A.N.: Hiya. If you've read this far already, please review!


Rose Amongst Thorns

Chapter Two

Settling In


The boys escorted Rose over the threshold of their home, and they all crowded into the kitchen for ice-cold drinks, most of them cream sodas high in sugar and energy drinks full of food-colouring, and Rose sat quietly, watching the family as they welcomed their mom back, sipping a glass of ice-water at the corner of the huge kitchen table. It was very evident Regina had been missed by her family, though she had been in North Carolina only a week.

The house was just as Rose remembered it, even if the kids weren't; Regina and John were still the most gorgeous couple she had ever seen, besides her parents, and they had definitely handed their classic good-looks down to their sons; girls at their high-school surely didn't stand a chance. The kitchen was huge and drenched with light, and everything was neatly arranged, from the coffee machine down to the mini bottle of Tabasco sauce on the island, the work of Miller, Rose understood, the son who suffered from Asperger's Syndrome, and who evidently adored his mother, standing close beside her where she sat at the island, catching up with her sons while John tended the grill just outside on the patio.

"Well, I think I'd better show you your new room, huh Rose," Regina smiled, glancing over Ian's head, and Rose set down her glass. She managed a shy smile; it was a lot easier to be more open with Regina when she was alone; surrounded by exuberant boys, Rose didn't know where to interject a comment or opinion, and thought it better to stay quiet so she didn't have those curious, persistent eyes on her again. Regina rose from the island, and Rose followed her, Caleb clinging to his mother's hand and staring over his shoulder at her as they climbed the enormous staircase. The McGowan house was an enormous, three-storey building with a proper basement and a refurbished attic, and a converted barn that served as a garage and guest-house.

"I hope you like it," Regina smiled, opening a door off a crowded hallway, which consisted of doors all decorated according to the owner's tastes, and with their names and warnings.

"I'm sure I will," Rose said quietly; she had been brought up by her mother to be polite, and even if she thought it was the most distasteful room in the world, she wouldn't say a word, as she had been imposed on Regina and John, and they were being very generous in inviting her into their home. Regina just smiled, and let Rose enter the bedroom.

The room was gorgeous, and big enough that the queen-sized bed didn't even look imposing; the sanded and varnished floors were covered with a soft cream rug, and the walls were painted a warm beige-gold colour; the right-hand wall was decorated with a large panel of wallpaper of matte gold chrysanthemums set on a chocolate-brown background, and against the right-hand wall was set a low dresser, on which a large blue-and-white ceramic-based lamp stood. The far wall was dominated by the queen-size bed, which was made up with soft pale-gold and cream sheets and a crochet-trimmed woven blanket and a prettily-embroidered and beaded flat bolster; a length of beige-gold on silver polka-dots had been upholstered as a headboard, and the bed was flanked by two antique Louis bedside chests, and on top of which stood two see-through table-lamps. Against the internal wall was set the closet, which featured three frosted-glass sliding-doors that turned on spotlights in the ceiling when opened; a desk was set in front of the closet, facing into the room. The desk was white, with clean lines and a little shelf running above it, decorated with a little bauble-shaped glass lamp and two eclectic coloured-glass vases, and a plastic Missoni-fabric chair. The left-hand wall was dominated mostly by the window, which overlooked the backyard and had direct access to the climbing-tree, which she could easily reach if she climbed out of the window. In the far corner was an antique Louis rattan chaise, the perfect spot to sit in the sunshine and read.

"Wow," Rose breathed, turning in a circle and taking everything in, the metal bench at the end of the bed, the stack of brand-new pretty journal-notebooks and girlish stationery and heart-patterned pencil-case on the desk, the pair of pyjamas folded on the dresser ready for her to wear, all little telltale signs that Regina had put a lot of thought into the fact that Rose would be coming to live with them. Suddenly a thought occurred to Rose; "You didn't redecorate just for me, did you?" She hoped Regina hadn't spent any money on her. She had already done enough in coming to North Carolina to help Rose settle everything, and allowing her to come and live with them.

Regina just laughed. "Honey, I wouldn't have let you even enter this bedroom if it hadn't been completely stripped and redecorated, trust me," she smiled, her blue eyes twinkling. Like Rose's own mother, Regina was blonde and extremely beautiful, even though she had to be at least in her mid-to-late forties, tall and svelte. Caleb giggled softly, half-hiding behind his mother's legs, and Rose couldn't help smile at the sound.

"Well, it's beautiful. Thank you," Rose said earnestly.

"You're quite welcome," Regina smiled. "And don't worry about adding your tastes to the room; the guys have stuffed pinned and tacked and taped all over their walls. Feel free to do the same."

"Oh… Thanks," Rose said, though she knew very well that she wouldn't feel comfortable pinning or taping anything to the walls, freshly-painted as they were, and considering she felt she was more of a guest in the house, contrasting Regina's exclamations that Rose was part of the family, and this was her home now too, and as such she could do her best in aiding the boys in destroying it from the foundations up, as they had been trying for the last nineteen years.

"Well, let's put my boys to some use, huh, and get them to bring your stuff inside," Regina smiled. "That's if Sean hasn't already found those boxes full of your books!"

So the boys—well, the older ones; Sean, Evan and Finn—helped empty the bed of Rose's truck, carrying everything upstairs, while Caleb sat on the chaise in the corner of the room, sucking his thumb and smiling, and ordering his older brothers around as to where everything should be put. Rose hadn't unpacked one small suitcase before John was calling everyone to the patio for dinner, and Caleb grabbed Rose's hand—she ignored how wet his hand was from him sucking his thumb—and tugged her downstairs.


Dinner was quiet, but good; John was an artist with a grill, and served up steaks, chicken, burgers and ribs, a great feast, along with salads, coleslaw, potato-salad, baked beans, four-bean salad, Greek salad, macaroni, grilled potatoes, and devilled eggs, which were if possible Rose's favourite hors d'oeuvres, beets, corn on the cob, and grilled vegetables, and to Rose it looked like a lot of food, but considering, with the addition of her to the table, that there were ten people all fending for the juiciest burger or most tender piece of steak, the enormous spread was quickly eaten up.

"This all looks really good, John," Rose said, smiling up at the head of the table; she sat between Finn and Doug, which seemed to be her place height-wise in the family, as Miller was in charge of seating arrangements and anything that needed order amongst the chaos of a family of nine.

"Yeah, it's too bad you didn't come to live with us sooner," Finn said, tucking into a mounded plate; in comparison, Rose's own plate, which she had thought heaped, looked insignificant. "We never eat like this."

"That's not true," Regina protested, "I cook all the time." She was shouted down with her sons' laughter. Even John couldn't help throwing his head back and laughing, and amid a table-full of raucously-laughing men, Rose couldn't help smiling; Regina caught her eye and rolled hers, smiling.

"Come on, let's eat," John said, grinning, and he started handing around the dishes mounded with food. "How was the drive, guys? You made really good time getting here."

"It was okay," Rose said, seeing John direct the question at her.

"You drove, didn't you?" John asked, and Rose nodded, a shiver going down her spine; she had not liked driving through some of the places where she had to follow lanes and check signs to turn off the highway, or stop to pay tolls and navigate through strange cities, even buying gas at a strange station had made her feel nervous. But she had done it. With Regina sitting beside her and helping her check signs and directions, chatting freely and easily and singing along with her to vintage 80s pop music, Rose had driven from Raleigh to Boston. A little over seven-hundred miles, and most of their weekend, with many stops at drive-thru restaurants and dairies, but she had done it. It was the farthest she had ever driven by herself by a long-shot, and she had been very nervous about it when Regina proposed the idea.

"Guess you're gonna miss North Carolina, huh," John said, and Rose's shoulders slumped as she nodded. "How long did you live there, I forget."

"Seven years," Rose sighed, letting her lower lip jut out a tiny bit in a pout. "When we moved back from Turkey."

"Oh yeah, that's right!" John smiled. "Do you still talk to that little Turkish friend of yours? What was her name?"

"Medha? Yes—she came to stay with us over Spring Break this year. I stayed with her last summer," Rose smiled; she and Medha still wrote each other letters; Medha in English, Rose in Turkish, to improve their language skills, or keep them fresh as the case was now.

"You've been to Turkey!" Finn raised his eyebrows, his eyes glittering with interest as he passed her the dish of baked beans. Rose took it and doled some out next to her potato salad and Greek salad, and handed the dish to Doug, who looked at it as if it was crawling with termites, and took it with a huge aggravated sigh.

"Er—yes. I lived there from when I was five," Rose said, dusting her hands off as she took some bread from a passing bowl. "Before that we lived in Dubai, and before that, Prague, and I was born in Paris."

"Man!" Finn pouted, looking most put-out. "I've been dreaming of going to Europe for ages."

"Well, it was only because of Daddy's job," Rose explained, blushing. "While we were in that part of the world, my parents thought it would be very wasteful if they didn't take the opportunity to travel around Europe and stuff."

"Did you go back to Europe recently? I mean, you said you'd been to Turkey…" Finn said. Obviously, travelling seemed to interest Finn.

"No; I went to Turkey last summer to spend a month with Medha and her family, but since we've been back in North Carolina we pretty much travelled all around the States, you know, seeing all the National Parks and stuff."

"Where's your favourite place you've been to?" Finn asked eagerly. Rose blushed hotly.

"Actually, my favourite holiday was when we walked the Freedom Trail in Boston," she admitted. That particular day was ingrained in Rose's memory, saturated with sunshine and cannolis from the Italian neighbourhood. She didn't remember much about the historical walk except the city's oldest cemeteries, and the blistering sunshine.

"Really!" Finn laughed in disbelief and wrinkled his nose.

"Well, okay, I did like Hawaii, and Fiji," Rose added at his incredulous expression; she supposed, living so near to Boston meant the novelty of the history of the place had long since worn off. "I thought New Zealand is the most stunning place in the world. And I liked the Grand Canyon. Victoria Falls are pretty, too." Finn looked almost in pain as she listed the other places she had travelled to; her parents had been very keen travellers, and had always taken her with them whenever they went on long vacations. They had wanted to give her a broader taste of foreign cultures, and having been born in Paris, lived in Eastern Europe, Dubai and Turkey, she had had many opportunities to travel to new and strange countries. The safari in Africa had been the funniest and one of the most awe-inspiring holidays she had ever been on, because her mom had teased her daddy about a snake being nearby, causing him to fly into the back of the Land Rover in fear, and seeing the elephants and lions in their natural habitat. She had loved the food of Paris, when she and her parents had returned there a few years ago for a vacation, and to see Versailles palace.

"Maybe Rose can help you plan your trip to Europe, Finn," Regina suggested. "She's something of a connoisseur of travel."

"Oh—not really," Rose blushed hotly, at Finn's endearing, easy grin. "I mean, we did travel a lot, but I'm not an expert." Finn laughed; she liked his laugh; it was quiet, and warm, and quite unassuming; he smiled with his eyes while he laughed.

Rose had worried that dinner would be awkward; but she and Finn talked for most of the meal, about the places she had been, and where Finn wanted to go, and the places Rose would recommend he visit if he were to go to various cities, the museums (and particularly the restaurants; Rose loved her food) and famous buildings and sites he had to visit—she could take him on a tour of the classical sites of Greece and Italy herself if he wanted.

After dinner, Rose instantly stood to help clear the plates and dishes, a little stunned by how little remained on the table to be eaten; waste not, was the motto of Medha's mother, and Rose had always adhered to it, and it seemed the McGowan family did too.

"What're you doing, Rosie?" John laughed, as Rose helped Finn gather plates.

"Um…helping clean up," Rose mumbled, flushing. Regina laughed.

"Why d'you think I had so many kids—that's their job," she laughed again. "Sit down, stay and chat with us." So, while Finn and Miller, who seemed to be in charge of loading the dishwasher in his particular order, were helped by Sean and Evan in cleaning up the table and doing the dishes, Rose sat back down and talked mostly with John, who was intrigued about what she'd been up too since she was nine years old, the last time she had ever visited the McGowans, even though her mother and father had spoken to John and Regina at least every week, if not every other day.

Dessert was a whole watermelon cut up and dished out, and the ice was broken between the boys, who had been a little awkward during dinner, when they had all started dribbling watermelon juice down their chins and shirts—or skins, in Sean's and Evan's cases.

Despite the friendly attitude of Finn and Evan's light-hearted teasing, and John and Regina's interest in her life, Rose was glad when dinner was over and she could escape off to her new bedroom. She hadn't had much time to sit and think this last week, with Regina helping her meet with attorneys and close up the house and send everything to be put into storage and such, and perhaps that was a blessing, but it also meant she hadn't had time to just unwind. Regina had felt like leaving Rose alone might allow her to shatter, but Rose just needed a few minutes to let her mind wander off and relax on that new big bed that had looked so comfy.

She found Caleb rooting through several of her cardboard boxes.

"Hey, kiddo," Rose smiled at him, lifting him up by his underarms and depositing him on the bed. "Did you find anything interesting?"

"Only books," Caleb said, wrinkling his nose adorably. "Why don't you have any toys?"

"I gave them away to other children a few years ago," Rose said, smiling.

"Why?"

"Because they needed them more than I did," Rose said. "They didn't have any of their own to play with."

"Oh. Mommy and Daddy buy me lots of toys," Caleb smiled, and Rose smiled back.

"I'll bet they do," she said quietly. Caleb sighed heavily and kicked himself off the bed, meandered through the boxes and suitcases, and closed the door behind him, after giving her a cheeky, dimpled smile as a goodbye.

Rose sighed heavily and sat down on the edge of the bed, instantly recognising how comfy it was going to be to sleep on tonight. She and Regina had shared a room at a motel last night, and it hadn't been the most comfortable of beds. She hadn't been sleeping so great lately anyway, but she felt exhausted after driving for so long. She sank back onto her back and closed her eyes, letting the quiet and the warmth of the room wash over her, until she was yawning and on that dangerous point where she could quite happily have fallen asleep right then and there, and remembered her promise to Pogue only when she heard his voice in her head, whining for her to wake up so they could go out.

Hauling herself up into sitting-position, Rose searched around for her purse and extricated her faithful Motorola A630, punching in a number; Pogue's name flashed on the screen as the phone recognized his number, and she waited until the second ring for Pogue to pick up.

"Hey Pogue," she said wearily, happy to hear Pogue's excited chatter on the other end of the line when he realised who it was. It sounded like he was at a party, which was not unusual for Pogue—nor for Rose, despite her shyness—even on a Sunday night before their first day of school. "Yeah… I'm here."

"How are they?"

"Hot," Rose admitted, with a quiet laugh. "One of them has an Orange County Choppers tattoo, so maybe he has a Harley too. The others are really nice, except one; I don't think he wants me here at all. John and Regina redecorated a room for me, which they didn't have to do."

"And here you were afraid you'd be bunking with a boy," Pogue sighed teasingly.

"I wasn't afraid of that. I've been bunking with you pretty much every night since we were thirteen," Rose reminded him, smiling; she and Pogue had always, somehow, since they had turned fourteen, ended up in each other's beds, usually naked, most of the time drunk, and always after having had a really good night out. Even if they hadn't been at a party, they had been out, at a basketball game, either professional or high-school, or at the sports-park tossing a ball around, or going to see a movie or just walking around downtown with ice-creams, going on long bike-rides or cross-country runs, or (Pogue didn't so much appreciate this), walking to the library to pick out some books she would most likely finish within three days of signing them out. And after Pogue had gotten his licence, they had made weekend trips to the beach, to his parents' beach-house, and usually ended up skinny-dipping and curling up in a blanket. Nudity with Pogue was a natural thing for Rose; she wasn't a prude when it came to taking off her clothes, as she knew what her body looked like and was okay with it, because she did enough exercise to know she maintained it.

"That's true," Pogue acknowledged. "Rose, I'm already bored." Rose laughed at that. Besides her own father, Pogue was probably the most restless guy she had ever met; he couldn't sit still, and it always fell on Rose to keep him entertained, by any means necessary. Even handcuffing him to his bed and leaving him to yell for a few hours worked!

"You sound like you're at a party; how can you be bored?" Rose laughed softly.

"You're not here," Pogue said, sounding like he was pouting. "Who's gonna keep me outta trouble, huh? Who's gonna keep me from kissing another guy when I've had too much to drink?"

"Well, even I can't stop you from doing that when you're horny," Rose laughed, a little louder than the last time. When he had been drinking, Pogue was the horniest boy in the world. It had led to a lot of exploration, considering they usually ended up naked in each other's beds, as they had grown into their teenage years. Rose couldn't have asked for anyone else she would have wanted to experience those things with, as Pogue was the best friend she could ever have. They weren't fuck-buddies or anything; she had never had sex, and wasn't ashamed or embarrassed to admit that. Pogue, on the other hand, was a slut, and he relied on Rose to stop him from sleeping with someone he had vowed earlier in the night he would never lay a hand on, or save him from being punished by a girl who he'd forgotten he'd slept with already. At sixteen and a half, he was already a bit of a Hugh Heffner.

"Yeah, that's true," Pogue laughed at the other end of the line. "See what you've left me to?"

"I feel sorry for our friends who have to take care of you now," Rose smiled, giggling softly.

"You'd better be careful—I might shock the hell outta you and come and see you in Boston," Pogue said tauntingly.

"Don't tease me," Rose sighed, pouting slightly. "You know I'd like that."

"Yeah," Pogue sighed. "So, you start school tomorrow?"

"Yeah, Regina and John sorted out all my paperwork," Rose sighed, glancing at the desk, on which the new journal notebooks were neatly arranged. "It's gonna be weird not going to the donut shop with you."

"Maybe you'll make new traditions with the McGowans," Pogue suggested.

"They're not traditions if they're new," Rose reminded him.

"Okay, true, but you know what I meant," Pogue chuckled. There was a soft knock on Rose's new bedroom door and she glanced at it, seeing Regina smiling on the threshold.

"Pogue, can I call you back?"

"Yeah, call me after school tomorrow," Pogue said. "I'm probably gonna be pre-hungover tonight anyway."

"I wish you lasting liver," Rose laughed. "Have fun."

"I'll try," Pogue sighed. "Love you."

"Love you, too," Rose said sadly, and hung up the phone. She smiled shyly at Regina.

"Checking in with Pogue?" she asked, and Rose nodded. "I liked him; he seemed like a good guy. And so cute! Anyway—I brought you some towels for the morning."

"Oh. Thanks," Rose smiled, as Regina placed the gold-beige towels on the dresser.

"I should probably warn you; apparently my threats aren't as effective long-distance as they are when I'm home, so I have to apologise for the state of the boys' bathroom," Regina sighed. Rose's insides sank. Sharing a bathroom occasionally was one thing—Pogue's mom hired a maid to clean the whole house once a week, so it was never even halfway dirty—but in a house with seven boys all sharing the same bathroom…she had watched too many episodes of How Clean is Your House?

"That's alright—I'm used to sharing with boys," Rose said, smiling. Regina knew enough about her and Pogue's friendship to know Rose had pretty much turned the Alexander household into her second-home.

"Alright," Regina shrugged, laughing slightly, as if she didn't believe Rose was really prepared for what she was about to see. "Are you settling in okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Rose smiled softly. She hadn't really unpacked anything except her suitcases yet, and the scarcity of coats and jackets and jeans was evident when she had emptied all her suitcases into the closet and dresser.

"Good. So, I was thinking we could perhaps go to Stoneridge tomorrow—the mall," Regina smiled. "I guess you'll be needing some winter things, huh."

"Uh… Yeah," Rose admitted, smiling embarrassedly. Although her parents had given Regina and John a monthly allowance for housing, clothing and feeding Rose, she didn't really want to have to ask them for money. They were still strangers, really. "It snows here, doesn't it?" Regina laughed good-naturedly.

"That it does. And you won't survive in shorts and a tank," she smiled. "We'll go shopping tomorrow after school if you want. We can get you some new clothes and makeup—and maybe a new purse? I've wanted to go into the new wing of the mall for ages! And we can have dinner at the food-court, and leave the rabble here to fend for themselves." Rose grinned, and chuckled. Regina's boys really were like animals in the zoo at feeding-time. Pogue was the same way, though; he ate anything that wasn't still moving.

"That sounds wonderful," Rose smiled. She did like Regina. She was so much like her mom that it felt natural and easy to sit and chat with her over a cup of hot tea or go to a movie with her and sit drooling over the male actors. And it was clearly evident that Regina McGowan was hurting for female company.

"Well, goodnight," Regina smiled. "I guess you'll want a good night's sleep before school tomorrow." Rose grimaced slightly and shivered. She didn't have high hopes for her first day at a brand-new school. She could still remember the day she had started elementary school, how Pogue had recognised her from coming to meet them with his mom, had latched onto her hand and dragged her into a game of kiss-chase before the bell rang for the start of lessons. She had kissed three of her classmates before she had even known their names.

"Regina… Is it always this…quiet?" Rose asked. The house was quiet—eerily so, for a house of seven children—all of them boys. Rose knew how much noise Pogue made, and he was one boy. He had two younger sisters, but they were quiet and shy like Rose, and the only noise they made was on the piano.

"No!" Regina laughed. "I think I have you to thank for our current peace and quiet. My boys aren't quite sure how to behave with an actual girl around."

"I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable," Rose gulped, alarmed. She was a guest in this house; nothing should have to change for the boys because of the accident.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Regina smiled encouragingly. "They'll get used to you in a few days, I'd guess. My boys can adapt to a hurricane." Nice comparison, Rose thought, giving Regina a slightly strained smile. Given Doug's behaviour toward her, it wasn't whether they would adjust to her living with them, it was whether they wanted her to live with them, and how they would act towards her if they didn't. After dinner, the boys had retreated to the den in the basement for a game on the Xbox and Rose hadn't seen or heard any of them since. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight," Rose smiled softly, and Regina closed the door quietly behind her. Rose let out a sigh and looked around her new bedroom, at the cardboard boxes full of her worldly possessions, boxes she couldn't bring herself to start unpacking yet. She organised them under the window so they were out of the way of the door, dresser and closet, changed into a comfortable pair of pyjamas—Victoria's Secret striped blue shorts and a tank-top—and grabbed her toothbrush, slipping into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, and within five minutes of climbing into bed, she was fast asleep.


A.N.: Please review! I know I'm naughty for creating new stories when I don't finish the old ones, but I just get distracted and don't finish them, and then can't go back to them because my mind isn't in the same place. Please tell me what you think of this story.