39. The chapter where Christian finds out about the relationship

Christian

I watched in amazement as Rose practically ran out of the room leaving me behind. What's wrong with this crazy woman?

Shrugging my shoulders, I turned my attention back to my cell phone, receiving some notifications on my Instagram.

Opening the app, I couldn't contain a small smile when I saw the photo I took with Rose in the hospital. I opened the comments on the photo, most were from our classmates, some praising the costumes, especially Rose's, others asking what had happened and some just using the comments to flirt with the girl.

That's when some comments from members of the Wandering Falcons began to catch my attention. Questions like "Is that the girl?" "Is that her?" confused me, I thought about answering, but remembered my initial purpose in picking up the cell phone, leaving that question to resolve later.

My call was answered in the first few rings, as if they were waiting for me to return. My mother was the first to speak up.

" Chris?”

" Hi mom…”

" Hey kid, I thought you would sleep more, I heard you spent the night in the hospital " my father added.

Great, they seem calm, it was a good idea for Rose to speed things up a bit after all.

" Yes, I'm sorry for not telling you, I had a kidney crisis and they gave me morphine and I don't even remember how Rose brought me back," I admitted, "She woke me up earlier for breakfast before taking the antibiotics.”

I had so much to thank Rose for, I never imagined that she could take such good care of me. I would have been lost if I had been alone.

" Rose... she is an interesting girl," my father commented.

" She's great, although she's a little peculiar," I shrugged.

" Peculiar? " My mother asked.

" Sure, but she has the best stories," I commented with a half smile, thinking about the whole family game night thing.

I leaned over, taking a piece of the waffle that was still on my plate, and popped it into my mouth.

" And when did you intend to tell us that you were dating? " my mother cut to the chase, almost making me choke.

Forcing myself to swallow quickly, I tried to clear up the misunderstanding. My parents always complained about me never bringing any girls home, but I never got involved with someone to the point of introducing them to my family.

" No, that's not it, we are not dating, we are just friends.”

" Christian, I can tell you exactly where to stick this "just friends" talk, the girl told us that you are sleeping together," my father returned in his usual harsh manner.

I widened my eyes, beginning to understand why Rose had run out of the room when I told her I would call my parents.

I'm going to kill that lunatic!

" What else did she tell me? " I took a deep breath.

" That you are spending the weekend at her parents' house, which makes one wonder: if you are already at this stage, why don't we know anything about her? " my mother returned.

I closed my eyes, breathing deeply at the trouble Rose had gotten me into!

" We're not…”

" There's no use in trying to deny it, we saw all the pictures of the two of you together on your Instagram.” My mother insisted.

" All the pictures? I only have one picture she posted yesterday," I returned.

" Only the two of you can be. But we saw the pictures with your group of friends and you are always together. Always side by side, she wearing your jacket, you carrying her on your back," my father looked indignant.

" And since you clearly don't care about taking the girl on to the world and have gone to meet her parents, we can only deduce that you are ashamed of your parents.” Grace let out in a heartfelt tone.

" I'm not ashamed of you, where did you get that from?

I stood up, feeling frustrated at their reaction. What can I say to convince you that Rose is not my girlfriend!

" We just explained, are you deaf? " My father returned.

" Do you mean that just because I don't want to introduce some random girl to my parents that I am ashamed? " I raised my voice.

" Did you just call the girl who spent Halloween night in the hospital with you, drove you to her parents' house, and picked up your meds in the morning, a "random girl?" " my mother asked in a harsh tone.

I closed my eyes, regretting having spoken that way. She was right, I may not date Rose, but she would never be just any girl in my life.

" But he's a big son of a bitch anyway," my father muttered.

" Dad!”

" He's right," my mother agreed.

" Mom, you of all people shouldn't agree " I took a deep breath " All right, I'm sorry, Rose is not just any girl.”

" When are we going to meet her? " My mother asked looking excited, making me give up trying to convince them.

" I don't know, you have to admit that it's one thing to drive a little over an hour to her parents' house, but quite another to drive twenty-six hours to Missoula.

" You can bring her for Thanksgiving, you promised you would come home," my father proposed.

Great, now I'll bring her home for Thanksgiving, things only get better!

" I have to go, it's time to take my meds," I muttered, "we'll talk about it later.”

I ended the call then, throwing the cell phone on the bed before looking at the door.

What has she gotten herself into? I'm going to choke her with my bare hands!

I left the room, going down the stairs of the house I suspected to be her mother's since I didn't recognize any of the rooms, going out the kitchen door when I saw the door to Mr. Campbell's house ajar.

I crossed the small lawn, finding Liam helping himself to a bowl of colored cereal on the kitchen counter.

" Hey man, I heard that you preferred to trade the booze at the party for a good dose of morphine in your vein yesterday," he quipped.

" Apparently my kidney thought it would be better to put on a hospital gown than check out Rose's friend's room," I murmured, heading toward the living room, where excited voices were ringing out.

Everyone was settled on the couch and the floor, each with a bowl of cereal while Addison and Jackson passed out old photo albums.

" Look, I found a naked picture of Rose," Harry hummed, causing Rose to hide her face with her hands amid a groan as a picture of a chubby baby in the bath passed from hand to hand.

Rose noticed my presence and immediately looked away, preventing me from discreetly calling out to her.

" I want to see it too," Liam approached, finding a space on the floor next to the coffee table.

" Hey man, are you feeling better? " Theo called my attention.

" Are you okay? You look pissed off," Sky sneered, receiving an alarmed look from Rose.

" He's fine, he's…”

" Did you tell my parents we're dating? HAVE YOU GONE CRAZY? " I raised my voice, forgetting my decision to be discreet.