Roses are Red ( Book 2 )

Día Dos

Dorinda

I sighed, gazing out of the wide windows in my office, which overlooked the massive crowd. f****d Up Fridays proved once again, to be successful. Rose suggested it to me weeks ago . I only just placed the event in affect, kickin things off in this month of October . Tonight would indeed end profitable. However, I could not enjoy this moment with Rose missing. All I felt was sadness . My friend wasn't here to witness, what we did together .

Although, Good Vibrations belonged solely to me. I would never have left Atlanta without Rose . Georgia thrived in business and talent, but everyone already had claim to something. Sure when Rose first suggested leaving I hesitated. Who wouldn't do the same, being asked to leave everything you know for something someone else believed in . I never thought I could do this . I thought she lost her damn mind, but I had faith in her and I followed her to Detroit.

We've had an horrible start and a hell of a year, but we finally found our piece of the pie. Something that we worked hard for and it was ours . I wanted to celebrate that with my best friend . To bask in our success and be happy. She's been through soo much already, and I wondered would she be the same, when she returned.

" Uhm, Dorinda " spoke up Juni, politely getting my attention, breaking my thoughts, I shook myself. I didn't notice her come in. " Yes Juniper " I answered turning to her, feeling my skirt slide against my skin . Well I guess you could call it that . Without Rosalina around at the moment, I had to improvise .

She once made me this lovely two piece ensemble, deep brown, with clingy material . Absolutely perfect in each way, so I cut it. Rose would have cursed me out, but I think I pulled it off . A tad bit revealing but I wore it well . I even made a matching chocker and my $15,000 Louis Vuitton's brought everything together. I looked better than a whole bag of crispy $100 bills .

" Everything is fine, but there's a guy bringing down the mood in the lower VIP . " she explained as I waved her off going back to the window. " So . Send a pretty girl and buy him a drink on us . " I snapped scanning the crowds for this man .

" You know what to do Juniper, get it done ." I told her in a final tone .

I don't like Debby downers in my club . It only takes that one person, to f**k up everybody's mood . So, I took it upon myself to prepare for such situations. All my employees know what to do in moments like this . We always send in the V.I.B.E. . Visitors Infatuated By Excitement . A nice face to look at. Male or female, straight out of a fantasy . Some free drinks, great music and maybe a one night stand. Who know what could happen but, I bet you would come back to my club if your night changed like that.

So, the thing I'm trying to figure out . Is why Juniper's bringing this to my attention. " He's not responding to the v.i.b.e's were sending over . He's just over there drinking ." she complained, tossing her long hair over her shoulders. My eyes landed on the guy, just as she finished speaking. " Okae Juni . " I dismissed her heading towards the doors . " Go chill out or something. Then come find me with the head count of the night. " I told her, not waiting for a response. Leaving, I descended the stairs on my way to investigate.

This was weird to see him out tonight . Especially here in the club . Once I made it through the thick crowd of bodies, I descended a few more steps to the base floor. This floor was always popping. Mostly where the cheap liquor was sold and where people came to be low . I knew criminals parlayed over here in the shadows. The dancing bodies providing a perfect cover for their dirty deeds .

Jaxon lifted the velvet rope of VIP, seeing me approaching. He did not ask me anything . Only stepping out of the way, allowing me to pass as I continued to the bar . He dressed well, in a colorful long sleeved Versace shirt. The black outlines on the wrist and v-neck were a nice touch. His pants were black as well . Not expensive but, the Jordans he wore were customized to match his shirt and honey those were expensive. A gold Rolex rested upon his wrist, as he tilted another drink back and the dark liquid quickly disappeared.

" Jamir, wassup . What are you doing here ?" I asked, sitting on the bar stool next to him . Glad to be close enough not to yell, I looked him over. Slouching over the bar, Jamir looked glum as he downed the last of his drink, and ordered another.

He ignored me, not even looking my way once . The lights danced over his stone like face, giving him an ominous glow. I shook my head, saddened to see him like this . Like he didn't care about anything anymore. I needed him to pull himself together. So we could find Rose .

I had to admit, I held a small grudge against him. The whole Elise fiasco was his fault in my eyes. Now I had to keep a eye on that b***h. Not to mention, keeping calm about him f*****g my girlfriend. I pushed those thoughts away, not wanting to cause a scene in my own establishment. I ordered us another round as Jamir finally looked to me .

" Leave me alone Dorinda. " he sighed, staring off again . " Your in my club looking like your about to jump off a building." I teased bumping his shoulder . " I'm not going anywhere." I told him firmly . I was glad he didn't argue and accepted my drink . It was hard to say this was the same man that helped me out last year .

I'm use to seeing him serious but, this was a whole new level. The man walked like he had the world strapped to his back. Only the thought of saving Rose kept him moving. I never realized how much her presence affected us as a whole.

" Mir, Talk to me ." I coaxed as he swiped his face . " I'm worried." He spoke quietly, in the loud a*s club . I leaned in to hear him better . " I saw Lupita and she took the news bad " I nodded, taking in his words.

Of course she would take it bad . Rosalina was her only child and it seems like she had the worst kind of luck . " She told me she saw Rose the day before and..." he broke off with a pained look . I reached out to pat his shoulder, but he moved from my reach , standing. " I gotta go ." He spoke abruptly , pulling out his wallet and dropping some $20's . I pushed them back his way .

" I don't need that . Just take care of yourself. " I told him as he watched me . I felt bad for Jamir. On the outside he seemed cold and distant, but looking in his eyes, I saw the storm tearing him up inside . Jamir nodded before turning to leave . He left the money anyway, weaving through the crowd . The bright colors he wore made it easy for me to follow his back with my eyes til he left .

I took my drink to the head . Now watered down though. I shivered feeling the familiar burn as I stood . Making my way back towards my office, I paused to talk to Jaxon . I let him know I would leave after going over the numbers with Juni . I already wasn't feeling this before, but now I was entirely over it . Jaxon used his ear piece to spread the word and I found Juniper waiting for me in my office.

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I woke up feeling ShaMilla moving around next to me . After coming in from the club last night, I washed off and crashed in the comfiest shirt I could find . Milla came in a few hours after me and settled herself down in the bed next to me . Checking the time, I saw it was almost noon .

" So you weren't going to wake me up ?" I mumbled, wiping sleep from my eyes . " Your up now ain't it ." responded Milla heading into the bathroom. Things were ok between us for the most part . It's hard to stay mad at her, when it happened before me .

I could be mad she didn't tell me but, there's a lot she still hasn't told me. At this point , I'm just going in circles and I hoped it was worth it in the end. I sighed, following her into the bathroom. Praying that today will be better than yesterday.

Today we were going to the hospital to follow up on Rose's visit . It's only been two days but, the hospital was our only lead . Jamir had a few favors from around the way, and got us in . We were allowed access to some cameras at the hospital, but only the ones that didn't infringe on doctor patient confidentiality.

The rest is up to us to find out on our own . No one wanted to involve the police and you can't just walk in interrogating nurses and doctors but, I had a feeling that Jamir was going to do as he pleased .

After doing my hygiene, I was now dressed in a creme long sleeve, sweater dress, that stopped mid thigh. It was thick enough for warmth but thin enough not to make me sweat. The temperature continued to drop outside, but the sun was high and shining. I slid my feet into my peep toe ankle boots .

Keeping my makeup light, I pulled my hair into a high ponytail, leaving some out to swoop around the ponytail holder . I placed rubber bands down the tail and slicked my edges neatly back . A little trick Rose taught me .

( not a pic of Rinda just her appearance)

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" See, and it looks soo pretty !" Rose cooed, tightening the last rubber band .

" If you stop perming it and let me treat your hair . It will be much longer ." she huffed, rolling her eyes . " You think so ?" I asked, looking in the wide mirror .

I turned my head side to side, as my ponytail bounced and swayed . I loved it and I could tell my reflection agreed. I gave Rose a toothy grin, as she giggled going over to plop on my bed .

" What time do you have to go ? " I asked , going to my bed, and crawling over to where she laid. Rosalina sighed, rolling over on her stomach, burying her face into the thick floral comforter . " I don't want to go back ." She mumbled. " Cool, I'll ask my mom if you can stay the night ." I nodded, scooting to the end to stand .

I felt Rose grip my wrist hard, pulling me back down . " No! I can't stay here ." She stressed, her voice thick with panic .

" Chill, she loves you ! You could move in and Debra wouldn't mind ." I teased, gently removing her hand . Rose deflated, slouching and looking away . " I'm not going back to Cora's ." She spoke looking away from me. I stared her down but, she didn't meet my eyes .

" How bad is it ?" I pried, wanting so badly to know what went on behind those doors she called home . Rose faced me with unshed tears filling her eyes . She didn't need to answer me . " After your graduation ." I agreed sitting down next to her. I pulled her hands in mine . She's only been out of high school for a year ! Not to mention her cosmetology license wasn't valid until after graduation .

She kissed her teeth pulling away . " I can't wait that long ." She snapped, her voice breaking. " I can't do that to my mom Rosae'" I explained using the nickname I created, playing with my fingers . My mother ran a bakery and I helped her as a business partner. I handled the money and she handled the dough . I still lived at home and I wasn't planning on leaving just yet.

" You know I'm here for you Rose ." I reasoned. I've never seen her this distraught. Sure, I knew she did not like her foster mother but, otherwise I assumed she was happy. At least, happy enough to wait to move out when she could.

" Your only 19 . Fresh out of high school at that . If things doesn't get better and you still want to leave . I'll go with you after graduation." I promised, as she turned to face me, raising her eyebrow .

" Okae Rinda . I'll stay until then . " she agreed as we hugged each other tightly. " I love you Dorinda, your more than a friend. Your my sister . "

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Her words echoed inside my ears, as if she said them right next to me. I sighed, shaking off old memories.

We left two days after she graduated . I never knew how bad it was for her. Never knew what she was forced to practice. I braced myself against the dresser, taking deep breaths as my mind raced . Did she leave because of me ?

I have been distant lately but not on purpose. I'm just trying to find myself, just like she seemed to be . My chest felt tight and I began to feel dizzy. I closed my eyes feeling the room spin as my knees buckled.

" Dorinda! " shouted Milla, catching me and sitting us on the floor . I stared at her, hyperventilating. Everything seemed far away and entirely too loud . " Calm down ." She pleaded, her voice faking calm . I focused on that . ShaMilla held my face in her hands, looking in my eyes .

" Breath baby ." She cooed as I felt my breaths slow . " That's it . It's just us . Now orient yourself with your surroundings. " I nodded feeling my tears spill . I don't know when I started crying but my gaze trailed around the room the as I got it together. After a few minutes, I felt better but more tired than ever .

" I'm okae ." I told her as she watched me . I grew use to always having her eyes on me . Sort of made me feel safe and cherished.

" What were you thinking about?" asked ShaMilla . " Rose." I answered sadly as she nodded .

" I thought so . Once you closed your eyes like that." She shook her head ." I knew you trigged an anxiety attack ." she went on as I shook my head no . " I don't have anxiety." I told her .

" It's not a bad thing, I use to have attacks when I was younger. Something always triggered it . " she explained as I chewed over her words . " Maybe you should sit this out. " added Milla, helping me to my feet . I sucked my teeth, switching out of the room . " Let's Go ."

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Jamir met us in the parking lot after a tense 30 minute drive. Mir was still dressed in the same attire from when I last saw him . I shook my head but, kept it to myself, He seemed more together since last night . Focused and alert. The shadows under his eyes however. Told me he didn't sleep last night.

ShaMilla wore hammer pants with black and white stripes. It was paired with a tank crop top, sleeveless with her tattoos on full display per usual. Despite the cold bite of the wind. She strode forward with confidence. Butterflies flew around my stomach as we entered the facility. Things looked pretty slow around here. Despite the many cars parked outside. We approached the male nurse, that sat at the sign in desk .

" What ales you today ?" He stated dryly . He looked around my age but more attitude. "That's how you greet people ?" snapped ShaMilla grilling him . He looked her over before focusing on Jamir . "Pregnancy test ? " spoke the Mitch, before peeping at me . " Two maybe ?" he continued, after looking at me briefly. " You got me ALL the way f****d up !" I spat, walking up on him . Jamir stopped me, sticking his arm out .

" No need." Jamir answered his ignorant a*s question. "Where's Johnathan?" He went on to ask. Mir's voice sounded off . More menace to it than necessary. The nurse sat up straighter in his seat.

" Security told me to call when you got here . Jamir, right?" the Mitch asked, finally getting serious. Mir nodded and the nurse picked up the phone without another word .

" Yeah , he's here now ." he eyed Jamir a bit . " Alright." He ended the call . " John is coming . Stand over there and he will come out of those doors . " he explained pointing over to some doors on the left . Jamir didn't answer, he just turned and went off in that direction . I followed him, but stuck my tongue out at the nurse . Milla started laughing as he cut his eyes at me .

We caught up with Jamir, and waited by the doors . " Stay in the Lobby Dorinda." Stated Mir, out of no where. " I don't think so . I want to help ." I argued, facing him and crossing my arms. " By popping off . Nawh, I don't think your taking this seriously." He finished, turning to watch the door but, I wasn't done.

" First of all, he was hella disrespectful." I kicked off, livid at this point . "Secondly, Milla had something to say also . " I stressed, with a tad bit of a neck roll. I was on a roll now. " I've known Rose years, before you came into the picture! AND, I don't think you take THAT serious enough." I spat, turning on my heels and walking off . I continued down some halls seething. Anger rolled off me in waves. I'm so sick of playing backseat driver and finding things out last minute.

I've tried to work with Mir but, I can't with this new attitude. I know he's hurting but so am I . I tuned into my surroundings, finding myself inside of the cafeteria . Right on cue, my stomach growled. Looking at the menu, I saw.

That there was nothing I wanted . I couldn't even smell anything cooking, and I sighed weighing my options. Starve or eat this nasty s**t . I groaned loudly.

" There's a vending machine around the corner." Spoke up a chubby white lady. That happened to be walking by. I read her name tag, which said Debra . " Oh thank GOD ! " I exclaimed, making her laugh . I followed her and sure enough, there was a glorious machine with all types of goodies inside . I did a little dance and hugged Deb awkwardly but, she laughed returning it .

" Trust me dear, I know the feeling. " she said to me . We got our snacks and Debra offered to eat with me .

" I'm Dorinda." I told her sitting down at an empty table . We were mostly alone . " Debra ." said the nice woman as she went to work on some hohos . I giggled to myself, and let her enjoy her snack . " My mother name is Debra ." I said after a couple minutes. Just trying to create light conversation.

" Well isn't that nice . " she beamed . I nodded smiling softly.

" I can tell your a nice girl ." She praised as I shrugged. " Don't deny it hun . It's a good thing . " she went on, eating her chips now . " I met a rude woman, just the other day and boy did she have a mouth on her ." She stressed making me laugh . " Her hair was a crazy color . Half blonde and half peach ." I froze as she continued.

Was she talking about Rose ! " I'm sorry you had to deal with that . " I faked sympathy as I patted her hand that wasn't stuffing her face .

" Why don't you tell me all about it . " I cooed, facing her with a smile .

ShaMilla

" First of all, he was hella disrespectful." She popped off, livid at this point . "Secondly, Milla had something to say also . " She stressed, with a tad bit of a neck roll. Dorinda was on a roll now. " I've known Rose years, before you came into the picture! AND, I don't think you take THAT serious enough."Dorinda snapped, before walking off .

We watched her march off but I let her go . Jamir had a point. I was just f*****g with buddy but Dorinda would have tore his head off . After her episode this morning, I was beginning to worry about her . It's only been two days but, I could see how hard this was affecting the ones I cared about .

" You could have said it better than that . " I said to Mir . He shrugged, turning to face the man that approached us . " Jamir Jacobs !" He greeted Mir enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes at him bro hugging Jamir . I assumed Johnathan was a friend from the academy and like a switch Jamir turned on the charm .

" John ! Good to see ya ." He beamed as they broke apart . " This is my girlfriend Sharon ." He introduced me . I played my role, smiling brightly giving him a church role . " Mir has told me SO much about you ." I gushed, getting into character. John grinned, clearly loving the ego stroke .

" Yeah, we go way back . I was surprised to hear from you, but I can see why . Yo girl here nice. " he said smiling at me . As soon as he turned his back, I dropped the act as we fell into step behind him . I lagged a bit and Jamir caught on, slowing his strides .

" You tried it . " I whispered . Mir shrugged. " Had to . He doesn't know why were really here and he doesn't need to know you. " he explained in a bored tone . " Told him I was tracking a female trafficking ring . " said Mir as we entered the security room . It was average sized, with a few monitors. Nothing I haven't seen before .

I stayed back letting Jamir take over . John used the keyboards to pull up the footage. I obliged myself to the only seat in the room . Mir's eyes were trained on the screen as Rose came into view . He smiled to himself, before his face went smooth again .

" She came in but left without being seen. " he explained as we watched her communicate with a fat nurse on the screen . John changed one of the monitors to show another video. " She came in a week before, but I don't know much ." He shrugged, as I watched a nurse take over and calm Rose down .

Im guessing all the staff here was rude as f**k . Im use to better surroundings, if you know what I mean . A private doctor or house vists . I shook my head as John did the most, moving down to another screen typing away .

" Then I saw this . " he spoke, clicking a button with finesse and winking at me . I scoffed, rolling my eyes . Jamir gave me a look but I ignored him . We were here already, and buddy was gonna talk regardless. Imma make sure of that .

" See this woman ." He said pointing to a woman in scrubs . "She's in every video . She doesn't work here but, we've had a couple interns from out of town lately . " he explained turning to us . Jamir listened but kept his eyes on the screens .

I decided to take over and stood smiling at John . " Do you know what cities?" I asked coming to stand in front him . He laughed looking over to Jamir . " Look at you playing detective ." He joked. My face twitched as I held my smile in place .

" Mostly Seattle, New York . Uhm I think Atlanta too ." He went on .

" Son of a b***h ." Jamir cursed under his breath, moving closer to the screens. My eyes darted to the screen after I pushed Johnathan out of my way . The the screen blacked out just as someone else came into the view .

" You didn't say anything about the footage being tampered with ! " Spazzed Jamir, mugging John. Civilities out the window, John rubbed the back of his neck, looking away from Jamir. " I know but it's all I got ." He stated dropping his hands .

Mir stone faced him . He looked tense as he clinched his jaw . "Thanks ." He gritted out before breezing out of the room . I sighed going over to John . I got back into character giving him a soft smile .

" Don't mind him . He's grumpy this morning ." I joked as John eyed me a little . I switched over to the door slowly, peeking over my shoulder seeing him watch me . Men, I thought to myself closing the door . " Were gonna need a list of those cites John ." I stated turning around to face him .

I saw it in his eyes he wanted me . John seemed conflicted as I gazed at him seductively. I exaggerated sliding my hair off of my shoulders, walking slowly over to him . My cleavage more visible as I slid my hands down my sides sliding a knife out from under my b*a . John didn't notice, even though I was right in front of him now .

" I ... I uhm can't give away that information." He stammered, watching me lick my lips. I came into his personal space, backing him to the keyboards . I slid my hands up his chest and he let me closing his eyes. I shook my head at him but kept going to his neck . " Mhmmm John " I moaned leaning in . I gripped the collar of his uniform, pulling him into me and placing my lips at his ears .

" Wrong answer Johnathan " I whispered before using my strength and throwing him into the wall . He hit it with a thud, but I was on him before he could stand . I laughed as he swung and I blocked it slicing his fist , he cried out as I laughed . Squatting to his level, I pouted my lips . " Awwh, look at you bleeding on the floor" I cooed as he held his fist to his chest . " Now about that list ." I said with the sweetest smile .

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Strutting out of the office after having some fun, I folded the small lists of cities and tucked them deep inside my pocket. I hate to say it but Mir is off his hinges and I had to put a lid on it . Fortunately, I'm from Seattle, so I'll start there .

I caught Jamir leaving the desk in the lobby . " Did you get the list ?" He asked as soon as I got to him .

I shifting my weight, I jutted my hip out as I sucked my teeth . " The f**k you think nigga ." I cleared him, getting ready to slip in my lie .

" It was child's play, I only did it for fun . He's gonna mail it to us, since he's gotta be low with it . " I explained, lying smoothly. Mir sighed but, nodded straightening up . " Alright, I'm out ." He stated as Dorinda strode up . We both looked for her attitude from earlier but, she just seemed ready to go . Without another word we left the hospital.