94 -The chapter where Christian must move on

Christian

" I'm sorry, I really thought you'd stick to your plan to break up with Rose, when your mom started asking me about you guys and wondering if I could convince you to bring her over one more time, I decided to warn her," my sister explained, taking advantage of the fact that we finally got some time alone.

We were preparing lunch together in my mother's kitchen a few days after Christmas. After all the repercussions of my breakup with Rose, I decided to talk to my sister, venting once again about the complicated situation I was in.

" In theory I followed the plan, but the longest I could stay away from her was two weeks. I didn't expect it, and now not only did I not break up with her, but her parents and our friends found out about us, and things are getting a bit out of hand " I admitted begrudgingly.

" Only two weeks? I want to know all the details of this story," she encouraged me as I sautéed some meat and vegetables.

I put some beef stock on to cook, covering the pot before turning to my sister.

" When we got back to campus, we talked and decided that things were getting a little complicated and that it was better to put an end to this whole friendship with benefits thing " I started to relate " But it seems that it has become an addiction, it is impossible to stay away from it. It's a real drug, because I think about her all the time, in the end, after two weeks that were a real torture, we both came back and I slept almost every night in her room since then.”

" Oh my God, you're in love Chris, I didn't think I'd see this day coming, it's a real miracle" she teased me.

I huffed, turning my attention back to the pot of meat, trying to disguise my embarrassment at having my feelings so easily discovered.

" I shouldn't have told you.”

" It's okay, I'm sorry. But you said you practically moved into her room, how did that happen? Don't you have roommates? " She moved closer.

" I have a roommate. Harry Thompson. Rose's roommate gave up her housing position to join a sorority, so she was on her own. At least until the end of the school year," I explained.

" That's lucky. I suffered a lot with my roommates " Amber commented before resuming the subject " So, did you take advantage and move into her room?”

" Her parents came to visit her on campus and had a family game night. They just forgot to warn us that they are all competitive maniacs, so when she and her dad ended up tied, they ended up in a marathon tiebreaker that involved a snow race, shooting games and for every mistake they had to get rid of a piece of clothing " I tried to summarize the madness that was that family.

" Wait, are you saying that Rose and her father took off their clothes while running in the snow? " Amber interrupted me, looking surprised.

" Here, I have a picture of the two of them crossing the finish line " I took out my cell phone, looking for the picture before showing it to my sister " The redhead in the background is Addison, her mother and the other one is her stepmother.”

" Oh my God, are you kidding me that those are her parents! Look at this guy, he's too hot to be the father of an eighteen year old girl " she returned abashed.

" Hey, you have a boyfriend!”

" But I'm not blind and I'm not a hypocrite " my sister handed me back the cell phone, making me laugh.

" 'It's not hard to imagine that she spent that weekend sick, so I slept in her room to take care of her, and then she convinced me to get a tattoo, and...'.

If my sister seemed surprised before, now she was perplexed.

" Wait, you said she talked you into getting a tattoo? You always said you didn't want one!”

" It's not that I didn't want one, I just didn't have anything meaningful to tattoo before," I shrugged, explaining my change of mind on the matter.

" Please don't tell me you got her name tattooed," my sister grimaced in disapproval at this possibility and I understood her concern on this matter.

At the age of twenty-one Amber got a tattoo with the name of her boyfriend at the time, They broke up a few months later and it was long laser removal sessions until she could get rid of that mark.

" I'm not stupid," I teased.

" Hey!" she complained, making me laugh  "Can I see it?"

I unceremoniously took off my shirt, exposing the endorphin molecule permanently engraved on my chest.

" A chemistry tattoo, why am I not surprised? " She laughed before moving in for a closer look " it looks pretty cool.”

" We all got a tattoo that reminds us of our courses " I explained before taking out my phone once more, looking in the gallery for the photo Liam used as a model for his painting " This is the one Rose did.”

My sister raised both eyebrows at the image before handing me the phone once more.

" 'She's beautiful, I'd judge you if you weren't in love.”

I restrained a small smile before putting my shirt back on once again after placing my phone on the table.

" It's not just about beauty, if it was, we'd already be having sex and it wouldn't have evolved into anything else. I don't know how to explain it, those days she was sick I just slept with her, nothing happened and even so....”

" You wouldn't trade it for anything " Amber added.

"I've turned down every invitation just to be with her," I admitted.

We were interrupted by my father entering the kitchen, who watched us with a suspicious expression. I turned my attention to the pot while my sister helped him carry the plates and glasses to the table.

"I understand that things didn't go as you planned, but it's not the end of the world. What's the tricky part? " She picked up the subject when she returned to the kitchen a little later.

I put out the fire before turning to my sister.

"The tricky part is that I've changed my mind, but apparently she hasn't.” I took a deep breath. “She still talks about dating other people and for the last week she's been flirting with the guy who tattooed us, so I guess in the end she doesn't feel the same way.”

" Ohhh…”

" I feel stupid for ruining the perfect deal," I admitted begrudgingly.

" 'Have you talked to her about it? " she asked looking into my eyes.

" No, I've thought about it, but I'm afraid I'll ruin everything.”

" "If I were you, I would talk to her, no one talks about someone else the way she talked about you if they're not in love," my sister advised.

That advice seemed unanimous among everyone who heard that story, and I decided I would follow it. But that was an impossible conversation to have over the phone, so I would wait another week until I saw her again after our winter break was over.