Just Rosalie

Meeting Michelle

Driving along the streets eased the tension that tightened her muscles. Henry had never really spent time with her and Lee. Elizabeth was Henry's responsible and dedicated parent, and for her to ask Lee to babysit, meant that she had to do something extremely important.
Rosalie always wanted to adopt a baby, just like how Elizabeth and Lee did with Henry. But her mind often changed when she thought about actually raising a kid. It was one thing to change dirty diapers, but having to deal with a human being for the rest of your life was a little bit too much. She saw how Elizabeth struggled with taking care of Henry on her own, and even though Lee financially helped out, emotional support was needed as well. Maybe, Rosalie didn't trust Lee to step up and be there if they ever did have a kid, which is why she put those thoughts of motherhood aside, as much as she could.
As she neared Milton High School, she thought about her own days dressed in a soccer uniform, as she strutted down the halls of Reynold's Business Institution. Her high cheekbones and glamorous appearance made her one of the it girls. She'd realized soon enough that popularity wasn't everything-when she'd met Zoe.
Pulling up in front of the compound, she slid out of her ride and looked over the students who checked her out. But she was on a mission to find a skinny, brunette boy, with a charming smile always on his face.
She heard a few whistles and a shout or two, but wasn't in the mood to flip off teenage boys in front of a school, of all places. So, not noticing Henry anywhere from where she stood, she decided to head into the building.
Rosalie grabbed her phone from out of her pocket and searched for Henry through her contact list. She tapped on his name and placed the phone to her ear.
Leaning against a locker, she waited for him to pick up. With no answer, she sighed and leaned the phone to her forehead in frustration.
"Excuse me." Rosalie looked up at the tall, athletic girl in front of her. Her eyes moved over her straight, blonde hair, and how she clutched her textbook to her chest. "You're blocking my locker."
The girl said irritated, making Rosalie suck in a breath of embarrassment.
"Uh. Sorry."
She stepped out of the way and ran her fingers through her hair. Deciding to ring Henry's phone again, she got through on the third ring.
"Hello. This is Miss Novak speaking. Henry is in detention at the moment. Is there a message you would like me to give him?"
A woman's voice echoed through the phone. Rosalie furrowed her brows.
"Yeah. I'm here to pick Henry up. When will he be out of detention?"
Rosalie ran the palm of her hand over her face. Elizabeth was not going to be happy. And to be honest, she wasn't either.
"In about an hour, ma'am. May I ask who this is?"
"Oh. Uh. I'm his mother... Step-mother."
Rosalie swallowed nervously. She'd never thought of herself that way before. And it made her stomach flip.
"Okay. Well, he's in Algebra two with me. So you can come get him at 4:30. Bye."
The line went dead and those brown eyes looked over the girl once more.
"So you're the infamous girlfriend. Henry described you to be a lot younger."
The girl turned and gave Rosalie a look over. Rosalie placed her phone inside of her pocket.
"And you know him, how?"
"I'm his friend Michelle. If you knew him at all, you would know me. I am at his house almost every day."
Rosalie swallowed. She'd always wanted to spend time with Henry, but Lee was never interested.
"I don't know him that well then. But there's always time to learn."
"Good answer." Michelle's blue eyes roamed over the woman in front of her. "I've never seen so many boys gawk in my direction before. Got a feeling it's because they are looking at you."
Michelle said tilting her head to the side, where a group of seniors were staring at them.
"I was warned about that."
Rosalie huffed out a breath and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Come on. I'll take you somewhere where there are no boys to look at you."
Michelle led her to the bleachers at the back of school, where there was no one else.
"So, this is where you come for peace?"
"This is where Henry and I come to make-out after school."
Rosalie moved her hair behind her shoulders and tilted her head to the side.
"So, you're his girlfriend?"
She shook her head and chuckled. That would be the last thing that she'd do, even if the world was ending.
"I was kidding. There's a reason that I hang out with the jock with two moms, you know, and it's not for kicks."
"So you like girls then. Men are obnoxious."
They took a seat on one of the bleachers, and Michelle placed her backpack onto her lap.
"Preaching to the choir here. Henry's the only one I can tolerate, and he can be a pain too."
Rosaline agreed. She'd only gotten along with one man in her life, and that was her brother. And maybe, Henry could be tolerable-hopefully.
"So Michelle, what do you fancy doing?"
Michelle looked at her as if it was the most typical question to ask a teenage girl-it probably was.
"Eating pussy. Duh."
Michelle goofily smirked and blinked quickly a few times-oddly enough it was amusing. She had a question in mind, but didn't know if she should ask.
"You're like seventeen? Focus on school, not on teenage vaginas."
Rosalie noticed the frown that suddenly sat on Michelle's face. She'd seemed to offend the teenage girl, but it was merely a joke.
"I'm old enough I'd say."
Michelle grimaced. But the conversation made Rosalie remember her teenage years, which led to her thinking about Zoe. She disliked having Zoe in her thoughts too often. It made her doubt that she'd be able to conquer a long-lasting relationship-specifically with Lee. Rosalie knew she'd made a few compromises for their relationship to work. She'd lived in New York, when she could have been with her mother travelling the world. Kaitlyn Watson never stayed longer than a few weeks in one city-she was always on the go-travelling to different exotic cities as much as she should-culturizing her art. Maybe, that's why Rosalie was never able to surpass her mother-she'd gotten herself stuck, when she should have been experiencing more-different landscapes, people, places, ideas-inspiration. Rosalie had also found herself socializing less with friends-she'd made it her duty for Lee to feel unthreatened, but she couldn't help it if anyone found an interest in her. She'd never reciprocate those feelings-or maybe she would, if she allowed herself to.
"Enjoy your youth. When you're my age, you'll think of the good 'ole times, and wonder, where did I go wrong?"
Michelle gave Rosalie a quizzically look over. It seemed like the perfect time than any to tell Rosalie what had been on her mind for a while, but she still wasn't sure-it might be a mistake to ask-it definitely was.
"I'll show you where Henry's detention class is."
She said instead, not wanting to risk it. If anything, she'd let it slide out casually during a more relaxed conversation, because Rosalie deserved to know, even if her sister-in-law-Zoe, would never forgive her.