The Art of Extinct Lovers

3: junior year

Present

It was Rosalia's first day back to school after a hell of a summer. She thought she could spend her whole life hiding away from her family but no, she had thought wrong.

That summer, her parents sent someone to her apartment to personally assist her back home, if you could even call it that. How could they have known where she lived? Although they were paying for her rent, Rosalia received the money through her independent bank account. Meaning they weren't supposed to know her place of residence.

Someone was watching her and she knew. Rosalia didn't expect any less. There was probably someone in school, ballet, and in this very apartment who was tracking her every move and reporting back to her parents.

While Rosalia loved Japan and embraced the culture, she will forever despise returning. Never in her 17 years of life had she felt so powerless and humiliated within the month she stayed there. 'That's a lie' the girl thought, from the moment she was born Rosalia knew her fate was sealed.

The bags under her eyes were evident even with the layers of concealer she had on, and a permanent smile, that never seemed to reach eyes, plastered on her beautiful lips. No matter how many times, she'd wrap her fragile arms, she could still feel the warmth of her blood dripping. It seemed that Rosalia's visit to her parents' home, her childhood home, had once and for all broken her.

She had no one to talk to, no friend to turn to, and no lover to hold on to. Rosalia never felt as alone as she felt at this very moment.

School used to be a safe haven, now it felt like a chore. Knowing now that she was being watched? It was the last place she wanted to be at. But really, nowhere was safe. So Rosalia still forces herself to go everyday then pushes her body to the brink of exhaustion during ballet.

...

It was now the middle of the academic year, and the seniors had already graduated. This was due to their curriculum being rushed at their last year so they had more preparation for their plans after high school.  

A part of Rosalia was relieved. She wouldn't see her boys anymore. Especially when they were always surrounded with other girls, no exception to their best friend, Carmen. 

As corny as it was, Rosalia slipped both of them an anonymous gift in their locker. It was a simple letter encased in an envelope. The girl even signed it off with a simple '-R'.  She really tried her best for no contact. But she couldn't resist. No way they could even trace the letters to her, right? They had a bunch of fan girls anyway.

The seniors' graduation finally meant that they wouldn't be present on school grounds anymore. Also meaning that Rosalia didn't have the need to wear scent blockers. So for the first time in about 2 years, she stopped taking them. She didn't know what to feel, taking those pills supposed that she would see her boys, and now that she's off it, it's only hitting her that there may never be a chance of even catching a glimpse of them. But, what's done is done. Rosalia was going to force herself to move past everything because she knew with every fiber of her being that they didn't deserve to be tied to someone like her.

The girl stood in front of her bathroom mirror, supposedly getting ready for another day of classes. She couldn't help for silent tears to fall from her eyes though as she gripped the bottle of pills. Her thumb traced the written text on the container and let out a sigh as she shook her head. Rosalia then walked over to the trash can next to the toilet and tossed the bottle. After, she headed back to the sink and rinsed her face with cool water to calm herself down. The girl was convinced that she was only allowed to show a poised demeanor. Anything less was highly unacceptable. Her parents made sure to drill that rule every single day she had lived with them. So, Rosalia pushed her feelings down and got dressed for the day.

With all of the big emotions she felt at the mere start of her morning, Rosalia didn't have much of an appetite anymore. It's not like she always did though. How else would she maintain her physique for ballet and battle with her self hatred?

The bittersweet feeling of not taking the scent blockers slowly ebbed away into a sort of numbness. Rosalia began to pick the skin by her fingernails, a nervous tick she developed at an early age, as she began her walk to the academy.

There was something that was sending her gut warning signs. Something off. The girl couldn't tell what it was though. Much like every time she didn't want to deal with her thoughts, Rosalia once again pushed it at the back of her mind. Perhaps it was just her brain overthinking things per usual.

As it was November, the winter air started to nip at Rosalia's face causing a rosy tinge to her cheeks and nose. The girl took note to start wearing her winter coat by tomorrow. She began walking faster, eager to escape the coldness and find solace in the warm embraces of the academy.

________

A sigh of relief slipped past Rosalia's lips as she heard the bell rang, signaling that she only had one more class to attend before her school day was over. The girl exited the classroom after gathering her things and went over to her locker that happened to be near the main entrance of the academy.

Rosalia slight hurried to grab some of her notebooks from her lockers and leave behind books. Once settled, the girl grabbed her black leather backpack but before Rosalia could even take 2 steps, she ran into someone. The fall had her sitting sideways on the floor with her palms lying on the surface as she caught herself. Feeling quite shocked with the only stimulating interaction she's had all year, her heart rate picked up.

The collision between Rosalia and the other person was pretty hard so she took a few breaths before turning to them and stuttering out an apology. "Shoot, I'm so sorry-" Carmen? It was Carmen. instantly recognized the all-too-perfect girl. 'What the fuck is she doing here.' It wasn't the fact that it was her. It was the fact that wherever she was at they were there too.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck.' Rosalia instantly gets to standing on her feet, slightly wobbling as she regains her balance. Since everything's happening so fast Carmen doesn't seem to notice the outright panic plastered on the girl's face.

"Sorry! Oh.. Rosalia, are you alright?" There was a hint of awkwardness in her voice but Rosalia didn't choose to focus on that. She only had one goal, to get the fuck out of there. In response, she gave Carmen a forced smile and nod then headed to the doors of the building.

In her head, Rosalia thought that since Carmen was already inside the academy, so were they. Although, she hadn't taken into account that she would've sensed them the moment they stepped foot on school grounds. She didn't think that they could've been outside the doors at the exact moment she opened them. That here they stood in front of her.

Her eyes widened and mouth left agape. There were beads of sweat forming on hands as she began to once again pick on the skin of her fingers. It was as if there was a ringing in her ears. All of her senses were broken except her sight and sense of smell. Rosalia could clearly see them in all their glory. Every perfect detail of their face and texture of their hair. But most importantly, their smell.