Cold Case » Luke Patterson ¹ ✓

8│Flying Solo

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Chapter Eight
FLYING SOLO
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Rosalie wasn't sure where she was going, but she wanted to get away for a moment. In her entire life and even the ten years after her life, she had never felt like she wanted to change her direction. But now, she was starting to second guess herself. For as long as she could remember, she had a deep passion for art.

She remembered art class when she was in first grade and loving it. Her stick figures always found a home on the fridge after her mom would hang them up. As she got older, her drawing got better, and her love for art grew stronger. She would draw realistically and from her mind.

She had it all planned out since she was ten. Taking AP art her senior year of high school and applying at the California Institute of the Arts. Her mother supported her, although she knew that it was hard to get started in an art career. When her plans got ruined, she still found a way to incorporate art into her life. She spent a year at the college of her dreams, learning all that she missed out on, and she loved it.

But now, she wasn't so sure. This was the one thing in her life that she was certain about, and now after nearly twenty years, she felt a flicker of doubt that art wasn't what she was meant to do. Maybe Luke, Reggie, and Alex had come into her life for a reason. Maybe it was music that had been calling to her all these years. Maybe it took dying to figure out where she truly belonged.

With Julie outside talking to her friend, Rosalie tiptoed up to her bedroom. Walking through the closed door, Rosalie sighed in relief upon finding the room empty. Immediately her eyes landed on the radio that sat on the nightstand next to Julie's bed. Taking a seat on the neatly made bed, Rosalie let out a nervous sigh. She wasn't even sure what she was doing in here or what her plan was. She just knew that she needed to get away for a moment.

She had spent many years of her life listening to music, and she loved it. Sometimes when she was alone, she would sing along. She never had the confidence to sing in front of people, not even her parents. Even after death, when no one could see her, she still only sang when she was alone. So now, in a house that wasn't hers and certainly wasn't empty, she felt extremely nervous as she considered playing the radio quietly in hopes that a song that she knew came on. She just wanted to see if music was for her.

With a shaky hand she reached out and turned on the radio, cringing when the music started playing loudly. As quickly as she could, she turned the volume down to where she could barely hear it. Sitting on the very edge of the bed to hear better, she leaned down towards the music. She waited there patiently as some of her nerves died down. The first song that came on, she did not know. She had spent some time listening to the newer music after she had died but not enough to know every song.