Avatar Rose: Dusk

Ch.32: Nathan

I slept on the pull-out couch last night. It wasn't that bad, really I can't complain. But that girl- Emma was her name? Emily? Emmie? Emerita? I don't know, but why would she sneak out in the middle of the night to see Rose? What did Rose do to gain such a friendship with this little girl? Was Rose really that motherly? I always think of her as rather hotheaded.

Groggily, I grab the edge of the couch and pull my self up, and my hands subconsciously fold on to the piece of paper I find there. It's a letter, scribed in Wendy's neat scrawl.

____________________
Evan, Rose, Nathan
I made you guys breakfast. In the fridge, you'll find some sausages (marinated them in maple syrup), hard boiled eggs, sliced nectarines (treated in powdered sugar) and some rice for each of you. Rose, I made extra portions for the girl.
I'm in the pool, waterbending. If anyone wants to join me, come along. Rose, I'll be happy to teach you since Nathan here has been proved as an incompetent teacher.
-Gwendolyn A. Dakyu
_____________________

I drag myself to the washroom with a pair of clothes, just jeans and a T-shirt, and then quickly change, brush my pearly whites and scat out the door. Before I even know what's happening, I find myself pulling on the refrigerator door. If there's one thing that can get me out of bed, it's food. My eyes scan the wall for a clock.

8:00. Perfect.

I tug on Rose's door. "Rose? It's Nathan. Gwen made you some breakfast!"

I get no answer.

"Rose?"

No answer again.

"Rose, c'mon, it's time to wakey-wakey!"

No response.

In a small break of composure, I fling the door open.

"Ros-"

She's not there. The girl isn't either.

My heart thumps into my feet as I scramble down a flight of stairs. I push the door open, revealing Wendy who's doing some advanced technique. "Where's Rose?" I yell.

She shrugs. "Isn't she upstairs?"

"Wendy."

She looks me right in the eyes. "Yeah?"

"She's gone."