Time Brings Roses (old)

Chapter 7

Sleep came easy to me and when I woke up, it was dark. Groggily, I looked at my alarm clock.
7:15
I sighed and slowly sat up, Cynthia had probably started dinner by now. The events from earlier rushed back to me and I groaned, maybe Clarke would let me take tomorrow off school? Then I could at least recover from embarrassing myself in front of the Cullens.
Oh god the Cullens.
Hadn’t Rosalie texted me saying she needed to talk after school? God, what if she thinks I’m ignoring her? Did I even bother texting her back before I passed out?
“God, get a grip Autumn.”
I sighed and slowly shuffled out of my room. Down the hall I heard chatter, I could distinctly hear Clarke and Cynthia, but the third voice I couldn’t quite make out. As I rounded the corner, I froze in place.
“Ah you’re awake! Are you feeling better?” Clarke called out, smiling warmly at me. I cursed under my breath, my presence now known by the inhabitants of the living room. Rosalie turned to face me, her whole face lighting up when locked eyes.
“Um, yeah I feel a bit better. Rose, what um, what are you doing here?”
“Oh well, I said I was going to come over to bring you homework, and Clarke invited me to stay for dinner. I didn’t want to wake you so I stayed out here.” she smiled softly.
Cynthia frowned, “Well come on, sit down and entertain your guest. Dinner will be done soon.”
I stayed frozen in my hallway spot, praying if I stayed still long enough, everyone would forget I was there. Cynthia huffed and walked to the kitchen.
Rosalie rose from her spot on the couch and walked over to me. 
“Can I talk to you?” she whispered softly.
I nodded and walked her towards my room. She softly closed the door behind us as we entered my room. I didn’t bother turning the lights on as I made my way to my bed. Rosalie stayed by the door, almost keeping a safe distance from me.
“You can sit down if you want, I won’t bite.” I patted the spot next to me and she smiled.
“I didn’t want to assume anything.” she laughed and sat at the edge of my bed, still keeping a small distance between us. I almost wanted to pull her closer to me. I grabbed a pillow instead, pulling it close to my chest.
We sat in silence for a moment, neither of us knowing what exactly to say.
“Are you feeling better?” she asked, her voice laced with concern.
“Uh, yeah, I’m feelin ok.”
She nodded and we fell back into silence. I sighed and stood up. I motioned for her to follow me and I walked towards my closet. Deep behind my clothes was a ladder leading up to a small loft area. Clarke had shown it to me a bit after I moved in, it was my little escape from everyone. No one else knew about it, well except for Clarke and now Rosalie.
I plugged in the string of lights and sat down, Rosalie following closely behind. She had a look of awe on her face as she took in my little hide away.
“This is a cute room.”
“Oh, thanks. It’s my secret getaway from the rest of the family.”
She laughed and sat on one of the many pillows scattered around the room.
“So what did you need to talk about?” I wanted to quit beating around the bush, obviously it was something bad, since she keeps stalling. Maybe she didn’t want to hang out anymore, that would probably be fair. I was probably annoying her.
“Oh right, um, I’ve been thinking all day how I was going to tell you this and ha! Would you look at that? I still don’t have the words.” She sighed, and ran her fingers through her hair.
“If you don’t want to be friends, just say it.” I blurted out and she froze.
“Why would you think that? God Autumn, no. It’s the complete opposite.” She looked frantic as she spoke, and grabbed my hands with her cold ones.
“I- I think I love you Autumn.”
I stared at her dumbfounded.
“I thought you we’re in a relationship? Aren’t you and Emmett together?”
She quickly pulled her hands away and shook her head, confusion painted across her face.
“No, who told you that?”
“Bella did, today when she drove me home.” I said softly. I wanted to reach for her hands again, missing her touch, but she stood up fast and started pacing the small room.
“God she is such an idiot!” she mumbled harshly. Taking a breath she turned back to me.
“Emmett and I are close, yes, but he’s like my brother. He’s actually been the one pushing me to tell you how I feel.”
“But, why would Bella think that?”
She sighed and kneeled down next to me. “I have no idea what goes through her head. God for all I know she just assumed since Jasper and Alice are together that I’d be dating Emmett.”
Carefully, I reached out for her hand again. Our fingers intertwined as I looked her in the eyes.
“Rosalie, I think I love you too.”