Rose's Journal

Chapter 48: The Goodbye

tw // character death

The band looked at each other as they realized the time. There was so much to say, yet they didn't know where to start. They just sat there in silence for a minute.

Carrie was the first to break the silence. "Well, I'm just gonna let you guys have some time alone. I'll see you guys later," she said, going into the side room.

"Julie, can I borrow your laptop?" Rose asked her. "I need it to talk to Carrie." Julie nodded and grabbed her laptop, giving it to her mom. Before Julie walked away, Rose grabbed her arm.

"Please promise me you'll help her," Rose turned her head to Flynn. "Both of you need to help her. She'll need you to process this and deal with the press.

"Of course, we'll help her," Julie replied.

"Yeah," Flynn said. "We'll be right here for her." Flynn paused and turned in Rose's direction, "I'll be here for both, I promise." Rose smiled and walked into the side room. Carrie was lying on the bed staring at her phone, watching the news come in. She was trying not to cry as she watched the world find out the ugly truth about her father. Rose sat on the bed beside her with Julie's laptop open to word. As she saw the laptop drop on the bed, she sat up and turned off her phone.

"Who's there? Which one of you ghosts is it?" Carrie asked, not used to ghosts existing, let alone trying to interact with her.

"It's Ms. Rose. I'm here to talk to you, and the only way I can say anything is if I type it," Rose typed, "I have to talk to you before I leave."

"You don't have to talk to me," Carrie replied. "You should spend time with your family. I don't deserve this."

"Why do you think you don't?" Rose typed.

"I've been a total jerk to your daughter for over two years, I didn't even go to your funeral, and my dad killed you."

"Carrie, Julie forgives you, I forgive you, and it's not your fault your dad killed me. I want you to remember that. I know that the press and everyone around you is going to be asking you for answers. You don't have to have them."

"But that's not me. I can't just give people an 'I don't know.' People expect more from me than that. I expect more from me than that."

"You're allowed to not be perfect. You're allowed to scream and cry and make mistakes and figure things out as you go. This isn't going to be easy, but I know you have the strength to handle it. Just remember you don't have to always be strong."

Carrie began to cry. "The world's gonna hate me. I'm the daughter of a killer. I made Dirty Candi so people will love me like my mom and dad never did. I just want to be accepted. I want to hear the crowds cheering for me."

"But that's not why you started performing in the first place. You sing and dance because it's what you love to do. I remember you, Julie, and Flynn screaming the words to every song in the car whenever I drove you three home from school. No matter what happens, you know that those two girls are going to stand by you. You'll always have people who love you. Maybe the world won't, but that's not what matters most. They accept you. I accept you."

"I just wish I could be anyone else right now. I hate all of this so much."

"That's my jacket, right?" Rose typed.

"Yeah. Julie gave it to me earlier," Carrie replied.

"Look in the interior pocket," Rose suggested. Carrie unzipped the pocket to find a note, folded up several times. "It's a note I wrote the day you first learned to play the piano. I was going to give it to your dad, but I lacked the courage, so I always kept it in that jacket for the day that I did. Every word I say in there about you is true, and they're still true now. I want you to know that I was your biggest fan then, and I will always be your biggest fan. You're gonna make it through this. You can read the letter now or later, but I hope you read it."