Rosie ⎮ Tom Riddle

Twenty Eight

not a lot, just forever

  Pretty bird songs sang into Rosalie's ears, and the sun fell angelically onto her face through the lightness of the curtains wavering in the breeze from the open window as she struggled to open her eyes. Everything was heavy and foggy, her mind fuzzy from any near memories. The bed she lay on was too soft to be the one she had gotten used to sleeping on with Tom.

  Rosalie rolled over, the smell of the sheets all too wrong as well, none of it smelled like Tom or the scent of his clothes or his hair. She finally opened her eyes, looking directly in front of her to the left corner of the room, the wardrobe was familiar to her.

  She slowly pushed herself up against the strain of her muscles,  her head feeling so heavy she thought it might topple back over onto the mattress. She recognised the room instantly but had no recollection as to why she would be here, in Coriolanus's house. What had happened last night?

  Rosalie sat there with her mind in the clouds until she could follow her trail of thought- seeing her father- running from Tom- finding him again and thinking she could try and hurt him- I love you...

  He loved her... Tom Riddle loved her...

  So why was she here?

  She swung herself out of the bed when her body finally allowed her to, stuck in sweat and the same clothes as yesterday, she was more delighted to see this rather than having been changed into something else. The door creaked open and Rosalie made her way down the corridor, the eerie silence making it sound abandoned rather than it being a families home. 

  "Hello?" She called, her hand tracing along the railing as she walked down the flight of the grand staircase, she looked around, her ears searching for any creek or groan the house made. 

  The house was eerily silent as Rosalie walked through the dimly lit hallways, her footsteps echoing off the walls. She called out for anyone, her voice growing more desperate with each unanswered plea. The rooms she passed were empty, abandoned of any sign of life. Her heart pounded with a mix of fear and anticipation as she finally approached the dining room, the last place she hadn't checked.

  Pushing open the heavy wooden door, she saw Coriolanus seated at the head of the long dining table, his back to her. The table was elegantly set, with a single plate at the other end, clearly intended for her. A sense of foreboding settled over her as she stepped into the room.

  "Rosalie," Coriolanus said, his voice calm and measured without so much as looking at her. He gestured to the seat opposite him. "Take a seat."

  She hesitated for a moment, then walked slowly to the other end of the table and sat down. The pristine white plate in front of her was begging to be filled with the array of bread and fruit set out in front of her. Rosalie's stomach churned, but she couldn't tell if it was from hunger or anxiety.

  "How did I get here?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she picked up her fork, more out of habit than any real desire to eat.

  Coriolanus folded his hands on the table, studying her intently. "I had you brought here. It was necessary for us to talk, to clear the air."

  Rosalie's mind raced, trying to piece together how she had gone from being with Tom to sitting here with Coriolanus. "Why now? Why like this?"

  Coriolanus sighed, a look of genuine concern crossing his face. "Rosalie, you are in grave danger. Your association with Tom... it has put you in a position that is untenable. I needed to remove you from that situation before it was too late."