Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

Chapter Fourteen

It had been two months since Rose and Andrew returned from their vacation. Aunt Bea still had severe cancer, but she wasn't as sick. She was up and moving around more, except she had to work from home. While Aunt Bea couldn't be present, she was still people's lawyers. She would do her research and put together her arguments for her client. Someone would represent her in court, but she did all the dirty work.

Aunt Bea was becoming weaker everyday and was still sickly. She had lost her appetite and was losing weight she didn't need to. She could move around and work, but she required more breaks more often. She couldn't lift more than five pounds and she couldn't clean. Most of the time Aunt Bea was in her office doing her work. Sometimes Rose would catch her asleep at her desk, but Rose never bothered to wake her. Some nights Aunt Bea had trouble sleeping, despite how tired she was.

It was hard for Rose to see Aunt Bea like that. She had been such a hard worker her whole life. It was unnatural to see her aunt having to work from home.

Rose had to take care of Aunt Bea and the house. Not to mention Rose was applying for colleges and working at the local bookstore. Rose landed the job a month ago when she was trying to find something that could allow her to write. Rose wanted to go into journalism in college, and she was hoping to get a job experience before college. Although she didn't land a job writing, working at a bookstore was just as good for Rose.

She hadn't seen Andrew much the past two months nor had she talked to him. All she knew was he was applying to colleges all over the country and was working at a mechanical shop. He wanted to be a mechanical engineer, and any job he could get with mechanics, he wanted.

Rose missed talking to Andrew but her life had become preoccupied. She worked all morning and cleaned all night. She did the shopping, the cleaning and the cooking. She took care of Aunt Bea and made sure she did what the doctor instructed.

Rose had become very tired and was constantly wanting to sleep. She signed up for classes at the community college starting in September. Both her and Andrew were going to do a year at the community college before going off to other colleges. Rose decided it would be easier, just to get into the habit of it all. Andrew had done the same thing, agreeing with Rose.

As Rose was cooking a low fat pasta for dinner, she was thinking about how crazy life had gotten. It had only been two months of Aunt Bea having cancer and things had gotten crazy. It was the beginning of August and Rose would start going to school at night in a month.

Rose took a plate of pasta into Aunt Bea and set it down next to her. The portion size was small, but Aunt Bea still looked like she was going to be sick. "Do I have to eat that much, Aurora?"

Rose nodded her head. "Yes, Aunt Bea. If you don't keep eating, you're just going to get more sick."

"Alright, I'll eat it. Thank you, Aurora," Aunt Bea said. She turned away from Rose and took a bite. She continued to work on whatever she was doing as Rose left her office. She ate her pasta in silence, thinking about how life was only going to get busier.

At least her thoughts hadn't taken too much control of Rose's life. After two weeks of forcing herself to think better, Rose got ride of some of the horrible thoughts. Her heart still ached, but she continuously pushed herself through.

Rose cleaned up the kitchen and walked back to Aunt Bea's office. She had finished all her pasta and Rose was relieved. She took the plate and started walking out, when she turned back and spoke to Aunt Bea. "I'm going to go out for a little bit. Will you be alright?"

Aunt Bea turned herself around and smiled. "Yes, Aurora dear. I will be fine." Rose waved goodbye, loaded her aunt's dish and slipped on her shoes. She grabbed her keys and walked outside.

Rose climbed into her car and drove to the nearest park. She needed some fresh air to clear her thoughts. It was a cool August night as Rose walked around the park. It was 8:30 and no one was in sight. Rose walked over to the swings and lightly began to push herself. She took deep breaths, breathing in the wonderful Washington air. It was supposed to rain tomorrow, and she could smell the rain coming on.

Rose sat on the swing for a minute, thinking about absolutely nothing. The sun was beginning to set and a few kids on bikes rode by. Rose laughed at them, wishing she was a kid once again. They had life easy. They didn't have to worry so much about working, going to school and taking care of their sick aunt. They could just run around and be free.

Sadness washed over Rose as she realized she couldn't be free. She had a million things to do in a short amount of time. It wouldn't be too long before Aunt Bea passed away, and Rose was left alone with her own conscious. The thought pained Rose and she quickly pushed it away.

Instead, she focused on listening to the birds chirping and the busy city settling down. She hadn't noticed someone come up and sit on the swing next to her until he spoke. His voice was calm and soft, one she missed hearing. "Hi Rose. Didn't expect to see you here," Andrew said.

Rose turned to face him and smiled. "I could say the same about you."

"How have you been? We haven't talked in a while. How's Aunt Bea doing?" Andrew asked.

"She's doing alright. She's been regaining some of her strength, but she can't go back to work. Instead, she works from home. As for me, I'm doing alright. Life definitely got crazy, though. How have you been doing Andrew?" Rose responded.

"I'm glad to hear it. Oh I've been good. I love my job and I'm excited to start up school again. How is your job?"

"Hey, that's good you love your job. I'm kind of excited to start school, too. Although I'm not excited that it'll fill up most of my days. Doesn't leave much time to do much. But work is fine. I'm still trying to find a job where I can write, but I haven't had any luck so far," Rose said.

Andrew looked at Rose and replied, "You'll get a job, soon. You are an amazing writer and the people who don't hire you are missing out."

"Thanks, Andrew," Rose said, blushing slightly.

"Don't worry about it. Are you starting school up in September?" Andrew questioned.

"I am, are you?"

Andrew nodded. "When do you plan on going to a different college?"

"I'll go to the community college until next September, so for a year. Then I'm hoping to start elsewhere the following January. Isn't that your plan as well?" Rose questioned. She remembered talking about it during school once.

"Yeah, my plan is just like yours. Except for the part where I'm studying different things," Andrew laughed lightly.

Rose laughed a little too, and they fell into their first awkward silence. Rose stood up to go and Andrew stood up too. Rose cleared her throat and said, "Well, I better get going. Aunt Bea might need my help."

"Yeah, I should get going, too," Andrew replied. He tried to hug Rose but she ducked away from it. She gave him a small smile instead and walked away.

She felt bad for leaving him hanging, but she couldn't get any closer to him. As Rose turned around to get a glimpse of Andrew, she could faintly see the look of hurt on his face. Rose felt guilty as she got into her car and drove away.

She had rejected a friendly hug from Andrew. She was feeling bad until she got after herself. She was doing what was best for her. Rose needed to isolate herself from Andrew as much as possible. There was no way she was going to allow herself to fall for him. She wouldn't allow it. Rose wasn't going to get herself hurt again.

After a lot of reminding and twenty minutes later, Rose was able to push aside the guilt she felt for leaving Andrew standing there, wondering why she left without an explanation.