Cousins: An Alpha Bad Boy Romance(19)
"You'll grow as tall as a sunflower," he said. "I know because I helped my friend Peter grow last year. Now he beats everyone in basketball."
I was quite petite when I was a child, so it didn't take a rocket scientist for anyone to figure out that I probably had a strong desire to grow. I could never see much on my tippy toes when we went out to parades or sporting events, because it seemed as if every human being on the planet was taller than me. I hated being short. So it didn't take much for Roman to convince me that if he planted me in the ground, watered me, and we waited, that I'd grow at least three inches by the end of the day.
I believed him.
I was six.
After he handed me a miniature sized gardening shovel, we spent the next fifteen minutes digging the hole together as he told me stories about how he was going to be a professional athlete one day, and how he was going to buy his mom a big house and move in with her when he became rich like his dad. I didn't understand what he was talking about though. I thought my Aunt Juliette was his mother, but I was too excited about the prospect of growing in a day to ask him to explain.
Once the hole was deep enough, Roman told me to jump down in it and he'd fill the hole back up with soil, add a little Miracle-Gro, water me, and wait. Ten minutes later I was buried to my neck in dirt, with the sun beating down on my wet and bushy head of hair with no Roman in sight. After an hour I figured I'd grown enough and wanted to get out, but I couldn't move my arms. He'd packed the dirt super tight. In fact it was almost two hours before my parents and my aunt started looking for us both, assuming that we'd both walked to the playground. When they finally found me, I was in the backyard sunburned, hysterical, and in tears. My father was cussing up a storm as he furiously dug me out.
"I'm getting you out sweetie don't worry ... Where the hell is that little juvenile delinquent! Don't worry honey; daddy's going to get you out lickety split... This is exactly what I'm talking about Rose. Like father, like son! I'm going to kill that little bastard."
We only stayed another day after that, although we were supposed to stay a week. Tensions were high between the adults, and I refused to speak to Roman for the rest of the visit. Not only did he leave me buried in the yard alone, but I definitely didn't grow. And that made me want to pull his eyelashes out one by one. The little liar.
"Your home is amazing." I say to my aunt while still standing and holding onto my baggage.
"Thank you sweetie. Gosh you've grown to be such a beauty Elizabeth."
"Thanks." I blush.
I think she may be attempting to move forward to give me a hug, but I'm not sure. I tensely grip the handles of my luggage as I wait to see what she's going to do. I've never been that big on gestures of affection, but I'm even more skittish since the incident. She notices my discomfort and stops her forward momentum.
"Look at me. I'm a sweaty mess," she giggles in embarrassment. "Why don't you go put your things in your room. It's the first door on the left at the top of the stairs."
Now I feel like crap.
It's obvious that I've disappointed her by my reaction. I can't help but feel badly about it, because she is being so gracious by allowing me to stay here. I know she didn't sign up for housing a twenty-three-year old she barely knows, and if I know my mother, she probably had a strong hand in this.
"Thanks Auntie. Oh, just out of curiosity, Roman doesn't still live here does he?"
My aunt chuckles. "Still holding a grudge huh? Don't worry about Roman. He has his own place across town. He won't be bothering you. He's not the same mischievous kid he once was, and he only comes by when he has to get work done with Joseph. That's usually during the day. I'm assuming you'll be very busy."
I nod in relief. "Yes, I will."
Thank goodness. I haven't seen that loser in a zillion years, and I have no interest in seeing him again.
You can learn a lot about a person by how they live. My aunt's house is immaculate but not sterile. It's evident that she takes pride in her home and enjoys decorating in warm colors all over the house, which makes me think that she is probably a kind and nurturing person. The first floor is bathed in butterscotch walls and chocolate-colored furniture, with deep red accent chairs and burnt orange pillows. My room is the color of chocolate chip cookie dough, with a sleigh bed and dresser that are both made of a rich brown mahogany wood, and a down comforter and sheets that are all hotel white.
When I rub my hand across the comforter, I can tell that it's really expensive because of the apparent high thread count. In fact everything in my room looks like it belongs in the Ritz Carlton or The Four Seasons Hotel. On top of the dresser are only two things. One is a sphere-shaped crystal vase with an arrangement of fresh pink, blue and purple hydrangeas, and the other is a thick, silver framed 5x7 picture of a much younger Juliette holding a big round baby. A baby that looks very much like me. I pick the picture up and examine it closely.