Happy Monday!
Thank you to Druid Archer for following my story! It means a lot :D
And thank you to those who are reading it too!
Enjoy!
'Do I still love him?' The thought about Dennis entered my mind before I was able to give Judy an answer.
"I really don't know, Jude. He just came back in my life and I'm not ready to be in a relationship any time soon, girly. If anything, I'm positive the man doesn't feel about me and I'm sure he hates me after what I did to him." My coffee irises glanced over to the far right wall of the Chapel, bringing my attention to the vacant desk that belonged to Penhall already collecting dust. "Is there any word on Doug?" I began to change the subject, asking her about our good friend.
"Honestly, I don't think he's coming back. Harry told me that Doug is enjoying his time with Intelligence." The expression on my face fell with sadness realizing my old partner wouldn't be returning to Jump Street. The first day I joined the program, our old captain had paired Penhall and me on our first case and we were like two peas in a pod. Doug became a brother to me and the Chapel already felt different without him. I wonder if Tom felt the same.
"Well, if he's happy then I can't complain." I showed a light smirk, but the tone in my voice couldn't match it.
"True. So, did you find out who sent you the lovely roses, girl?" Jude's voice began to perk up, standing from her chair and leaning over my desk to smell the sweet perfume of the pink flowers.
"No, I haven't. There's an envelope with my name of it though, so it must be my clue." My pink lips gave out a smile, as I held the cream colored envelope in my hands while Judy grew impatient.
"Come on. Open it!" She let out in excitement, as I began to rip through the lip of the packet and unfolded the note held inside.
"Tommy sent me the roses. 'Dear Rose, I'm happy to see my favorite partner again now that Jump Street is back. Hopefully, Fuller would assign the both of us on a case together real soon. Right now, I'm on this case with a new transfer and so far, he's an asshole and I'm not sure how this guy even got a badge. Let's go out sometime, okay? Love, Hanson.'" Once I finished reading out the short letter, I looked up at Judy, who stared at me with a bright grin on her face. She's been hinting that Tom had liked me more than a friend, but I couldn't see it. Tom and I were always paired when cases involved us being coupled, we kissed but that was purely for work. It was only part of our job. Judy didn't think so though, but I must be blind when it came to men having an interest to me. "Don't even start it, he's being a sweet friend, Jude." I warned her, placing the note back into the envelope. I finished reading the short letter for Judy to hear, she gave out a wide grin as I showed one too and placed the letter back in the envelope on my desk.
"Oh, come on. I'm friends with Hanson too, but you don't see me with flowers on my desk, Rose. I'm telling you, Tom has a crush on you. It's been obvious since he came to join Jump Street." She argued her point, but I ignored it and smiled at her.
"I'm not having this conversation, Judy." She rolled her eyes and hauled her chair back to her desk as I started to laugh softly.
Suddenly, the door to Captain Fuller's office swung opened and two male figures emerged into the manic atmosphere of the Chapel. Tom and Dennis were walking towards my direction and I could easily see the agitated expression written on Hanson's face probably because Dennis is his new partner. When his brown eyes met mine though, his face softened and looked relieved to seeing me sitting at my desk. My lips formed a wide grin as I stood up from my chair and felt Tom's arms pulling me in his strong embrace.
"Rose! It's great to see you again. How are you?" Hanson grasped me by the waist, staring down at me with those lovely chocolate eyes and a white smile. My eyes caught the glimpse of Dennis eyeing the rose bouquet on my desk before walking off to the old Coke machine to grab some coffee.
"Oh, I'm really good. Especially, now that I don't have to stand on street corners all night, I'm happy to be here. Also, thank you for the flowers, Tom. They're beautiful." He released his hands from me and noticed something held in those eyes, but didn't think a lot from it.
"You're welcome, Rose. I really missed you over the summer and thought 'what the hell?'" I saw his mouth curled into another grin and I can see why the rumors about us being more than partners buzzed around the Chapel.
"Thank you, that's very sweet of you. So, I saw that guy coming out of Fuller's office with you. Is he the new partner you mentioned to me about?" I looked up at him with a small smile, as I folded my arms over my chest. Tom ran a hand through his long hair and responded with a half smirk.
"Oh, yeah, that's him all right. The guy is a psychopath and a loser, Rose. I'm stuck with him until the case is over." As he spoke to me about Dennis, I felt my heart being prodded by his description of my ex-boyfriend.
"He can't be that bad, Tom. Give him a chance." My voice spoke out to me while my lips gave him a light grin of encouragement.
"Thanks for the compliment, sweetheart." Dennis reappeared as I smiled at me. "Sorry to cut this reunion short, but I need borrow Rose from you, partner. We need to talk." His hazel orbs burned when he glanced at me, seeing a mixture of fire and hurt ignite inside. Tom became slightly irritated as he interrupted our moment together and realized that his new partner called me by name.
"Hold on a second. Rose, you know him?" Tommy raised his eyebrows in surprise. Now I was going to have to explain the whole story to him too.
"Since high school, partner…" Dennis answered in a cool voice and a grin plastered to his mouth.
"Rose?" Tommy looked at me, wanting an explanation about the two of us.
"It's a real long story, Tom." I softly told him, glancing into his eyes. I had a feeling that Tom was now going to dislike Dennis even more knowing we had a history together.
"I'll see you later at school, partner." Dennis spoke out to him before looking at me and walking towards the entrance of the Chapel that lead to the alleyway. My arms rested at my sides, watching Dennis as he stopped at the foot of the exit and turned to look at me.
"I better go and talk to him." My voice was quiet. I left Hanson and made my way follow Dennis outside of the Chapel to speak to him about what happened four years ago. I wasn't entirely sure how this conversation was going to turn out.
Once I stepped outside of Jump Street, I instantly felt the cold breeze running through my hair and hugged the plum colored leather jacket closer to my body. Dennis led me into the parking lot, where we stopped by his car, the black Pontiac Firebird.
"Here, let me get that for you…" Dennis let out, pulling out his keys and walking to the passenger side door to unlock it for me.
"Thanks." I softly spoke to him after he opened the door for me to climb in. I sat down on the cold leather seat, hearing the slam of the door as I jumped a little in the seat.
'This is it, Rose.' I thought to myself as I stared down at my hands placed on my lap.
The sound of the driver's side door closing shut entered my ears, knowing Dennis was in the car with me. Being in this vehicle surely brought back the memories of the times we were together, but it soon disappeared after I heard his voice breaking the silence.
"Rose, why did you break up with me?" He began to bring up the letter I wrote to them four years ago. I could feel those hazel orbs burning a hole through my skull while I continued to focus on my hands resting on my lap.
"Dennis, that letter clearly explained the reason I ended our relationship." I took in a deep breath and dared myself to glance up at him. He shook his head in disbelief.
"No, I don't believe in that, Rose. Those words in that letter didn't sound like the girl I fell in love with four years ago and don't tell me I'm wrong. I think I deserve the truth. You're parents' forced you to write that letter to end our relationship, didn't they? They knew I would leave you alone if you written it." I could feel my heart beating hard against my chest, listening to his voice that was filled with hurt and also resentment. I wasn't sure if it was because of me or the fact that my parents were behind it all.
"Yes, they were. After you've been sent to juvy, they later found out that we were exchanging letters to each other and they burned each one that I kept in my bedroom. But, when you continued to send more letters in the mail, they were the ones who kept returning them back to you. They became tired of you and told me our relationship needed to end. I refused to do it, but they forced me to write that 'Dear John' letter from their own words. Dennis, I never wanted to hurt you, but I didn't have a choice." The words had tumble out of my mouth, finally telling him the truth behind our break up. I admit it felt like a large weight had been lifted off my shoulders, but I felt a cancerous lump swelling inside my throat. I tried to fight the tears forming underneath my eyes.
"Rose…" Dennis said my name in a whisper, slowly extending his arms towards me and pulled me close to him. I easily melted within his chest as he held me in his strong grasp, almost as if those years apart meant nothing at all. He was warm and I felt intoxicated by his natural smell. "I knew they would try to keep you away from me. Your parents never liked me the day I stood on their doorstep and no matter how much of a gentleman I was to you. To them, I was Lucifer sending an angel to her death." He let out as I knew his mouth formed a smirk. His fingers gently stroked my long wavy locks, he would always do this to me whenever I became upset and I'd forgotten how nice it felt.
"They just never gave you a chance, Dennis." I told him truthfully.
"That was their fault. I never cared about them, not after what they did to us." His voice became filled with distaste when he spoke about my parents.
"They were hoping I would end up with Jeff because he seemed like a perfect match in their eyes. But then I met you and it spoiled their dream. After they did everything to break us up, my parents thought I would be with Jeff." I explained to him, resting against him with my head placed on his shoulder. My eyes stared at the rearview mirror, seeing Dennis looking down at me with wide grin appearing on his lips.
"That doesn't surprise me. I bet that asshole had a fucking field day once I was no longer to protect you…" He sounded serious as Dennis hated Jeff ever since they first met and vice versa.
"Well, he tried to talk to me into going out with him countless of times and I refused every time. He was too stubborn to take 'no' for an answer and I knew my parents were encouraging me to give him a chance, but I wouldn't listen to them. Then Jeff proposed to me in front of our friends and my parents, I felt I was being set up and I declined because I wasn't in love with him. I was still in love with you, Dennis." I pulled myself from him, gazing into those beautiful pools of hazel. "It became really hard on me, especially with my parents. They told me I will never see you again and part of me believed it. Then I moved in with my aunt and uncle, they were more understanding with what I've been through, and I hardly ever spoke to my parents again." My brown eyes left his gaze, staring at the dashboard.
"How long have you been with Jump Street?" Dennis shifted the conversation, as I gave out a smile and answered.
"Since the program started. It has its moments, but I like not having to wear a uniform every day." My brown eyes looked at him again, putting a smirk on his face.
"I can tell. By the way, nice jacket, it looks really good on you." Dennis gave me a compliment, eyeing the purple leather jacket I wore. He was mainly the reason why I had it because being with him sort of rubbed himself on me.
"Thank you." The warmth rushed into my cheeks as I sat still in my seat and looked down at my hands. Awkward silence filled the air between us, hearing my heart beating erratically and felt my hair tucked behind my ear as Dennis placed his hand against my face brushing his thumb along my skin.
"Rose, I really missed you." Butterflies exploded like fireworks on the fourth of July inside my stomach and my body became tangled in chills as I heard his voice and turned to look as his handsome face.
"I missed you too, Dennis. I honestly thought I would never see you again." My voice felt weak when I spoke, his touch felt tender and warm.
"Well, I'm glad it didn't happen and I have you back in my life again." He answered me with those loving eyes and felt myself being pulled closer to him again as our lips were several inches away.
'Rose, stop!' Realization snapped me back into reality, as I pulled myself away from him and stared at his confused face.
"I'm sorry, Dennis. I can't do this. I can't pretend that our break up never happened and I can't expect to be back with you after all those years past." I sadly answered him. Even if I had feelings for him, it wasn't simple to go back to way we were. I wasn't his girlfriend anymore. I felt suffocated and needed to get to some fresh air, placing my hand on the cold metal door handle to escape. Dennis leaned over to stop me as his hand grasping mine and I turned to face him.
"Don't leave, Rose. Look, I know I can't change what happened back then, no matter how many times I wish I could. But, I know you still feel the same about me and I want to be with you again. Rose, I love you. I never stopped loving you." His hazel eyes burned straight into mine. Dennis revealed he loved me after all this time and he was right, I still had feelings for him.
"Dennis…" I could hardly speak in that moment, not really sure what to say. He pulled me towards him once more and pressed his forehead against mine.
"I don't want to lose you again, Rose." He spoke to me with a hint of truth in his voice. Dennis made it clear that he wanted to start over our relationship and part of me wanted the same thing, but I couldn't let my past feelings take over me so easily. I needed things to be taken slowly and even though I still love him, I didn't want to rush it.
"Dennis, you won't lose me." The words fell from my lips as I could sense his mouth curling into a content grin.
Once Dennis and I stepped into the heavy bustle of the Chapel, I suddenly felt a hundred pairs of eyes staring at the both of us as if we became the hottest topic for fellow officers to gossip over. I felt use to this by now after the situation between Tom and me which nothing really happened. Easily, I ignored the casual glances and moved towards the room to reach for my desk as Dennis followed behind me.
"So, are you free tonight?" I heard him asking me while standing in front of my desk with a charming smirk placed on his mouth.
"No, I'm not. But I'm free tomorrow night. Why do you ask?" I looked at him, questioning out of curiosity while the beating of my heart continued to throb.
"I want to know if you would like to see a movie with me tomorrow night." His lips curled into a grin, as he was already asking me out on a date.
"Okay, sure." I answered him with a soft smile spread upon my lips and knew he was happy too, seeing his grin widened by my response.
"Great, I'll see you later." Dennis spoke to me, catching the spark in those hazel eyes.
"Dennis, wait. Let me give you my number." He never moved an inch after I called him as I began to take a pen and a note pad to scribble down my phone number. "Here." I ripped the note from its sticky adhesive and handled it to him. He took it from my hand with ease and gently touching my skin before looking at the note with a smile.
"Thanks Rose. I'll make sure to call you tonight." Dennis let out as I smiled in return before he walked off to meet up with Tom. He stood at his desk from across mine and noticed his brown eyes staring at me with an unreadable expression. Dennis suddenly paused half way and walked back towards me. "Before I forget…" I heard his voice again and instantly rested his hand against the right side of my face and felt those soft lips pressing against the side of my cheek. "I'm really glad to see you again, Rose." The warmth of that soft peck produced a surge of apprehensions crashing into my stomach like a tidal wave and the spot where he touched me was going to linger throughout the whole day.
"Same here..." I manage to speak and touched the side of the burning sensation where his lips met with my fingers. My brown eyes glanced in front of me as Dennis reached Tom, who looked at him with dissatisfying glare after he saw Dennis kissing the side of my face. The two of them walked out of the Chapel, allowing me to process the madness that occurred on my first day back.
Yes, this chapter was a bit longer than the previous ones only because I felt it needed some extra bits.
Have a great day! :D