Chapter 26 – Flavors
"Edward, this isn't doing it for me," Rosalie grumbled; her voice was drowned out by the thunderous cheering.
"Seriously?" I asked with a mix of shock and frustration. "Rose, we are at a sports bar, watching the biggest MMA fight of the decade!"
"I know, but I'm bored. And all these drunk guys are just getting me agitated."
"They're fellow MMA super-fans. These are your guys. When I think of Rosalie Swan, this is how I picture you… hanging with people like these."
"Maybe that's who I was before, but since losing Bella, I don't feel like that chick anymore. This honestly isn't keeping my interest at all; in fact, it just has me wondering how the hell I ever enjoyed this shit in the first place."
"So, you want to go?"
"I mean, we can stay if you want, but I'm just telling you, it's not helping anything. I feel like we need to start over from scratch. Whatever the old Rosalie liked before, doesn't matter anymore."
I sighed. "Okay, let's get out of here then."
"Do you want to stay?" she asked me.
I turned and witnessed two guys in a race to see who could chug their beer the fastest, only to lose most of it down their shirts and on the floor. "No, I really don't," I told her.
"Great, let's go before I end up punching someone in the face," she urged.
After getting into the car, and heading south on the highway, I asked – "Okay, since you're no longer an MMA fan, what is your best guess as to what you would be a fan of?"
She considered it for a moment. "I honestly don't know."
So, for the next several weeks, Rosalie and I spent all of our time off of work, going out to experience anything and everything within a three-hundred-mile radius. In the beginning, I thought she was faking her sudden amnesia when I comes to her interests, but the more time we spent together, the more I was beginning to believe her.
"What do you mean; you have no idea what kind of pizza you like?" I questioned incredulously. We had spent the day hiking the Bear Mountain trail, and to reward ourselves for not fighting or getting injured along the way, we stopped for pizza afterwards for dinner.
"I know it sounds stupid, but I really don't know. It's like there are weird blanks in my mind. I don't even remember ever eating pizza before. I mean, I know what pizza is, but I can't tell you what any of it tastes like."
"Do you think it has anything to do with the others being missing?" I asked hesitantly.
"Maybe," she said with a shrug. "I was never meant to be a whole person, so I guess it would make sense that without my other pieces, I'm riddled with holes."
I sighed. "Well, the only thing we can do is try to fill the holes. Let's get personal sized pizzas in every flavor."
"Seriously?" she asked amused.
"Why not?" I confirmed before going to place our order.
"Wow, you guys are taste testing, huh?" the woman behind the counter questioned with a smile.
"Well, believe it or not, my friend over there," I pointed to Rosalie, who was sitting at our table across the room. "Has never had pizza before. I want her to taste everything to see what she likes."
"That is mighty generous of you." She began punching buttons on the computer in front of her, and after giving me the insanely expensive total, she smiled at me flirtatiously. "So, you said the woman is your friend? As in, the platonic type of friend?"
"Yeah, she's a lesbian," I said without thinking. The moment the woman's smile widened; I realized my mistake. "Oh, you're asking because you're interested? I'm sorry, but I'm not dating anyone right now. Kind of still recovering from a rough breakup."
Her face fell in shallow sympathy. "I'm so sorry to hear about your heartache." Then her lips spread into a sly grin. "But, uh… is your friend single?"
My brows immediately sprung up in surprise. The woman wasn't hitting on me, she was asking about Rosalie. I had told Rose I'd help her in any way I could, but my stomach dropped just from thinking about it. Still, I ignored the pain in my gut, and tried my best to put on a friendly face.
"Actually, she is. I can give her your number if you'd like?" I offered with a forced smile and the feeling of a jagged lump in my throat.
"That would be awesome! I'll try to get over there to talk to her myself, but just in case things around here get busy…" she said while writing her digits down on a napkin.
I decided to hold on to the number for a bit, just to give the woman a chance to make her own moves, but it felt like a brick in my pocket.
"What's wrong with you? Was the total to high? Did you not bring enough money? I can help pay," Rosalie offered as I came to sit across from her at the table.
"No, nothing like that. It's all cool. Pizzas should get here soon. I think we're going to need a bigger table though."
"Well, it looks like that double table over there will be cleared soon. We'll just move."
"Yeah, good thinking," I agreed.
I honestly tried to not let the cashier's interest in Rose get to me, but I found myself often looking for her as we waited for our pizzas. Luckily, it was fairly busy, and it seemed she didn't really have time to pick up on beautiful women. When the pizzas finally arrived, I relaxed a little.
"Wow. How can there be so many different kinds?" Rosalie asked as we both just stared at our spread, unsure where to begin.
"Lots of different people like lots of different things," I told her.
"What's your favorite?" she asked curiously.
"Eh. I can eat almost anything, but I think if I had to pick, my favorite would just be the classic cheese and pepperoni."
"That's it? Only one topping, and you're forcing me to try all these ridiculous piles of meats and veggies?"
"Just because I like something in particular, doesn't mean you will like the same kind," I pointed out.
"I know," she sighed. "Okay, I guess we should just start with whatever is in front of us. You're doing this little taste test with me, right? Bite for bite, you're going to match me."
"Or I could just eat the pepperoni," I joked.
"No way! In fact…" She grabbed the personal pepperoni pizza in front of me and moved it so it was closer to her and out of my reach. She picked up a slice and took a huge bite. "Hot! Hot, hot, hot, hot," she said in a panic before spitting it out.
I laughed. "Yeah, you might want to blow on it before eating."
"You could have told me that before I ate it," she grumbled.
"I'm sorry, I thought you knew it just came out of the oven. Common sense, and all."
"I don't have much common sense since I'm not common," she said bitterly.
"Yeah, but being the protector and all…" Her sour expression made me abandon my sentence. Instead, I chuckled. "Okay, let's try some more."
Bite after bite, topping after topping, we sampled all the flavors that pizzeria had to offer. Some she liked, and some made her nose crinkle in the most adorable expression of disgust I had ever seen.
"What the hell was that?" she asked after having a bite of a particular flavor. "Almost tastes fishy."
"Anchovies," I confirmed.
"Ew! Why would anyone put that on pizza?"
"My dad loves them," I said with a snicker.
"Now I don't want to keep trying them. What other kind of nasty toppings are on these pizzas?"
I shook my head. "Nothing else questionable. Mostly meats and veggies. But like, regular meats, not weird stuff."
She hesitantly tried another slice, but it wasn't long before we were both feeling the bloat of too much grease.
"Well, what's the verdict?" I asked her, leaning back in my chair to give my gut a little relief.
"Ugh. I could probably never eat another slice of pizza again and it would be too soon. But if I had to pick a favorite… I think it's this one," she said, pointing to a certain half eaten slice.
"Oh, come on!" I said, not believing her. "Out of everything you tried, you like plain pepperoni best?"
"Why is that so hard to believe? Isn't that what you said you liked best too?"
"Yeah, but what are the chances of us both liking the same kind? That like, never happens. Usually when couples order pizza, they have to order two different ones, or half and half… I mean, not that we're a couple or anything. I'm just saying…"
"Well, let's just be grateful we are lucky enough to like the same. It will make it easier when we order delivery. Now, I'm probably not going to want pizza again for a long time after all of this, but when we do, I'm paying. You've been buying enough shit for me lately. In fact, I'm paying for our next meal no matter what it is," she insisted.
I thought to argue, because my father taught me to always pay for my girlfriend when going out, but then I remembered Rosalie was not my girlfriend. As nothing more than my roommate, splitting bills only made sense.
With our stomachs stuffed to the point of pain, we headed home. It wasn't until we got there, and I was changing my clothes, that I remembered the chicks number in my pocket. I debated on whether or not I should give it to Rose, but ultimately decided it was part of moving on. However, the moment I came to that decision, I felt sick; and by sick, I meant literally. I rushed to the bathroom and barely made it in time before puking all over the place.
"Holy shit!" I vaguely heard Rose say from the doorway as I continued to expel all the contents of my stomach on the toilet and floor.
"Shit," I said after a minute. "I think I may have some food poisoning."
As if on cue, I watched horrified as Rosalie's face turned a very odd shade of green.
"Move!" she shouted.
I got out of the way just in time for Rose to throw up as well. It was a shitstorm of vomit, and neither of us felt strong enough to clean it at the moment.
The two of us spent the rest of the evening taking turns in the bathroom. To my shock and horror, at some point, Rose actually cleaned it all up. Given the fact that she had made it to the toilet on time, the mess she cleaned was mine, and I honestly had no idea how she managed it.
"Thanks for what you did in the bathroom there," I said awkwardly.
"Well, I'm feeling slightly better, and I figured you've taken care of me and my alters enough. It's only right that I help you out a little in return."
I nodded slowly. "I appreciate it," I mumbled, not knowing what else to say.
Rosalie not only cleaned up my vomit, but she also went out and bought some Gatorade and even made some bone broth to help us get our strength back. It was all very odd for me. I wasn't used to being taken care of like that at all, but I felt so ill that I could do nothing more than to just be grateful. Knowing she wasn't feeling her best as well, but she still went out of her way to help me feel better, was something I would have never expected, especially from Rosalie.
I ended up finally falling asleep that night on the couch, and when I woke up the next morning, I was surprised again to find a damp cloth on my forehead.
"Oh, uh… thanks for this," I said to Rose when I spotted her on the side chair reading a book.
"You got pretty sweaty last night," she replied gently. "It was kind of pitiful. I almost felt sorry for you."
"Almost," I repeated with a chuckle. "How are you feeling?"
"Dude, I was good after my first barf. With the shit Alice always put in our system, our stomach is pretty strong. I guess it's safe to say we won't be going back to that pizza place again."
"Definitely not," I agreed. "Oh hey, that reminds me; the woman who was working at the counter there gave me her number…"
"Well, of course she did," she cut me off full of annoyance.
"For you," I added, rendering her momentarily speechless. "She was pretty hot. You might want to think about calling her sometime."
She looked away from me and pretended to focus on the cat. "Jasper will need to be groomed soon. He bit the hell out of my hand the last time I attempted it. Maybe we should take him in somewhere."
"I can take him next week," I offered. "So, you think you might be up for a date?" I asked, getting my weak ass body off the couch intent on going to look for the napkin with the girl's number on it.
"No," Rose replied, making me stop and sit back down.
"Why not?" I wondered.
"I told you before, I'm not interested in dating. Emma was a one-time experience."
"Okay, but we also talked about how you needed to extend yourself and try new things. Going on a casual date might really help you finally get over her."
"Did going on that one blind date Garrett set you up on help you get over Bella? Because from what I've seen, you still aren't ready to move on."
"I am moving on. Just not in the dating aspect of life."
"Well, that makes two of us," she told me steadfastly.
"Alright; it's your decision. So, what's our next activity?"
"Whatever it is will have to wait until next Sunday," she pointed out.
"Aww shit! Today is Monday isn't it? I'm late for work."
"I called in for you already," she informed me.
"You did? How?"
"I just called your parents and had them contact your department," she said casually. "Even if you're feeling better, you're still too weak to be productive in work today. You have enough sick leave; no sense in wasting it."
"Rose, I appreciate it, but I wish you didn't contact my parents. The way they treated Bella before…"
"I know; I wanted to chew your mother out, but I've realized that life is just too short to hold grudges, especially against the woman that gave you life. I mean, what she did really sucked, but it doesn't come remotely close to the heinous bitch that Bella's mother is, and it was unfair for her to hold that comparison."
"Wait, Bella was comparing my mother to hers?" I asked, suddenly feeling sick again. I still didn't know what her mother did to her, but I knew it had to be horrible to cause her to split in the first place. Knowing Bella was comparing my mother to hers only made me feel that much more anger about that incident.
"Stop!" Rose said sternly, knocking me out of my growing anger towards my mom. "I know what you're thinking, and you need to just stop. What your mom did has nothing to do with Bella's issues. Bella was just linking the two mothers in her mind unjustly, and she knew she was, which is why she was struggling so much right after that luncheon. She didn't want to be making that connection, so she was trying to stop, but it was just too difficult of a task for her. Hell, she doesn't even know what her mother did to her, only that it was really bad, so she was way off base in her mental comparison to your mom. She really needed therapy."
I nodded. "Speaking of therapy, how have you gotten out of going? I thought it was mandatory after a suicide attempt," I said, forcing the words out, despite the pain they caused me to say them.
"I have been going to therapy," she said unexpectedly. "My appointments are usually during my lunch hour. I've been going twice a week since it happened."
"I didn't know that. That's great though. Good for you, Rosalie."
"It's not doing anything," she disagreed. "I only go because it's mandated."
"How do you know it's not helping? It's not going to make a huge difference overnight."
"Because I'm no closer to finding Bella. In fact, the stupid bitch suggested…"
"What?" I pressed when she let her words trail off.
She sighed. "She suggested that I stop looking for them. She said it's possible they will never come back and I should just live my life."
Her words gave me a painful twist to my gut, but I couldn't let her see that. "Maybe she's right," I said quietly. "I don't believe they're gone forever, but on the chance that they are, you shouldn't waste your life by wishing for a different outcome. Honor them by living to your fullest; that way, if or when they finally do return, they will be proud of everything you've done."
Rosalie really seemed to take my words to heart, and she doubled down on her attempt to experience everything our immediately surrounding world had to offer.
From rock climbing to scuba diving. Surfing and zip-lining. Bowling and shooting pool. Learning Backjack at the reservation, and diving into the buffet to really try all the different foods she could. Mini golf and go-karts. We did absolutely everything I could think of, and we actually had a blast doing it all.
Somewhere along the way, we rekindled our previous brief friendship, and it even started to grow into something beyond that – something I didn't quite understand. We spent every free moment we had together. When we weren't on an adventure or trying new things, we used our downtime to watch movies or even just talk about anything and nothing into the wee hours of the night.
Rosalie became my constant, and I soon found myself counting on her like the partner Bella wished she could be. Where I lacked, Rosalie would pick up the slack, and vise versa. We were two independent individuals who were learning to depend on each other, and it actually felt really good to have someone like that, even if it wasn't romantic.
Though we still occasionally bickered and argued about stupid little things, I never worried anymore that Rosalie might take off on me or we wouldn't make up. I had lost Bella and the others, and I would always miss them, but miraculously, I was beginning to take Rosalie for granted, in the best possible way. I still thought about the others daily, however without even realizing it, Rosalie and I had far surpassed being just friends; in all her maddening traits and annoying bursts of attitude, Rose had become my family….