. So why don't you just vote for the easy way just for the heck of it?'

'He left.' Bridget broke the silence.

'After mom died, he couldn't take it so he left.' Logan chimed in.

'Jordan's been the breadwinner since then and we don't have anything to complain about.' Ethan voiced.

'I for one, am glad he left.' Devon said slowly.

'I second that.' Jordan said softly.

'Whoa…what's up with you? He's still our father.'

'After you left, Bridget's been-'

'Don't Logan.'

'He's supposedly the man of the house, Bridge. He has the right to know.'

'Not now…'

It wasn't her tone of voice that made Anthony look at her. It was her eyes. They seemed to have been drained of any emotions. That scared him.

'Yes now.'

'Since the first time you left-'

'Logan!' Bridget yelled with a warning look on her face. Logan backed down completely. He had once been the subject of her anger and he didn't want to be ever again.

'We have to tell him sooner,' Ethan started, he never tiptoed around his baby sister, he wasn't about to start now.

Bridget's cold look had gone away from her face. Now, she just looked pale and weary. 'Just not now please? Tonight's the first night we've spent together…all of us here. I don't want to ruin it, please.' Bridget cracked into a smile when their desserts came and it was as though everything that had passed between them earlier had just been a figment of all their imaginations.

Bridget's smile was fake, of course they knew that. They just didn't know how fake it was.