Aaron stood up with one hand still resting on her waist “I will definitely call you.” His husky voice sang as his face was inching closer to hers.
But before Aaron could place a kiss to her cheek he saw James giving him a ‘don’t do it’ signal. Giving him a questionable look he lightly gulped and placed his lips on her soft cheek for a second before removing his hand from her back and whispered a ‘bye’ before walking off to his friend who gave him a ‘are you crazy’ look.
Hailey was confused, she swore she felt Aaron tense up, but she couldn’t think as to why. ‘Did he have a girlfriend who came by?’ She thought before turning around and seeing no one looking out of the ordinary. Shrugging the thoughts she grabbed the two Caesar salads and walked back to her friend who didn’t look as mad, but grumpy.
“Come on, he probably left by now.” Hailey tried to comfort her friend but it was of no use, her friend felt the heart ache all over again.
“He is staring at you now with his narcissistic best friend.” Rosie told her. From the corner of her, she could sense the two eyes at her.
“Where?” Hailey whispered wanting to see the boy who could be so self-centered to damage her best friend.
Letting out a sigh in defeat, Rosie was tired of playing the game James put on her. She was finally in a place she was proud to call her accomplishments.
But before Rosie could speak, the kids came back with more friends to either finish or begin a shirt.
“I’ll show you when we get home.” Plastering the best smile she could give to the children. She mouthed a ‘thank you’ to Hailey, glad to call her her best friend.
“Dude, what’s your problem?” Aaron hissed confused as to why his best friend would pull him out of an excellent score.
“She is Rosie’s best friend.” James backfired.
Catching on to his theory, Aaron was debating whether to tell him it doesn’t matter or he’ll back out. “Wasn’t it you who said you could not stop thinking about her after all these years.”
Sighing, James, knew Aaron was correct, but now that he finally saw her and talked to her, she was still as stubborn and beautiful as she was when she left high school. “I talked to her earlier today and she wasn’t as thrilled to see me.”
“I bet she would be thrilled to see me.” Aaron joked elbowing his best friend’s arm.
James let out a short laugh knowing Rosie disliked Aaron as much as she did to James. But it wasn’t always like that.
Aaron and James have been best friends since elementary school and once they hit high school they met Rosie. Aaron actually pulled up her skirt catching her attention, but once she was caught in someone’s arms to stop her from hitting their best friend, someone thing in her ignited and she felt this delicate warmth rising from inside. She met James Marzbed for the first time. There attraction was instant and it was only a matter of time until he finally had the courage to ask her out.
They began dating in the middle of sophomore year and since then James, Aaron and Rosie were inseparable. But during their senior year the boys gave James a hard time about him and Rosie being together for almost three years and he hadn’t gotten her in pants yet. He had hinted it to her but she told him she would want to wait till at least after high school.
It was tragic when all the thoughts of the boys telling James he was whipped being on a short leash with Rosie and that she was just a toy ready to be played with bombarded his thoughts. He got in trouble that week for fighting with the new captain of the soccer team. Later that night he gave Rosie two options, they either had sex and stay together or they break up. Needless to say they had just sex, no love or warmth was in James’s eyes when Rosie looked into them the whole time.
But that wasn’t the worst part of it all though. The next day they walked into school together holding had as she tried to cover up her body with the thin sweater she had on and the back pack that was desperately trying to slip off her shoulder and he held a blank expression. He knew he shouldn’t feel like this, like a dirt bag. It wasn’t his first time, but it was her first time, their first time and it should have not been under his orders.
That day was a week before graduation and even though that week felt like the worst week in history, by the end of it he told her he still saw her as the beautiful girl just like when they first met and when they were together that night he does not regret it. But as soon as the happiness came so did the rumors.
‘Rose and James had sex.’ Girls whispered purposely once they saw her walk alone down the halls that final day. But once the guys found out all hell broke loose. They all congratulated James as if he won the Olympics but the worse part was Rosie seeing him with a smile on his face, but it soon fell once their eyes locked. She wasn’t as sad as she was angry. ‘How could he tell the whole school they had sex! It is none of their business.’ Were the thoughts that roamed her head.
Graduation went by and all was left was Senior Remembrance Day, where the senior class go to school just to hang out at night till their names are erased from the schools computer. That was where James broke up with Rosie. Telling her it wasn’t going to work out because she was going to a school almost two hours away and he was going to stay.
She was heart broken. Devastated even. She spent three years with this one boy thinking he was the one giving him all he wanted but in the end it wasn’t enough.
Out of the blue, Aaron went to go visit her and explain James’s condition after their break up. Telling her he was a mess, going out to his older brother’s parties and getting wasted just for. For about a month she would call but there was no answer. But one day she called him, nine a.m. and he answered sounding relief yet his words wore slurred. Then her worst nightmare at the time came true, a high-pitch voice called his name all giggles and seductive. Tears rimmed her eyes as she looked down at the all pictures of them Aaron took while wanting to become a photographer.
But if it wasn’t for that call she would have not gone walking down the Strip and would have not met Hailey. Walking down the Strip by herself hoping to clear her mind of all events that just past, Hailey was painting the wall to a new clothing store her mother owned. She was the new girl in town finished high school in January since she was homeschooled and was looking for a friend.
Splashing paint as if it wore food at a food fight Rosie took notice as she kept walking towards the new girl. Hailey saw from the corner of her eye a girl walking towards her, short brown hair, pale complexion, and tense shoulders. The tensed girl stopped in front of the cones surrounding the new shop watching the new girl splatter white paint all over the outside walls.
“Would you like to try?” Her gentle voice told Rosie she was curious to know her story.
Stuttering a bit, Rosie looked into the girls big brown eyes and knew she was not like all the other fake girls at school. Stepping over the cones she took the paint brush the new girl held out and began to paint normally.
“You don’t want to splash it?” The natural brunette’s gentle voice asked.
And just like that the pain was turning around as she dunked the paint brush into the white paint can and harshly through the white paint onto the wall.
“Hailey.” She said her name.
“Ros-ie.” The other girl said. Only her friends call her Rosie and something told her this girl was definitely a genuine person.
