Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

Chapter Thirteen

Andrew's POV

As soon as Andrew saw Rose get up and leave, he knew she was building walls around herself. He couldn't blame her. Rose wanted to protect herself from any more hurt. Andrew was just hurt that it included him. After Rose had left him, she asked if they could leave.

The next flight back wasn't for three days, so they flew to Ohio and then to Washington. When they reached the Washington airport, Andrew and Rose walked to his parked car. It was extremely warm and he had to blast the AC to try and cool it down.

Rose had been silent most of the flight back and Andrew's heart hurt for her. Rose wasn't herself. She was broken down and sad, and the worst part was that she wouldn't allow Andrew to comfort her. Instead, Andrew had to watch her walls building up against him in only a matter of days.

Andrew was discouraged and was racking his brain trying to come up with a way to get the Rose he loved back. He couldn't bear to see her like this. He wanted to take away her pain and make it his own. He wanted to hold her until she finally would take him back. Andrew wanted to let Rose know that he wasn't going anywhere. He would always be by Rose, ever step of the way. Andrew spent the past two nights sleepless, trying to find a way to tell Rose what he felt.

Rose was his world. He had only known her for four months and he already knew he wanted to be with her forever. She made him happy and she made him want to be better. Rose was everything Andrew needed. The only thing Andrew could do to keep Rose close was to be by her no matter what. No matter how much it hurt to see Rose shielded and in pain, he had to stay by her side. He wasn't going to leave her. He never would. Andrew knew what he had to do.

He had to be by Rose every painful step of the way. And maybe, just maybe, she would see how much Andrew loved her. She deserved to be loved by someone who would give their all, and Andrew knew he would give his all. It would take some time, but Andrew knew he could break through those walls.

It would take months, maybe even years, but Andrew would do it. He made up his mind right then and there as he was driving Rose home. Andrew was going to break through Rose's walls someday, and she would realize he had been there every step of the way.

Andrew had to remain strong. He had to be a rock. He had to do it all for Rose. He was going to be with her, forever and always.

Rose's POV

Rose hadn't said much the past day and a half. She was in shock that her Aunt Bea had cancer. It wasn't officially confirmed yet, but Rose knew it to be true. She felt her heart crumbling and walls being built. She knew it was only a matter of time before she lost the last member of her family. Rose was on the verge of a mental breakdown, and she was grateful Andrew didn't say anything. One wrong word and she'd be crying for hours.

Rose stared out the window of Andrew's car and saw the cloudy sky. The wind was blowing and the temperature was cooler. The sun was barely peeking through and it didn't help Rose's saddened mood. She had a lot on her mind. The past thirty six hours had been rough on Rose, and she wanted to crawl out of her own head. She wanted to continue to fall in love with Andrew, but she couldn't. Rose couldn't be hurt, not again.

As Rose began to start blocking Andrew out, her heart ached. A part of her knew it was wrong, but another part reasoned that she was just going to get hurt. Her head finally beat out her heart. Rose was becoming depressed and feeling hopeless. She felt like she was drowning and no one knew. It was a terrible feeling that crushed her heart.

Rose didn't ask for any of this. She didn't ask to have her family taken from her. She didn't ask to be the victim of great tragedy and heartache. Rose wanted a normal life. She wanted a family that did things with her and she wanted grandparents to go and visit. She wanted siblings to play with and parents to talk to. Rose wanted to fall in love with a man and be with him forever. She didn't want to be afraid of love or of losing someone. She didn't want to build walls around her heart because it had been broken enough. Rose didn't want to feel like she was nothing. She didn't want to feel like she didn't deserve to have people love her and be with her forever.