Gentle, cold hands wake me up, I shiver at his cold touch. “Dinner, babe, you should eat.” I roll over, completely exhausted before snuggling back under the covers. Tobias places his hand on my head before turning it over and feeling it with the back of his hand.
“Does she feel like she is burning up to you?” Theo touches my back and I flinch from the coldness before he too places his hand on my forehead. “I’m not sure her skin always feels hot to me,” he says.
“I’m fine I just need sleep,” I grumble, rolling onto my stomach, trying to dive back into my slumber.
Stupid men, always trying to force feed me and keep me awake. Tobias flicks the light on, the light shining through the backs of my eyelids. I squeeze my eyes tighter before pulling my pillow over my head. “Yep, she is fine, just being a brat,” Tobias says as he kneels on the bed beside me. In one swift movement, he rolls me and picks me up.
“Hey, what are you doing, I was trying to sleep.” I groan. He tosses me over his shoulder. “Why do you have to be such a dick? I was enjoying my sleep before you ruined it.” He slaps my bare ass before walking out the door. I stretch my sore limbs, stretching out like a stiff board on his shoulder, before relaxing and slumping over it again. I can feel his whiskers on my hip before he turns his face as he is walking down the stairs and bites the side of my butt.
I hiss and turn, smacking him on the head as he descends down the stairs. Well, I’m awake now. I brace my elbows, digging them into his shoulder and propping my chin up, I know they won’t feel comfortable to him. Theo is walking behind me, and I reach my arm to him, he grips my fingers with his.
“Theo would have let me sleep, that's why he’s my favorite.” I state, sticking my tongue out at Theo. He winks at me, following behind us.
“Well, I’m not Theo and I have something to show you. Besides, who goes to bed when it isn’t even 8 o’clock yet?”
Tobias dumps me off the side of his shoulder, I squeal before landing on the couch, the wind being knocked out of me. I land with a soft thud, grabbing the gray cushion and lob it at him. I hear him chuckle before walking into the kitchen followed by Theo.
“You coming?” Tobias sings out.
“Nope, I’m good here.”
“Imogen.” I roll my eyes before climbing off the couch. I follow them into the kitchen which is empty, I can see dinner plated up on the counter but no Theo or Tobias. I feel a cool breeze brush over my skin before I see the curtains above the sink move. The door leading out to the back deck is ajar. I walk over to it and stick my head outside.
On the deck is a rose bush. I step out and see Theo and Tobias walking down the steps onto the footpath. “Grab the rose bush.” I look at the pot that has a white rose tree in it. They don’t honestly expect me to carry that do they? I won’t even be able to get my arms around the pot it sits in, let alone carry it with all its dirt.
“Yeah, sure thing, nothing like some night-time gardening,” I mock as I walk over to the ceramic pot.
The thorns look sharp, but it has about thirty huge white roses on it. I try to drag it toward the stairs. Once to the top step, I look down the five steps. trying to figure out how the hell I’m actually going to get down the stairs without either breaking the pot or getting pricked by its thorns. “You’re kidding right?” I say before turning and finding Theo directly behind me, watching me. “What are you doing? Help!”
“I think I would rather enjoy the view of your panty-less ass trying to drag that over to us.”
I stand, putting my hands on my hips. “Help or I’m going inside.” I bend down dragging it closer to the step so it’s hanging over the edge slightly so I can get a good grip on it. Suddenly, it’s gone. Theo picks it up like it weighs nothing and walks along the concrete path over to Tobias, who is busy digging a hole between two red rose bushes in the huge garden. I stomp across the grass, towards them.
“Get off the grass. You know how long it took me to get it like that?” Tobias yells out to me, looking up from the hole he’s digging.
“Didn’t picture you to be a green thumb,” I tell him, still treading on his precious grass. I stand next to him.
“That’s because you barely know us, besides our secret,” he states.
I think for a second. He’s right, I don’t know much about them personally. I know a little about Theo, his love for reading and his family, which I suppose is also Tobias’s family. But other than that, not much really.
I look for Theo, but he’s gone again. “So, what are we doing out here?”
“We are letting your mother go. We know you’re having trouble letting go, which is understandable, but we thought maybe you would like something in her memory, so she is released but still here with you.” Says Theo, coming up behind me, in his hands is my mother’s urn. I reach for it and he places her in my hands.
I don't speak, just nod, my throat suddenly feeling clogged. I don’t know what I want to do with her, I know she can’t stay in the plastic container, but I hate the thought of letting her go. This idea of theirs, I do like, though. Tobias finishes digging and steps back.
I clutch my mother’s urn to my chest. “If you don’t want to, we can figure out something else.” I look at Tobias, he almost seems normal, not so intimidating. I shake my head.
“No, this is good. Thank you.” He nods before placing his hand on my shoulder and squeezing it. I undo the lid, my hands shaking slightly. Bending down, I pour her ashes into the hole; I feel my tears trying to brim but I shake my head and clear my throat before stepping back.
That is all that is left of her. My amazing mother is now just dust, and a memory I never want to forget. I hope I don’t forget her smile, her warm welcoming eyes, the feel of her hands. I never want to forget those parts of her. Theo places the rose bush in the hole and Tobias fills in the dirt.
Now, she is a rose, it’s fitting. She was strong and durable like a rose and just as beautiful as one. When they are done, they walk inside, leaving me with the now planted rose bush. I look up at the clear sky, the breeze caresses my skin. The moon is shining brightly down on us, “I miss you mom.” I whisper.
I can feel my tears running down my cheeks, quickly wiping them away before closing my eyes forcing them to stop. Crying won’t help me, and it certainly won’t bring her back. I look at the rose bush, touching the giant rose in front of me, gently, making sure I don’t break its petals. I turn to see Theo and Tobias watching me from the deck. I walk towards them and back into the kitchen, like I didn’t just let go of my hold on her.
I sit at the table, Theo and Tobias have made homemade pizzas. “Want me to heat it back up?” I shake my head, picking up a piece before biting a chunk off. I chew it before swallowing it down. It tastes good even when it's cold.
“Nope, I’m good.” I tell them.
“Are you okay?” Theo asks.
“Peachy.” I grab another slice before walking out. I’m good at masking my emotions, I hate showing them in front of anyone. I hate the thought of them seeing me as someone weak. So, I put my walls up, add a few extra bricks, and bury those feelings like a normal person. Well, at least I think it is normal. Going to the living room, I flick the TV on and put Underworld on. They come out and sit beside me. Only speaking when they realize what movie I picked.
“Seriously? You live with a vampire and a werewolf and you want to watch this garbage?” Tobias asks.
“It’s a good movie.” I shrug.
“It's unrealistic.”
“You can’t think it’s that bad if you own it,” I retort, biting into my pizza slice.
Once I finish eating, I curl up on the couch. I think I’m only a quarter of the way through when I feel myself dozing off back to sleep.
The next morning, as I wake up in the bed, Theo, and Tobias are both gone. They left for work without me, and I know they deliberately did it to keep me stuck here. Getting downstairs, I sing out to both of them. No answer. Walking outside, I stroll over to mom’s rose bush. It’s even prettier in the day, with its giant blooming buds. When I’m walking back, I notice the garage on the other side of the house. It’s the only place I haven’t explored since coming here.
Walking over, I push up the roller door. My heart skips a beat with excitement, as I see Theo’s Black BMW. I wonder where the keys are. I walk over and pull on the handle and it opens. I search all through it, looking for the keys. I can’t find them anywhere, so I give up and close the roller door and walk back inside. Deciding I’m going to make some breakfast, I walk into the kitchen. I’m making toast when out of the corner of my eye, I notice the car keys sitting in the fruit bowl. I grab them, forgetting about my toast, I race up stairs and grab my suit, getting dressed in record time and throwing my hair in a high ponytail. I chuck on some lipstick and grab my heels from the cupboard before quickly going back out to the car.
They are going to be so pissed when I rock up to work. They can’t blame me though, it’s their fault they left the keys where they can be found. So surely, they don’t expect me to wait all day here. I turn on the ignition and speed out and down the driveway.
The entire drive, I’m constantly jamming on the brake, not used to the speed this car has compared to my little beast. Theo is definitely going to need new brake pads; on the plus side, I’m only going to be twenty minutes late. Once I arrive, I walk into the lobby. Tom is talking to Tobias and to say he’s surprised to see me is an understatement. Tobias and Tom look like they are having a heated conversation when I step in. The conversation abruptly stops when Tobias lays eyes on me. He walks towards me and Tom scurries off, toward a corridor by the stairs. I definitely have to try and see him today, to find out what the hell is going on.
Tobias walks over to me, the way he walks makes me feel like he’s about to slap me. But he just stops in front of me and grabs my arm. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Thought it was pretty obvious, considering I showed up to work.” His grip on my arm tightens and he starts pulling me toward the elevator.
“How did you get here?” I hold up Theo’s car keys and he raises an eyebrow before snatching them out of my hand.
“I don’t see what the problem is, Tobias. I only want to work.” The elevator doors open, and he pushes me in before pushing the button and the doors close. Once upstairs, Tobias walks me to my desk. Theo, hearing us come in, walks out, shock on his face at seeing me.
“What are you doing here?”
“She found your keys, next time put them up,” Tobias says, chucking them at him. He catches them and folds his arms, annoyed.
“You better not have wrecked my car, Imogen.”
“Or what, you buy another one? Not like you can’t afford it. You will probably need new brake pads though, I wore those out pretty well on the way here.” I say, my face lighting up as he glares at me before walking off.
“You don’t leave the office, not today. You stay here till one of us can take you home.”
“Yes sir.” I salute him and he storms off, slamming his office door.
I have no intention of being confined to the office. I plan on seeing Tom today, whether they like it or not. I spend most of the day sending emails and printing off various documents and filing them. Theo and Tobias both keep coming out at different intervals, checking I’m still on this floor but don’t say much. I can tell they are going to give me hell when we get home.