Chapter 7

“Get up.” I opened my eyes. Seidon was seated at the foot of the bed. There was no light filtering in through the curtains. I rolled over and looked at the bedside clock. It wasn’t even six o’clock yet.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I responded groggily. “The roosters aren’t even up yet.”

“Get up. You need a car. We’re going to go and get one.” I groaned and buried my head in the pillow. Although my car was officially gone, I wasn’t quite ready to replace it just yet. Seidon yanked the comforter off the bed. “Let’s go, Rosemary.”

“You have no idea how much I hate you right now,” I responded as I swung my legs over the side of the bed and pushed myself up.

“That’s the spirit,” he said as he cheerfully skipped out of the room. I seriously considered going back to sleep, but I decided against it as I heard him humming in the next room.

“What’s wrong with you?” I called as I pulled myself up out of bed.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” he quipped in reply. Scowling, I slammed the door and began to get dressed.

About ten minutes later, I was dressed and ready to go, but still exhausted. I had no idea how Seidon was able to get up so early and be so annoyingly chipper about it.

“It’s about time,” he said as I emerged from the bedroom. I said nothing, content to ignore his remark. “Let’s go.” I grudgingly followed him outside to his car.

“Where are we going?” I asked as he started up the engine.

“I know a place,” was Seidon’s only remark.

“You are being impossible.” He smirked, but didn’t move his eyes from the road.

“You’ll thank me for this later.”

“I know, Seidon, but I still think that you could have waited a few hours.” He smiled.

“Your complaints are falling upon deaf ears,” he said cheerfully. I groaned and rested my head against the window. I closed my eyes and breathed out, beginning to slowly drift in to sleep.

“Rose,” I faintly heard. My eyes snapped open, and I sat up to see Seidon laughing at me. The sun was shining brightly through the windows.

“How long was I out?” I asked as I rubbed my eyes.

“About twenty or twenty-five minutes,” he responded as he turned into a parking lot. “It doesn’t really matter. We’re here.” I peeked out of the window. We were at a used car lot. Seidon parked and got out of the car. After a few minutes of wondering how I was going to pay for a car, I followed him.

“Do you see anything you like?” Seidon asked. I shrugged.

“I can’t afford any of these cars,” I muttered. He laughed. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and my ears burning. I hated when Seidon laughed at my misfortune. It made me feel so inferior. I averted my eyes towards the ground.

“Seidon, I wish you wouldn’t laugh at me. I’m being serious. I can’t afford any of these cars,” I said, my voice small. Instantly, his laughter stopped. He slid a finger under my chin and raised my head slightly so that I was looking up at him.

“Look, Rosemary. I didn’t bring you here to make you feel bad. I’m sorry if that’s what happened. What I am here for is to find you a car. I promised I would, and I won’t go back on my word. Pick the car that you want. I’ll make it happen.” My eyebrow shot up.

“I can’t let you buy me a car, Seidon.” He rolled his eyes.

“I’m just replacing the one that I got rid of,” he said. “Think of it that way.” I cocked my head. His argument made sense. “Now will you let me do this for you?” He stuck out his bottom lip. I rolled my eyes.

“Okay,” I said uneasily. Seidon smirked.

“Good. Now let’s find something.” He walked down one of the rows, and I followed him.

“Can I help you?” an overly chipper voice called. I turned. A salesman had seen us pull up and come out of the building.

“Hey, Joe,” Seidon called. I watched in amazement as Seidon greeted the man. It always struck me as unusual that Seidon seemed to know everyone. “We’re looking to buy.”

We spent the much of the day test driving different cars. All of them were so much better than my old piece of junk, but one of the cars, a three-year-old Toyota, truly spoke to me.

“Is this the one that you want?” Seidon questioned, a smile playing on his lips. I didn’t answer, instead looking to see what it would cost. Seidon quickly placed his hand over the price tag. “Is this the one you want?” he asked again. I rolled my eyes.

“Yes,” I said. “I like this one.” He smirked.

“It’s yours,” he responded. “Let’s go buy it.” I followed Seidon and the salesman into the building and zoned out as they talked price. As they haggled and signed various papers, I got up and walked around the room. I stared out of the window, thinking about everything that had happened to me since I left home.

When they were finally done, Seidon walked up to me, embraced me tightly, and shoved a set of keys into my hand.

“Let’s get out of here,” he whispered into my ear as he led me back outside. I stared dumfounded at the keys in my hand, still amazed that someone had actually bought me a car.

I slid into the driver’s side seat and turned the key in the ignition. The car roared to life. I smiled as I slammed the door shut. Seidon rolled his eyes at me as he got into his own car. I turned on the radio and laughed as heavy guitar riffs screamed at me. I hadn’t ever had a working radio. My face darkened as I realized how little time I might have to enjoy it.

About thirty minutes later, I arrived back at the apartment. I got out of the car and my jaw dropped.

All of the neighbors were standing outside. Police cruisers, firetrucks, and an ambulance were all lined up near Seidon’s building. He got out of the car, his face chalky white.

“Oh my God,” he whispered as he walked forward. I turned my head towards the crowd of people outside. I recognized the woman who lived next door to Seidon. I approached her slowly and placed a hand on her shoulder. I could see that her eyes were bloodshot and her makeup had run.

“What happened here?” I asked gently. She sobbed hard.

“There was a fire,” she said, her voice very low and sad. “Most of the building has been torched.” She burst into tears and pressed her face into my shoulder. I glanced over at Seidon, but he looked close to tears himself. I gave the woman’s shoulder a final pat and made my way over to Seidon’s side.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” he whispered. I embraced him. “They say there were a few kids killed. If we wouldn’t have gone out for the day, we might have been seriously injured. I nodded and hugged him again. He pulled me closer and rested his head on my shoulder. I let my mind wander back to the party, when Seidon had saved my life for the first time. Had he, through his eagerness to buy me a car, saved my life again?

“What are we going to do now?” I asked softly. He broke away from me and pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

“We don’t really have any other options but to go home,” he said softly. I looked down.

“I’m not ready to go back home yet,” I said, my voice very small and whiny.

“I’ll call my parents,” he replied. “I’m sure they won’t mind you staying with us.” I nodded my thanks and hugged him again. I looked up into his eyes, but they were different. The spark was gone from his normally vibrant gaze.

He shed a single tear before turning away and walking to comfort his neighbors.