A Rose by Any Other Word

"I'm a teacher and I've had one of my students show up at my house tonight because her dad beat the living crap out of her and he's just showed up outside of my house demanding that she come out."

I continued my pacing terrified that my dad would follow through with his threat and break down the door.

"Can you make it quick please? He shouted that if she didn't come out he'd break down the door." She paused, "Yes I'll stay on the phone until the police arrive but we're hiding upstairs at the moment just in case he does actually break down the door." She grabbed my wrist, stopping my pacing and pulled me against her. I inhaled her scent, trying to feel safe.

A minute or two later we started to hear banging on the door. I screamed and started to hyperventilate.

"How far away are they? It sounds like he is trying to break the door down." She paused before turning to me, "They won't be long now Alex. Don't worry."

A few minutes later we heard a car pull up outside. Caelynn went downstairs, leaving me in the bedroom. I wished her bedroom was on the front side of the house so I could see what was going on. Instead I slowly crept my way outside of the bedroom and looked down the stairs at the front door.

A second later Caelynn appeared from the living room and opened the front door to a policewoman. She led the policewoman to the living room before turning to see me at the top of the stairs.

"Alex, they've arrested your dad and would like to speak to you. Can you come down?" She asked softly.

I could only shake my head. I couldn't believe they'd arrested him. It didn't seem possible.

"It's okay. You're safe and I'll be with you the whole time."

She managed to coax me down the stairs and into the living room where the police woman was waiting.

With help from Caelynn I told her about the abuse at the hands of my father. She asked for contact details for my sister so they could go and speak with her as well. She seemed confident that my dad would be going to prison for a long time, even if my mum didn't want to testify against him. She took pictures of my injuries and drove me to the hospital to get checked out.

Caelynn sat beside me through it all. The doctors gave me an x-ray and said that I did have a cracked rib. They patched me up and said I was fit to go home. I asked Caelynn if I could stay at hers and she agreed. She told the police that if they needed to contact me that could find me at her place as she'd said I could stay there until I felt ready to go home.

After school ended I moved in with Caelynn. We kept up the pretence for a while that I just wasn't ready to go home yet and after a few months we came out to everyone that while I had been staying there we'd fallen in love with each other. Now that I was no longer her student we didn't have to hide.

My dad was convicted under multiple charges and was sent to prison for more than ten years. Both myself and my sister testified against our dad in court. My mum was a lot happier without my dad around and my sister had started visiting again. Life slowly started to improve. I went to university to study English Literature and Caelynn helped me out with my assignments.

A year after I left school Caelynn and I went to a restaurant to celebrate our first anniversary.

I looked across the table at Caelynn. She was so beautiful. The past year together had been fantastic, no longer having to hide. Sure, some people found it weird that I was dating my former teacher but I didn't care because I was happy.

Living together had been an adjustment, you never truly knew a person until you lived with them. I'd learnt that quickly. Caelynn had a thing for the house being clean. So much as a dirty plate left on the counter was a big issue for her. There were good things I'd learnt since living with her as well. I could always tell when she was stressed, without her having to tell me because she'd start twitching in her sleep at night. Relaxing on the sofa with her every night was amazing, even if we didn't really interact with each other. We just enjoyed each others presence.

"Are you enjoying your meal?" Caelynn asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"It's brilliant." I smiled at her, "You?"

"It's delicious. We should come here more often." I nodded my agreement as I took another bite of my steak.

I'd noticed that Caelynn had been a bit nervous all evening. Even though she said she was enjoying her food she hardily touched it and drank more wine than usual. I thought that this wasn't the place to ask so I made a mental note to ask her once we got home.

Once we were finished with our mains Caelynn asked the waiter if we could have a bit of time before we ordered desert.

"Alex, this past year has been the best of my life." She started, reaching out to take my hand. I looked on, curious as to where she was going with this. Was this a soppy anniversary speech? "I never imagined that I could love someone as much as I love you. Living with you has been amazing, even if you do my head in sometimes." She chuckled, "Coming home to you every day is more than I could have ever asked for."

She paused here and I noticed that the music playing in the restaurant had changed, it sounded familiar but I couldn't quite place it.

"I cannot put into words how much you have changed my life. So instead I am going to recite something to you that I'm sure you will recognise." She smirked before reciting, keeping my hand firmly in her own:

'Shall I compare thee to a summers day?

Thou art more lovely and temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date;

Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometimes declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose thy possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:'

Here she paused and keeping my hand in hers she gracefully slid off her chair and down on one knee in front of me. I gasped, tears forming in my eyes. Was she really doing what I thought she was doing? The whole room was silent watching our exchange and I finally recognised the music. It was an acoustic version of 'Rewrite the Stars'. She continued with the last couplet while pulling out a small black box from her pocket:

'So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and gives life to thee.'

She took a deep breath, tears in her eyes, "Alex Summers, I love you more every day that I spend with you. I know it may seem too soon but I can't wait any longer to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

My tears were flowing freely down my cheeks and I nodded, "Yes."

Caelynn slid the ring onto my finger before leaning over and pulling me into a warm embrace, our lips meeting while our tears mixed.

She was mine. For the rest of our lives.

The End