Page 32 of The Fall

“You look good. Really, Rose, you are practically glowing. So, okay, tell me more.”

“He was raised here and in Tennessee due to his parent’s divorce. He is a mechanic for a private airline. He is twenty-nine and is the hottest, and I mean the hottest man I’ve ever seen. He’s so good to me and tells me he loves me with every breath he takes. I think, no I’m sure I’m in love with him. It happened really fast, and we don’t get to see each other often, but we talk every single day for hours. And when we do see each other…oh, God, it’s like my heart is full, and I am so happy. He hasn’t let my school work suffer, and he swears we’re destined to end up together, and I love him, and he is so, so good to me and—Dallas…why are you looking at me like that?”

“It happened,” I said carefully, giving her a slow nod with the tilt of my chin.

“What happened?”

“What Dad said. Lightning struck you, Rose.” I watched the words sink in as she tilted her head, eyes squinting. “Oh, you know I don’t believe in that stuff.”

“Yes, you do. Don’t pretend with me. I know better,” I said, suddenly terrified for her. It had been a little less than a month since dinner at my parents’ house. Who the hell could she possibly have fallen in love with in such little time?

“Okay, so what if I do believe in it. How do you know it’s Grant?”

“Rose, I know as well as you do that it’s Grant. I’m going to down this frothy chocolate shit and try to be happy for you,” I said, the bitterness in my voice growing stronger with every word.

“I’m sorry, Dallas. I know you’re miserable right now with Josh.”

“Completely, but not because of Josh. Dean is working on the ninth floor in my hospital.”

She couldn’t hide her excitement. “Oh really! Dean! Huh, the guy who broke your heart?” she cooed.

“He said I broke his,” I replied dryly, completely sure of who was right.

“You did, and he broke yours. It’s a sick thing to watch. So, what happened?” she asked, sipping her tea.

“He took me out to dinner and then tried to kiss me. I freaked out on him, telling him to leave me alone.”

“He’s married, isn’t he?” she asked, trying to hide her smile. Rose had been Dean’s strongest advocate and her first crush when she was a kid.

I looked at her pointedly. “He is engaged. I can’t get involved with Dean. I won’t. He can’t be trusted.” I ended it there as she looked at me in question. “And you know, as much of a sexual opportunist as I know he’s always been, I never thought he’d be the type to cheat on his fiancée.”

“Me neither,” she said, still listening, but I could still see her faint smile.

“What?” I asked impatiently.

“Nothing, it’s just that…I always saw you with Dean. Everyone did. I’m glad he’s back.”

“And engaged, Rose. It’s just never been…right with us. Anyway, Josh showed up with his mom, and all hell broke loose. We were at Chantilly, of all places. He was treating his mom to dinner and saw me flirting with Dean in my ‘do me’ dress.”

“You’re kidding me!” she said, laying her hand on my arm with excitement.

“Nope,” I sighed, accentuating the ‘p’ with the pop of my lips.

“He took you to Chantilly? Did he know about that place!” she asked with awe on her face. My sister had gone from a love-shunning moralist to a romanticist in a month. I shook my head slowly with distaste, nowhere near ready to lose her to the bright side.

“No, and, Rose, that was the right reaction to the wrong part of the story I just told you. It doesn’t matter where he took me!”

“I know, but he took you to Chantilly. It’s a sign!” She clapped her hands together happily as if she had been in on the secret that the universe would dump Dean at my door…or hospital.

“It’s not a sign! Look, I have to get back to work. Keep your damn happy voodoo shit away from me for now. I’m happy being miserable,” I said, throwing the rest of my drink in the trash.

“Why don’t you give Dean a chance instead of assuming the worst about him? Talk to him and see what’s going on. If I remember correctly, you’re the one who screwed it all up.”

“I think something is wrong there, Rose, but I can’t afford to care right now. I’m working harder than ever to research what needs to be done to set up shop, not to mention my current patient load. Can we just drop it?”

“Fine, but this is Dean. God, does he still look like a completely fuckable movie star?”

“Better,” I said with another sigh.

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