The Difference

Chapter 6

I hear Troy call after me as I ignore his plea to stop. Suddenly, Ava cuts me off. I didn't even see her follow me.

"What's going on?" She asks, concerned.

"I can't do this. He wants me to come to the ball with him, but I-"

"Why not?" She says, knowing what I'm about to say. "Because of Eric? Because you don't want to get hurt again?" She says as the tears well up in my eyes again.

"I'm going home," I say, ignoring Ava.

"Rosemary, just wait in the car I'll finish up quick, and-"

"No, no, no. Just let me be. I need to be alone," I say, giving her a hug before leaving.

"I love you," she says, watching me leave.

"I love you, too," I say, making my way out of the mansion. The walls seem so much bigger than they were when I first walked in, but I manage to find my way out. I take a step onto the street and begin walking toward the apartment. Thankfully, we are only about 15 minutes away from the mansion. Ava only brought the car to carry all of her work binders. After a lonely walk home, I find my key to the apartment and let myself in. I see the soup and snacks from earlier on the counter and throw everything in the trash. With an instant sigh of relief, I walk into my room, ready to settle in for the night. I decide to shower tonight since I have work early in the morning. I grab my speaker so I can listen to some music to distract myself from all things Eric. As I open my nightstand drawer in search of my speaker, the drawer gets stuck. I slam it shut and try to pull it out again, ratting the room. I hear a photo hit the cold wooden floor across the room.

Standing up, I walk over and see the all-so-familiar handwriting on the back of the photo. I flip it over knowing exactly what I'm about to see and let out a small smile. It's a Polaroid photo from months ago. Eric and I went for ice cream at our favorite spot in town and we were sitting outside on one of the hottest summer days of the year. We sat there for two hours just talking about anything and everything that came to mind. Ava had just graduated college and one thing she wanted was a Polaroid camera, so I got it for her. She met up with us that day and as she walked up to us, she snapped that photo. She left it on the table to develop and Eric pulled a pen from my purse and wrote on the back "Mint chocolate chip is WAY better than cookie dough ;)" in reference to the argument we had as we ordered our ice cream. The photo had me feeling sentimental, so I decided I would it, unlike the vegan cookies which definitely didn't deserve to be thrown away. I tucked the photo back into the corner of the mirror on my wall and then noticed my speaker across my room on my desk. I grabbed it and put on my favorite playlist, hopping in the shower. Afterward, I felt calm for the first time in a few days. I took a deep breath and crawled into bed. I quickly dozed off and only woke up a few hours later as Ava came home.

"Shhh go back to bed," she says as she walks past my door.

"Okay, mom," I say, climbing out of bed.

"No, really... go back to bed," she says, giving me a serious look.

"What? Why?" I ask, curious.

"I brought someone home," she says, in a whispered voice.

"What? Who?" I ask, peeking into the hallway.

"He's in the bathroom, he's George and Ellen's son!" She tells me. "I told him you were probably asleep so we could watch a movie back here if he wanted," she adds.

"You.. left the mansion to bring him back to our apartment?" I ask, sarcastically.

"He said he was sharing a room with his brother and he didn't want to wake him up if we were watching a movie," she adds.

"Wait... George and Ellen's son?" I ask.

"Yeah. He was there tonight! You saw him, for sure!"

My heart drops. Did Troy go for my best friend once I turned him down? Is this really happening? I started to panic, wondering if Ava had forgotten our prior conversation or if she didn't see anything wrong with it. My thoughts came to a complete stop as the bathroom door opened and out walked... well, not Troy.

I sighed as Ava laughed. "What, did you think I stole your man?" She asks, jokingly.

"Hey, I'm Brad," he says, reaching out a hand. "Wait, I know you. You were with my brother Troy tonight, right?" He asks me. I notice the similarities between the two up close. Though Troy's hair is a little darker, they both have the most beautiful blue eyes. Brad looks a little older than Troy and has a little more facial hair, but is still just as handsome.

"Hi, I'm Rosemary," I say, ignoring the comment about Troy.

"So, Troy went upstairs when you left and he hasn't come down since. And I see that you're here.. in your room.. sleeping?" He says, looking past me at my unmade bed.

"Are you here to watch a movie or to pry into my life?" I ask him, crossing my arms in front of me.

"Rosemary! Be nice," she says, trying to hold in a laugh. She could never be serious whenever I became a little sassy.

"Man, you would be perfect for my brother. You're both so sassy," Brad says, laughing. "I was just wondering, though. It's not too often he gives any girl attention. He's always so busy with.. well, other stuff. But hey, that's your problem. I'm just here to watch a movie. Can I make some popcorn?" He asks Ava.

"Go ahead, I want to talk to Rosemary alone for a second," Ava says, giving me a fake smile as she walks into my room and shuts the door behind us.

"Really? His brother?" I ask before she can say anything.

"Don't judge me! You've seen his eyes. How can you say no?" She says, defending herself.

"This is so weird! You know I turned Troy down and now you're all buddy-buddy with his brother? Not to mention, you're technically working for his parents right now! What did they think about that?" She asks.

"Ellen was thrilled, actually. She said she only wishes Troy would tag along with us, but for some reason, he went back upstairs before she could even ask. I wonder why that is," Ava says, giving me a disapproving look.

"Don't look at me like that!" I say, looking down.

"I know you're upset over the whole Eric situation, but there's no harm in going to a ball with him! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Rosemary!"

"Yes, there is, because I'm going to either not be able to forget about Eric or this guy is gonna hurt me just like he did," I say, getting upset.

"Now, you know you can't live your life being afraid of getting hurt. If you do, you'll miss out on so much. Yes, you're hurt, but you're going to heal. And I'm not saying you have to date the guy, but what's the point in holding yourself back and forcing yourself to be miserable just because you're sad? You can heal by being happy too, you know," Ava says.

"Yeah," I say, trying to process what she is saying.

"I'm not saying you have to go. I'm just saying you should consider it," she says, opening the door and looking back at it.

"If he can go on dates with Hannah, you can go to a ball with a guy you just met," she says, giving a little nod as if to approve of what she just said.

"Don't be too loud," I say as she shuts the door. "I have work tomorrow!" I say, crawling back into bed. I look at the clock and the far-off photo of Eric and me and turn over to the other side. Before I know it, I'm asleep.