Page 118 of Wrong For Me

“She’s really nice,” Andy adds, the part about watching Rose do yoga going over his head. “She always reads to me when she’s here. And she does all the voices.”

I chuckle. I have no trouble imagining that.

We play Mario Kart until it’s time to go eat. I’m surprised when all three boys stay by my side as we line up at the long tables in the back of the room. Rose winks at me from across the table and Brandon starts giggling again until his older brother pinches his arm.

The spaghetti the dinner crew made is nothing really special. They used jarred sauce and pre-cooked meatballs. The french bread I helped with was from a box. But sitting here in this cozy, surprisingly peaceful room with my new friends, Rose across the table, feels really good. And the meal is one of the best I’ve had in a long time.

* * *

“You didn’t tellme one of those kids had a bruise,” I say much later, when we’re getting ready for bed at my apartment.

She pauses in the act of pulling sleep shorts from her carryon bag. I’ve been wanting to tell her that she should leave some things here for when she spends the night, but I can’t decide if it’s too soon for something like that. My lack of real dating experience keeps biting me in the ass.

“I didn’t think about it,” she says, shrugging. “Honestly, a lot of the kids that we see there have bruises. Andy’s has been looking so much better, it totally slipped my mind.”

“Someone hit him?”

“I don’t know. The counselors don’t share information like that. But judging from the cigarette burns I’ve seen on Kyle’s arms, I’m pretty sure their dad was abusive. I think that’s why their mom finally left.”

I feel sick to my stomach. Kyle had been wearing a long-sleeved shirt today. I hadn’t seen any burns. “Fuck.”

Rose looks sad. “It’s terrible. I just can’t wrap my mind around it. How does someone get to that place where they can hurt a child?” She brings her arms around herself. “There’s so much pain in the lives of the people who come there. It’s overwhelming. It makes me feel so… useless.”

“You’re not useless, Rose,” I say, staring at her. “You know that, right? Literally every person I talked to at that place mentioned you and how great and helpful you are. All the staff clearly rely on you. The kids and the moms adore you.” I cup her face with both palms. “You’re doing good work there.”

Her eyes are wide with something I can’t read. “Thank you,” she whispers.

I want to ask her what she’s thinking right now, what’s making her look so pale. But Bodhi has other ideas because he bursts into the room after knocking once. “Rose! You promised me you’d show me how to make that face mask!”

I drop my hands and glare at him. “Seriously, man?”

“Oh, shut up. You have her to yourself all the time.” He points at his nose. “Look at my pores, dude! Totally out of control. I have a date tomorrow, I can’t look like this!”

“How in the hell did you convince someone to go on a date with you?” I ask.

Rose smacks my chest. She’s smiling at my roommate’s antics, all traces of whatever emotion had been on her face gone now. “Don’t be mean,” she says. “Bodhi has been really nervous about this date.”

“Yeah,” he says. “Rose’s cousin Everly helped me pick out my outfit. Did you know you’re not supposed to wear navy with black?”

“You’ve just insinuated yourself right into their lives, huh?” I ask, not sure if I should be annoyed or amused.

He shrugs. “What can I say, Leo? I have that effect on people.”

“You have some efffect, I’m just not sure it’s a good one.”

“Hush,” Rose says, walking away from me to meet the idiot by the door. “Did you get the tea and the yogurt like I told you?”

“I got everything on your list.”

I follow them out to the kitchen where Bodhi has set out an absolutely absurd amount of food. “Uh,” Rose says, clearly caught off guard.

“There were a lot of options at Whole Foods!” he says. “They had like, twenty varieties of yogurt. So I got them all.”

“Jesus, dude,” I mutter. “We’re going to be eating yogurt for weeks.”

“And tea,” Rose says, picking up a box to peer at the label. “Bodhi. I said loose green tea. These are raspberry flavored teabags.”

He throws up his hands. “I don’t do well with too many options, okay? Besides, I’m nervous! Help me, Rose!”