Perilous Rose

It had been such a long day. A long wet, gloomy and all-round depressive day, so all Rose Meadows wanted to do was get home, eat some frozen pizza and sleep for about ten years. She had about a million things she should probably do, like wash the dishes, tidy up the place or even do even a little bit of the final project she had to complete her GED, but it wasn't happening. Definitely not today and probably not tomorrow either considering the tiredness could be felt in her bones.

But even though she was that tired she didn't miss the sketchy looking man in the long coat staring at the hot goth chick with a disturbing hunger in his eyes. Rose couldn't miss it and she definitely couldn't ignore it even if she tried. There were only five people in the train car. Four regulars, including Rose and the unkempt man who she had never seen before. She mentally dubbed him long coat. Long coat had wild hair that probably hadn't seen water in ages and his fingers kept flexing as he stared at goth chick's slightly exposed thighs. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was running through his mind.

Before Rose could really think about it she got up and sat down on the goth chick's left seat, effectively cutting off long coat's view.

"Hi, I'm Rose. I like your skirt!"

"Uh, thanks. I like your...eye bags?"

They stared at each other as both of them processed that supposed compliment.

Goth chick's eyes widened as she realized and Rose was stunned to see how fast her pale features turned red with embarrassment.

Rose laughed lightly. "You got me there! I'm fucking exhausted....but never mind that now. Do you know that person in the long coat? Don't look that way! Look at the window reflection--He's two rows behind us, on my left."

Rose thought the girl looked pale before, but that was nothing compared to now. When she caught sight of Long coat's reflection, she turned white as a sheet and her entire body stiffened.

"Shit! That's my creepy neighbor Greg from when I lived in West Point. I can't believe he's followed me all the way here to Lodetree....fuck fuck fuck"

Her hands started trembling so hard that the book she was reading slipped through her fingers and fell in her lap closed. She didn't seem to notice, her eyes were vacantly staring at nothing and her hand was unconsciously massaging her throat. She was spiraling, Rose could tell, if she didn't snap her out of this now goth chick was going to freeze with shock. They didn't have that time.

Rose viciously pinched her in the thigh.

Goth chick yelped and turned a betrayed look Rose's way but Rose just stared back with a deadpan look.

"Focus! What's your name?"

"Emily...my name's Emily!"

"Alright Emily, I'm Rose. Nice to meet you. Do you have anyone you can call right now? A brother? A male friend perhaps?"

Emily shook her head, her black shoulder length hair bobbed with the motion. "No! My family is still in West Point and I just moved here so I haven't had time to make any friends..."

Damn. That was the worst case scenario. Emily was literally on her own. Rose could feel a headache coming. She didn't need to get involved, she had her own problems and she was definitely the last person who had the luxury of getting involved in other people's problems...but... as she stared into Emily's brown eyes wide with panic, she felt a lurch in her heart at the thought of anything bad happening to her.

That's right...She wouldn't be able to live with herself. Her college counselor told her she had a savior complex that endangered her interests including safety. It was true, every time Rose thought she should keep her head down and focus on herself she ended up bumbling into more messes inadvertently messing up her life in the process. It was why she was here, in Lodetree getting a measly GED when at one point she had a full ride scholarship.

When it came to being a hero, Rose genuinely couldn't help it...

An electronic voice interrupted her musings. "Approaching the last stop"

Damn. They were out of time. Rose took a deep breath and gently slapped her cheeks.

She took Emily's hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Ok, here's what we're gonna do. I think he's probably planning to follow you home. We can't have that so you'll come to my place instead, sleep over, and in the morning we'll call the cops. I have a Russian couple who I'm pretty sure work for the bratva living next door so we can ask them for help too if he tries something at night."

Emily's mouth opened and closed wordlessly as she struggled to parse through the proposal. It was cute....Rose could understand why she was being stalked. Emily not so subtly looked her up and down, trying to understand where a short, plain looking woman like Rose got her confidence.

Rose didn't say anything, she understood the confusion. It was kinda flattering because this whole look was entirely by design.

Her height? She adopted a slumped posture, drew her shoulders in a little and kept her legs closed to appear shorter. Her hair? Kept just at the edge of clean and tied by a simple ponytail. Her modest chest was bound in a sports bra, and she wore drab, slightly oversized clothes to make herself appear smaller.

It was all part of a survival act to make her as unremarkable as possible. Unremarkable people lived unremarkable lives but ultimately safe lives.

The train started slowing down and Emily's panic surged as she realized she was running out of time. She stared at Rose again pleadingly. It seems she needed more to be convinced...

"I have a taser in my handbag...," Rose said.

"I'm in!"

Rose rolled her eyes. Why did it feel like Emily would probably have been convinced if she had led with that in the first place?

They discussed immediate next steps under the cover of the squealing brakes and the din of passengers packing up their things in preparation for the walk home. Though Rose lived about 15 minutes from the train station, at this time of night her usual route was too exposed and Greg would easily follow them and possibly do something. That left an alternate route that took half an hour but had plenty of opportunities to lose him.

The tricky bit was keeping Emily calm so Greg wouldn't have anything to worry about. If he so much as suspected Emily was spooked, he would abandon all propriety and make a move out of desperation.

"Relax your shoulders" Rose told her, "Stop wringing your hands like that too.

"What's with the constipated look on your face?"

By the time the doors were about to open Emily looked mostly relaxed albeit her crushing grip on Rose's hand which she stoically endured. Emily exchanged one last look with Rose and steeled herself with a deep breath.

The doors separated with a hiss and they immediately bolted. Rose heard a curse but she didn't spare the time to look, no doubt Greg was already in pursuit. That was fine though, the point wasn't to get a head start, it was to break line of sight.

Despite the late hour the platform was fairly busy and that was what Rose was counting on. For the past week the station had been undergoing renovation in anticipation of the mayor's visit. City workers, manual labourers and even opportunistic hawkers shouting their wares merged into a headache inducing mess that on the best of days was a mild inconvenience. Today it was a godsend.

Under Rose's careful guidance they seamlessly merged with the flow of humanity heading not for the exit but the toilets on the side. This too was part of the plan.

"When we get to the platform," Rose had told Emily, "Hunch your shoulders and whatever you do, don't run. It'll just make it easier for him to spot us. We'll head straight for the toilets on the side."

"The toilets? Why the toilets? Shouldn't we get the fuck out of here?"

"When he comes out and doesn't see us? He'll just head for the exit anyway. The headstart wouldn't be helpful when we get outside where there's no cover. So we head to the toilets and wait for him to leave."

"Ooh, that's actually so smart!" Emily had cooed appreciatively.

So here they were, in the ladies toilets which were surprisingly clean considering it was a public space. The scent of antiseptic lingered in the air and the surfaces gleamed as if they had just been polished. They squeezed themselves into the first stall, with Emily immediately clambering up and sitting on the cistern in the hopes that only Rose's feet would be visible from the outside.

Rose blushed as Emily's skirt rode up her creamy thighs as she situated herself properly, she was a little too slow to look away as evidenced by Emily's small grin and knowing look. She felt her face reddening in embarrassment.

Hopefully their ruse worked enough that Greg wouldn't even suspect they were still in the station.

"Thank you" Emily blurted out. She was staring at Rose meaningfully, in the close confines of the stall her blue eyes shimmered like the ocean depths. "I don't think I said it before but I sure as hell will say it now. I'd have been in real shit if it wasn't for you."

Rose swallowed nervously and broke eye contact. "Don't mention it. Besides, we're not out of the woods yet."

They waited about half an hour before leaving the toilets. There were fewer people and thankfully no sign of Greg anywhere. Still, they were approaching the riskiest part of the plan, leaving the station. There was a good chance that Greg, having failed to find them, might wait around at the entrance/exit in case they hadn't actually left. It was a 50/50 and Rose hadn't thought of any contingencies in case he had in fact decided to wait at the entrance. They needed a different exit or to leave with a group that could mask their presence.

"Rose?"

Rose whirled at the sound of her name, Emily clutched protectively behind her, and sighed with relief when she found her building manager standing there with a quizzical look on his face.

"Mr Milchick, thank fuck you're here," she said. "Can you give us a ride home?"

"Of course, I'm parked out front."

He gestured to the opposite entrance and they fell in step with him, he looked tired but listened attentively as Rose told him about her day. Mr Milchick was a middle aged black man with a paunchy belly and a spectacular bald spot that he periodically wiped with sweat on hot summer days and hid under a cap during the winter.

Rose had known him for about ten years and she saw him more as an uncle than a building manager. She regularly baked him cookies and in turn he would regale her with stories of how he met his dead wife and the many adventures they had. He was the only person she trusted with her spare key.

"Who's your girlfriend?," asked Mr. Milchick with a cheeky wink.

Rose groaned as she felt her face heating up again. "She isn't my girlfriend Mr. Milchick. This is my friend Emily, she's staying with me tonight. But not sleeping with me... well she will be sleeping in my bed but not like the way you're thinking. Not that she's not hot or anything...she totally is--"

Mr Milchick roared with laughter. To make it worse Rose heard Emily giggling softly behind her.

She clamped her hand over her mouth and seriously contemplated jumping off the platform, but knowing her luck she'd probably bleed to death sooner than get run over.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you not-girlfriend Emily. It's actually nice to see Rose bringing home a friend, I think you're the first," he said.

"It's nice to meet you too Mr. Milchick," Emily replied. While they shook hands she winked at him and grinned, "I can't wait to not-sleep with my friend"

Mr. Milchick laughed again and Rose couldn't help but think that she made a critical error introducing these two people. As they got into the rhythm of spirited conversation she thought it was going to be a long ride home too.

There was no sign of creepy Greg when they emerged from the tunnel and it stayed that way even when they peeled off the parking lot in Mr. Midclick's beat up Toyota Corolla. Emily was relaxing more and more as they got further from the station, laughing at Mr. Midclick's terrible dad jokes and embarrassing Rose with poorly hidden innuendos about their relationship. It was torture yet Rose caught herself grinning from time to time, she was actually enjoying herself she realized. It got even better when Emily after a particularly raunchy joke about lesbians, leaned on Rose and squeezed her knee affectionately.

When she leaned away she left her hand on Rose's knee. The grin became a permanent fixture after that.

Quicker than she expected, they were pulling up on the building she lived in. It was an old fashioned rental building with six floors not counting the roof. The yellow paint had faded drastically and was peeling in some places but the charm of this place wasn't in the appearance, it was in the location. Sunny Meadows was located right next to a nice beach and a police station not too far from the park. That meant no shady characters or drug dealers loitering nearby and a beautiful view of the lake behind the building. Sometimes Rose liked to sit on the park benches and stare at the sunrise.

Emily gasped as she took in the view of the beach and the water beyond, the way it wrapped around the building and you could see the reflection of the lights of the pier in the distance. It was beautiful and though Rose could see that Mr Milchick wasn't looking at Emily directly, she could tell Emily's reaction pleased him. He was immensely proud of his building and took every chance to revel in the reactions that this view evoked in people.

Mr. Milchick gave Emily some time to appreciate the view before he sighed and smiled tiredly.

"Well I think these tired bones of mine could do with a good night's rest, so I'll see you girls when I see you. Goodnight ladies."

"Goodnight old man."

"Goodnight Mr. Milchick, It was lovely to meet you."

He nodded and gingerly made his way to his ground floor flat. Rose frowned as she watched him go. She didn't like how low his back was bent and the fact that his walk was closer to a shuffle. It highlighted just how old he was.

Beside her, Emily sneezed. Rose snapped out of the musings of mortality and quickly shepherded her inside. It was a bit chilly with winter around the corner and the last thing she wanted was for Emily to catch a cold.

They made their way through the empty foyer, Rose didn't bother checking her mail, and up the stairs to the third floor where she stayed. She made a note of the lack of boots outside 301 which meant the Russian couple weren't home. She rummaged in her backpack for the keys to her flat, 302 while Emily stood there awkwardly.

"Just gotta....find these damn keys...Aha!"

The door swung open with an embarrassing creek that Rose tried to hide by coughing. Fortunately Emily politely ignored it and stepped in with a polite "Thanks for having me."

Rose's flat was a standard one-bedroom that gave a very functional feel. The living room had a small couch, a table all facing a tv and a game console with a million games on the shelf next to it. The kitchen to the right left little question as to where the bulk of the money went as it was fully stocked with an oven, a large fridge and an air fryer that judging by the worn paint saw frequent use.

Emily took it all in and Rose nervously watched her, subconsciously worried about her approval.

"This is a lovely home you have here," she said.

"Thank you, do you want some water or juice or anything?" Rose asked as she took off her shoes. Emily hurriedly followed suit.

"Some juice would be nice."

Rose left her exploring as she padded to the kitchen.

While she filled a glass with juice from the fridge she also took the time to remove the muffins she had left baking. They were a little drier than she would like but in this case it was fine, Ivanov liked them with a nice crust anyway and Lana always put jam so the dryness would be masked by that. She took out two and headed to the living room.

She found Emily going through her game collection with the air of a fellow gamer. Rose grinned as she set the glass on the table.

"Have you played this?" she asked. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with barely restrained hope.

"Yep, I even got a platinum," Rose replied proudly.

"And you bake too?" she asked incredulously as she took a bite out of the muffin and chewed slowly. Her eyes fluttered closed as she tilted her head back, groaning with pleasure as she swallowed. "Of course it tastes amazing."

"Slow down," Rose laughed. "It's not going anywhere."

She picked up a napkin and wiped some of the crumbs off Emily's mouth. Emily's reaction brought a certain warmth through her and she found herself smiling softly as she dabbed at Emily's lips. They looked so soft and supple. It was one of Emily's most attractive features Rose thought. The black lipstick had a nice gloss and when she smiled...

Emily cleared her throat. Rose jerked her hand back, she could feel her face burning and she hurriedly turned away, pretending to arrange the cushions on the couch. She couldn't believe she'd done that, now Emily probably thought she was a creep worse than Greg. She had probably made her uncomfortable and just like that Rose had ruined a great thing...

Her thoughts spiraled further and she drew herself inward as the weight of despair started rolling in--

--The hand on her knee jerked her back to awareness. It was warm and the squeeze made her glance at Emily who Rose was surprised to find was smiling warmly. Emily picked up a controller and grinned, "Got any multiplayer games?"

Rose let out a sigh of relief as a weight left her shoulders. She mirrored Emiy's grin and picked up her own controller. "You ready to get your ass kicked?"

And just like that they spent the next few hours gaming. They played a two player game called It takes two. It was hilarious. Despite the premise of the game being the players working together to navigate puzzles, challenges and defeat bosses together, halfway through Emily figured out she could kill Rose by having her character let go of bridges at just the right time so Emily's character would look like she just jumped into the void. Every time Rose thought they had stopped trying to kill each other Emily would kill her and cackle evilly as Rose protested indignantly.

They fought constantly, sometimes physically as Rose would smack Emily's arm and Emily would retaliate with an especially annoying ear flick. In those two hours they barely got anything done. It wasn't just annoying, it was frustrating.

It was also the best time Rose had in her life. Her mouth ached from grinning so much and her sides ached from all the laughter. It was easily the most fun she'd had in...forever basically.

"Dude, it's 3am. Don't you have work tomorrow?"

Rose sighed, a quick glance at the clock confirmed it was indeed 3 am. "I do, but it's an afternoon shift. We should probably go to sleep though."

"Damn, you're probably right."

Rose ushered Emily to her bedroom, internally patting herself on the back for cleaning it the night before. She picked out a long shirt for Emily to sleep in and tactfully left her to change as locked the door and stacked the dishes in the dishwasher. She also turned on the hallway nightlights, refilled the coffee maker and even put out the bacon to defrost.

Rose knew that she was effectively stalling but knowing didn't change the fact that she was nervous. They were going to sleep together...in the same bed. Emily would be wearing her shirt and probably not much else. It was exciting, it was also terrifying. Was Emily attracted to Rose? Was she going to make a move? Did Rose want her to? These questions swirled around in her brain and she began to feel a headache coming.

She softly slapped her cheeks and admonished herself. There was no reason to tie herself up in knots over this, she reasoned, whatever happened would happen and it would be fine either way. She nodded once, squared her shoulders and walked back into her room. She got two steps and screeched to a halt mouth agape as she stared at the glorious sight in front of her.