Floriography: Red Roses

Chapter 24

Tracy suddenly felt she had misspoken when Louis's countenance turned harsh.

“Sorry.. if I—“

“Hey, relax.” Louis hissed, and put the last book from the second box onto the shelf before he sat back down and faced Tracy. The moonlight coming in from the window behind Tracy shone on Louis's face, allowing Tracy to see the clear blue eyes of Louis which made her feel more calm.

“If your question is so..” Louis sighed. “I also can not answer. People say that when someone falls in love, the world seems to belong to both. But my experience is not so.”

Louis chuckled and broke his own seriousness. “Ah sorry Manson, but I think my story is too dark to be called a love story.”

“Hey, relax.” This time Tracy mimics Louis' words. “You were the one who said you were lazy to go home. You can tell me anything. I'm not a gossip guy either, I'm home alone, I don't have a girlfriend, my gossip friend is just Violetta but I guess we'll be a little gossipy now.”

Louis smiled mockingly. “I so remember our ceasefire yesterday.”

Tracy gave a small laugh, hugged her knees and laid her head there. “I also.”

“Good.” Louis sighed and upheld his sitting position. “Originally you know, Manson. I also live alone, not a gossip man either. I'd like to make an offer to you.”

Tracy just raised her eyebrows, not answering, she said,

“Every time one of us says..” Louis looks left and right, and his eyes stop at Tracy's books on the shelf. “Novel.” Louis continues. Tracy held back her laughter. That guy really has a childish side.

“That means that the conversation that followed is a secret between us, and the conversation must be accepted by the interlocutor with the openest possible thought.”

Tracy waits for Louis to continue, but that seems to be all she wants to say.

“OK. You can trust me.” Tracy thrusts her ring finger toward Louis. This time Louis felt this

childish, but he welcomed it.

“OK, then, you can also trust me. Novels. Now I want to tell.” Louis confirmed his sitting position, getting rid of the two empty boxes in front of him to the side—not forgetting to stack them neatly—then shifted closer to the bookshelf to lean on. Tracy also slightly retreated to lean on her sofa. Her ass started to hurt sitting on the hard, cold floor, but Tracy had a comfortable, warm sofa but they were both too excited to care.

“So like this. I dated once.”

“Long.” Not ten seconds into the conversation, Tracy already felt like she was going to be bullied by Louis. But that's not what it means.

“I swear, Manson, I really only ever had one girlfriend.” Louis held back a laugh, “In fact, I mean yesterday you would have said I was tall and handsome, so you must have thought there was no way I was—“

“Already, continue on. You only dated once, then where's your boyfriend now?”

Louis' laughter stopped and the smile slowly faded. “Namely Lisha. I met him at university, but we were different. I was at the DKV, and he majored in Ilkom. But we have one hobby in common.”

“Fotography?” Guess Tracy. Louis's eyes looked at Tracy, then he nodded, before once again staring blankly at the floor next to Tracy.

“So we and the campus photography club team often take a walk out to find photos together, more or less a team that is always active there are five, one of which is my close friend, his name is Grant.”

Tracy nodded small. Her eyes continued to follow the movements of Louis' beautiful eyeballs, but Tracy listened.

“At that time I was a child, I was still nineteen years old, and at that time I finally decided, maybe it was time I learned about love.” Louis laughed a little. “Not that I didn't do Manson, I swear, but I used to be nerdy. I'm the oldest kid in my family, so sooner or later I'm gonna be the backbone of the family, right? And I'm honestly not a sensitive person. Every time I know a girl likes me, she's been with another guy, or somewhere.” Louis laughed again, this time Tracy's eyes stared at the dimples on his cheeks and smiled, imagining Louis's appearance as a child,

wearing glasses with a haircut bowl. Tracy smiled a little broadly, after which she would remind herself to force Louis to show her picture as a child.

“I've also loved the girls around me of course, but never anything really

effectual. Because for me..” Louis hissing, “Reason likes someone just because they are beautiful, kind, smart, and everything is nonsense—at least in my mind that may be like a writer as well.”

“So why do you like it what?” Louis's eyes rose again to look at Tracy, Tracy liked it when the eyes were whistling with her.

Louis shrugged his shoulders.  “Entahlah. I mean, if you could say that because you like someone for something, when that person changes, then what would you do? In those days I thought love was a lie. Love is the essay of adults and people of the entertainment world.”

“Hm. Then what makes you love Lisha?” Tracy's words are short. Again the look returned, a bitter expression that Tracy could not easily interpret.

“I also can't say this is love, after I tried to open myself to Lisha—which I was approaching at that time just because she was okay in everything. Lisha is pretty sweet, polite and kind, her grades are okay too. But most importantly, I felt comfortable when I talked to him. It was as if he was always listening, making me feel…. Important.”

Tracy nodded. He understands that feeling.

“But after I went out with Lisha, my friendship with Grant became tenuous. I don't know what because he's just not comfortable being a mosquito when we walk together, or he likes Lisha—“

“Maybe he likes you.” Tracy interrupted. Louis almost choked on his own spit.

“Tracy!” Louis laughing. “Shut up and listen.” Tracy answered him with a nod while holding back a laugh.

“Suddenly it was difficult for me to get back close to Grant, when we were really close, and nothing

the reason that makes him feel awkward between us. Me, Lisha and Grant had been playing three games before we dated, so it's weird that he feels awkward now.”

“Then?” Tracy's murmuring.

“Yeah, short story so far Lisha is friends with benefits Grant.”

Tracy lifted her head from her knees and instantly her mouth was gaping. “Soath?”

Tracy growling. “Wow! Then?”

“It turns out that not only was Grant the mistress of Lisha, there was one other guy, who was clearly not a good boy, his name was Darius. He's one of the thugs and eternal students at our campus. But if the guy is clearly in the deceit of Lisha who promises to marry him after he graduates and is content to mess with me.” Louis covered his face with his hands and growled.

“Arrghh I feel stupid.”

“But after that at least you know what it's like to love someone else?” Tracy doesn't forget the point, because that's what she needs for her writing material.

“Entah, Trace.” Louis released his hand that covered his face. “When I'm with Lisha, I just feel

thrilled. Deg-degan natural that we are friendly, but yes already, just that. No excessive anxiety when he disappeared—if it is too long, like three, four days without news yes I will definitely look for him—no jealousy or possessiveness when he teased another guy.”

“Maybe because you sure as hell won over the other guys.” Tracy's intention was to call the man narcissistic, but it didn't seem to reach Louis.

“No, Trace, I just.. feel that our relationship is fine yes there will be no possibility of breaking up between us.”

“But you hurt when you know the truth?”

Louis was silent for a moment.

“Hm. But I think I'm devastated that I feel the trust I put in Grant and Lisha is being used so casually. I'm the only person in my immediate circle who doesn't know anything, when the two of them might giggle behind my back, laughing at my innocence.” Louis laughed bitterly. “In the end I can only say, ah shit turns out to be the reality of my feelings that other women play, and not me who mess with people's feelings.”

“Wah..” Tracy unnerved. “Means there is still in this world a man who has never broken the heart of a woman, and that's you.”

Louis grunts, “Yes, not so. I think the girls who liked me in Middle School and High School were pretty heartbroken to think I was a high standard pretender and not interested in them, even though I was not aware they liked me either.”

“Then behind them must be gossip about how you picky about girls. Some of them

don't even spread gossip if you're gay. Secretly your reputation is ugly among your Junior High and High School girls.”

Louis laughing. “Ah yes, let it go. Gay no, I've made sure I have absolutely no interest in my own people.” Louis shuddered. “No, I'm sure.”

“Yang right? Your eyes often sparkle when you see Jasper, don't think I don't see.” Tracy joked, and Louis quickly snorted in annoyance.

“Manson! Don't start a weird gossip about me now, or we're enemies again.”

“He's a friend, I'm sorry. So the point is that this conversation can't help me write a book, right?” Tracy took a breath. He had guessed. Well, not really, but this possibility he had considered.

“Don't make me feel guilty. My story doesn't end there anyway.”

“Hm?” Tracy upholds her seat, curious about the continuation of Louis' dark story that ended quite tragically

that's.

“Short story there are people who still side with me—one of my photography club colleagues—who accidentally took a photo of Grant and Lisha making out. That photo I made evidence to confront Lisha. Lisha finally confessed, though, after I threatened with nonsense if I had worse photos and if he didn't tell me everything I'd put them on the school bulletin board and all social media. Lisha told me everything and I cut off the relationship with her right then and there, but it turns out Lisha had other plans.”

Tracy tries to imagine Lisha. At first in her head she imagined a cute short bob haired woman, but as her character now changes, Tracy is confused as to what kind of character Lisha needs to imagine.

Louis then continued. “It turns out he really wants me to have a serious relationship with him, even he wants to marry me. He said he's liked me since High School, but I don't remember ever meeting someone like him.”

“But he is indeed your High School boy?”

“It turns out that was the case, but we were never in class so I didn't really memorize his face either. When I heard Lisha's name I knew there was a kid in my High School named Lisha but I thought they were two different people.” Louis took his breath. “Then after I rejected it—put ya—well-well, she cried, begged to be given a chance, then I explained at length to him in the most wise words that a nineteen-year-old could put out and then left him in the clubroom crying alone, because I was also a drunk, too, I got confused again.

“But after that began many threats and terrorists sent for me. Starting with the package

containing my clothes torn-up—hadoes this either he got from where, or indeed this shirt I have loaned him I do not remember—and there is a lipstick traces Lisha that he left on purpose. Then began there strange photos also entered my e-mail.”

“The perverted photos mean?” Tracy keeps throwing jokes to interrupt this creepy story every time Louis' eyes start to look cold and sad. Tracy could also feel what she was feeling.

“Not.” Louis laughed a little. “Photos of a teddy bear torn off its head, then covered in red paint. Then a photo

lisha's wrists that she slashed. Then the photo of my name was written at Lisha's feet using a knife.” Louis shuddered, holding his head. “I was almost crazy back then, which is why I quit the photography club, forced to take a short semester to have my lecture quickly completed and immediately moved to a faraway place, changed my phone number, changed the new atmosphere.”

Tracy's heart ached. Is that woman crazy?

“Then after that everything stops?”

Louis nodded. “Yes. But of course I was traumatized for a while, were it not for Jasper, I might never have returned to photography.”

Tracy grinned ignorantly. “Tuh right. I don't think you understand love yet and now you're actually in love with Jasper. I'm not going to judgemental, Louis is calm, I support LGBTQ+ completely, go after him.”

Louis squinted his eyes at Tracy.

“She's already engaged, Tracy.”

“Ah, what a pity yes, if only Jasper was single.”

“Stool once.”