Rose (Book IV) | Rosalie Hale

1 | Have You Seen My Little Boy?

1 | Have You Seen My Little Boy?

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Have you seen this boy?

It was the twelfth poster Willow had seen just that morning as she drove to school. Charlie put them up for Billy Black, hoping to help bring Jacob home.

It was August tenth. Three days before her sister's wedding and four days before she'd become an only child for however long it took Bella to decide if she wanted Charlie and Willow in her life again. Her semi-human family members aside from her new fancy vampire family.

Willow was beginning to feel herself preparing to grieve another loss. She squeezed the steering wheel and waited for the light to turn green, crossing over the highway.

Rolling up into the parking lot of Fork's high school, eyes shifted to the blinding white color of the Mini Cooper. It pulled in beside Rosalie's sleek black jeep where Lavender leaned against the hood on her phone, like every morning the last few days.

"You could at least try to be early for the first week of classes." Lavender teased, shoving her phone into her back pocket.

Willow ran her fingers through her off the shoulder length hair and slammed her car door shut. She grabbed her backpack out of the back seat and locked the car tight, jogging over to fall into step with her girlfriend's adoptive sister.

"Sorry." She carefully checked her makeup in the reflection of her phone case. "Monday's first day at preschool went as expected. He's pissed and we had to have the do not turn into a wolf talk again. I know over on the Rez they understand he's different, but it's still embarrassing."

"You figured out what to tell his teacher?" Lavender snorted.

"No." Willow sighed. "They're still amazed he looks older than seven and he's barely four."

"He grows fast." Lavender winced when Willow sadly nodded.

"Like his Dad." She mumbled.

Lavender threw her arm over Willow's shoulders and guided her toward the school. She could still feel that heavy grief inside Willow. A numb pain that snuck up on her every so often, leaving Willow crying in the school bathroom or leaving plans with her human friends early to cry herself to sleep in Rosalie's arms.

It wasn't only Maverick. Though, he had taken quite a toll on her. It was Bella too. It was her father. It was losing Leah and Rebecca's entire availability to their mates and feeling secluded from her friends at times. She understood the pull of their imprints, but she still wished he could drive over any time of day and take silly beach walks with her best friends.

The Cullens were her family. So were the wolves. So were the Lycans that wandered through every now and then. So were . . . She had family. Willow just didn't feel like she fit in with them. It was like everyone enjoyed keeping something from her that might make her feel . . . normal. At least, that's how she felt trying to understand why everyone whispered around her since Maverick died.

Lately, Willow's even found some distance from Rosalie. It started not long after Maverick's death. Rosalie was spending a lot of time with Lavender, who spent time with her, but . . . but when she looked at Lavender, Willow worried there was something there that Rosalie found just as worthy of her time.

She figured it was everything she said in the moment. That Willow had hurt Rosalie by asking her to change Maverick to save him after all he's done. It was selfish of her to ask. Selfish of her to be so horrible to Rosalie up on that mountain all for Maverick. She said too much that she wished she could take back.

How she loved him and how much she cried for him afterwards. The nightmares of his best and worst moments made it so much harder. She'd wake up sobbing some nights with Rosalie holding her, and other nights she'd lie in bed with her mate beside her, feeling like garbage for thinking about Maverick in the way she had.

All around, Willow felt like she was grieving her life. She wasn't dying, yet it felt like everything spinning around her would slowly come to an end.

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Charlie leaned in the doorway of the living room and sighed when he spotted Willow in her usual place.

He hadn't found much on the case in Arizona, but when Renee called to inform him her friends sent her a Facebook article about Maverick Nelson's death, it had to be the reason Willow had been so muted lately. His bubbly, goofy sixteen year old had turned into a dull and less than resilient kid.

While Bella was preparing for her wedding, Willow acted as if she hadn't been the one to convince him to let Bella get married. As if she hadn't rooted for them both, even in Jacob's absence. It must have been before the accident. Why else would she be acting like Bella marrying Edward was her sister's death sentence?

He crossed the room and sat down on the couch beside where Willow was reading in the recliner. It faced toward the window just enough that she could see the front yard and still watch the television. He knew she wasn't really watching a documentary on border patrols findings over the years, but it amused him to think she was trying to read that book for class also when she hadn't turned the page in over ten minutes.

"Grandpa!" Monday's head flew up when he spotted Charlie in the doorway.

That was another thing he couldn't understand. Charlie hadn't been around very long when it came to Monday, but he was positive they just celebrated his fourth birthday. The kid looked like he was approaching seven or eight years old. He wasn't too sure how to explain it, but that Arizona boy's height did a number on his grandson. There wouldn't be anymore kids eat free at the diner for long at this rate.

"Hey, buddy." Charlie ruffled his curly hair and gave him a smile before the boy returned to his toys on the ground. He watched Monday arrange his toys interestingly on the ground before turning his attention to his mother. "I'll watch him tonight."

Willow frowned. She raised her gaze to his and shook her head.

"I didn't have plans tonight." She said.

"You do now." Charlie shrugged. "I don't care what you do. Go see a movie with Rosalie. Go out with Claire, or Lavender! Go to the res."

"I told you. I don't have plans."

"Will, I'm telling you to make plans." Charlie leaned back against the couch and watched the television. "Why don't you call Rosalie?"

"She's out with Lavender."

"Alice?"

"Lavender."

Charlie raised his brows slowly when Willow closed her book and tossed it into her backpack. He rubbed his chin as Willow left toward the kitchen.

"Moonie, babe, do you want a snack?" She asked.

"Yes!" Monday jumped to his feet and took off after his mother.

Charlie frowned. Monday rushed after Willow, standing almost mid height to his mother, and giggled about the different snack choices. He wished Willow would have at least thought about going out tonight, even if it meant with someone he wouldn't agree with entirely.

Maybe he should give Bella a call and ask her to involve Willow more in the wedding planning. Perhaps she felt left out with their entire fiasco, as he did at times. Or, maybe senior year was scaring Willow. It was the first time she'd ever been alone at a school without Bella. Same within the house, now that Bella was moving in with her future husband.

Maybe she too felt like Bella was taking the final steps into her adult life where they couldn't follow.

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