Just Rosalie

Zoe

Michelle sat agitated in her seat. She'd gotten Rosalie to drop her home first. And Henry was giving her the look. As the car pulled over in front of the house, Rosalie looked over the suburban neighborhood. The tall, groomed trees, and concrete sidewalks, reminded her of her childhood home in Milan. Her mother still owned the two-flat, urban house, including the lake house on the outskirt of the city. She'd visited Milan a few times in the past five years, but never spent more than a few days.
"Henry, you still want to see my new goldfish?"
Henry looked at her puzzled.
"What gold..."
Michelle punched him in the arm and his face became red. He was about to retaliate when they heard Rosalie's voice.
"I'll wait. No longer than ten minutes though. I'm exhausted."
Rosalie placed the palm of her hand over her mouth as a yawn escaped her lips. She was more than exhausted, but dreaded to head back to Pennelope's.
"You should come in. My mom has wanted to put a face to the name for a while, and you know, she's all over protective and stuff too..."
Michelle smacked her teeth together as Henry looked at her with an overly compensated grin.
"Oh, okay. I'm no serial killer, for sure."
Rosalie unbuckled her seatbelt and stretched her arms upward with the tilt of her head. She'd need a hot bath before bed, and probably a few glasses of wine for her mind to shut down.
They headed to the front door, and Michelle fished for her keys inside of her purse. After opening the door and heading inside, the living room was extremely dark and a tall figure stood at the far end of the room. Michelle closed the door behind them and proceeded to take off her shoes.
"Shoes off. My mom's anal about shoes in her house."
Rosalie leaned against the wall and pulled the zips down for her knee high, leather boots. As she wiggled her feet out, the voice of a woman rang in her ears, making her almost stumble forward. Looking up, she saw a woman with short, blonde hair and a petite body frame.
"I'm not anal, Michelle."
The woman placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest. She looked over Rosalie and quirked her brow.
"You can be, mom."
Michelle threw her purse onto the couch and headed into the kitchen, with Henry in tow with her.
"You're Henry's step-mom, right?"
Rosalie gulped. She certainly was not. And that made her chest rush with anxiety.
"Yeah. Uh. Actually, we're not married."
Michelle's mother studied Rosalie with narrowed eyes. She'd heard about the twenty-something year old woman quite a lot from her daughter. And for some reason, she looked familiar.
"Aren't you two engaged? That's basically married in my book." Rosalie felt unsettled under the woman's gaze, even though she was a few inches taller. "Barbara, but you can call me Barb."
Barbara stretched her hand out for Rosalie to take and received the exact gesture, resulting in a handshake.
"Rosalie."
Rosalie's eyes drifted over to the woman standing at the end of the room. Who was she? And why was she looking at Rosalie with quizzical eyes?
"Margaret, what's up with you?"
Barbara looked at her daughter amused. She'd always been a shy one. But she was behaving a tad too awkward.
"It's nice to meet you, Rosalie."
Margaret walked over and extended her hand, her mind still wondering if she was seeing correctly. According to the pictures, Rosalie looked like an older version of her wife's former girlfriend from high school.
"It's a pleasure."
Rosalie could feel another yawn approaching and placed the palm of her hand over her lips after shaking Margaret's hand. She wondered if Henry would be done soon, so that she could drop him home and call it a night.
"Sit. I'll get us something to drink."
Margaret guided Rosalie to the sofa and continued to study her. She was almost certain that Rosalie was who she suspected her to be.
"I'm guessing you're a fan of my mother?"
Rosalie inhaled a breath feeling uncomfortable. She'd concluded that Margaret knew that she was Kaitlyn Watson's daughter.
"Marge, have you seen my phone anywhere? I can't find it."
Rosalie heard footsteps rushing down the steps and recognized the voice almost immediately. She hadn't heard that voice in a very long time. As she turned, and her eyes met those familiar ones of blue, she felt as though she would faint.
"Rose?"
Zoe immediately recognized the face, and her chest tightened with fear. What was she doing there?
"I suspected as much."
Margaret said as she stood and walked over to Zoe. Barbara came out of the kitchen with a tray of beverages and two teenagers hiding behind her.
"Well, this is unexpected."
Rosalie certainly didn't need the extra anxiety. She didn't know if she should have felt happy or sad. Her first love stood only a few feet away from her, and married no less.
"What are you doing in the States? I thought you said you'd never move."
Zoe walked over to Rosalie and pulled her into a hug. As much as the years had weakened their bond, she still felt a connection to her first love. Michelle and Henry rushed up the steps, making Rosalie realize that they probably knew.
"I've been living here for the past few years, going back and forth, you know."
Barbara placed the tray down on the center table and placed her hands on her hips. She knew that she recognized the face.
"You two look exactly like the pictures, and you're both married now."
Rosalie stuffed her hands in her back pockets and stepped backward. She felt unsettled that Barbara considered her to be married, when she wasn't even sure if she still wanted to.
"Married, huh? You certainly have changed then."
Zoe stretched her hand out to show Rosalie the ring on her finger, but Rosalie didn't reciprocate the gesture.
"Not quite."
Rosalie mumbled as she took another step back. Zoe wondered why Rosalie was moving away from her. Maybe, Rosalie didn't care to catch up. But it was quite the opposite.
"How so?"
Margaret walked up behind Zoe and placed her arm around her wife's shoulder. She had heard lots of stories of the two, especially how hard the breakup was.
"Let's all sit, shall we?"
Zoe pulled her wife over to the loveseat and Rosalie sat down on a recliner. Barbara had headed back into the kitchen to retrieve something.
"I might take a trip home before Summer ends. Mum's been on my tail to travel a bit more too."
Rosalie placed her hands on her thighs and Zoe immediately noticed her ring. She sprung up from her seat and grabbed Rosalie's hand.
"It's beautiful. How long have you two been...?"
"We're not married."
Rosalie interjected making Zoe quirk her brow. She'd never seen Rosalie so tense before, even on the day that she'd last seen her ten years ago.
"I found the photo album."
Barbara plopped in between Margaret and Zoe on the chair. As she opened the photo album, Rosalie felt as though she would throw up. Her stomach was churning painfully, and her head was fuzzy and stressed.
"You've certainly changed a lot."
Zoe said as she looked over the pictures of their teenage selves. She'd often wondered what it would have been like if she'd never moved away. Maybe, they'd have been the ones married instead to other people.
"I doubt it."
Rosalie leaned backward into the chair and closed her eyes. It had been almost a week since she'd contacted or seen Lee, and having Zoe in her current thoughts corrupted her mind even more. She probably did need a very long vacation away from New York.
"You've gotten taller, and your hair's shorter. And are those highlights?"
Rosalie ran her fingers through her hair and nodded. She'd visited the salon on a few occasions to change up her hairstyle.
"You've changed too."
Zoe looked up at Rosalie and smiled. She'd often wondered what Rosalie had been up to in the past ten years, but never allowed herself to get in contact.
"How's Roman? And your mom?"
Rosalie felt her chest tighten. Zoe didn't know? Had she really never kept up to date with the family goings?
"Mum's in Puerto Rico. She's been travelling around a lot since I graduated high school."
Zoe had researched Kaitlyn Watson's name a few times over the years, keeping up to date with her career and the events she'd hosted or attended. But there wasn't much about Rosalie online, which made her wonder-what had Rosalie been up to?
"Has Roman gotten married yet? I bet he's still the ladies' man as always."
Rosalie didn't want to say it, but she had to. And every time she said it aloud, the easier it was to tuck away into the back of her mind-bury her pain.
"He died nine years ago."
Zoe's jaw felt as though it would detach from her face, and a tear immediately slid its way down her cheek.
"Seriously? I..."
"I'm surprised that you didn't know."
Rosalie clasped her hands together and leaned forward. Her head was spinning and aching. She'd thought it would be easier, but somehow when she said it that time, it hurt more than it had in a very long time.
"It's nowhere online."
Zoe's cheeks became tinted and she covered her face with the palms of her hands. She realized that she'd been so selfish in the past ten years, that she didn't even know that Romario died so long ago. She thought that he'd been to college, had multiple girlfriends over the years, travelled the world with his sister, and that he'd been there for Rosalie after she'd left Milan.
"We try to keep our lives as private as we can, but it's there if you look."
Rosalie felt her entire face becoming flushed. Her cheeks heated with an unexpected pain, which showed the feeling inside of her heart.
Margaret looked as her wife began to cry. She'd seen Zoe break down a few times in the two years that they'd been married, but of course, never enjoyed it. She got up and knelt down in front of Zoe.
Rosalie observed the two and felt her heart pull inside of her chest. As much as she envied Margaret, she was happy that Zoe had found someone to care for her.
"Well, maybe I should make some tea."
Barbara hurried off into the kitchen. She'd needed an excuse to exit the room. The building tension had begun to make her uncomfortable, especially given that her husband had died only a few months before her daughter moved back home.
"Rose... I really don't know what to say."
Rosalie felt that it was time to leave. She looked at the staircase and hoped than Henry would be ready anytime soon.
"It's been years. I've learnt to deal with the grief. Yes, it was hard. I was in a bad place for a while. Then I met..."
Rosalie closed her eyes. She knew the name that she wanted to say. Lee had made the void in her heart a lot smaller, but after everything, the void grew bigger than it had ever been.
"That's how come you decided to move? Because of Roman's..."
"No. I moved to the States because I met someone."
Zoe wiped her eyes with the napkin that Margaret had given her. She was feeling too much in the past few weeks-extremely emotional.
"Babe, calm down. You'll stress yourself and the baby out."
Rosalie pressed her lips together and stood. She was certainly ready to leave. Heading to the staircase, she called Henry's name.
"Henry! Time to go."
She crossed her arms over her chest and exhaled a loud breath.
"Your wife's son, right?"
Zoe asked as another tear slid down her cheek. She wanted to give Rosalie another hug, but decided against it. Margaret wouldn't have appreciated it, and seemingly, Rosalie wouldn't have either.
"She's not my wife."
Rosalie slid the ring out of her finger and placed it into her back pocket. She was growing extremely tired of being labeled-Kaitlyn Watson's daughter or Lee Reid's wife. And only one of those was true.
"Rose, what's the problem?"
Rosalie gritted her teeth. The problem was that Zoe was the only one to call her Rose, or the only woman to shatter her heart into a million pieces. She made Rosalie realize that she didn't love Lee as much as she'd thought, because Lee's heartbreak stood nowhere close to Zoe's one.
"I just need this day to end already."
"You're really not happy to catch up, are you?"
Rosalie shook her head with a sarcastic smile. She'd never admit that Zoe was invading her mind again-taking over her thoughts.
"You've set in stone everything ten years ago. I'm just going forth with what you wanted."
She said bitterly. She remembered the day when Zoe told her that she'd met someone else, and wanted to end all contact whatsoever.
"You can't still be holding that against me."
Rosalie shook her head. It really wasn't about what Zoe had done, at that point. It was about what Lee did.
"No. I honestly don't. There's just a lot going on right now."
Henry listened to Rosalie as he walked down the staircase. Somehow, he felt guilty for his mother's actions. He'd known about his mother's unfaithfulness all of his life.
"You're breaking up with her, huh?"
Rosalie's eyes widened. She didn't want to discuss her possible breakup with Henry, of all people.
"Your mum's probably worried by now. Let's go."
Henry frowned. He hated when everyone walked on eggshells around him. There was enough strength in him to handle anything.
"She's been calling me non-stop. I just got off the phone with her. And do you want to know why she's calling? To ask about you, of course. So, I think it's time that you tell her if you're done or not, because I'm seriously getting tired of her."
Rosalie swallowed. She didn't want anyone to know her business. But it seemed as though she didn't have an option than to have a personal conversation in front of Zoe and her wife, including Michelle.
"Henry, I'm still yet to decide, okay?"
Henry grabbed his phone from his back pocket and turned the screen to Rosalie. It was another call from Lee. Rosalie grabbed the phone and answered the call. She was way past irritated, at that point.
"Henry, I was wondering if you could put Rosalie on the phone."
"What do you want, Lee?"
Rosalie rubbed her temple with her index and middle fingers. She'd hate to cause a scene, but she'd scream at Lee, if she had no etiquette left.
"Sweetheart, I've missed you so much. Why haven't you been taking my calls, or responding to my texts? I've been so worried."
Rosalie knew that if she answered any of Lee's questions, she'd spiral into a fit of rage. So, instead, she did what any polite woman would do.
"Please stop calling your son to ask about me. And no, I don't want to talk to you right now. You've earned the distance. Reevaluate your life. I want a faithful relationship. And you should figure out if that's what you want, and what you'll always want. Goodbye, Lee."
Rosalie ended the call and handed Henry his phone. She could use a switch to turn off the thoughts inside of her head.
"Rose, is there anything I can do?"
Zoe asked as she stepped forward, but Rosalie took a few steps back. She needed to leave to clear her head, and a few glasses of wine would probably help with that, hopefully.
"No. It's my relationship to deal with. Henry, let's go."
Zoe reached for Rosalie's hand and pulled her toward her. She didn't intend to act so rashly, but she, at least, wanted to explain what had happened ten years ago.
"Rosalie, you've got to hear me out."
Zoe had never used Rosalie's full name, which made her stand in place. She looked at how Margaret stood behind Zoe with protectiveness. Margaret looked at Rosalie with narrowed eyes and a burning inside of her chest. She wasn't one to get jealous easily, but given Zoe and Rosalie's history, it was hard not to.
"Go ahead then. I don't have all night."
Zoe led Rosalie over to the sofa and they sat down. Margaret stood behind the sofa and watched over the two with a serious gaze. For a woman in her mid-twenties, she didn't have a lot to be envious about. But Rosalie was Rosalie, and she was always the center of a room, and the envy of many.
"All those years ago, I didn't cheat on you as I said."
Rosalie sucked in a breath and shook her head. Was she being sucked into a conversation about the past? A past that she wished she had no memory of?
"I really don't want to talk about this."
Rosalie was about to stand but Michelle pushed her back down. She'd heard the story from Zoe about what actually happened, and Rosalie had to know the truth.
"Just listen. You'll thank me later."
Michelle said as she stood firm in front of Rosalie, blocking her from moving. But Rosalie could have easily tackled Michelle to the floor, if she wanted. She wasn't trapped, she decided to listen.
"Okay, so you didn't cheat. You probably couldn't handle a long distance relationship. We were fifteen. It's in the past. Now, can we move on?"
Zoe felt her eyes welling up. She didn't like to talk about what happened all those years ago, and having to discuss it with Rosalie was far worse.
"Marge, can you give us some privacy?"
Margaret nodded but was hesitant to leave her wife alone. She ushered Henry and Michelle out of the room and into the kitchen where her mother stood sipping on a cup of tea.
"Zoe, it's in the past. I'm not sure why we're rehashing this."
Zoe placed the palms of her hands in Rosalie's. There was something that she'd never told Rosalie, and it was about her father.
"You've only met my mother, never my father."
Rosalie nodded and wondered the relevance of it. She knew that Zoe grew up in a single parent household, and that her father was never around.
"Yeah. He's never been around."
Zoe tightened her hold around Rosalie's hand and inhaled a deep breath.
"That's because he was in jail."
Rosalie furrowed her brows. Zoe had never mentioned that piece of information before, which made her wonder-did she really know Zoe?
"You lied. Why does it matter? It's not like we're together, or friends, or even in each other's lives. You don't have to tell me anything."
Zoe gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. Rosalie was being a pain, and she'd love to smack some sense into her with harsh words, but decided against it. Her hormones always made her overreact, but she couldn't, not in that case.
"He got out of jail a week before mom and I left Milan. We were running away from him."
Rosalie gulped. She definitely wasn't expecting to hear that. Her heart sped inside of her chest, and she felt all of her past ghosts flooding her thoughts.
"Why didn't you just tell me? Why only now?
Zoe swallowed and looked down at her stomach. She'd never be able to explain in depth her reasons, but she still could give Rosalie the answers that she needed to cope.
"I was young, Rose. And I was embarrassed. It felt easier that way. When we left, I couldn't let you hold on, you couldn't hold on to something that might have never been. You needed to move on, and I needed to find stability."
Rosalie could feel the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. If she knew, she would've done any and everything to keep Zoe safe. But it seemed as though everything ran its course, and Zoe was happy.
"So, you'll never go back to Milan because of him? What had he done that was so bad?"
Zoe released Rosalie's hands and looked up into her eyes. She remembered when they'd spent hours relaxing in a staring contest. They'd often call it a tie, because neither could ever look away. But after all those years, it was different. Zoe had fallen in love again, and they were about to add a baby to their life. She was, indeed, happy. But a part of her would always love Rosalie. First love never leaves a person.
"He died a few years ago. He ended up in prison again, and was found in a pool of his own blood. They said that he was probably beaten to death somehow."
Zoe puffed out her cheeks as Rosalie pulled her into a hug. Rosalie somehow felt a bit settled that she'd gotten the truth, even though she didn't know that she'd been lied to, to begin with.
"Was he abusive?" Rosalie found her answer right in those blue eyes. She wanted to comfort Zoe, though she didn't want to cross the line. So, instead she got up and moved away from Zoe. "I'm happy that you're happy. It's all I've ever wanted for you."
Rosalie said as she grabbed her boots and stuffed a foot inside of each side.
"Are you happy, Rose?"
Zoe stood, as well, as her wife reentered the living room. Michelle observed silently as Henry retrieved his shoes.
"It doesn't matter. It's my life to figure out."
Rosalie zipped up her boots and moved her hair behind her shoulders. She'd felt more emotional that day, than she'd felt in a very long time.
"Rose, how did Roman...?"
Rosalie had nightmares about what had happened. She'd spent months in therapy after that night. But she wouldn't tell Zoe that intensity of the situation.
"Car crashed into Lake Brie. It was all over the news."
Rosalie always held guilt for being the one to survive the crash and not her brother. She'd always been a good swimmer. But she wasn't able to save him-she wasn't able to get help in time.
"Thanks for letting me know. It must be hard..."
Zoe didn't know the half of it, but Rosalie didn't need anyone's pity. She'd strived on self-medication and alcohol for the remainder of her teenage years after Romario's death. But as she hit her twenties, she learned to love her life, and cope with the loss of one that she'd loved more than her own. Romario would have wanted her to move on-to live again.