Chapter 13
Taylor
“Rose,” Taylor shouted, running after her. He didn’t know why he was going after her. She clearly didn’t care about him.
“Rose!” Taylor shouted, grabbing her hand.
“Leave me alone!” Rose said, turning around. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she glared at him angrily.
“You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to reject me, turn me down, and then not even offer an explanation. You don’t get to dance and laugh and pretend like everything is normal, when I am suffering inside. You are my mate. You know how it affects me, even if I don’t want it to!” Taylor said.
“You think I am happy? I am not happy. I have been trying to act cheerful all day because it’s Delma’s birthday, and I didn’t want to ruin it! I have spent all night awake, thinking of how to explain it to you. Explain to you why I reacted that way. Explain what’s wrong!” Rose said, glaring at him.
“Then tell me!” Taylor shouted.
Rose pointed at Penelope and said, “That’s why. Because that’s what you do. That’s what you did. Three years ago. You don’t even remember it!”
Taylor stood there, frozen. He had no idea what Rose meant.
Rose was crying and smiling at him, bitterly.
“Three years ago. The full moon party? I was depressed because my friend Denise had passed away a few months ago. I came to the party and got very drunk. You came up to me, you were completely wasted. Yet, you sat next to me and talked to me. I told you about Denise and you consoled me. I thought you were the nicest guy in the world. You took me home and
I went. You slept with me. I left in the morning to get you breakfast, and when I got back you were gone. I went looking for you, but I couldn’t find you. When I did, you were hanging out with your friends, as always. I went over and greeted you and asked if you wanted to get coffee later. You know what you said? You said, ‘I am sorry, but who are you?’ That’s what you said. That’s all I ever was. Just a random mating,” Rose said, pursing her lips, trying to hold back tears.
“Rose… listen…” Taylor said.
Rose cut him off, pulling her hand away and said, “I was going to tell you and ask you why you did it. I thought you were a good guy, and maybe there was something I didn’t know. I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. Then I come here, and I realise that you are just the same. The same person I thought you were. I am sorry I even let you in.”
She wretched her arm away and ran off.
∞∞∞
It had been two miserable days. Taylor could barely concentrate on anything; Rose was all he could think about. He wanted to talk to her, explain to her, but she had been ignoring him like he was a vampire.
She already had her match, and managed to defeat Brenda in both, the battle and the chess match. She had been the first one to qualify for the semi-finals. Taylor on the other hand, won the battle, but lost the chess match. He managed to qualify only because the judges gave him a higher score for the performance in the battle.
Taylor knew he had to talk to her. He didn’t have much of an explanation, but he still had to do something. Taylor was hanging around the forest, ignoring his friends. He wanted to get drunk and party, but that was what had gotten him into trouble in the first place.
He found Rose sitting alone near the river, playing with a small kitten she had found. Taylor stood there for some time, just watching her. He had always thought he was brave, but now that he stood there, he couldn’t muster the courage to approach her. Also, she had started to become a better fighter and she might just attack Taylor, if she got angry enough.
Taylor was still watching her from the shadows when the kitten slipped from the rock it was playing on and fell in the river.
“Tommy!” Rose shouted, starting to slip off her clothes to jump after it.
Taylor was faster. He whipped off his shirt and jumped straight into the river. The current was strong, and any normal human would have drowned. Thankfully, Taylor was a werewolf. His body was strong enough to fight against the current. He managed to grab the kitten and fought against the current, back towards the shore.
Rose grabbed the kitten instantly, hugging the poor thing to her chest.
Taylor got out, dripping water everywhere. He offered Rose his shirt, which she took and wrapped around the kitten.
Rose didn’t look up and said, “Thank you. For saving him.”
“Rose…” Taylor started to say.
Rose looked up and said, “Why were you standing there?”
“I… well…” Taylor stammered. Rose raised an eyebrow and looked at him. “Well, I wanted to talk,” he finally said.
