viii

“Did you believe him?” Rosalie asked, “Although Marcus caused great pain to this family, I don’t think he had anything against James to the point of his death,” she said as Rosalie remained silent, it wasn’t her place to suspect anything, she wasn’t there, but she was curious about Marcus, who was he?

Sighing heavily, Rosalie forcefully swallowed as she watched as they got closer to the market. Parking the car, Melody shuts off the car before unbuckling her seatbelt, “Here we are,” she said turning to Rosalie, who seemed lost in thought.

Sighing, Melody pressed the buckle on Rosalie’s seatbelt snapping her back to reality, “Don’t worry too much about those stories, Rosalie, besides, no one hardly sees Marcus, besides his children,” she said before opening her door causing Rosalie to turn to her, “Who’s his children?” She asked, “Mateo and Cora,” she said before closing the door.

Again, Rosalie’s mind was clouded with thought as she wondered who these people were. Has she met them? What did they look like? Those aimless thoughts were swimming in her head before banging on the hood cleared her mind.

Exiting the car, Rosalie walked towards Melody, who handed her the twins’ food, “Here, take this while I get the rest of the things in the back,” she said before walking to the trunk.

The market was like a machine running on solar power, once the sun was out, the market was always running. Market vendors lived by the saying, “time is money” because they never take a day off. It reminded Rosalie of a bee hive, the booths were the honeycomb and the vendors were the bees. No one settle they were on the constant go, moving back and forth, and up and down. Smiles and laughter of children as they play can be seen and heard. It was like a giant family. Maybe this was the family her parents spoke about because if it was, then she found it heartwarming.

But little did she know how cold-hearted this community truly was.

Walking through the chaos of people, they parted, staring and whispering as Rosalie and Melody passed, children were pulled away by their parents with scowling faces. Rosalie began to feel uncomfortable as she walked behind Melody, but she refused to show it. She couldn’t let judgment ruin her mood, so as they walked, anyone that met her eyes quickly looked away when they saw her glare.

“Thank god I wore this hat,” Rosalie mumbled before Melody turned to face her, “Are you alright?” She asked as Rosalie nodded, “Do you want to go set up the booth and then go look for the twins, or we’ll-

“Mel, Mel, how about you go set up the booth and I’ll go find the twins?” She suggested as Melody frowned, “Are you sure?” She asked, “Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Rosalie said with a slight smile plastered on her face to reassure Melody, who sighed in defeat, “Fine, but if something happens yell for the twins, okay?” She said earning a chuckle, “A-Okay,” she said before walking away as Melody watched her get lost in the crowd.

“God, please don’t let me regret this decision,” she said before getting lost herself in the chaos.

...

Rosalie had been walking for about five minutes looking around for the twins’ booth and as she did so, she was stared at, whispered about, and bumped into, which was beginning to annoy her until she heard a familiar voice, “Fresh meat,” Genesis’s low raspy voice caught her attention as she spun around.

“You’re such a pig,” she said earning a chuckle before Genesis wrapped his bare, slightly sweaty arm around her shoulder, “What are you doing out here alone, Rosie?” He asked as Rosalie held up the bag containing their food, “I brought you and your brother breakfast,” she replied, Genesis, raising his eyebrows.

“You’re already setting the bar, baby girl, you’ll be a wonderful wife,” he said causing Rosalie to scoff playfully before handing him the bag, “Please, you wish I’d be your wife,” she said as they walked closer to his booth that seemed empty.

“You’re right, so make my wish come true,” he whispered in her ear pulling her closer in a headlock before kissing her temple causing her to roll her eyes, “Where’s your brother?” She asked as Genesis rounded the booth, “He went to get something from the trunk, he should be back soon,” he replied before a customer came up to the stall.

“So coconuts, huh?” She asked while Genesis opened a coconut for the customer, “Everyone loves coconut water,” he said, Rosalie laughed as an object of ridicule, "Not everyone," she said, Genesis turned to her once the customer left, "You don't like coconut water?" He asked, she shrugged, "I never had one," she replied, his eyebrows raising in disbelief, "Then get your pretty self over here," he said, smiling while rounding the booth.

"Have a seat, I can't believe you've never drunk coconut water, your father is Javon Gracia," he rambled causing Rosalie to giggle while watching him open a coconut before walking towards her, "I promise, you'll enjoy it," he said, staring into her eyes as she slowly nodded, "I trust you," she said before slowly tilting her head back as Genesis feed her the coconut. 

Rosalie placed her hands over Genesis's as she tilted her head further back causing bits of coconut water to escape from the corner of her lips as streamed down to her chin, "Woah, slow down, mama," he teased as Rosalie finished, coming up for air as she grinned, "Like it?" He asked before wiping her chin, sticking his finger in his mouth, "I love it," she said before standing up, "But I should head back to Mel's booth now, she must be worried," she said, Genesis nodded, "Just keep going straight until you hear a bell," he said as Rosalie chuckle before leaving.

"Thanks for the coconut, I enjoyed it."

...

Rosalie had followed Genesis's direction and soon enough she heard a bell causing a chuckle to escape from her lips before she followed it and found Melod, whose face lit up when she saw Rosalie.

"Hey, did you find the twins?" She asked as Rosalie nodded, "I found Genesis, Gio is around here somewhere," she replied rounding the booth, "Oh, alright well could you watch the booth for me, I realize I forgot something in the car," she said, Rosalie nodded, "Yeah sure, just show me what to do when someone comes to buy," she said as Melody showed her, "Alright, I got it," Rosalie said as Melody smiled before leaving.  

As Rosalie waited for Melody's return, she looked around to notice the crowd of people parting ways before three girls appeared in front of her. She was stunned by their appearance, they seemed familiar, but Rosalie didn't stare any longer to clarify her assumption.

"Uh, hey, can I help you with something?" She asked as the girl in the front middle scoffed, "You're Rosalie?" She asked in a disgusted tone as Rosalie seemed taken back, looking away for any signs of Melody or the twins, "I-

"What does he see in you, you're not beautiful, you're not even pretty," she said as the girl on her left side laughed while the other chuckled, "I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are and who you're talking about," Rosalie said as Cora rolled her eyes.

"You don't need to know who I am, but stay away from-

"Is there a problem here, ladies?" 

"Gio?" Cora called out, a wide smile appearing on her face as she watched him round the booth walking up to Rosalie, who looked at him in relief, "What do you want, Cora?" He asked causing Rosalie to look at the young girl with slightly widened eyes.

So that's Cora?

"Hey, Rose?" He greeted before doing something that shocked Rosalie and the rest of the girls. 

He kissed her.

"You missed me?"