Flowers For McGee

8 - Gallagher

The next morning Rose woke up and slowly looked around to make sure she is alone. She was scared to death. After McGee revealed that he killed the little girl, he vanished. He didn't tell her how or when. She also got a small feeling that Anne may not have died of a heart attack, and that scared Rose even more.

She dresses with haste and only brushed her hair halfway, she didn't want to stick around.
She ran down the stairs and she stood in the dining room where her mother and brother were. Rose stood disheveled and they both turned to look at her.

Her mother had taken down the paintings and she was relieved, Rose didn't want any of them looking at her.

"Honey, you look terrible, are you okay?" Her mother asks and Rose nods. "You both got up looking like you saw the dead," Maggie says and Johnny turns and looks at her, bags under his eyes and Rose gives him a sympathetic look. Maggie walks over and runs her fingers through Rose's hair and the girl ducks away. "Your shirt is on backwards."

"Funny you should say that." Rose says and lools down at her shirt. She didn't care, she would fix it later. Rose picks up her bag from beside the dining table as she sees McGee enter the room and sit at the other end of the table.

McGee holds his hand stiffly, almost as if he is being controlled, in a motion as if he is carving something into the table.

Rose walks to where he is and he glances up at her with his sharp blue eyes and grey skin. "Don't take too long Rose, you have lots to do." He says and he is gone again. She looks down at the table and sees extremely faded letters in the table.

"Mom, can you read this?" Rose asks and her mother walks over.

"Uh, I think that might be an A or something," Maggie says and adjusts her glasses on her nose. "No, hon, I can't. How did you even know this was here?" Maggie asks and Rose can hear laughter, but it doesn't sound like a guy's laugh.

How original, laughter, Rose thought as she sighs.

"I saw it the other day and just now remembered it was here." Rose lies to her mother and Maggie just shrugs.

"I'm ready to get the hell out of here, can we go?" Johnny says and stands with a groan and a scowl.

Rose and Maggie are both taken back by his sudden burst of anger and then he immediately frowns. "Um, I'm sorry." He says and Rose sees McGee standing in the corner behind him.

"It's called manipulation. He was thinking it and I made him say it." McGee shrugs and Rose shakes her head at him, neither of her family members noticing. McGee vanishes and Rose is glad.

The three leave the dining room and Rose notices for the first time a dark spot on the wood in the hall. She looks up and she sees they are right under the staircase.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Her mother asks her and Rose looks to the woman, a sick feeling in her stomach.

"Nothing, let's go." She says quickly.
-
Rose was deeply uncomfortable as she walked alone through the halls of Charming High School. She felt out of place with the fancy uniform on and all the chatty people. So far, Johnny has been able to make friends with the football team and Rose was left on her own.

At least Rose fixed her shirt.

Rose was so mad. Johnny couldn't even play football, but everywhere he went, he charmed them and Rose could barely get the receptionist in the office to talk to her. As if Rose were merely the shadow of her brother, people acted as if she didn't exist.

Rose walks into the beige cafeteria and silently judges the entire room.

Rose easily picked out the cliques and then finds where she needs to be. A small table in the back is completely devoid of life and she sighs sadly.