Yasmin didn't ask about Sam when she first arrived, holding the pint of ice cream like an offering. She waited until Hillary came over later and they had all settled down to eat the warm pizza.
"Do you want to talk about what you and Sam were fighting about?" Yasmin asked softly, pulling her legs onto the couch under her.
"Renee told Sam that I had been seeing some guy behind his back and when I explained that it was my brother he got upset because I don't talk to him about my family." Rose explained, picking at the crust of her pizza slice.
"Did you tell him about Jonathan?" Hillary said through a mouthful of pizza.
"Yeah, it calmed him down a bit and then he went home to calm down I guess. I know I should've told him earlier. Any reasons I had seem even dumber now, I screwed up didn't I?" Rose exclaimed, letting her head fall into her hands.
Yasmin moved the plate off Rose's lap before wrapping her arms around the obviously upset girl.
"I mean, telling him sooner might've been better, but there's nothing you can do to change that. You're learning how to be in a relationship babes, everyone makes mistakes." Yasmin said, rubbing Rose's shoulder comfortingly.
"I'm horrible at this. I can't communicate with him properly and the idea of trying just makes me nervous and uncomfortable." Rose said, her eyes big and sad when she looked up at Yasmin.
"I think that's fair. I mean I might be biased," Hillary chuckled. "But you don't know what you're doing in relationships so obviously it's going to be weird to open up to someone and put your trust into him. I think it's probably best to give him the time he needs and then explain to him that communication isn't your strong suit."
"I mean, I saw him practically drag you out of the school. I never expected to see him react so aggressively to anything, were you okay?" Yasmin asked. Her voice was soft and comforting, but her eyes were narrowed and focused on Rose's own, as if she would be able to read any lies there.
"Yeah, I'm okay. He just wanted to talk in private, it was weird to have Renee of all people come up to him." Rose answered, giving a soft smile to Yasmin. "I didn't even get a chance to tell him about Renee and Jonathan."
Her fingers knotted together, which prompted Hillary to gently pry them apart.
"It's okay, you'll have the chance to explain everything soon." She said, in a tone that was so motherly it almost caused tears to well up in Rose's eyes.
"In my eyes Sam's already on thin ice. If he isn't careful, I'll have to smack him." Yasmin declared, pulling away from Rose to cross her arms.
Rose was stunned for a second, but soon burst into a fit of laughter that Hillary joined.
"I'm serious!" Yasmin almost whined, a smile making its way onto her face.
"I'm sure you are, hon." Hillary said, smirking slightly.
Yasmin grabbed one of the decorative cushions behind her and pelted Hillary with it, who returned the favour. Rose just barely managed to duck out of the way in time, rolling off the couch in laughter.
"Are you okay?" Yasmin asked, trying to catch her breath through her own laughter.
Rose nodded when she was calm, looking fondly at her friends who could so quickly change her sour mood into the lighthearted laughter she was surrounded by.
The three girls soon settled down, curling themselves on the couch to watch a movie and finish their pizza.
***
The next morning, Rose woke up determined. She had decided that she was done letting Renee and Jonathan's problems cause so much havoc in her life. She wasn't quite sure how she would do it, but she needed to get them to talk.
She waited close to the front of the school, trying her best to ignore any stress she was feeling about giving Renee a piece of her mind.
When Renee walked through the front doors and caught sight of Rose she smirked like she was expecting to see her.
"I'll catch up to you guys later." She told the girls who had been walking in with her as she made her way to Rose.
"I don't know what your goal was, but trying to create problems between Sam and I isn't going to make Jonathan talk to you." Rose blurted out, crossing her arms to keep her fingers from twisting around themselves.
"How was I supposed to know you didn't tell your little boyfriend about your big brother coming back to town? I thought he would know." Renee asked, her voice dripping in false honey sweet innocence.
"You knew and you tried to exploit it." Rose accused.
"It's not like I heard you evading questions about your brother when I knew he was in town. It was mostly just a good guess." She raised her eyebrows smugly, quickly dropping her innocent act.
"Stop messing with my relationship Renee." Rose demanded, trying to make her voice as strong and cold as she could, wanting to appear as in control as possible.
"You don't seem to need my help for that. You know, I really didn't have to do much, you guys seem to be having trouble trusting each other." Renee's bottom lip pouted and she knit her eyebrows together, her face twisted into a gross exaggeration of concern.
"If you want me to talk to Jonathan and help you two get this all sorted, then you're going to want to play nice with me and stop causing problems." Rose answered, schooling her outward appearance to remain calm, even when she was digging her nails into her forearms out of Renee's line of vision.
Renee started slightly, her jaw dropping slightly and her eyes widening before she stepped back and hid her surprise under a veil of confidence.
"You'e going to talk to Jonathan for me? Why would I want you to do that? You'd only badmouth me." She said, raising one eyebrow.
"He's been back for weeks and you still haven't talked, it's getting on my nerves. Plus, I want you out of my hair." Rose said, smiling slightly.
"Fine. Don't expect a thank you from me." Renee huffed, her eyes refusing to meet Rose's.
"I'm not doing this for you, I don't want a thank you." Rose said, happy to have the last word as she headed to class.
She was Sam was waiting for her next to the door of her History class, leaning against the wall with his head bent a little.
"Hey." Rose greeted softly when she reached him.
"I think I get why you didn't tell me about your brother," Sam said, foregoing a greeting. "I just want you to know that you can talk to me, I'd rather learn about things from your than Renee or anyone else."
Rose was a little taken aback by how upfront he was being, but she still smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I promise to try harder at communicating." She said, looking up at him with a hopeful expression.
He gave her a sweet but tired smile, "That's all I can ask for." He answered.
***
Hey! Author here! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's been enjoying my story and for sticking with it for so long, I'm shocked so many people seem to be enjoying my story! I would love to read any of your comments and leave a vote if you enjoy!
Love CottonCandySkies
YOU ARE READING
The One They Left Behind
Romance"If you loved me, why was it so easy for you to walk away?" Rose was used to being forgotten. Her mother had left, then her brother. The one person she never expected to leave her was Diana, her best friend. Diana left in 10th grade, leaving an opt...
