As her sobs came to an end, Rose remembered her surroundings. She glanced around her lavish surroundings while wiping her tear-streaked face. She looked at Owen, and the warmth of his hand clasped around hers reminded her of their hand-holding. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment from crying so uncontrollably in front of another person. She pulled her hand back, but the warmth did not vanish.

"So…" Owen said, clearing his throat. "Do you want to see something cool?" 

Confused, Rose asked, "Aren't you going to ask?"

"I mean, do you want to talk about it?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"Not really," she replied.

"Then no, I'm not going to ask."

Rose sat silently, not knowing what to do now and still trying to put herself back together. But after crying so much, she realized that she felt better. She didn't feel so weighed down, though she did feel raw. 

"Listen," Owen said, "I'm not going to assume that everything in your life is perfect. And if you don't want to talk about it, then that's fine and I won't pressure you. If you do want to talk about it, then I can be an ear to listen. I mean, I signed an NDA after all." He cracked a smile, trying to ease the awkwardness in the air, but Rose did not respond. He continued, "I know as much as anyone how big of a jackass Edward is. He's self-consumed yet doesn't have an ounce of self-awareness. He was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth, and he's not the brightest. Hell, he thinks "worldly affairs" means which political leaders are having affairs." That got a small chuckle out of Rose, and he smiled at the thought of raising her spirits even a little. "But anyone can see you're trying your best. For what, I don't know. But you're trying."

Rose nodded to him, soaking his words in. She cleared her throat and straightened her back. "So you were going to show me something cool?"

Owen's smile grew.

"This," Owen said with his arms stretched out wide, "is the best batting cage in the area."

Rose looked around the batting cages. It didn't look like anything spectacular, and she didn't know what made it "best", considering it was kind of shabby. She casted Owen a skeptical glance.

Owen wagged a finger at her. "Now, now, Princess. Don't knock it 'til you try it. And to answer the question that your eyes are screaming so loudly, it's the best because no one comes here. We're in the rich and fancy part of town, I'm sure no one here has ever even held a bat, and if they do they go to the fancy batting cages. This one here is run by a common guy named Joe. He's just a dude. I'm just a dude. You're just a dudette here. No judgment. No pretending. Just let it out." 

Rose realized that this was Owen’s way of helping her, with the intention to blow off the steam of all her overwhelming emotions. She nodded decidedly, and followed Owen to the cages. He pulled a bag of change from his pocket and led them to two cages.

“Have you ever done this?” He asked Rose, handing her enough change to go for a round. 

Rose shook her head. “Never,” she replied.

Owen nodded. “Okay, well. It’s fairly simple. Here, I’ll show you what to do.” He squared his feet next to the diamond. “Do not stand on this diamond. Stand next to it. Trust me, I learned the hard way when I was a kid.” He grabbed the bat that was in the cage and gripped the handle firmly, with one hand just above the other. “The point of this isn’t to be good. The point of this is to hit things as hard as you can. If you find it fun and want to get good, then that’s good too. But today’s field trip is all about using your anger to do something healthy. Feel your feelings, and use them to your advantage.”

Rose generally didn’t have an issue with using things to her advantage. She had a knack for manipulation and she knew the right words to get what she wants, but that was a learned survival skill. One wouldn’t last long in the world of the elite without some way to navigate. Feeling her feelings wasn’t something she had practice doing. She learned at a young age that it was better to grit her teeth and swallow it all down, or else she might ruin her family’s reputation. However, maybe what she learned was wrong; maybe there was a better way to deal with things. 

Rose confidently stepped into the batting cage next to Owen’s and picked up the bat. She pushed her quarters into the machine, stood next to the diamond, squared her feet, and stared down the ball-spitting machine. Once a baseball had been launched and was hurling it’s way to Rose, she pictured Edward’s face and hit the ball as hard as she could. 

The ball clanged as it hit the cage behind her. Rose’s shoulders drooped as she looked at the ball rolling at her feet, but she rolled them back and stared back at the machine. She took in a deep breath, and this time pictured her father’s face. She could almost hear him taunting and blaming her. She remembered the words he said to her as he was handing her off to her new husband. 

“It’ll be fucking my fault?” She muttered as the ball hurled towards her. She swung the bat.

CRACK!

She hadn’t realized she had closed her eyes until she heard the noise of the bat hitting the ball and felt the vibrations running down the length of the bat and tingling her hands. She opened her eyes wide and watched the ball soar across the field. The screen flashed “Foul Ball” in front of her, but she didn’t care. She hit the ball. She hit that ball right in it’s stupid fucking face. 

Rose glanced at Owen and saw him watching her with a big, goofy grin plastered across his face. She smiled back at him before turning back to the diamond, squaring her shoulders, and ready to hit more balls.

They both finished after two rounds each. Rose was sweaty, her shoulders ached, and she had only hit a few balls; but she couldn’t stop smiling proudly and she felt lighter than she had in years. She walked with a bounce in her step all the way back to the car. 

“Did you have fun?” Owen asked, knowingly, while he started the car.

“Oh, man,” she said, “I haven’t felt this great in years. I feel as if I got all my anger out.” 

“I know the feeling,” he replied.

Rose smiled over at him from the passenger seat, but her smile fell when she realized something. “You seem to know what to do when someone is feeling sad or angry or whatever.”

Something that Rose couldn’t quite place flashed across Owen’s face. “I suppose I do,” he said, almost guardedly.

“You seem to know more about me than I do you.” Rose said quietly. “I mean, you have to have heard about me from Edward. Plus, you were at my wedding. You saw me break down sobbing. You’ve seen me in my P.J.s.” 

“It’s not a competition of who knows who the most, Rose. And if it makes you feel any better, the only thing I learned about you from Edward is that you’re rich. He doesn’t necessarily know you himself, does he?” Owen’s body seemed relaxed, but Rose could see his hands gripping the steering wheel. It also wasn’t lost on her that this was the first time Owen had called her by her name. 

“I just mean-” Rose stopped herself and drew in a breath. “I only meant that you can talk to me about things as well.” She picked nervously at the loose threads from her sleeves.

Owen’s hands relaxed on the wheel. He let out a slow breath, and shot her a smile. “I appreciate it, Princess. But you should look after yourself before you start worrying about others.”

Rose felt relieved by his smile, but still felt as if he were holding something back. Of course, it wasn’t any of her business to intrude on his life and insist on him trusting her. They had only known each other for a day, afterall. Still, she felt disappointed that he wouldn’t tell her what was on his mind, or confide in her about his troubles. She realized that she wanted to know him, truly know him, and not just what he shows on the surface. 

“I’m sorry if I overstepped,” she said.

Owen nudged her with his elbow. “Hey, now. No one said you overstepped. We’re good, don’t worry. Let’s just get back home and get some sustenance. I think we deserve something sweet after that workout.” He smiled at her sweetly, before turning his eyes back to the road.

Rose smiled back at him, but after their outing, she was more curious about him than ever.