Bitter Rose [Diabolik Lovers]

Chapter Seven: Everything's Fine

WARNING: Mild descriptions of dissociation and PTSD flashbacks

Translations:

La chienne: Bitch

Conard: Asshole

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"Just when you think you've hit rock bottom, you realize you're standing on another trapdoor."

- Marisha Pessl

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Everything was not fine. The dumbass author lied to you.

Rose was sitting propped against the headboard of Sabirah's bed, a computer in her lap. She couldn't help tapping her fingers against the bedspread as she waited for the web page to load, trying to get the nervous energy out of her system. It wasn't really helping, but it was the only thing keeping her from screaming.

The screen went white, and a little dinosaur appeared on the top of the screen. "Damn it all!" Rose yelled, slamming her computer shut. Before she could chuck it across the room to complete her fit of anger, however, it was yanked from her hands by a rather amused Sabirah. "Hey!"

"Don't 'hey' me! I'm sparing you from regret and bankruptcy after you break your computer and need to buy a new one," Sabirah chided. Rose grumbled a few choice swear words under her breath, and Sabirah whacked her over the head with the book she'd been carrying under one arm. Rose snatched the book from her and studied the cover, her brain taking a few minutes to translate the Japanese. She was beginning to find her reading comprehension far behind what it should be, but she still managed to make out the title — A Comprehensive Record of Child Abuse Cases in the Early 2000s.

Rose quickly saw a small problem with this book. "But ... these are Japanese cases. How is that going to translate to American laws?"

Sabirah frowned at her. "The basic case setup is still the same, as are quite a few laws I'm sure. Just look at the cases that won and see how they did it, then translate that into American terms using the list of laws we looked up," she explained, and Rose nodded, thinking it over. It sounded pretty good to her, but she was still skeptical.

"Wait. Why do the Sakamakis have a book like this in their library?" Rose asked. Sabirah shrugged.

"They have like a million books, and Reiji's a freak. I've just learned not to ask questions at this point. I like my neck unbitten," she replied, and Rose laughed. Sabirah set the computer back on the bed, and Rose reached for it, opening it up again and trying to get the damn WiFi to work. It refused, and Rose considered chucking the computer out the window. She doubted that would fix the WiFi issue, though.

Rose instead decided to bang her head against the headboard, and instantly regretted it. "Ouch," she groaned, rubbing the back of her head. Sabirah gave her a look that said very plainly, you did this to yourself, stupid. Rose, who didn't appreciate sass coming from anyone but herself, chucked a pillow at Sabirah, who dodged it easily before reaching over and inspecting the computer herself.

She sighed. "Looks like the router's the problem. I think it's in the game room on the second floor; the one with the pool table? You'll have to go and check on it," Sabirah said, setting the laptop down on the bedside table and flopping next to Rose, who turned over on her side to stare at the caramel-skinned girl.

Sabirah rarely left the apparent safety of her room, only doing so when Rose was too wrapped up in her work to go to the library nearby or to collect to directionally challenged girl from her own room, and Rose found herself wishing Sabirah was with her more. She understood why Sabirah avoided the brothers--the scars on her neck were explanation enough--but Rose found herself clinging to Sabirah's steady presence more and more. And maybe that wasn't healthy, maybe she was using the girl as a life vest for her sanity, but Rose couldn't bring herself to put space between them, and Sabirah seemed so lonely that she was able to push those thoughts aside.