Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

Chapter Seventeen

Rose woke up to her alarm blaring. She hit the snooze furiously as she rubbed her eyes open. Rose sat up in her bed and reluctantly pulled off her covers. An instance wave of cold hit her, causing Rose she cover back up.

She turned off her alarm and grabbed her phone off her nightstand. When she hit the power button, a message from Andrew was on the screen. She opened it and read what he sent her at 12:57 a.m. Hey beautiful! I hope you are doing okay. I just wanted to leave a message for you when you woke up. I just want you to know that you mean everything to me and I couldn't live without you. I'm always going to be here for you. I'm excited for our date tonight. Love, Andrew.

Rose smiled and shook her head. Andrew and her had been dating for two months and he was still sweet. They were still the best of friends, and this only strengthened their relationship. They had become closer than before and were enjoying each other's company. Andrew always made Rose feel safe and sound. She felt peaceful and protected. Andrew was the best support in her life and she couldn't have asked for anyone better.

Rose crawled out of her bed and ran into her bathroom. She didn't waste a minute getting into the warm shower. She cleaned herself and got ready for the long day ahead. She had work, then the doctors with Aunt Bea. She had errands to run and a paper to write. It was a busy day for Rose, but she could manage it.

Rose pulled on jeans and her work shirt. She pulled half of her hair back and applied her makeup. She slipped on her socks and her cute brown combat boots. It was a cold day, the high only going to be 33 degrees. Rose was already shivering as she slipped on a cardigan over her work shirt. She grabbed her keys and her phone and went to check on Aunt Bea.

When she knocked on the door, there was no response. Rose opened the door to find a peacefully sleeping Aunt Bea. She smiled and closed the door, relieved that her aunt was still sleeping. Rose raced down the stairs and made herself some hot chocolate. She ate a piece of bread and slipped on her coat while she was waiting for her cocoa to be warmed.

As soon as the microwave dinged, Rose had her mug in hand and rushed out the door. It was lightly snowing and the air was freezing. It was 7 in the morning and no one appeared to be awake. As Rose drove to the book store, she only saw cars of people who had to be to work. No one was out and about in the 24 degree weather.

Rose parked her car in the provided space and rushed inside. Her manager, Elliot, was stalking up on the books. She waved to Rose and went back to work. Rose clocked herself in, took her coat off, and put on her name tag. She walked over to Elli and started helping stack the books.

"Good morning, Aurora. How are you doing?" Elli asked.

"I'm doing good, Elli. How are you? And please, you can call me Rose," Rose said for the hundredth time. Rose loved her full name Aurora, but it was more natural to be called Rose. She hadn't gone by Aurora much since her parents were killed.

"Oh, I keep forgetting. It's just, you have such a beautiful name. Aurora reminds me of a princess name. Although Rose is beautiful, too," Elli said as she smiled.

Rose laughed and replied, "Thank you, Elli. So what do I need to do before we open?"

Elli put her hands on her hips and thought for a moment. "Well, I'll finish stalking up these books. If you'll restock on the back two rows and replace the magazines, I think you should be good for the day."

"Alright, I'll get to that," Rose said as she headed towards the back. She grabbed a box of books and went to work. An hour later and Rose had finished everything. It was 8:30 and the store would open at nine. Rose cleaned the windows and the counters. She fired up the register and restocked on the jewelry and pencils they sold by the registers.