AUTHOR'S POV
Rick was in his living room, a glass of beer in his hands and an almost nonchalant look on his face.
"I have done the right thing. I did the right thing" he assured himself over and over. The only thing that bothered his mind was Dark Caster's stance on hurting Rosaline.
"Rick?" Melinda's voice jolted Rick out of his thought.
His nonchalant look turned into a look of surprise as he darted his gaze to Melinda who had a bag in her hand.
"You are here?"
"Yes, I am. I have been calling but you haven't been answering my call. Why are you drinking so much again?" Melinda asked, sitting beside Rick.
"Well, I guess I have been drinking a lot these past few days." Rick shrugged his shoulders.
"Quite a lot" Melinda affirmed and put a hand to his shoulder.
"I thought you and Rosa were getting closer so what's suddenly going on?" Melinda asked, reaching her other hand to the glass of beer and trying to snatch it out of Rick's hands but Rick didn't let her.
"Getting closer? Far from that, we have been drifting apart all these while and now it's seeming impossible for us to ever be together. I... I am trying to hold onto this thing strand of hope but I am not sure it would ever work"
"Rick, you have always been optimistic. What's going on? Is anything happening?" She rubbed his shoulder lightly.
Rick looked at Melinda and gritted his teeth, feeling his heart wrench in pain.
"She is in love" he let out, taking the glass of beer to his lips and taking a gulp of it.
"In love? With who?" Melinda asked and Rick looked at Melinda.
"You really... Won't believe me if I tell you." Rick said, a bit drunkenly this time.
"She's in love with the guy she said she was going to begin a sexual relationship with?" Melinda asked and Rick forced out an obviously sad smile, nodding.
"Exactly him."
"And who is that guy?" Melinda's eyes squinted with curiosity.
"Ah" Rick sighed softly and gulped down some more of his drink.
"No, Rick... Don't tell that Rosa is in love with her uncle?"
Rick looked at Melinda, his smile growing even sadder.
"I won't tell you then" the words left his trembling lips before Rick gritted his teeth hard, clenching his jaws to keep his tears in check. It just hurt him too much to have this happening to him.
"Oh my!" Melinda gasped, shock lacing her face instantly.
"Rosa is in love with her uncle! Is she out of her mind?! How... I understand that her uncle is actually hot and all but he is her family!"
"She says she loves him..." Rick raised his face up, drawing in a shaky breath before grabbing the bottle of beer and emptying more of the beer in his glass.
"She says she is in love with him and that he is in love with her."
"No, there must be something wrong somewhere. I am going to call her and talk to her right now" Melinda's hand dug into her purse but Rick grabbed her hand, stopping her from pulling out hef phone.
"There's no point. I... Already talked to Rosaline about this a lot of times and I actually thought she was starting to see things right but no, Rosaline is too delusioned with him."
"This is insane" Melinda shook her head.
"I know. I know... It's insane" Rick nodded.
"It's insane. They shouldn't be together. It's insane. It's totally insane" over an over again, Rick muttered the words.
"Rick" Melinda called softly and tapped his shoulder, suddenly jolting Rick out of his reverie.
"It is insane!!" Rick yelled out the words and threw his glass of beer across the wall.
There was a shattering noise as the glass shattered to the floor. Melinda gasped at what Rick had just done and looked at Rick whose frustration seemed to be taking the best of him.
"I loved her! I stayed by her side for years! I have told you before, Mel! I haven't had my first sex! I am fucking 26! There aren't a lot 26 year old virgin guys out there! But I wanted to be hers! I wanted Rosaline to look at me and know that I have always been hers and that I would always be hers! I did everything! So why wouldn't she be mine?! Why would she not be my woman..." His voice broke as a tear slid down.
"I would do..." He sniffled.
"I would do anything to have her. If she tells me to sit, I will do so, if she tells me to run, I will do so. I would do anything... Anything at all to have her but... But she doesn't want me at all. No matter what I do, she doesn't want me... I... I just want her to want me. Why does he get to have her? Why... Why does he get to call her his woman when I don't?"
Melinda got up on her feet, a soft, pitiful look on her face as she took steps closer to Rick.
"I just want her..." Another tear rolled down.
"I just want her to be my woman. I just need her... I will do anything for her, Melinda. You know that, you know how much I love Rosaline."
"I know, I know just how much you love her" Melinda gently held his hands.
"I need her" Rick sniffled.
"I know. I know you do. Come here" Melinda pulled Rick into a hug.
Rick moved closer into Melinda's hug and held her tightly.
"I love her. I love Rosaline"
"It's okay, Rick. It's okay, you will find another woman."
"I don't think I ever will find another woman." Rick argued.
"No, you will. You are such a perfect gentleman, you will definitely find another woman who would love you as much as you love her" Melinda patted his back warmly.
Rick pulled back from the hug.
"Another woman? Really?" He asked and Melinda nodded, a bit too eagerly.
"There will always be another woman who loves you" she said softly and Rick groaned, slipping his fingers through his hair.
"I am drunk... I should leave before I do something stupid." He rasped and tried to turn to leave but Melinda grabbed him, holding him back.
"What something stupid?" She asked, taking a step closer to Rick and pushing her body into his.
"Melinda, you should probably leave soon.."
"Why don't you do the stupid thing?" Melinda cut him off.
"It's okay to be stupid at times" she added.
"Are you sure?" Rick asked, his words a bit of drunken slur.
"Absolutely sure..." Melinda reached her hands to Rick's shoulder and pulled him down to her height before crashing her lips on his.
Almost instantly, Rick groaned against her lips and took over the kiss, a hand moving to Melinda's waist.