18

Alistair was sitting in the hospital with Luċija, describing the night before, but leaving out the other details after the museum. The woman was smiling widely and jumping a bit in the bed at his words, as it was just the two of them sitting in the hospital room.

"Oh thank god you came into her life! She's been alone since the move and me in the hospital, that all she does is work, work, work!" Luċija laughed and grabbed his hand, looking Alistair straight in the eye, causing the man to gulp a little in worry.

"Please, just be gentle with her. With everything! And when she's telling you to leave her alone, don't! Then she'll get all depressed and introverted, it's just bad." The woman sighed while shaking her head.

Alistair listen closely to every word, feeling hurt that Rosalinda got depressed when it seemed like things in her life was going well. Her mother was better than ever and now the diner was going according to plan, so what could she be so upset about? He sighed and kissed the back of Luċija's hand and stood up.

"Don't worry, I'll listen to every word you just told me. For now, I wanna go see your daughter and see what she may be up to on this pretty cloudy day actually." He raised a brow, as it was sunny when he came into the hospital but now looks as though it's going to pour.

"Alright, tell her to call me when she has a moment. Since she's going to be all wrapped up around you.~" She purred in her thick accent, as the male blushed and nodded. He said his goodbyes and left the room, heading to his car and straight to Rosalinda's home.

***

Once the male entered inside the apartment, it was kinda odd how quiet it was inside. The rain had begun once he walked out of his car and he rushed inside. He took off his wet shoes and jacket and shook out his hair a little.

"Rosalinda?" He called out, beginning to walk towards her room. He began to panic when he got no response, quickly walking into her bedroom to see soaked hair and a body sitting out on the balcony on a metal chair. He raised a brow and quickly walked over to it, opening the sliding door with a screech.

"Hey! What are you doing?! You're gonna get sick or something!" He shouted over the rain, as the woman flinched slightly from the sudden company and his booming voice.

"I'm cool, I'm cool. Just let me think alone." She waved him off a bit, her back still facing him. He was about to agree and walk back inside, but remember what Luċija has said about her asking to be alone. He took a deep breath and walked deeper into the rain and in front of her.

He looked down at her, seeing the way she looked past him with a red and puffy face.

'Tears,' he thought, as he noticed it wasn't only rain running down her face. He leaned close to her, then scooped her up into his arms, taking her inside.

"Hey! The fuck are you doing?!" She screamed, beginning to thrash around in his arms.

"Taking you inside so you don't catch something," he simply stated. He set her down on the floor gently, and opened her closet, pulling out a sweatshirt and sweatpants. Rosalinda simply watched him move around her room, sniffling softly and wiping the rain and tears from her face.

"What do you want and what are you doing?" She asked in a raspy voice, as Alistair ignored her and went through her dresser, pulling out a new bra, underwear, and socks.

He took a deep breath and turned to her, as he watched more tears slip down her face. Instead of interrogating her and possibly making her more upset, he kneeled down in front of her and began to pull her t-shirt off, as it was stuck to her like a second skin from the water.

Taking a deep breath and keeping his composure for Rosalinda's sake, he reached around her back and unhooked her bra, moving it to the side and sliding on the new one he pulled out. He then slipped the sweatshirt over her head, as she didn't argue with him in the midst of the changing, just zoning out and unknown to the tears slipping down her cheeks.

He looked at her, gently wiping away from her tears, as she flinched away from his touch, as he took a deep breath and moved his hand away from her face. He then moved onto her pants, struggling when he tried to pull of the soaked jeans that were stuck. He flung them across the room when they came off. Then delicately took off her underwear and quickly put on the newer pair, as he could feel the strain of his groin against the sweats he was sporting.

He then put on a new pair of socks on her feet. He looked up at her, about to reach to touch her face, but Rosalinda quickly stood up and began to take long strides away into the hall. Alistair raised a brow, scrambling a bit as he got up and followed her quickly.

"Rosalinda? What's wrong?" He asked, turning the corner to the living room. He then noticed the earbuds she must've just plugged into her ear, as she was curled up on the couch a large blanket covering most of herself. Alistair walked around, about to lie down with her on the couch, until her words stopped all his movements.

"Get the fuck out. I don't want you here or anyone for that matter." She said in a harsh tone, as the words stung a bit. He took a deep breath, trying to keep his promise to Rosalinda's mother, as he began to lie down beside her. The 24 year-old began to protest and push him away when he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head.

"Sorry, I don't wanna leave you alone." He said softly, as Rosalinda's patience began to thin. She ripped her body away from Alistair, as he almost fumbled and fell off the couch, catching himself just in time.

"What the fuck do you not get about wanting to be left the fuck alone?! Is there something seriously wrong with you?! This is my fucking apartment and I will decide who the hell gets to stay or not! Now listen to the words that about to come out of my mouth; get the fuck out before I really fuck you up! I'm not in the mood for your bullshit!" She burst, getting up, as she grabbed his shoes and jacket, throwing them at him, as he dodged the shoes as best as possible.

Alistair began to become furious, all patience thrown out the window at this point, as he stood up and walked over to her. He was about to yell back to her, until she turned her back to him, and raced down the hall. Alistair was quick on her tail, as she was about to slam the door in his face, but shoved his foot between the door and doorway.

"Bitch! Get the hell away from me!" She yelled a bit strained, as she continued to try and close the door on his foot. Alistair winced bit from the pain, since he only had socks on, but pushed the door open. Rosalinda stumbles and fell back on her butt on the floor. Rosalinda's eyes began to swell up with tears, until she finally burst like a dam, sobbing loudly and covering her face.

"P-please! I-I don't want to interact or for anyone to see me like this!" She sobbed loudly, and began to hiccup. Alistair was a bit taken back by this sudden outburst of her's, not used to dealing with something like this. He began to fidget for a few minutes, but then came to realize that all he needed to do was comfort. Women liked to be held and cuddled, right?

He quickly put his plan into action, scooping the hysterical woman up into his arms, and onto the bed. He covered them with the blanket and held her close. She continue to sob for a few more minutes, then would stop for a minute, than continue again.

Alistair simply rubbed her back and held her close, allowing her to sob and cry, until her voice turned hoarse and she ran out of tears.

Rosalinda lied there in his arms quietly after she finished her sob fest and closed her eyes. She took a couple of deep breathes and began to think a bit about the situation and sat up after a few minutes. Alistair felt cold from her sudden removal from holding her face to his chest, that was now wet with tears.

"I'm sorry I said some harsh things to you. But really, I just wanna be alone. Could you just let me do that? You don't have to leave, just either go into the living room or let me leave the room without following me." She said in a monotone voice, turning to him with a sigh. The man stared at the puffy faced woman, frowning a bit from looking at her tear stained cheeks and redness on her cheeks and nose again.

"No, I can't leave you alone like this." He said softly, sitting up beside her, as Rosalinda threw her hands up into the air and scoffed.

"Seriously?! I can't even have a few hours to myself anymore, cause you're always around! Please! Just fucking listen to me without feeling like some alpha; I just wanna be alone for a few minutes! Please!?" She screamed and begged at the end, Alistair raising a brow at her calling him an 'alpha'. He sighed in agreement and began to move, slowly sliding out of the bed.

"I'll go grab us some lunch," he said softly, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. She nodded softly with a sigh, as she really wasn't in the mood for all the mushy stuff at the moment.

Taking one last glance at her, he moved out of her bedroom and shut the door behind him. Once he heard the door click shut, he began to hear her muffled sobs and her cursing at herself. He was about to turn and go back in, but knew that if he gave her some space for a few minutes and food she may explain her hysteric state of mind to him.

***

Alistair walked back into the shaggy apartment about 45 minutes later to see Rosalinda sitting on the couch, curled up in the blanket again. He heard the depressing music coming from her phone and sighed.

He took his shoes and jacket off and walked over to her, setting the food down onto the coffee table. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to straddle over his lap. He lied her head on his shoulder and wrapped her back up into the blanket. He felt her stiffen, then relax a few moments later from him rubbing her back.

"What's wrong?" He asked after allowing the silence to set into sadness, as she stiffened in his arms.

"Don't worry about it," she stated quietly and buried her face into his neck. He groaned softly when he began to feel soft kisses on his neck, but remembered he was trying his hardest to deal with the problem at hand. She was simply trying to move his mind away from it with these wonderful kisses.

He grabbed her cheeks and forced her to look at him. She sighed, understanding he wasn't going to give this up and closed her eyes. She didn't wanna stare at his handsome hazel orbs while trying to explain something so serious to him, that had her heart clenching.

"Fear." She simply said after trying to think of what to say. The man raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow and moved his hands to her waist, rubbing small circles on it, as she shivered from the touch.

"Care to elaborate?" He asked her softly, as her eyes opened and he could see a new batch of tears beginning to form.

"What am I going to do when she dies? I'm going to fall apart without her in my life! I already can't live without my father and i-it hurts so much to know she's in pain! If I could I'd switch places with her in a heartbeat! No woman like her should be going through something so horrendous like this! A-and how will I cope with being alone?! This woman is the only family I have and-"

"Hey! Hey!" He hushed her as tears began to flood down her cheeks again, beginning to wipe them away, rubbing this thumb across the wet droplets.

"Don't think like that! You have her now!" He said quickly, as the girl stared at him, than began to nod slowly then quickly.

"I-I gotta call her!" Rosalinda threw the blanket off them and tumbled out of his hold. Falling onto the floor, but quickly scrambled up and rushed over to her room. Alistair felt like a pervert at the moment while he stared at her jiggling body rush away, but quickly began to shoo the thought away as this matter was serious, not sexual.

He sat there quietly, until she came back into the room, speaking her native tongue on the phone. She was about to walk past him to sit on the couch, but he quickly grabbed her waist and pulled her into his lap. She yelped and glared daggers at him as she told her mother she was alright in English for him to hear as well. He gave her an adorably sheepish grin, that had her melting into his hold and curled up into him.

She pulled the blankets over them, as she sat sideways in his lap, her head resting on his chest. She continued to talk on the phone for about another hour, the sandwiches that were sitting there, forgotten about. The room was filled with laughter and hushed words from the small woman as she said her 'goodbyes' and hung up.

"Feel better?" He asked, rubbing her back, as she gave a small nod.

"Yes and...Thank you. I'm really sorry you had to see me like that. No one should." She sighed softly and looked up at him.

He moved his free hand to cup her cheek. She leaned into the affectionate touch and closed her eyes. Rosalinda enjoyed his warm hands that weren't as rough as a hard worker's. Just rough enough for her to know he did other things instead of sign papers and type away on his computer all day long.

"Look, I'm here for you anytime you may need it. I may not be the best at helping, but I'll try my best." He smiled, caressing her cheek. Rosalinda looked up at him and gave him a genuine smile, turning in his lap to straddle him and face him. She held his face between her hands, as his moved to hold her waist, as Alistair couldn't not touch her when she was in his space.

"Well, don't worry about it too much. Sometimes I just need a moment to myself. They may not turn out with the best results, but I've been dealing with it for a while, so I can control it." She smiled and pecked his lips, as his lips gave a small frown to her words.

"Well, you don't have to alone. I mean, we're dating now, so I'm here for you." He told her, as she raised a brow and a small smirk began to play on her lips.

"Oh, so we're dating now? When did I ever agree to being official with you?" She teased, but yelped when he pinched her side.

"You agreed to it when you agreed to going out to dinner with me and as well as allowing me to be the first man to touch you." He smirked as her face beginning to redden and grumbles being to be heard from the woman.

"Sorry, what? I didn't quite catch that?" He held a hand up to his ear and moved it closer to her lips. Rosalinda smirked and quickly stuck one of her fingers into her mouth then into his ear, twisting it around in there. He quickly moved his head away with wide eyes and a slacked jaw from her childish actions.

"How about that, smartass?" She grinned, as he grabbed her sides and threw her on to her back. She began to laugh loudly when he tried to tickle her. She grabbed his hands and pulled them up above her head, causing his body to move with them and their faces to be aligned.

"I'm not ticklish," She hummed, as Alistair raised a brow at her.

"No? You sure?" He smirked and leaned his face down to her neck, beginning to leave soft kisses all over. She snickered and squirmed a little at the feeling, than began to laugh when he began to bite her playfully.

He moved back and looked down at her, as she lied there with a wide grin and bright green eyes. Alistair's eyes moved over to the spoiled lunch sitting on the table, sighing a bit. He smirked and looked back at Rosalinda, and brushed his lips against her's gently. She let out a shuttered breath and looked into his hooded eyes.

"Yeah know, I really wanted that sandwich for lunch, but since it's all gross from sitting there I want something else now...You."