30

                                    

                                          
༻ Rose's POV: ༺
The rest of the week dragged painfully slowly after my date with Matt. After running across the beach, the sand like silk beneath my feet, the wind whipping my hair around and the biting cold air sinking into my lungs, being confined to my bedroom had never felt so claustrophobic. 
I tried to focus on my assignments, spending every spare moment I could studying so I wasn't constantly thinking about Matt, but my thoughts always drifted back to him. I still couldn't believe he had taken me to the ocean. Not only did it prove that he was paying attention when we'd been playing our questions game in the car, but it meant he cared enough to take me somewhere I'd always wanted to go. 
I never imagined I'd leave this town until I went off to college. And even then, I didn't imagine I'd be able to see much of the world. Although Stanford was at least by the coast, so I'd have been able to see the ocean when I went off to college. But going to the beach and seeing the sunset was a memory I'd never forget and now, I'd give anything to go back and relish in it for just a little bit longer.
Seeing Matt every morning had easily become the best part of my day. Every time I saw him standing outside my building waiting for me, I was reminded of just how beautiful he was. His smile was unmatched. Nothing in the world would be a better view than seeing him smile at me in a way that had me feeling like the best part of his day was seeing me. 
He took me to the same café every morning, where he chatted with the woman behind the counter like they'd known each other for years. It turned out he had. The woman used to work for his dad as a maid and he was the one who bought her the café. It suited her perfectly. She was friendly with every single person who came in, knowing little details about them all that made her feel like a friend.
We then ate our breakfast in the car, listening to the radio. Every time he tried to buy me food, I protested and every time, he ignored me completely. He said he liked buying me things and that it was important to him that I ate enough. When he said things like that, I melted.
Having someone looking out for me and taking care of me was new. I was still adjusting.
But the more I got to know Matt, the clearer it became that taking care of people was just who he was. He bought his mom flowers every now and then to make her smile. He protected his sister from the boys at school. He helped his other sister with her homework. He defended the people he loved so ferociously and I knew he would do absolutely anything for his family. It just made him that much more amazing. 
I wasn't the least bit surprised that he had girls drooling all over him. He was mouth-watering to look at. But what I couldn't grasp was how none of these girls cared about his personality. I'd never heard anything about what an amazing person he was. The whispers about this man that floated around school covered his good looks, his talent on the football field, his popularity, his family's money. But not once had I heard that he was sweet, that he was a good brother, that he cared deeply for the people around him, that he was generous with the money they all talked about. It was those qualities that I couldn't stop thinking about as I hid in my bedroom each night after school.
I had managed to hide the red mark on my face the day after our date from him with some makeup. I had butterflies in my stomach all morning, scared that he'd notice it as soon as he saw me but thankfully, he never said a word.
Unfortunately, a few days later, I failed to hide my busted lip. When I washed my face in the morning, I managed to remove the blood that had crusted overnight, but I couldn't hide the swelling or the scabbed slit across my bottom lip. I'd caught it between my teeth on a particularly powerful blow from my father the night before. He'd come home drunk and this time, he'd brought friends.