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Rosie
I’m cleaning the dishes while Caplan clears the dining room table. Mom and Dad are already passed out in front of the TV and have been watching all day for the most part. It was only me and Caplan for dinner. It’s always me and Cap. Mom and Dad checked out of our lives a long time ago.
“Cap?” I call him by his nickname and the clanking of dishes stops.
“Oh, no. Nope. I know that tone and I know that nickname. You call me that when you want something.”
“I do not.” I do. I definitely do.
“What is it, Rosie? Just spit it out.”
I squirt a little bit of soap on the dishes and grab the brush, giving it a good scrub. “I want to know the name of the place where this guy jumped you.”
“Rosie,” he exhales, setting the plates down on the counter next to me. “No way am I telling you that. First, you’ll lecture me. Second, I don’t want you to go there, and I know you. You’ll go. It isn’t safe for you.”
“And it’s safe for you?” I ask him, dropping the brush in the sink. “You could have gotten killed.”
“They will eat you alive there, Rosie. A pretty girl going to Amor? Come on. They will beg you to go on stage.” His eyes widen when he realizes what he said, and an evil grin takes over my face. “I didn’t mean Amor.”
“Amor, huh? That fancy gentlemen’s club on the other side of town?”
“Nope. No. Not that one. I’m getting it confused with another. It’s not that one.” His cheeks redden as he tries to cover up his mistake.
“Too late,” I singsong, gathering the brush in my hands again and scrubbing the pan.
“Please,” he begs. “Don’t go there.”
“I’m going. End of story. Don’t worry. I won’t cause any trouble. I promise. I want to go and just look around.”
“You always cause trouble even when you don’t mean to,” he states.
I gasp, hand to chest. “Not true.”
“It’s true and you know it. I’m asking you not to go. It might be an expensive place, but it isn’t a good place to be.”
“Why were you there then?”
“The strippers,” he says a little too bluntly. “I’m still a man.”
I pretend to gag. “Hardly.”
He rolls his eyes at me. “I’m going to my room.” He presses a kiss to my temple. “Please, don’t go. For me?” he pleads.
“I’ll think about it, but no one hurts my baby brother and gets away with it.”
He shakes his head, but relents, knowing he won’t win this fight, and walks away. He has to dip his head down, so he doesn’t hit the top of the doorway. When he is gone, I grip the edges of the sink and take a deep breath, trying to figure out how to get away with going to Amor Gentlemen’s Club.
Either way, I’m going and I’m going to do recon. I’m going to figure out why that stone is important and why they beat my brother in the first place.
I dry my hands and disappear into my room, deciding that, if I’m going to go, I’m going to look the part. I need to wait a few hours to make sure Caplan is asleep or he will try to come with me, and he can’t. It’s too risky for him. He’ll be in danger whereas I’ll just be someone new.
I don’t have time to straighten the mess of curls, so to tame them I grab a bottle of mousse. “Oh, shit, shit, shit,” I chant, watching the tower of foam grow in my palm.
I always use too much.
Once my hair is as good as it is going to get, I put on some make-up. Heavy on the mascara and I decide on a pink gloss that makes my lips look pouty. Rummaging through my closet, I grab a pair of red heels and the only tight black dress I have.
I slip it on, running my hands down my sides while I look in the mirror. It’s been so long since I’ve had on anything other than jeans and a T-shirt, I’ve forgotten what I look like outside of them. I snag my purse, my phone, and then peek out my bedroom door to stare at Caplan’s. His door is wide open.
