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-&-

Chapter 26

The TV was on and blaring some football game the boys were all staring intently at, but not me. I wasn't even look at the plasma screen as they all hoot and hollered. Instead I was staring blankly at the wall, biting the tip of my thumb, and kicking my legs back and forth against the couch slowly. 

"God, stopping kicking your feet Rosie." Jax grumbled from next to me as he ran his fingers through his thick blonde hair. "You're giving me anxiety."

"Sorry." I mumbled softly as I brought my feet up and tucked them under me. I don't want to make him worry, but my worry was making me very much on edge. He let out a sigh before his heavy hand ran up and down my back soothingly.

"Don't worry, kid." Brett said from my other side as he reached up and patted my head, just like the child he continued to think I was. "Rex is going to walk through that door any minute, just you watch." I nodded as he thumped my chin with his knuckle before going back to the game.

I wanted to believe him, I really did, but Rex has been gone for two days already and no one could get ahold of Trey. The hospital had released me the next morning after the whole "incident", but Trey never came back like I thought he would, and he never came back with Rex. I was starting to get very worried, and the panic that came with the worry was never good.

"Are you hungry Rose? You want me to make you something?" Jax asked softly at my side, his warm and reassuring hand never leaving the middle of my back. He hadn't left me when we got back from the hospital, actually none of them did, except for, well, Trey. They had taken me back to Rex's apartment, partly because I asked, but mainly because they were all convinced it was what Rex wanted. Jax had actually slept in Rex's room with me, but on the floor, and the Dimajio's had both fought over the couch in the living room.

"No thank you. I'm not really hungry." He was leaning back against the couch almost lazily, but I could feel the icy stare his bright blue eyes were casting at my back at my words. He didn't believe me.

"You said that this morning."

"I wasn't hungry then either."

He let out a heavy sigh and leaned forward until his shoulder was touching mine. "Rosie, bae, you need to eat. You didn't have a lot yesterday either." I shrugged my shoulders and dropped my eyes to the ground as Brett's attention turned towards us. He didn't know I hadn't been eating, and I just knew he would tell Trey when he got back. And then Trey would tell Rex, and then I would be in a lot of trouble.

"My stomach's upset Jax. I don't want to eat anything."

"It's upset because you're stressing too much. You're either going to eat, or I'm making you. I have a feeling lover boy won't be too happy when he finds out you haven't been either." I pouted as he tapped the side of my head and stood up with a long stretch.

"When I find out what?" My head snapped up so fast at the sound of his voice, I was surprised I didn't hurt myself. Rex was looking over at Jax with a scowl on his face as he twisted the key out of the door handle before he hung it up on the hooks by the door.

I didn't give Jax a chance to answer before I jumped off the couch and launched myself at an unsuspecting Rex. Honestly, I didn't know what I was going to do when he finally did come home, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't that. "Whoa Roza." He grunted as I threw all of my body weight onto him. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist, and my arms even tighter around his neck until I was clinging onto him like a vine for dear life.

His deep, resonating chuckle calmed the nervous tumbling in my stomach and I felt my insides crumble as he wrapped his arms around me. "I missed you to, baby flower." His voice was low, and soft, like a gentle whisper as he murmured into my ear before he kissed the side of my head.

"What took so long?" I didn't realize there were tears in my eyes since how hard I was squishing my face into his neck, but the salty feeling on my lips let me know a few had escaped. I rubbed my face further into his skin.

"Well apparently," He grumbled as he wrapped one of his arms under me and the other around my back before carrying me back into the living room, "Trey's dad wasn't going to let me out as easily this time."

When I was satisfied he wouldn't be able to see any tears on my face I pulled back just enough to blink up at him. "What do you mean? I thought you were in jail?" I literally almost melted, right then and there, as his dark, beautiful, chestnut eyes scanned over my face in worry. Like I was the one who had been locked up and could have possible been hurt.

"He was in jail." Trey grumbled as he stepped through the door next and closed it behind us. I frowned and glanced between the two of them as Rex walked further into the living room, me still tightly wrapped around him. Jax had disappeared when we returned, but the loud clashing coming from the left let me know he was in the kitchen, and the other two were quickly trying to pick up the trash they had all successfully thrown everywhere while Rex was gone. It made me want to laugh. "My dad is the Sheriff, princess." Trey gave me a soft smile as he walked past us and patted my head, just like Brett had. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh... that makes sense." I mumbled softly before glancing up at Rex who was staring at the mess his living room was in. He glared and a dark snarl started to rumble in his chest. I frowned down at him and rubbed against the part of his chest I could reach reassuringly as he stepped over a dirty pile of clothes.

"I'm gone for two fucking days, and you idiots successfully destroyed my fucking apartment." I knew he wasn't mad at me, and it wasn't just because his fingers had wondered into my hair and pushed my head back down until my face was buried in his neck again. Denton's face was so ghostly white (in fear) that you could have mistaken it for chalk, and Brett stood shamefully as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Sorry, man." He grumbled as he began putting all their trash into a large trash bag. "But, we didn't know when you were coming back, and I promise we were going to clean it up before you did."

I clung tightly to Rex as his muscles tensed and relaxed under me, before he let out a sigh and shook his head. "Whatever, just get it cleaned up." He grumbled before he carried me away from the shocked looking brothers. Honestly, I was a little shocked to. I was expecting him to put up more of a tantrum, and I wasn't so sure I was okay that he didn't.

He walked us into his bedroom without another word and slammed the door behind him before carrying me to the bed. "Rex?" I asked softly as he sat me down on the bed. He didn't answer, but instead crouched down in front of me until he was sitting on his knees with his head bowed in my lap. I ran my fingers through his thick hair in worry. "Rex, are you okay? You're scaring me."

He let out a heavy breath of air that I could feel against my thighs, before he lifted his head up to look up at me. I cupped his face softly and frowned as his tired chestnut eyes blinked up at me sadly. "I'm okay, Roza. I just really missed you." My heart leapt in my chest at his words and I felt my insides constrict as he started to stand.

"Wait, Rex-"

"Rose, really, I'm fine. Okay, baby?" His voice was soft as he tried to unhook my arms that I had wrapped tightly around his neck once again. I didn't even notice that he had called me "baby" as I tried to pull him back down to me. He wasn't okay, and I needed to fix it... or whatever it was.

"But-"

"Sh, it's okay, really. I just need to take a shower alright? I haven't since they arrested me and I'm all gross." I frowned as he gently ran his hands up my arms, but I ended up nodding as he successfully pried them away from his neck. "Hey," He started softly as I wrapped my arms around my waist and gripped onto my self tightly, "I'll be out as quick as I can. I promise." I couldn't help but nod as he gripped my cheeks softly and kissed the top of my head. "Just wait right here." He flicked my nose and shot me a small smile before heading over to his dresser.

He grabbed the clothes he needed before walking into the bathroom and closing the doors behind him, but not before he sent me a small smile. I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my cheek on the top of them as I waited for him to come out. I had always been dependent on people, Jax, Luce, Dad... Tate, but with Rex it was so different. So much stronger, and it scared me. I hadn't slept the two nights he was gone, I hadn't been taking my medicine, and I couldn't find an appetite for the life of me. And now that he was back all I wanted to do was wrap my arms tightly around him and never let him go.

"Roza..." My head snapped up as his fingers brushed lightly against my cheek. I sighed as his bare chest reached my view and he let out a low chuckle. "You fell asleep, flower, and I was only gone ten minutes." He stood back just enough to pull a plain black shirt over his head, much to my disappointment, before he crawled onto the bed besides me.

"I'm sorry." I said with a yawn as he fell onto his back and held his arm out for me to do the same against his side. "I just haven't had a lot of sleep lately." I admitted as I laid down next to him and curled into the warmth of his chest that I missed so much.

He let out a sigh before his arm wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him. "Me either." He murmured into my hair as I rested my arm gently across his chest. We laid there for a couple of minutes in comfortable silence, and I was almost on the brink of sleep when his soft voice broke into my thoughts. "We won't have to worry about him anymore, my Roza." His voice was soft, like he was being careful with what he said, but I just frowned in confusion.

"Who?"

"Tate, we won't have to worry about him anymore. You won't have to worry anymore." I tensed at his words and with the way his other arm came to wrap around me in a tight hug let me know that he felt it.

"Did you kill him?" I murmured softly as I traced small circles into his chest over his shirt. He let out a dark chuckle, and despite the vindictiveness behind it, it calmed my racing nerves.

"No, baby flower." I let out a relieved sigh and wrapped my arm around his chest until I could bury my face up into his neck. "But I should have." I let out a sigh, which he chose to ignore, and instead held me tighter.

"Then why don't we have to worry about him anymore?" I asked softly as his fingers ran through my hair.

"He confessed to pretty much everything, and they locked him up in some looney bin back in Virginia." I let out a heavy sigh that I didn't realize I was holding at his words. I thought I had loved Tate, like a brother, but even before the whole incident he was just becoming... too much. Now, just hearing that he's locked up and can't hurt us anymore was like a breath of fresh air.

"Were you able to get ahold of your sister?" He murmured a moment later as he started to rub down my hair.

"Yes, actually." I was able to say with a smile as I pushed up on my arm until I could lean partially over him.

"And?" He raised one dark, but beautiful eyebrow at me.

"She's fine. She didn't even know Tate had left. Apparently they had been fighting and he just up and disappeared. She thought he just wanted to be alone." I shrugged and gently gripped onto the bottom of his shirt as he reached up to tug on the ends of my hair.

"She wasn't upset when you told her what happened?" He frowned up at me and I gave him a small smile before curling back into his side.

"She was more upset that I had gotten hurt than Tate basically using her to get to me. Actually, it kind of seemed like she was expecting it." I frowned as the thought crossed my mind, but as Rex's hand traced down my side and wrapped around my waist, my thoughts left me.

"Mm." Was all he said as his thumb rubbed gentle circles into my hip. "So what was it Jax was saying earlier? About me not being happy about something?"

I felt heat creep onto my cheeks as his giant hand traveled up the expanse of my back. "Oh, nothing important. He was just being over dramatic, like usual."

"Over dramatic my ass!" Rex's bedroom door burst opened and I didn't even have time to react as Rex flipped me over and covered my body with his in a nanosecond. A ferocious scowl was settled on his face and he glared daggers at an oblivious Jax who sauntered in with a plate of food in his hands.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Rex snapped at him as he carefully lifted his body off of mine, but his eyes were still hard as he rolled onto his side.

"Dear, sweet, ole' Rosalyn over here hasn't eaten in basically two days. That's what my fucking problem is." Jax's voice was a harsh snap, but as his glare turned to me his eyes softened. "Here Rosie," He grumbled as I sat up next to Rex and he set the food in my lap.

"You haven't been eating?" Rex's voice was soft, but I sensed the underlying dark tone that it held. I shrugged softly before I stuck the fork into the cut up hot dog Jax had made for me.

"I haven't been hungry."

He let out a heavy sigh before he reached up and gripped my chin, effectively cutting off my chewing. "Rosalyn, just because you've been worried doesn't mean you can stop eating." I blinked up at him as his hard eyes softened and his tight grip on my chin loosened.

"I know Rex, but I just couldn't stomach anything." He frowned and let go of my chin so he could rub his thumb along my jaw.

"Me either."

-&-

I was hanging over the thick rings ropes as Rex stood shirtless and sweaty in the middle. His eyes were narrowed and a cute scowl rested on his face as he and his trainer squared off. I didn't like watching him fight, but I loved the way his muscles moved as he did. They had just finished their second set, and despite the beautiful sight of a shirtless Rex, I was getting bored. It's only been a day since he returned home, and the boys (including Jax) had all gone off to do their own thing. Not that I was complaining, or anything. I loved alone time with Rex.

If this counts as "alone" time.

"Hey Rex?" I asked softly as he walked over to my corner to take a drink from his water bottle.

"Yes, Roza?" His tone was slightly airy as he wiped his face off with the towel that was laying on the rope beside me.

"Can you teach me how to fight?" My question caught him off guard, I knew it did, and the shocked look he sent made heat rise to my face in embarrassment. "I-I know I said I didn't like this stuff, and I didn't want anything to do with it... but after the whole Tate thing I think I should learn and-"

His dark chuckle cut me off in mid-rant and I blushed as he leaned over and kissed my cheek. "I thought you would never ask." He pulled back with one of the brightest smiles I had seen on his face in a long time, and it made my insides flip. "Come here, you." He ordered softly as he held up the rope I was once leaning on and helped me into the ring.

He grabbed the tape and gloves like last time in one hand and then grabbed mine with his other before pulling me into the middle of the ring. "What's this?" His trainer raised his eyebrow at us as Rex started to tape up my hands. The trainer, or Joe I think was his name, was a buff dude about three times the size of me, and twice as tall. His hair was short and shaved into a buzz cut, and the wife beater he was wearing did nothing to stop his muscles from bulging through.

"She wants to learn how to fight." Rex grunted as he reached for my other hand to tape.

"Oh yeah?" Joe gave me a quick twice over as he lifted his Gatorade bottle to his lips to drink from.

"Yeah." Rex's words were short, clipped, and to the point. It was odd hearing him talk like this now, since I was so used to the "sweet" side of him. I forgot how mean he could be to other people. "Here, Rose." He mumbled as he held one of the gloves out to me, then the other when I got the first one on.

"Okay, baby, just remember what I told you before. Keep your hands up to protect your face at all times." He held his bare fists up to his face in demonstration and I did the same. "Good, now this isn't really street fighting, it's boxing. But it's what we're going to start with for now, alright?" I nodded as he reached up to reposition my hands.

"Okay, now," He started as he took a step back and spread out his arms, "Hit me." I frowned and lowered my hands as his words registered in my brain, but he just scowled and told me to raise them again.

"But Rex, last time you told me to do that it didn't end to well." I argued as he fixed my hands again and took a step back.

"Last time I was messing with you and didn't expect you to actually hit me. I'm ready this time baby, I promise." I swear he was trying to get me all flustered by calling me "baby". That jerk was cheating.

I scowled but tightened my fists in the gloves anyway. "Are you ready?" I asked as he took his stance and spread his arms. A slight smirk reached his lips and he nodded as I coiled up my right fist. "Are you sure?" He chuckled and nodded again as I narrowed my eyes. "Are you positive?"

"God, Rose yes! I'm positive-"

I lunged at him in mid-sentence and almost got him right in the chest if he hadn't side stepped at the last minute and grabbed ahold of my wrist. There was a tense moment of silence, and his hold on my wrist was as tight as death, before his dark eyes snapped over to mine. "You sneaky little girl." I thought he would have been upset, but the bright light shining in his usual dark eyes made heat pool to my stomach.

"You told me you were ready..." I blinked up at him innocently and gave him a small smile. His dark eyes narrowed before he pulled my wrist close to him and wrapped his other large hand around my waist.

"That was sneaky, Rosalyn."

"You fight dirty, T'."

"Tricking me like that is only going to get you in trouble, baby." I gulped as the bright look in his eyes faded and was replaced with a dangerous look of... of hunger. My tummy did a whole row of summer saults.

"Are you going to teach her how to fight, or shove your tongue down her throat?" Joe's laughing voice broke the connection between us and as Rex looked over at him with a scowl, I swooned on my feet. Now that was intense. My mind didn't even register what Joe had said until Rex had pulled my hands back up to my face and told me to try again.

At least, for a moment there, I wasn't the only one who thought Rex wanted to kiss me.

-&-

Rex was passed out beside me, well, kind of beside me-kind of on me. I was sitting straight up in bed, crisscrossed, and writing a paper that was due the day back from break. While Rex was lying flat on his stomach with his face buried in my hip and his left arm thrown across my waist and around my body. I ran my hand along his thick forearm soothingly as he mumbled something in his sleep and rubbed his face further into my hip.

"Roza, go to bed." He growled against the skin of my hip that was revealed while he rubbed his face into my side.

"I have to finish this before school starts again, T'." I murmured down softly at him as his arm wrapped tighter around me.

"You still have all break to finish it." He groaned and I smiled down at him as his thumb started to rub gentle circles into my side.

"Break ends in three days, and Luce is coming home tomorrow." I didn't add on that that would mean I would have to go home tomorrow, but I didn't need to. He already knew. He turned his face till his cheek was resting on the bed and he could blink up at me with tired, and dark eyes.

"You're not leaving me."

My heart jumped at his words and I gently ran my fingers along his arm as it tightened around me. "Rex, I have to go home-"

"Why?" He interrupted me with a snort as I rubbed his skin soothingly.

"I feel like I'm overstaying my welcome and-"

"God Rose," He let go of me with a groan and flopped onto his back as he rubbed his fist into his eyes. "Stop fucking going on about that. I wanted you here, and I still do, otherwise I wouldn't ask." I sighed as his fingers raked through his hair. He had a point, and as much as I wanted to stay here with him forever, there wasn't a reason to. We weren't... we weren't together, and even though I knew we were more than friends we... we... were complicated. Staying here like we were together would just complicate things more.

"I have to go home at some point..." I mumbled softly as his hand dropped back down to his side.

"Whatever. I don't want to argue about this right now, Rosalyn. Just go to sleep." My chest clenched painful as he rolled over on his side with his back facing me. I frowned as I exited out of my paper and closed my laptop. Darkness encompassed the room as soon as the computers light died and I put it on the nightstand before crawling under the blankets.

I curled up against my side of the bed, with my back to Rex's. After sleeping night after night in his arms, this feeling like... like he was giving me the cold shoulder wasn't settling way. I didn't want to upset him, but I can't stay here with him when we weren't... weren't anything. I had a feeling I wasn't going to get much sleep that night.

I gasped and nearly jumped out of my skin as his thick arm wrapped under my arm and around my waist. I let out a quiet sigh as he gently pulled me back into the middle of the bed and snuggled my back into his chest. "I'm sorry if I upset you." His soft voice murmured a moment later as he pressed his face into my shoulder. "I just... I can't sleep without you, Roza." If my heart could explode from words, than it just did. I turned around slowly in his arms until his lips were resting against my forehead.

"You know I can't without you." I murmured up at him as his hand slid down my side.

"Then don't leave."

I let out a sigh as he kissed my forehead before I curled up against his chest. "We'll figure it out tomorrow." I mumbled against his skin as he tucked me under his chin.

"Okay baby, get some sleep. You need it."

The next morning Rex helped me pack my suitcases and load them into his car. He didn't really argue again about it, but I could tell he was reluctant to load up my stuff up... or maybe that was just because my luggage was heavy.

"Rose!" Luce's voice shouted from the front porch as I climbed out of Rex's car with one of my suit cases twenty minutes later. I wasn't expecting my sister to come running down the stairs and wrap her arms tightly around me in a bone crushing hug, but I was glad she did.

"Hi Luce." I smiled into her shoulder and let go of my suit case to wrap my arms around her.

"Are you okay? Are you still hurt?" She pulled back quickly and cupped my face in a motherly way. I frowned as she tilted my head left and right, but I didn't say anything. I've only seen her like this two other times before, and I definitely wasn't used to "mom" Luce.

"No, I'm okay. I promise." I gave her a soft smile as the worry on her face slowly faded away and was replaced with her usual stern one.

"I'm so sorry, Rose. I knew something was up with him, but I never thought he would do anything like this." She pulled away from me slightly and shook her head as Rex pulled my other two suit cases from his trunk.

"It's okay, neither of us did. But Rex is sure he won't bother us anymore, and I believe him." Her attention snapped over to Rex at the mention of his name and she narrowed her eyes in that usual scowl of hers.

"You've been staying with him while I was gone?" I blushed as she brought her scowl over to face me and I kicked a pebble around with the tip of my shoe as Rex came to stand beside me, his hand softly slipping around my lower back.

"I didn't feel comfortable leaving her here all alone for two weeks." His hand rubbed across my back softly and I tried to snuggle discreetly into his side, but the all watching Luce noticed anyway. There was a moment of tense silence as the two stared each other down, and me standing awkwardly between the middle of them, until my sister sighed and looked away.

"Thank you."

My eyes popped out of their sockets at her words, and I stood dumb founded as she reached down and grabbed my discarded suit case. I figured should would have argued more, or asked more questions, or even scolded me, so this... thanking of hers was highly unexpected. She turned around without another word and dragged my luggage up the drive way. "Told you that wouldn't be so bad." Rex's voice was a gentle whisper against my ear as he leaned down and grabbed my other two suit cases. I turned and gave him a smile before following him up the cement drive and onto the front porch.

When we stepped through the front door memories from that night hit me like a tidal wave, and if Rex's arm wasn't wrapped around me reassuringly, I probably would have ran right back out to his car. "Are you okay?" He asked softly as we watched Luce plop my suit case down right in front of the stairs. There was no use in lying to him, not after what we had been through. He would know I was lying to him.

I gulped and curled my fingers into the bottom of his shirt. "No, I don't want to be here." I muttered softly as I curled into his side and all but pressed my face into his chest. His hand brushed up and down my back reassuringly as he held me tighter to his side.

"You're the one who wanted to come back." He reminded me as Luce turned to face us with one perfectly shaped eyebrow raised.

"I know."

"I figured you wouldn't want to sleep in your room for a while, Rosie, so you can stay in mine for as long as you want. I don't mind swapping." I pulled back from Rex just enough so it wouldn't look like I was a toddler clinging to him and gave my big sister a smile.

"Thanks, Luce." I pulled away from Rex and shot him a small smile as I grabbed my suitcase and started to lug it up the stairs.

"Let me get that Roza." Rex was at my side in a second and taking the luggage from me before I could protest. We walked up the stairs and down the hall together, and I didn't even bother looking at my room as we passed. "I'll go get the others." Rex grumbled before he set my suit case down and exited the room. I sighed as I plopped down on Luce's four-poster bed. Her room wasn't necessarily as big as mine, but all of her stuff was bigger, and I let out a contented sigh as I kicked my feet against the frame.

After Rex brought all of my stuff up, we both walked back down stairs and into the kitchen where Luce was pulling different types of foods out of the fridge. Rex stood awkwardly in the doorway as I walked into the kitchen and pulled myself onto the island top. "I guess... I guess I'll get going-" I frowned as he ran his fingers through his thick hair and started to stand up again when Luce cut me off.

"You know," She said as she turned on the stove, she didn't even bother to look at him as she spoke, "You can stay here, for a while... If you want."

"What?" I stared over at her wide eyed as Rex stopped his retreat. He turned his dark chestnut eyes on me and raised an eyebrow at Luce's back.

"I mean," She continued like neither of us were waiting to hear what she had to say, "I know you saved Rosie and all, so I figured you wouldn't want to leave her for a while." My eyes brightened at her words, but just as quickly, my smile faded. The whole reason I came home was to put a little space between us, and as much as I wanted to be with him 24/7 him staying here wasn't going to fix the problem. "Just for a couple of days though." Luce added as she finally turned around and pointed at an amused looking Rex with a wooden spoon. "And you have to stay in the guest bedroom."

Rex chuckled as she turned back around and started cooking again. I smiled. Well at least if he stayed in a different room that would be okay... Right? "Are you okay with that, Roza?" I didn't see him walk up until his hand was rubbing my back once again, a small smile pulling at his lips.

"Huh?"

"Are you okay if I stay for a while?"

"Of course, Rex." 

-&-

Hope you enjoyed!