My Life in Rosewood

Chapter Fifteen

My brain is foggy from Katie's visit. Knowing she's here and actually bothered to talk to me still doesn't make any sense. The fact that anyone from this family came to Rosewood would never make sense. Even Aria can't understand what is going on but she knows that I'm a bit shaken up from the unexpected visit and tries to calm me down once I lock the door. I'm so shaky that I have no idea how to react and am quiet on the ride home.

When we get home Uncle Byron's in the family room, my face being shocked gives away my emotions right away. So I just tell him that she came by and where she's staying and by the look on his face now I know that he doesn't know how to react to that. He knows that my family has always put me, my parents and Jeff down for living here, but he never saw how badly they treated us. He didn't even see what happened after they died to know the extent that the Hastings went through to get custody of me and not be forced to go to the next best (Katie) when they were in Iceland. So the best advice he can give me is to see what she has to say, that maybe after all this time of no contact she's changed and grown from the impact of losing her sister. I highly doubt it, but Uncle Byron means well and I decide to take him up on that advice. Or at least be civil for his sake.

All I know is by the time I head to bed I can tell that it will be a rough night for me. It consists of me tossing and turning, lying awake in deep thought. The memories of her and my family causing years of hurt, flashbacks of the accident. Seeing her was way too much in one shot.

A few days later I humor Uncle Byron's thoughts and call Katie up to ask her to meet me at the park. We end up getting some ice cream from a truck that passes by not long after and then we sit on a bench in pure silence for a while. Eventually after the awkwardness we get talking and catch up. I tell her about school, how I'm running the store now and getting ready to play basketball on top of all this. She's impressed at how dedicated I am to being committed to school, sports and a job. Then she goes into her trying to go back to college to be a clothing designer. Despite her taste in clothes being a bit dark and twisty, she's always been pretty good at making them. She had graduated from Kean University when she was 22 for a major that she didn't even want, business with some graphic design on the side. Graphic design was for her benefit because she thought it would help with her advertisement whenever she did decide to pursue her dreams of being a fashion icon. But taking on business classes was for the purpose of her aunt and uncle, who took her in after her parents died. They thought design in any way was a waste to pay for college in that type of profession. Now she's old enough to make her own choices so this is where she stands.

As she drops me off back at home in her beat up car I think about how it was a decently nice day for once with her. We haven't been on good terms for so long that any type of normal day seems suspicious. That was my first mistake, thinking she was here for normal reasons, because then everything gets a little awkward when she confesses that options for college hadn't been the main reason to come to Pennsylvania. So I compose myself a bit, kind of having a hint where this is going as I ask what's the actual reason for coming to a town she hates. That's when she says it's because the entire family wants me home with them and not here where it seems like my life won't go anywhere. They think that this town is not good for me and wasting my time.

Now I laugh and give her a look like I can't believe she just said that, my hand on the door to her car to get out. "You're all out of your minds. I knew it was too good to be true that you'd be visiting out of the goodness of your heart."

"It is out of the goodness of my heart. I just want to be here for you, Jessie."

I shake my head and laugh again, now getting heated. "A little too late for that." I say with an annoyed tone now, staring at her with a hint of anger. "I don't need you anymore."