Rose with a Thorn

CHAPTER NINETEEN

I had never travelled very far outside of the city, which is originally why I wanted to leave so bad in the first place. But I was not expecting the country to be so beautiful! Most of the car ride had been through flat, open space so I didn’t get to see much until now.

Brandon pulled over in front of the first house we saw with a ‘For Sale’ sign on it. It had a long driveway up to the side of the house, with a little stream running along one side. It was a beautiful, old brick rancher style house, with golden and red stones, a dark stained front porch, and a 2-person swing sitting up front. It was truly breathtaking. It looked like it would be the perfect house to raise children in, and honestly, I really wanted to see what the inside looked like!

Brandon came over to my door and opened it for me. He looked just as in awe as I’m sure I did. I realized that it had a big horse barn behind it, and a fenced off area between the barn and the house.

“I’m not usually one to jump into something at first sight, but this house is almost as beautiful as you, little flower.”

I got chills through my body and goosebumps up my arms, hearing Brandon speak so quietly and so close to me. I took a step forward, trying to create some distance between us. I couldn’t seem to think straight when he was too close.

“It is beautiful.” I said back. “I wonder what they want for it. Do you think we could be safe here?” I turned to look at him, and noticed his eyes darken slightly. He started looking around, making sure there was a big enough distance between the dirt road and the house.

“It might be. I'd like to get a closer look and do a walk-through of the house and property.”

“What are we supposed to do? Go knock on their door and ask to see the place?”

He didn’t look at me, he just started walking towards the front door. I guess that’s what we were doing. I followed behind him, trying to keep some distance. I didn’t want to get too close in case the owners thought I was too young to be travelling, let alone buying a house with someone that looks several years older than me. Knowing my luck, they’d think he kidn*pped me. Ironic, right?

He walked up the steps and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door opened, and a lovely little old lady came to greet us.

“Hello, Dear. Are you lost?”

Brandon took off his hat. “No, Ma’am. We’re not lost at all. We're new to the area and saw that your house is up for sale. We just wanted to take a look around and see if it’s something we would be interested in.”

“Oh, that’s no problem, dear. My husband should be back up to the house in a few hours. Why don’t ya’ll come back in a little while, and he can show you around.”

“That sounds wonderful. Is there a coffee shop or diner anywhere around? We've been on the road for a while now, and we’re pretty hungry.” The lady looked at me, checking me up and down. She seemed surprised at my appearance.

“Down about 2 kilometers, turn right onto Cherry Hill Road and there’s a little diner that makes exceptional pancakes all day long. Tell them Marg sent you.”

I didn’t want it to seem like I was here against my will, so I put a big smile on my face and stepped towards her. “Thank you, Ma’am. My boyfriend and I thought your house looked absolutely beautiful from the road. We look forward to coming back to see it.”

Brandon turned to me with a surprised look on his face, but I kept my eyes on Marg. I didn’t want to give him away.

“Enjoy your pancakes, Dears. We'll see you later.”

I turned to walk away, before I glanced back at Brandon and extended my hand for him to take. He wasted no time, gripping my hand firmly. I got an immediate rush of tingles straight up my arm and I felt my face heat up. Marg was watching us from the door, a small smile on her lips.

We walked back to the car, hand in hand. “Good call on that, Rose. She looked skeptical of you standing so far back.”

“I just did what I felt I had to do. Don't read into it, Brandon. I'm already nervous enough.”

“Do you want to go try this pancake diner? I bet Marg has lived around here her whole life. I doubt she was lying about how good it tastes.”

“Yes, please. Is she still watching?”

Brandon opened the car door and helped me in before walking back to his side. I noticed he was looking up at the door, trying to see if she was still there. “Yeah, she definitely watched the whole time. But I have a good feeling about this.”

I smiled at him. I wanted to say something, but my breathing started to increase and there was a pressure building in my chest. “Not now,” I whispered.

Brandon put the car back in park and turned to grab my hands. My body started shaking violently and my vision was darkening faster than it usually does.

“Just relax, little flower. I'm right here. I've got you.”

I nodded my head at the same time, I was sucked into a vision. The room was dark. It looked like the middle of the night. I reached over, feeling for something, when it clicked in it was someone I was reaching for.

“Brandon...” I whispered out. “Where are you?”

The bathroom door creaked open and there he stood, completely naked. I knew I wasn’t living in this moment because I couldn’t take my eyes off him and all his glory.

“I’m right here, my little flower. I didn’t mean to startle you. Lay back down and I'll come get in bed.” I laid down and felt him slip into the bed beside me. Our fingers touched in the middle and I immediately felt relieved.

The vision changed quickly. I was running through the woods, sweat dripping down my face and back. I heard the sound of running behind me. Multiple people running. I kept going, faster than before.

A twig snapped a little ahead of me to the right side. I slightly turned to the left and pushed myself harder. I heard a crash, followed by men grunting. “Keep going, I've got him! She went left!”

The footsteps turned toward me again and I could hear them gaining on me. I tripped over a piece of wood, and before I hit the ground, I was back in the car facing Brandon. I was holding onto his hands so tight I was surprised he wasn’t in any pain. I loosened my grip, but he wouldn’t let go.

“You can let go now, I'm okay.” I said.

“That was a long one, Rose. Almost 5 whole minutes. What happened?”

“Can I get a drink of water, please? My throat is dry.”

He reached behind the seat and grabbed a cold-water bottle. I took it, nodding my thanks, and downed the whole bottle without stopping. I rested my head against the seat and closed my eyes, taking long, deep breaths. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes and saw that we were still in front of Marg’s house.

“Uh, can you drive? She's going to think we’re creepers just sitting here. I'll talk while we go.”

Brandon looked at the house, before moving the car. “What happened, Rose?”

“Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. I vaguely remember what happened, but it was split into 2 different visions. Both had their own feelings associated, but I don’t know how they could possibly relate to each other.”

“Maybe there is no relation. Maybe you haven’t made a definitive decision about something and it’s giving you multiple versions.”

I closed my eyes again. “Yeah, you could be right, I guess. If I tell you what happened in the first, do you promise not to get all manly and weird on me?”

There was humor in his voice when he replied. “I can make no such promise.”

I sighed, knowing I had decided to trust him, and he needed to know.

“Okay... well... in the first vision... I had woken up in the middle of the night, looking for you... in my bed... you weren’t there, so I called out for you, and then you stepped out of the bathroom...” My face flushed and I was sure he saw it. I couldn’t bring myself to go any further.

“Okay, so we share a bed and a bathroom? That's not so bad, is it?”

“Uh... well... you were... naked.” I dropped my face into my hands, hiding my tomato face and embarrassment. He didn’t make a sound. I slowly lifted my head, peeking over at him. Of course, he was sitting there with a giant smile on his face.

“Were you also naked? Please say yes, I want you to say yes.”

“Shame on you, Brandon! No, I don’t think I was. Before I could take in any other details, I was thrown into the second vision.”

He looked so disappointed! I couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the pout on his face. We pulled up to the diner. It looked empty. “Let’s go eat some food and then I'll tell you about the second part, okay?”

I tried to open the door, but he clicked the door lock. I looked at him confused, before I registered the heat in his eyes. “Didn’t I tell you to make this easy on me, Rose? You can’t tell me I was naked in your vision, sleeping in the same bed as you, and nonchalantly decide we’re going to eat before talking about it anymore! That is not easy.”

I put on the sexiest smile I thought I could make, unlocked the door, and said ‘watch me’ as I jumped out. Sucker.