Forbidden by Amy Miles Page B

taken her right to Sadie’s door step.  
    “Well hello Rose.   It’s so nice to see you,” Mrs. Hughes smiled as she opened the glass paneled door.   Her sapphire blue robe was tucked tightly around her slender figure.   “Please, come in.”
    Roseline stepped over the threshold and dipped low to slip off her heels.   “Sadie!   Rose is here.”
    Thundering foot steps raced down the stairs.   Roseline smiled as she heard the grunted abuse being slung in the other room.   “Back off, she’s my friend!”
    “How do you know she came here to see you?”
    Sadie snickered as she rounded the corner.   “You are so desperate!”
    “Hi guys,” Roseline grinned, amused by their state of dress.   William stood in the doorway, wearing only pajama bottoms.   His hair was heavily tousled, sticking up in the back like a peacock.   Roseline tried not to admire William’s bare chest.   It was smooth and toned, far more appealing than she would have guessed under the ratty t-shirts he loved to wear.
    But what amazed Roseline the most was Sadie’s transformation.   Without her dark eye shadow, rocker shirts and cut off jeans, she actually looked lovely.   “Wow Sadie.”
    Sadie rolled her eyes.   “I know.   I look terrible without makeup.”
    “No,” Roseline shook her head.   “You look amazing.”
    “See, told you so.   No one likes your Goth look,” Mrs. Hughes grinned as she poked her head into the room.    
    “Mom,” Sadie hissed, shooing her mother away.   She took the hint and left, but not before she planted a kiss on Sadie’s forehead.   “She’s so embarrassing!”
    Roseline smiled, wishing more than anything that she’d had that kind of relationship with her mother.   “I guess I came over kinda early.   Sorry about that.”
    William threw himself onto the leather couch.   Reaching for the remote he switched on the massive flat screen over the fireplace.   He flipped through the channels, finally settling on an episode of Phineas and Ferb.   Roseline raised an eyebrow but Sadie just waved it off.   “He’s still into cartoons.   Loser.”
    “I heard that,” he called from the other side of the couch.   He’d sunk so low Roseline couldn’t see anything more than his leg slung over the end.  
    Sadie headed back towards the stairs.   “Come on up.   I gotta get ready anyways.”
    Roseline followed Sadie up to her room, glancing towards William’s partially open door.   Inside she saw Nicolae, his back turned towards the door.   He heard their footsteps and rushed to pull his shirt down over his head, but not before Roseline caught a glimpse of the mass of scars on his back.   Frowning she shut the door behind Sadie.
    “What’s with Nicolae?” she asked, watching Sadie as she flopped down on her bed.   Roseline settled in on an oversized neon pink bean bag by the window.
    “What do you mean?” Sadie asked, instantly bored with the topic.
    “The scars.   Haven’t you noticed them before?”
    Sadie sat up, frowning.   “What scars?”
    “On his back,” Roseline answered.   She began to question what she’d seen when Sadie’s brow knit together.   “You’ve never seen them?”
    “Nope.   But I’m not exactly trying to either.”   Sadie shuddered at the thought.   “That guy gives me the creeps.”
    Roseline nodded in agreement.   “Me too.”   But she knew her reasons were much different than her friend’s.   “So is he still stalking you?”
    Sadie nodded solemnly.   “Night and day.   The guy won’t leave me alone for a second.   He’s always watching me.   It’s really starting to freak me out.”
    “Maybe I should talk to him,” Roseline offered, rising from her seat.
    Sadie laughed, rolling out of bed.   She grabbed a towel slung over her computer chair.   “What could you possibly do to scare him off?”
    Roseline grinned.   “You never know.”   She slipped out the door as soon as Sadie disappeared into her