Three Strikes

Joe's Point of View

Adam had been here now for three whole hours. Rose had let him in, and they took over the living room, chatting animatedly. I rolled my eyes - it was obvious that she was freaking out on the inside. Hadn't this bastard cheated on her?

I vacuumed the floor and placed the bigger shards in the trash. Adam and Rose sat on the sofa, keeping a good space between them. I snickered to myself and from the corner of my eye saw the guy, Adam, glare at me. I rolled my eyes and he deepened his 'look of death'.

I sighed and walked into 'my' bedroom, jumping onto the bed, knowing that it'd annoy Rose. She'd made the bed that morning and hated it being messy. I shrugged, propping my hands behind my head and stared at the ceiling, quietly attempting to hear what they were saying.

He'd come to congratulate her on the, that is to say our, engagement. She'd stumbled over her words, barely managing a thank you. I don't know what she saw in this guy. He was stuck-up and boring, in my opinion. His hair was obviously fake - the dishwater blonde and his face was clearly dotted with concealer.

My phone buzzed in my pocket but I didn't bother answering. I didn't feel like it. I chucked it to the side and tried to listen a little bit more to the conversation. Truth be told, I had a lot more than the Adam problem on my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about the fight I'd had with Rose three hours ago. We'd never fought before, not like this. Our parents used to make us make up with one another. We were adults now. Hell, we were 'engaged' - fights were fairly normal, right?

The comment Mom had made at dinner was bugging the hell out of me. How could she even think of Rose and Kevin as a couple? They were polar opposites. Rose would give him a run for his money. She was too... street smart for someone like Kevin. He'd date someone with books all over their house, sipping hot cocoa or something.

At least she hadn't said Nick.

Now that would be embarrassing.

My phone buzzed again and I stared down at it. 1 New Text glared at me. With a sigh I checked the message and laughed quietly to myself.

Look, if you want this marriage to work you better come save me.
Like now before I kill myself.
You'll be a widower. - Rose.

I know that it shouldn't have made me happy - but Rose's discomfort brought a grin to my face. Whether it was because Adam had made her want to escape or because she was backing down first... I wasn't sure. I quickly pressed some buttons.

I'll ring you in five minutes. Pretend it's someone from work. I'll keep quiet on my end of the line. - J.

I hit the send button and heard her ring tone from in the living room. I waited and as three minutes passed I rang her. I could hear her voice on the other end.

"Hello?" said Rose, a smile in her formal tone. "Yes, this is she. Right... Yes. That's fine. I'll be there right away. Thank you for letting me know." She clicked the end call button. Pocketing my phone again, I listened through the door.

"That was work. I've got to go in and check some designs. One of the models has gained weight and well, it'll be hard to lose it unless she starves herself," lied Rose fluently.

I shrugged; maybe her acting skills had improved since middle school.

"Very well," came Adam's Californian accent. "Speaking of, have you put on weight? You're not pregnant with his kid are you?"

My jaw dropped. There was no way he'd just said that to her. I felt my fists clench.

"No." Rose said. I knew she was furious. Her voice went deadly quiet.

"Oh. I thought with your recent weight gain that you might've. Have fun at work, Rose. Let me know if you change your mind with Jonas." There was the slamming of the door and I breathed a sigh of relief. The bastard had left. I couldn't believe he'd said that to her. What had she ever seen in that jerk? All was quiet for a few minutes so I figured she'd gone to sleep. It was pretty late anyway. I clambered into bed, pulling the covers over my shoulders and closed my eyes just as the door opened. Rose walked in, obviously a little distressed. She smiled slightly and perched on the side of the bed.

"Thank you, Joe." She whispered. I strained myself to hear it.

"No worries."

It was impossible not to notice how upset she look. I pulled back the covers and she clambered in - something we'd done since we were little. If we ever watched a scary film, Rose would bunk with me for the night. She'd always been the wuss, but I never minded. It was like having a younger sister. She played with her nightshirt and turned to me. Our eyes locked.

"Joe?"

"Yeah Rose?" I mumbled into her shoulder.

She frowned. "Do you think I'm fat?"

My head shot up. "What? No. Rose you're not fat. Not in the slightest."

"I am compared to the girls at work," she pointed out, still fiddling with the shirt material. I buried my face in her neck and sighed.

"Rose. Those girls are sticks, okay? They eat like what, a carrot stick per week. They're not attractive," I reassured her. "No matter how long their legs may be. You're not fat, Rose, and you're not a stick."

"Then what am I?" She wondered out loud.

I smiled and laughed softly. "You're Rose. And that's more than enough." I felt her laugh lightly. “Now shut up and go to sleep.”