Seamlessly (Chaennie)

Chapter 14

Rosie felt a hand tug at the leather bracelet she'd been staring at for the past hour and a half, and she immediately recoiled defensively, arm retracting as she shot a glare at her apparent thief.

Lisa was there, in all her cocky glory, eyebrow raised, careful smile on her lips. "You won't be needing that, I guess." She motioned to Jennie's bracelet sitting on Rosie's wrist, and Rosie bit back a sob.

Lisa quickly saw the building moisture in her eyes and shook her head, sliding down onto the hard bench beside the girl, the noise of the airport intercom surprisingly active in the late evening.

"Whoa, shit..." Lisa shook her head, enveloping Rosie into a firm hug. "Sorry, I should've known better than to joke with you right now."

Rosie blinked in response, swallowing the lump in her throat. Her wrist felt heavy with Jennie's bracelet, like a burden she'd so horribly failed to carry. That was Jennie's friendship, on her wrist. That was Jennie's love, and the soft feel of Jennie's lips, and Jennie's touches that made her heart feel like it was eternally summer.

She felt a pang of remorse when she realized, once more, that she'd lost all that.

"You haven't answered any of our calls, or our texts." Lisa huffed in annoyance.

" My phone is off. How'd you find me?" Rosie asked softly, rolling the leather absently between her fingers.

Lisa squirmed slightly. "You want the truth?"

Rosie nodded slowly in response, sighing when Lisa looked at her with a look of concern.

"Jennie knew you'd be here."

"Of course." Rosie chuckled wryly, shaking her head. "Right, yeah. I suppose she would know that."

Lisa bit her lip, rubbing Rosie's back slightly. "Rosie?"

"Hmm."

"Can I ask what happened, back there? Is that okay?"

Rosie shook her head. "I fucked it up, Lisa."

"I know you seem to think so." Lisa nodded slowly. "But...I don't exactly think that's what happened. Care to fill me in?"

Rosie sighed, gazing off into the bustling abyss that was the rolling doorway, her suitcase between her legs on the floor. Her blond hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and she'd realized, about halfway through her cab ride, that she was wearing Jennie's sweater.

She'd allowed her tears to stain the sleeves as she'd wiped them away.

"I ran." When Rosie whispered the words, Lisa nodded soothingly, likely the only one besides Jennie who was well aware of Rosie's issues.

"I know." Lisa nodded, coaxing it out of her. "Before that. Was it bad? Did you fight?"

Rosie looked away dreamily, her bottom lip trembling. "God, no, Lisa...It was...She was..."

Lisa smiled to herself, nodding. "You love her."

There wasn't a second of hesitation on Rosie's end. "I do."

"You have for a while now."

"Probably a year." Rosie whispered once more. "I don't know."

Lisa's smile only grew as she allowed it all to tumble out of Rosie.

"Lisa, I got scared." Rosie breathed in raggedly. "I panicked. I did the exact opposite of what I needed to do, I just...."

"Breathe, Rosie." Lisa reminded, rubbing small circles in Rosie's back.

"I didn't think that I could ever deserve Jennie , and what she gave me. A family, Lisa. Friends who liked me, and...parental figures who didn't expect me to burden their lives." She shrugged, wiping at a stray tear. "And you know what? She told me she loved me too. Me." She sounded incredulous. "It was the best moment of my life. Lisa, it was the greatest week of my life."