Chapter Seventeen

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It's better to fix what you have than wait to get what you don't have

Rose

Last night, when Emmet came home, I was already in bed—pretending to sleep because I wanted to avoid any conversations with him. It feels like I don't know him anymore; which is odd. His actions were the same and he didn't bother on checking his phone, anyways.

He came to bed, wrapped his arms around my waist and snuggled closer towards me. I used to find comfort within his touch but yesterday, it felt strange.

I look up, straight at Emmet as he drinks his cup of coffee while scrolling on his laptop; trying to finish up his assignment. When he catches me staring, he glances at my direction for a few seconds before completely looking at me with slight concern, ''Is there something wrong?'' He asks.

My lips curve up into a small smile, ''No.''

To my surprise, he places his hand on top of mine, ''Are you sure? You know, you can tell me anything. I'll be here for you,'' He says, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb—making me breathe out, more like sighing.

''I'm sure.''

He nods, glancing down at his wrist watch, ''Alright, I don't want to be late for class.'' He says, standing up before closing his laptop and placing it in his backpack. Then, he walks towards the living room, taking his notebooks.

I trail behind him, taking my jacket with me which earns him a frown, ''I'll go with because I have to get something to eat,'' I say and he nods, lightly tucking a strand of hair behind my ear before the both of us step out of our apartment.

Once we're in front of the school's building, Emmet leans in before meeting my lips for a short and meaningful kiss. Then, walks inside; leaving me staring at his back until he's finally out of sight. Sighing, I walk back towards the path I came, heading towards the bookstore that I usually go to incase I have any books I want to purchase.

''Good morning, Rose.'' Jack, the owner here, greets me. He's almost in his seventies but he's a very hardworking man. Besides, whenever I tell him to go home and get some rest or slack off, he would say that he doesn't have anything else to do; this bookstore is where he wants to spend his time.

I smile at him, heading towards his direction, ''Good morning, Jack. How are you?''

He lets out a breathy laugh, ''I'm good, how are you? It's been awhile since I last saw you and your boyfriend. Are you two doing well?'' The sky blue eyes he have never fail to amaze me and the sincereness in his voice.

''We're doing well. You should worry about yourself, old man.'' I joke and he laughs, heading towards the news compartment while I head down to a different aisle—wanting to find any interesting books that might impress me by their covers.

As I look up at the bookshelves, I manage to see a familiar figure from behind which makes me furrow my eyebrows immediately. I continue to eye his every movement, seeing that he's currently looking at some of the books in the History section. After slowly walking towards him, I immediately poke on his back—earning a confused look from him.

My lips curve up into a smile as I see his dimples showing, ''Is it just me or are you everywhere?'' I ask, raising an eyebrow which I earn back.

''Looks like you're stalking me, Rose.'' He replies, putting back one of the books he was holding. Then, he turns to face me completely and I breathe in, somehow enjoying the smell of his cologne but I cover it up by chuckling.

''Why would I? I always come here but this is the first time I saw you around, Elia. So, who's stalking who?'' I smirk, walking towards the other direction as he trails behind me with his arms crossed but the smile on his face never leaving.

It takes me awhile to notice but now I realise that he tattoos on his right arm which I'm pretty sure has their own meanings. I clear my throat, pretending to find some interest in the Political section. He leans slightly on one of the bookshelves, eyeing my face in—awe?

''You're starting to becoming a creep,'' I mutter, jokingly and he chuckles, shaking his head immediately.

''Well, there's a lot of things that you don't know about me, tesoro.'' He replies.

I look back up at him, frowning at the word tesoro, it is as if I've heard of it frequently before. Anyhow, I can't really complete the missing puzzle in my head—somehow slowly, I'm starting to see that things aren't really the way I understand them to be. For instance, Elia. He's one mystery but he's a stranger so why should I figure him out?

''I'm pretty sure there's a lot of things you don't know about me too,'' I mutter, picking up one book from the shelve.

Elia breathes out, ''Of course. I don't know you but I'm guessing you don't even like political issues.'' Then, I roll my eyes—putting the book back down. I look at him, seeing that he has a playful smile on his face; showing how he's just fooling around.

''You caught me,'' I walk towards the Romance section; looking at the books that isn't too cliché or too cheesy.

As he stops beside me, he picks up a book that I didn't seem to realise earlier, Fifty Shades of Grey which makes my eyes widen before laughing, ''You have a bad taste in books,'' I say, looking at a book called Love, Rosie.

''Which explains why I don't read them.'' He shrugs, putting the book back down as he just trails along. All I notice him doing is only looking at me, but somehow, I don't seem to mind. It's weird because he's a complete stranger yet I feel comfortable around him—as if we're close.

''Still doesn't explain why you're here.'' I turn to face him.

The both of us keep quiet, not uttering a single word as we just look into each other's eyes. It seems like I've done this before and it seems like he has done this before too—which confuses me to a whole different level, honestly. I break the eye contact, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, ''I'm going to grab something to eat, would you like to join me?'' I ask.

His dimples appear once more before he nods his head, ''I'd love to.''

''Good.'' I start walking towards the front door after waving at Jack which he replies with a smile.

We walk side by side down the street as it gets crowded especially in the morning. Once I see the familiar café, I immediately step inside, looking for an empty spot to sit. Luckily, my favourite spot hasn't been taken by anyone—which cheers me up slightly. I love sitting near the window while I enjoy my breakfast, it's a must thing for me at least once a week.

One of the waitress stops at our table, smiling at the two of us, ''Hi, good morning. May I take your order?'' She asks, holding onto her notepad.

''Jasmine Blueberry for me and a french toast.'' I say my order before glancing towards Elia.

''I'll just have a regular coffee.'' He replies and the waitress starts to walk towards the counter—saying our orders.

I look back up at him, seeing that he has been glancing at his wrist watch for quite some time now, ''Are you supposed to be heading somewhere?'' I ask, and he looks at me before shaking his head.

''No, I'm just checking the time.'' He replies.

We both stay quiet, letting the silence accompany us. I sigh, looking out at the streets—watching people making their way towards different directions. Don't think of me as someone who's weird but I find some sort of joy by looking at them. They tend to be in a hurry, always catching time.

Once our order has arrived, I quickly take a sip of my warm tea, enjoying the taste. I look at Elia and I see him looking at me with a small smile before he starts to look down at his coffee, taking a sip of it too. My heart warms at the sight of him drinking his coffee—for some reason, he looks calm and well-mannered.

For some reason.

''It's weird that I think like I've seen you somewhere,'' I mutter, earning his attention.

''Seen me somewhere?''

''Like, I don't know, it's just the feeling. It feels like I really know you and it also feels like we used to talk a lot—isn't that weird? I can't help but think of it that way,'' I say and he just watches me before smiling as an answer, without saying anything else.

Just before he can say anything, my phone starts ringing which makes me reach out for it in my purse, ''Yeah, hi?'' I say, knowing that Emmet is on the other line—isn't he supposed to be in class? I question myself.

''Hi, baby. Class got cancelled.'' He says and I hear some of his friends talking, ''Remember when I told you that my parents are coming over? Well, they're coming over tonight.''

''What? Tonight?'' I furrow my eyebrows.

''They called me, saying that they have landed and they didn't tell me earlier because they wanted to surprise me. Unfortunately, it's not quite surprising.'' He chuckles while I am here, confused.

''Right, so what should we do? Should we take them out for dinner or should we just cook at home?''

I hear Emmet talking to someone before hearing him breathe, ''I think we'll just cook for them, if that's okay with you? I'm on my way home after meeting Henry, I'll see you then?'' He asks.

''Alright.''

''I love you,''

I look up at Elia and I see him looking down at his coffee. Slowly, I start to clear my throat, ''I love you too.'' I say before seeing a glimpse of Elia's eyebrows frowning but I shrug it off by ending the call—placing my phone back in my purse.

He glances at his wrist watch once more, ''It looks like I got to go. It was nice seeing you again, Rose.'' He says, looking straight at me.

''Already?'' I ask.

Elia has already stood up, placing a bill that's enough to pay for what we've ordered. Actually, it's more than enough. Seconds before I can give the money back to him, he has already walk out of the café, leaving me look at the thin air—frowning at his sudden act.

After paying, I start to walk home but I can't seem to get Elia out of my mind. He seems to keep me question about him which I can't help but continue to question myself more. Once I arrive home, I start to enter and see that Emmet is currently taking his coat off, ''Hey.'' He says, walking towards me before kissing me on the cheek.

''So, they're coming over tonight? Where are they staying?''

He furrows his eyebrows for a few seconds, ''They said that they're staying at a hotel. I told them to stay with us but they said it's okay,'' He replies.

''We don't really have an extra bed,'' I mutter and he chuckles, nodding his head in agreement. As I sit on the stool near the kitchen counter, I start to tie my hair up into a ponytail before taking my jacket off, placing it beside me.

Emmet takes two glass of water, placing one near me as he drinks the other one.

''Where were you?'' He suddenly asks which awakens me from my trance.

''I was out, eating breakfast. I told you,'' I reply—not wanting to bring up the topic about Elia. Not after the message I saw yesterday, I don't really feel like asking him anything for now. If there's something, I'll find out myself.

He rests both of his elbows on the kitchen counter, looking at me, ''We should go buy some groceries.''

''Okay, is there something that I should know about them?''

''They're vegetarians.'' He replies which leaves me laughing for some reason.

''And you're not?''

He smiles, ''I'm not.''

After some grocery shopping, we decide to head straight home and wash ourselves before cooking dinner. We're planning on making a penne with herbs, tomatoes and peas—we don't really know what else to cook since we're not exactly an expert in cooking. Honestly.

I start to put the frying pan on the stove while I look at my phone for the recipe. To my surprise, Emmet comes hugging me from behind, pecking me on the neck and start scrolling the recipe—then, he takes the peas, getting them ready.

We rarely even cook for the past couple of months since we've been busy lately with school and assignments but whenever we cook, we would always turn on the music and manage to make cooking as something exciting instead of plain.

It's also rare if the kitchen ends up spotless after we cook, it would always be a mess yet we clean them up anyway.

''They taste good,'' Emmet says, taking a bite of it.

''It looks like I'll be saying bye-bye to law and hello to culinary.'' I joke and he laughs, pretending to have a stomach ache from eating—which I immediately respond by slapping his arm.

I head straight towards the bathroom, taking a quick shower before changing myself into a pair of jeans and a loose blouse. Then, Emmet enters the room, undressing himself in front of me before throwing all of his clothes towards my direction and I quickly push him in the bathtub, luckily I manage to escape before he can pull me in.

''Emmet, if they get here and you're not—'' I stop talking once I hear the doorbell, making me roll my eyes, not really expecting them to be early.

''Emmet!'' I shout his name and I hear him opening the bathroom door before locking the bedroom door, changing his clothes. As I make my way towards the front door, I let out a sigh and I start to pull the door open, seeing Emmet's parents standing at the entrance.

Emmet's mother starts to smile, ''Come in.'' I say.

Once they've both entered the house, I turn to see Emmet running his fingers through his hair, smiling at his parents. Am I supposed to feel nothing or am I supposed to actually feel something because I don't feel anything! My heartbeat is normal and my body isn't nervous.

''Glad you guys are here,'' Emmet says, hugging his mum. Then, he glances towards my direction, ''This is Rose, the one I've been telling you about.'' He adds.

She smiles at me, ''She's beautiful, Emmet. You're going to promise me that you'll take good care of her, some men aren't as lucky as you—remember that.'' Within seconds, Emmet's father starts to chuckle while Emmet stands beside me, pecking onto my temple.

''It's really nice meeting you, Mrs. Levine.'' I smile back.

''Oh, just call me Jennifer.'' She replies.

The four of us keep quiet as I continue to smile, not really knowing what to say. Emmet clears his throat, gesturing for his parents to come and sit at the dining table, ''We didn't really know what to cook for you guys so here's some penne with herbs, tomatoes and peas.'' He says, as soon as they are all seated down.

''Your father has been telling me to cook penne with herbs, tomatoes and peas. I told him I don't want to,'' Jennifer jokes, causing them all to laugh while I just stand awkwardly at my spot, only letting my lips curve up slightly.

''Your mother has been quite lazy lately,'' Emmet's father replies.

I sit down, leaving the seat beside me empty for Emmet.

As soon as Emmet arrives with a jug of water, his phone starts ringing, making him walk towards the living room, looking down at the caller ID. Then, he disappears into the bedroom to answer the call—leaving the three of us sit in utter silence.

''You've been with Emmet for a year, now?'' Jennifer asks.

''Uh, yes. We met at school,'' I answer.

''He told me about that. He also told me that you're a very beautiful young lady but I didn't expect him to be right,'' She chuckles which leaves me smiling, ''This is actually the first time he has ever invited us to meet one of his girlfriends—he has never been so serious before,''

''I never knew about that,''

''He loves you, sweetheart.'' She places her hand on top of mine—smiling.

Within seconds, Emmet is already walking back towards us, ''Sorry, that was a call from Henry.'' Then, he sits beside me—glancing at my direction for a few seconds before looking back at his mum.

To my surprise, I start questioning him, ''Are you sure it's from Henry?'' I ask, making the three of them look at me confusingly but Emmet's confusion doesn't seem like he's exactly confused.

He clenches his jaw, frowning his eyebrows while Jennifer and her husband clear their throats, ''What do you mean, Rose?'' He asks, his brown eyes looking straight into my blue ones.

''I'm sorry, excuse me for awhile.'' I say, smiling at both of his parents before standing up and walking straight towards the bedroom—sighing deeply, realising that it's not the right time to start an argument but I can't stand it if he continues on hiding something from me.

Emmet appears from behind and as I turn around, I see him looking at me with concern, ''If there's something wrong, we can talk about it. I'm not saying that we can talk about it now but we can talk about it. What's wrong?'' He asks, pinching the bridge of his nose.

''Something is wrong.''

''What is it?''

''You, that is what's wrong. Why are you not being truthful?'' I ask, which leaves him in confusion as he clenches his jaw—closing the distance between us, slightly.

''I don't get it, just tell me.'' He answers.

I look straight into his eyes, taking a few steps closer. As both of us look into each other's eyes, I'm trying to search for the same feeling that I feel whenever I'm with Elia but that doesn't seem to exist with Emmet, ''You know him, don't you?'' I ask once more.

He cups onto my face, leaning in so that we would be inches apart, ''Who, Rose? Who?''

''Elia.''