𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 | 𝑩𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆

Encounter | Chapter 14

SATURDAY WAS APPROACHING FASTER THAN EXPECTED. Rose had chatted a bit with Steve and also joked around with him quite a bit, they sat in front of the Harrington estate leaning against their Subaru the whole time.

The subject of Billy had not come up again. Then she had driven home, explaining to her parents that she had missed the school day.

Stephen and Christine's reaction had been completely different than expected, they had only given each other knowing looks and written Rose an apology. She would take it with her to school on Monday.

Afterwards she had spent some time with her little sister Ebony and read a bit. She had gone to bed early so she would be fit for the party.

Now it was already Saturday afternoon and Rose was just finishing getting dressed. As always, especially when it was so warm, she wore a plain black top, gray capri pants and white sneakers. She checked her appearance once again in the mirror.

Everything was clear, she was ready to go. She had arranged with Steve that she would pick him up at his home. They would then leave the car tonight and walk home, in case a lot of alcohol should come into play. So Rose said goodbye to her parents and went to the house.

She was just about to walk to her Subaru when she saw Billy two houses away, coming home at that moment and parking. Did he know about the party and would he come? Since yesterday they hadn't seen each other or talked since yesterday morning. And she had to admit: she missed him. After all, he had been the last to ask if they would see each other again. Rose hesitated for a moment. Should she just invite him to the party? Steve would surely not like that at all... But he had said himself that he couldn't and wouldn't tell her what to do. At the party they wouldn't have to walk around as a threesome, only on the way there the two of them would meet. She bit her lower lip hesitantly.

Billy had noticed he was being watched just as he was about to walk in the front door. He looked over and stopped. He also seemed to be considering what to do now. He had already shown such unfamiliar moves toward her, was he perhaps unsure how far he could go here? But this time Rose took the initiative and took heart. She walked towards him, he noticed, and came a little towards her.

Possibly he also didn't want Neil to come out and follow the conversation.
Then, halfway down the path, they were standing in front of each other. Rose took another step towards him and wrapped her arms around him to hug him in greeting. This time it didn't take him very long to return the closeness, but he still seemed surprised.

"What's wrong?" he asked, with slight irritation in his voice. Rose let go of him and looked into his blue eyes.

"Why are you so surprised by it when I hug you?" she asked a direct counter question.

She could guess the answer, after all, he didn't seem to get too much love at home when he was being beaten.

"Maybe because I don't deserve it at all, ever thought about that? Maybe I'm actually a rapist or a murderer?" he grinned at her. She laughed out loud.
"Did you just make a joke? Granted, not a very good one, but..." He gave her a light pat on the shoulder.

"It's not often you hear jokes come out of my mouth. From there you better laugh" He leaned down a bit to her and smirked at her.

"Yeah sorry, you're right. SO FUNNY!" she exclaimed loudly and grinned back.

"There you go" Then, however, he looked at her seriously again.

"What's up?" he wanted to know. Oh yes, she was actually going to invite him to the party. For a moment, when he stood in front of her grinning like that and making a joke, she had briefly forgotten what she actually wanted from him. There they were again, the thoughts of a 12 year old girl who could think of nothing else but the one crush. It had been such a brief moment of lightheartedness. A good moment.