Always - Rosaline's Story

Ending

 The snow on the ground glistened in the winter sun. Rosaline shielded her eyes as she stepped out of the hospital. Vincent’s hand was firmly holding hers, as if he was afraid he might lose her along the way to the car. The two were bundled up to face the low temperature. Vincent helped her into the car, reluctantly letting go of her hand. She watched as he walked around the car and climbed in beside her. Her parents were waiting at home, he informed her. She nodded and watched the road slip by as Vincent drove her to her parent's house. The ride was quiet. She had always been one to drift deep in thought when riding in a vehicle.

Their home was decorated with Christmas lights and she could see the tree glowing in the window. Today was December 22, and that meant Christmas was in a few days time. Oh how much she had missed. It was all Alec's fault. God, he was just so unbelievable.

She climbed out of the car before Vincent could turn the engine off. She didn't want him helping her, but she knew he would. She waited for him in front of the car and hand-in-hand they entered the house.

Rosaline's mother was setting dinner on the table. Of course they knew when she was coming home, they always had to know everything.

"Rosaline!" Her mother enveloped her in a hug. "Welcome home sweetie! How are you feeling? No headache? Not dizzy at all? N..."

"Mom I'm fine, but if you don't stop with the questions now you are going to give me a headache."

Her mother's smile flickered. "Right. Well lets just sit down and eat shall we?"

The meal passed in silence, just as the car ride had, and Rosaline was thankful for that. It gave her time to think. She felt different than she had before her period of unconsciousness.

"Rosaline, did you know Vincent attends the same college that you had chosen?" her mother tried to break the silence.

"Yes. We applied together."

"Well I was thinking, instead of going to stay on campus, you can just stay home like Vincent's doing."

"No."

Everyone froze and looked at Rosaline.

"What?"

"I'm not staying at home. In fact, I'm moving out as soon as possible."

"But why dear? You just got home."

"I need to go for a walk." Rosaline pushed her chair back and walked to the door, snatching her winter coat from the hook. Why did it feel so stifling here? Here was supposed to be home. She'd lived here for over half of  her life. So why did she want to get away?

In her frustration, she struggled to get her coat on. She felt hands ease her into the coat and spin her around to zip it.

"Vincent I don't need your help. Cut it out." She pushed his hands away.

"At least let me walk with you then?"

She looked at him for a moment. She turned and walked out the door, leaving it open behind her. If he wanted to walk with her it was okay.

After a few minutes of walking;

"Rose, are you cold?"

"No."

"Are you okay?"

"No."

He stopped her and turned her to face him. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know Vincent. I just... feel different."

"You spent almost six months unconscious. Of course you're going to feel different."

Rosaline turned away from him again and kept walking. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't put the why into words, but she had to get away from here.

"I'm moving. Starting over. Leaving everything behind. I'll apply to a new college somewhere quite a bit away and go live in the dorm."

"Rose... what are you saying?"

"I'm leaving. As soon as possible."

Rosaline had to start over. If she started over maybe she could completely forget about Alec, forget about the months she spent in the hospital because of him. To do that, she needed a change in scenery.

"Fine, then I'll go with you."

Rosaline wanted to say no, but as she turned to look at him, she got lost in his eyes as she had done before. Vincent had always been there for her since he came into her digital and then real life. She hesitated.

"Rosaline. Let me go with you. We'll get a little apartment somewhere, anywhere you want. If you need to get away that's fine, just don't leave me behind. You know I love you, and I always will."

"I won't leave you behind Vincent."

Rosaline knew that with Vincent by her side, she would always have someone she could count on, always have something that would love her with everything they had. Always.

[Author's note: I'm thinking about just ending it there. I'm really not very good with sweet stories, i'm more of a dark-style writer. Comments appreciated.

UPDATE: I've decided to continue this story periodically in a series of short snippets. See the next "chapter" for more information.]