The One They Left Behind

T W E N T Y

Rose was surprised when Sam was late to meet her at the cafeteria for lunch. It wasn't like him to not let her know he was running late. She tried to tell herself that he was talking to a teacher, but her nerves got the better of her.

Lunch was already halfway over by the time he entered the room. Rose grinned and beckoned him over but was shocked to see his excited mood from earlier was already gone.

"Everything ok? What happened after class?" Rose asked when Sam sat next to her.

He glanced over at Yasmin who was sitting across from the two of them and looking at the two of them with interest. She smiled at him almost awkwardly, focusing on the food in front of her.

"We'll talk about it later." He said, his tone flat and almost dismissive.

For the rest of the lunch period Yasmin and Rose tried to keep Sam involved with their conversation, but after seeing how unresponsive he was, they quieted a bit and their own conversations started to fizzle out.

After her final class of the day was over, Rose slowly put her books away. She could feel her fear building up in her stomach, less like butterflies and more like aggressive moths or wasps. She didn't really know what was going on with Sam, but if her hunch was correct, someone had told him about Jonathan and she was pretty sure she knew who it had been.

"C'mon." Sam said, foregoing any greeting when he saw her and grabbing her hand. He almost dragged her out to the parking lot causing a few people to cast them half interested looks.

"Could you slow down a little?" Rose asked, trying to right her backpack onto one shoulder and jog to catch up with his long strides at the same time.

"I just want to get out of here so you can tell me what's going on." Sam bit back, but his grip on her loosened a little.

"If you slowed down and told me what's going on, maybe I could explain it to you." She answered, almost crashing into him when he stopped completely.

"Look, I don't want everyone to know our business. Although they apparently seem to know more than I do, so how about we talk about this in private, away from everyone." Sam seemed to tower over her even more than usual. He had always been taller than her, but now it was intimidating rather than endearing.

She nodded her head and the two of them walked out of the school at a more leisurely pace, although she trailed behind him a little with strands of her long hair covering bits of her face.

***

They walked a little ways to the park by the school, where Sam dropped Rose's hand and whirled to face her, his eyebrows raised and his mouth set in a line. 

"Renee told me that you've been lying to me, she told me that you've been hanging out with some guy like every weekend and that I should really get you to explain it to me." He crossed his arms, his jaw clenched tight.

"Wait, she didn't say who it was?" Rose asked, her jaw dropping a little.

"Just that it was suspicious and that I should ask what other secrets you have. What are you hiding from me?" Sam prodded.

"The guy is my brother, Renee knows that." Rose answered, "Why would you even believe her? You know she's not a big fan of me." 

Rose knew now wasn't really the time to get defensive, but somehow she couldn't stop the words from spilling out of her mouth.

"You literally never tell me anything! You're so secretive and so I listened to her. You never talk about your brother, why would you hide the fact that you've been seeing him from me?" His voice rose, his face contorted in frustration.

"What do you mean? I tell you stuff." Rose said, crossing her arms.

"No, you don't! I didn't even know what your dad did until last week when Yasmin asked about the case he's working on and you never talk about your mom or the relationship you guys had!" His arms gestured wildly.

"Okay, so I don't like talking about my family. Is that really such a huge issue?" Rose asked quietly, wishing that she could just take herself out of this situation.

"I want to be able to be here for you, but it's hard when you don't want me to support you at all! Look, I know your mom died a couple years ago and it's probably hard to talk about her, but you should be able to tell me things and talk about your family." Sam said, seeming exasperated.

Rose uncrossed her arms, her fingers twisting with one another on their own accord, a dance of nerves that she couldn't help but look at.

Sam sighed, brushing a hand through his blonde hair, seeming a little defeated.

"You said it was your brother who you've been seeing secretly. I think I at least deserve to know why you've been keeping that a secret from me Rose." He said, his voice much softer.

"Yeah, I know." She looked up at him, scrutinizing his face. "It was around a month ago when Jonathan, my brother, came back. He left pretty soon after my mom's funeral and we didn't really keep in touch. I didn't want to talk to him when he first came back, but he gave me the answers I needed and we've been getting closer since then."

"Okay, but why didn't you tell me that he's back?" Sam prodded. Although his voice was calm, his face was still scrunched in irritation.

"He just came back from rehab and I didn't really know how to tell you, or how much I could tell you. It just felt like a lot to tell you." She said, trying her best not to cringe at her own disappointing explanation. 

"That's why you should've told me. It might feel like a lot, but I'm supposed to help you with that. It's in the job description. I think I get it though, you feeling like you couldn't tell me. I mean  I wish you had, but I think I get it." Sam relented.

Rose felt tired, any defensive or argumentative spirit had left her body a while ago and she just wanted to be in her bed.

"I wish you'd be more open with me," Same sighed. "I'm gonna go home, I think I still need to cool down a bit, but I'll text you." 

Rose nodded, almost surprised when he gave her a soft hug before walking back to the school.

Rose waited until he was out of sight before making the trek back herself. She shivered a little, the cold wind biting more than it had just minutes ago. 

When she got home, she pulled out her phone and sent a text to the group chat with Hillary and Yasmin.

I think Sam and I just had our first fight. ~Rose

I'll be there in 20, I just need to pick up some ice cream ~Yasmin

Rose smiled, wiping away a tear she hadn't realized was making its way down her cheek.

I'll be there as soon as I'm done work, I'll pick up some pizza ~Hillary

She'd feel better after having some ice cream, pizza, and girl time. Rose shook her head, wiping at her cheeks. Everything would be okay.