by Amber Heart
“And don’t think that you can just lock me out. We already know that won’t work.” She giggled as she waved the bobby pin at Rosalie. The latter was trying to come up with a way to snatch it and lock the door anyway. “Stop looking at me like that. Even if you get this one, I have plenty more.” Damn. There went that plan. Rosalie just waved an irritated hand at Vanessa, who ducked out and closed the door behind her. Why did the world have to be against her today? It was the one day out of the year when things were supposed to be going her way, and the world decided it was going to have a little fun and do the opposite. Rosalie stalked over to her little window and looked out. Everyone looked happy. The quad was full of people laughing and talking, hanging out between classes. She hated them. She hated them all. The light had gone out of her own world, and the tiny pinprick that was Vanessa couldn’t be found unless you knew exactly where to look. She spared it a glance, seeing that it was doing its best to burn brightly and illuminate the area around it, but Rosalie was still lost in the darkness. She walked over to the closet and absentmindedly flipped through her clothes, coming up with a pair of jeans and a sweater. She didn’t even care if they matched or not, she just couldn’t be bothered. She ran a brush through her hair and threw it up in a ponytail. Opening the door to her bedroom brought her face to face with Vanessa.
“I’m going to brush my teeth. Give me some space, sheesh.” Vanessa was indeed looking like she was about to go running after her to make sure that she didn’t just disappear. To her credit, she left Rosalie alone. Apparently, seeing the jeans and sweater made her trust Rosalie enough to brush her teeth. She was dressed, so she must be cooperating, right? Wrong. Rosalie was dressed and she was going to brush her teeth, and Vanessa was going to take her wherever they were supposed to go, but she was bound and determined to be sullen and unhappy through it all. Whatever it was. When she got to the coed bathroom, she saw a guy standing in front of the mirror shaving, and it made her heart skip a beat. Rosalie froze in the doorway. The guy looked like Eric…a little anyway. The pain came slamming back, threatening to spiral her down into an abyss, but then the physical pain of the door closing on her heels snapped her back to reality. She steered for an open sink as far away from him as she could possibly get, then got very interested in the preciseness of putting toothpaste on her brush. She stared at herself, into her own eyes actually, the whole time she was brushing her teeth. When the door opened and closed again, she used every ounce of willpower in her not to turn around and see if the boy had left. She finished up and left the bathroom, coming back to see Vanessa waiting by the couch with her coat and keys. Rosalie rolled her eyes.
“You really can be annoying sometimes, you know that?” Her voice came out a little gruff, but she couldn’t help it. Part of it was still raw from all the crying, and the other part was irritated anger. Whether it was righteous anger or not, it was still there. Vanessa gave her a mock bow, acknowledging that yes, indeed, she was irritating, but that she was damn proud of it, too. “Why are you so intent on dragging me out today? You know that I feel like crap already. If you were really my friend, you would let me wallow in pity in my own bed.”
“Nope. I’m not a pushover girl, I’m a delivery girl. Let’s go.” That made no sense to Rosalie at all, but she didn’t want to expend the energy it would take to figure it out.
“Whatever. Take me to the torture you have planned.” Vanessa’s face grew slack and she snapped to attention, like a soldier, saluting Rosalie and holding her coat out for her. Rosalie rolled her eyes and shimmied into the coat, grumbling under her breath. Vanessa took her role as escort very seriously. She stuck out her arm, bent at the elbow, as if she were a gentleman escorting a lady in eighteenth century England. Rosalie chose to ignore it, instead gesturing that Vanessa should lead so she could follow. The girls made it to Vanessa’s car, and Vanessa tucked her in before slamming the door. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Nope. It’s not my right.” Rosalie growled under her breath again, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared out of the window. Vanessa was in a jovial mood. She turned on the radio and started to sing along. Her voice wasn’t perfect, but it was pleasant, and this time she was grossly over exaggerating, making it sound much worse than it was. Rosalie rolled her eyes. She’d decided that it was better not to say anything at all. If she did, Vanessa would just spin something positive on it, and she didn’t want any positivity at the moment. She really just wanted to get the hell out of this car and crawl into a hole where no one could find her. Vanessa turned towards a road that she recognized, and her heart started to thump painfully in her chest. She was sure that it was beating loud enough that Vanessa could hear it as she slowly turned her head towards her friend.
“Where are we going?” Vanessa just shrugged. “I demand that you tell me right now!” Rosalie’s voice shook with anger and fear, and Vanessa frowned at her. She’d sworn not to ruin the surprise, but her friend was really starting to get upset. What should she do?
“It’s going to be ok, Rose. I promise. Can you trust me?” If that question would have been asked at any other time or location, Rosalie would answer yes with full confidence. As it was, Vanessa was driving her towards Eric’s neighborhood, even after she’d poured her heart out and told her how much it had hurt when he’d decided that he deserved a social princess. Rosalie was starting to think of jumping out of the car at the first available stop sign or red light. She reached for the door handle. Vanessa saw it and hit the lock button. “I know you’re mad right now, but trust me, this needs to be done.”
Fear flooded into Rosalie. She was taking her to Eric’s house so that he could officially break up with her in person. That way she wouldn’t have to worry about getting home because she had a friend with a car right there. Oh she was slick! That meant that she’d coordinated with Eric for all of this! Pain and betrayal swept through her all over again, ripping what little dignity and stability she had left out of her. Vanessa pulled up in front of Eric’s house, opened the door, and dragged Rosalie out before slamming the door and driving off.
Chapter 18
Tears slid down Rosalie’s face as she turned towards the house. Memories of the cotillion swept through her. She’d been so happy to be there with Eric, and the fact that they had teamed up against his mother’s archaic societal dreams was something that she would never forget. Pain stabbed through her heart. She needed to get out of there before Eric or anyone else came out of that house. She turned towards the open end of the street, shuffling along. It would be a few hours of walking before she got anywhere near the campus, but maybe she could hitch a ride. Rosalie was so lost in her own little world, that she almost didn’t see the horse in time. She jumped to the side, looking at the beautiful white horse, dressed to the nines in shining harness, pulling a beautifully polished carriage. The man on the driver’s box tipped his hat to her, and she smiled. It was really something to see a horse and carriage in today’s world, and it warmed her heart. She wanted to look over her shoulder to watch it, but that would bring Eric’s house into view, and she didn’t want to hurt herself more.
“Rosalie! Wait! Come back!” The blood drained from her face. It was Eric. He was outside. She silently cursed herself for not sprinting down the road to get away from the house. Now he was outside and he saw her. She didn’t want to see him or talk to him. It would only make her cry to hear him say that she was getting tossed to the curb. She bit her lip to keep it from trembling. She kept walking, straightening her back and squaring her shoulders to give her a false positive look. Inside she was crushed, but outwardly, she looked like nothing phased her. Footsteps pounded the ground behind her, and she could tell that he was running. She winced, wishing that he would have never come outside. “Rosalie! Hey!” He finally caught up to her, because she didn’t want to embarrass herself by taking off like a bat out of hell. She took a deep breath and turned to him.
“Hello, Eric. I’m sorry that I darkened
your doorstep, but my soon to be ex best friend drove me to your front door and dumped me.” There. Now he knew that she hadn’t come on her own free will. A hurt look crossed his face, and she almost felt bad for what she’d said. It had been the truth, but the way she’d said it and the words she’d used could have been gentler.
“What do you mean? I told Vanessa to bring you here. This is your birthday surprise.” Rosalie let out a breath that she hadn’t even known she was holding. Why was he being so nice to her when he was breaking up with her? None of this made any sense.
“Your gift to me is to let me see you one last time while you break up with me? Thanks, but no thanks.” Rosalie started walking again.
“What? Why would I break up with you?” Was he being serious? He was going to make her spell it out herself in front of him? Oh, he was such an ass. She gritted her teeth in anger.
“You’ve been ignoring me and completely distant. That to me says that you’re in the process of dumping me. I haven’t heard from you, so that confirmed it for me. I didn’t know we were coming here, or I would have never gotten in the car. I can’t get over it if I have to see you. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to start my walk back to my dorm.” There. She’d managed to get it all out without crying or screaming loud enough for everyone in the neighborhood to hear her. The stunned look of shock on his face was even worth it, and she almost smiled when she turned around to head back down the street. He caught her arm before she’d even taken a step.
“Rosalie, you’re being silly. I’m not distant. You called when I was half asleep, and then I realized that I’d forgot to make plans for your birthday. I haven’t been talking much because I didn’t want to accidentally ruin the surprise for you.” Her heart started to race, but she didn’t want to let herself hope. Could he be telling the truth? Had she been making it up in her head all along? Or was this the trick now?
“Really? You weren’t thinking about getting rid of me?” She held her breath and searched his eyes. There was nothing but truth in them, but she didn’t want to jump in with both feet again. This time she’d be careful.
“Of course! I wouldn’t have proposed to you if I didn’t want you to be in my future.”
“But you only proposed to shut your mom up! And I didn’t even say yes! How could I know that you were going to ask again? I gave you six months to decide if you still wanted to, remember?” He started to pull her gently back towards his house, and Rosalie grudgingly put one foot in front of the other, back towards where Vanessa had so unceremoniously dumped her on her ass.
“The way I did it, right there in front of her, was to shut her up, yes, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t mean it.” A warmth spread through her, starting in her core, then spreading slowly towards her fingers and toes, before returning back to her core. If this was true, then they could go back to how things were.
“Really? So you weren’t getting tired of me and wanting to break up?” Her voice was soft, almost like she was hanging on to every word he said to make sure that it didn’t crush her spirit.
“Of course. I swear it.” There was honesty in his face, and he looked at her with such intensity, almost like he was trying to mentally make her believe him. A small smile crept across her face. It was tentative at first, but soon it was back to her usual one hundred watt smile. Eric pulled her into a hug, and she could feel her walls cracking and tumbling down. She’d hastily erected a wall around her heart, and she’d been working on bricking a heavier duty one, but now it looked like that wall wasn’t even necessary.
“I’m sorry. I guess I was just overreacting.” By this time, they were back in front of Eric’s house, and he was holding her hand.
“It’s ok. I wasn’t exactly being forthcoming about it, either. But we can put that all behind us. Come on.” He handed her up into the carriage, and Rosalie settled down on the plush cushion. Eric climbed in after her, and signaled to the driver that they were ready to go. The man clucked to his horse, and the beautiful animal started to prance. Rosalie’s heart soared. She almost felt like Cinderella going to the ball. The two of them sat on opposite ends of the cushion, and Rosalie found herself wishing that Eric would hold her. As the carriage pulled out of the neighborhood, she spotted a rundown car with rust stains on it. She narrowed her eyes, recognizing it as Vanessa’s. The girl was looking out of the driver side window, waving enthusiastically and giving her the thumbs up sign. Rosalie grinned and winked at her friend, mouthing the word, ‘sorry’ to her friend. Vanessa just shrugged like it was no big deal, and then she was out of sight. Rosalie took a deep breath, gathering her courage. Eric was looking out the other side of the carriage, and she leaned up against him, nudging him subtly. He turned to look at her, and the smile he gave her melted her heart. This was why she loved him. The way that he could make her feel like she was on top of the world, even when she felt lost and unsure really meant the world to her.
Eric put his arm around her, pulling her close. Something in her heart clicked. Like they were meant to be together, and she was home. He held her tight, and snaked his hand into hers. They leaned back, enjoying the ride. People turned to stare at the beautiful carriage that was coming by, and Eric started to wave to them like he was an ancient king in a parade. Everyone laughed and waved back to him. The horse took one last turn, then came to a stop with a snort. Rosalie had been looking out of Eric’s side, so she didn’t see where exactly they had stopped. Eric got to his feet, her hand still in his.
“Well, my lady, this is where we get out. Let me help you.” She let him help her step down, then looked at where they were. A man in a tuxedo stood by the door, almost like one of those British soldiers that can’t move unless they have orders. As they neared the door, he sprang into action. Grabbing the handle, he swung the door open and bowed them in. Rosalie couldn’t suppress the giggle. It was almost like Eric was a king on his parade. He had deigned to eat here, so they bowed and scraped to let him in the door. Maybe his socially royal blood gave him some advantages that she didn’t know about. She wanted to comment on it, just to tease him, but her words were stolen by the scene in front of her. The floor was thick glass, and she could see fish swimming below them. Two of the walls were giant fish tanks, almost like you would see at an aquarium. The other two walls were beautiful mahogany, polished until it shone. The tables were small, in cozy little alcoves that promised privacy, and the lighting was low. It was meant for romantic rendezvous, that was for sure. Her heart began to flutter. This was very intimate in a way. A woman in an evening gown came to a silk covered podium. Eric gave her his name, and she went down the list she had. Checking him off, she had them follow her to one of the little alcoves.
“Oh my goodness! This has to be the most expensive restaurant in the whole city!” Rosalie wasn’t sure he’d heard her at first, because the words had come out in no more than a whisper. She was still in shock over where they were.
“Only the best for my girl.” A tear slid down her cheek and she quickly dashed it away, but not before Eric saw it. “Why are you crying?” Rosalie shook her head, as if she were saying she didn’t want to talk about it.
“Thank you. For everything. There’s no way that I could every repay you for any of this.” Eric waved off her explanation. They sat together, enjoying the mood of the place. A man in a tux with a violin came over to their table and began to serenade them. Eric looked up at her and smiled, seeing the lights sparkle and dance in her eyes. The smile on her face was permanently placed, and nothing would take it off. That meant that he’d done what he had set out to do. He wanted to put her in a fantasy world where everything was perfect so he could propose to her again and give her the sweet and romantic proposal that she deserved. He still beat himself up about the way he’d blurted it out in front of his mom. Not because he’d asked Rosalie to marry him, but because he’d just blurted it out in anger. He’d wanted to make it more romantic and give her what he knew he should. The waitress arrived with the menu
s, and even though Rosalie dove in to look at the food, Eric was too busy staring at the beautiful woman in front of him.
Chapter 19
Rosalie was in awe. This place was wonderful. The way the place was laid out made her feel like she was a mermaid in the ocean, seeing the fish everywhere around her. It was a dream come true. She wanted to tell Eric that, but she was afraid he might laugh at her. Granted, a lot of girls had wished they were mermaids when they were younger, but she still wished it was true at her current age. This was as close as she was going to get, so she just reveled in it and planned to enjoy every minute of it. The man with the violin was a fairy tale touch. No one actually had this kind of thing happen to them. She was pretty sure that if she told Vanessa this little detail, she would laugh and say that Rosalie was making it up. This sort of romance only existed in teenage girls’ dreams and romantic movies that all women swooned over. She was making sure that she inventoried every single second to convert to long term memory later, and to record it in her journal. If it was written down, then maybe it wouldn’t feel like just a dream to her anymore.
“Are you having a good time?” Eric’s voice jolted her out of her reverie. She snapped out of her dream world and back into reality. Her smile was blinding.
“Is that even a question? This is the most amazing place I’ve ever been to! It’s just so beautiful! I feel like I’m in the ocean.” She bit her lip. She’d almost mentioned the mermaid part. She prayed that he wouldn’t pick up on that. He smiled at her, and she didn’t know if she was imagining it or if it was really happening, but he was looking at her in that way that all the men in romance movies look at the women they love. Her heart started to flutter, and it brought a little flush to her cheeks, making her eyes sparkle and her skin glow. Eric was blown away by how beautiful she was. The way that she looked at him like he was the only man in the world. That was something he’d never had before. Yes, girls had looked at him like he was the paycheck that would get them anything they wanted. He was used to that. It wasn’t what he’d wanted, though, and that was part of the reason why he’d never gotten close to the girls that his mother had paraded in front of him.
