Rose
"Alright, no sudden movements okay? Just be steady and balance yourself." Jackson says as he holds my waist in a tight grip, helping me balance myself on the skateboard.
"Are you sure you wanna do this, Rosie?" He asks apprehensively.
"Well, yeah. I don't want to be a boring nerd, I want to be a cool kid too." I say as Jackson tightens my helmet, for the 50th time.
"Ohh baby, you are pretty cool for me." He says giving me a sloppy kiss on the cheek.
"Now, just stand still and try balancing yourself, okay? No quick movements." He instructs me. I nod my head excitedly and squeeze his hand which is on my waist.
"Yeah yeah I got it, now push me!" I say smiling brightly, ready to skate away. He gives my waist a gentle squeeze and one more peck on the cheek before pushing me gently. I raise my hands to my shoulder level to balance myself. Once the skateboard comes to a halt, I place my foot on the ground and push back with some force so that I can speed away on the board. As soon as I made it till a few centimetres, I got very excited and turned around, to see Jackson who was right beside me.
"Jackson look I made-"
Thump!
"Owwwww!" I say, my eyes watering because of the immense pain.
"Ohh shit! Rosie, baby are you okay?" Jackson asks me, crouching down to my level. He takes my arms and inspects my elbows, looking out for any injuries.
"My hands are fine! I fell on my butt." I say whining. He carries me bridal style and places me gently on the park bench.
"I told you just one thing, NO SUDDEN MOVEMENTS!" He scolds me. I look down at my feet, frowning.
"I was just excited." I say, rubbing my butt. He lets out a loud sigh. He holds my wrist, pulling my hand away and massaging my injured area.
"I'm sorry, pumpkin. Just be careful next time okay." He says pecking my lips. I look at him with wide eyes and shake my head.
"There is no next time. I'm never going to skate again." I say. He chuckles at my terrified look and kisses my nose.
"My stupid pumpkin." He whispers, placing his lips lightly on my cheek.
I quickly lock the front door of my house and head towards the car. Since dad has to be remained hospitalized for the next couple of days, mom has decided to stay over with him. She came up with the idea of letting Jack stay in our house for the meantime since his old house had been sold to Mrs Keller. I drive towards Mrs Keller's house, which I know is the place where Jackson will be heading to as soon as he reaches Fairfield. Once I pull over to the front side of the house, I get out of the car and lock it. I turn around, and what I see next, blows my mind a mile away.
There, I see Jackson, wearing a black T-shirt that sticks to his body like second skin along with the typical camo pants. On one hand, he is holding his luggage bag, whereas the other hand, is rubbing the nape of his neck. He holds a bored expression while talking to the happy, chirpy Mrs Keller. He's probably annoyed by the fact that his house is sold and he has nowhere else to stay.
Suddenly, Jackson turns to his side and looks at me. His eyes go wide and the luggage bag he was holding, is dropped on the floor. I take a step back and gasp. All this time I was ogling at his buffed up body that had been built over the years in the army. What I didn't notice, were the cuts and scars on his face. But I could still afford to look at those on his face, what I couldn't afford to look at was...........his eyes. Back in the high school days, I could tell within a second what he's thinking about. His eyes were just so expressive that we didn't need words to communicate. But now, I can't bear to look at his eyes. Those brown orbs are giving me mixed signals. Surprise, fear, sorrow, guilt, grief. I can imagine the things he went through in the military for the past 8 years.
My legs slowly take me towards him, in small, soft steps. Finally, after an eternity, I stand before him, straining my neck to look at the man. His 6'3 frame does no justice to my 5'1 frame. I give him a soft smile, and gently wrap my arms around his torso, placing my cheek on his chest. He visibly stiffens when I do so. I can hear him intaking a breath, sharply. He balls his fists by his side, not returning my hug. I would be lying if I said that it didn't affect me. It felt like a tight slap in the face. After all these years, my embrace is unbearable for him? Is he disgusted by me? I raise my head and look at him. His face has gone pale, it's as if my touch burns his skin. He slowly brings his hand towards my shoulders, and pushes me away gently, to maintain a good distance between us. He then turns to Mrs Keller and says,
"Thank you, ma'am, I should get going now." He says with a polite smile. Mrs Keller acknowledges me with a soft smile before closing the door. Jackson then turns to me and gives me a tight-lipped smile.
"Hello, Rose." He says, his voice deep and husky, as if he could create thunder with a voice like that. I felt a shiver down my spine when he called my name. Looks like puberty hit him like a goddamn truck. The Jackson that I grew up with, had a boyish charm, he was always goofy and carefree. But now, he is anything but a boy. He is a man. The cuts and scars, along with his 5 o'clock shadow gives him a very rugged, manly look. I feel so intimidated by him. I never thought I'd feel so foreign with Jackson. I mean, this is Jackson, I used to do all sorts of silly things with him, without the fear of being judged. But now, there is this uncomfortable silence that is surrounding us, covering us like a thick blanket. He would- wait a minute! Did he just call me Rose? He never called me Rose before. I was always Rosie for him, his Rosie.
"H-Hi Jackson." I chuckle nervously.
"It's good to see you." He says smiling awkwardly. I feel like I'm on the verge of crying. There is nothing worse than being awkward with the person you were once in love with. Why is he behaving as if we've never met before? Why is he being so distant? Yes, I know that 8 years is a long time, but still, does he not feel anything after seeing me? Did I mean nothing to him? I look at him, trying to conceal my emotions. I had no news about him for 8 years. I even came to believe that he might've died in the war. It turns out that, my belief was true, Jackson is dead because this person who is standing before me wasn't the one I fell in love with.
The Jackson I fell for, is no more.
YOU ARE READING
Unforgotten Memories
Romance"Why would you do that?" "So that I can have my Rosie with me, forever." Jackson Black and Rose Harper were high school sweethearts who were inseparable, until Jackson decided to join the military. Now, after 8 years of serving the country, he come...
