Never Forget [book one]

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Rosaline's POV:

The presence of the boys was still little to nothing in terms of existence as Addison and I continued our daily ritual while moping... Eat, sleep, small talk, wee, and watch TV... The typical lazy activities. In our eyes, it was quite entertaining... fun even, considering there wasn't anything better to do. At least we kept each other company.

When asked by friends if I wanted to go hang out, I'd lie and tell them that I was too busy. I wasn't neglecting them, however I preferred to spend time with Addi, because she understood exactly how I was feeling.

"Hey, Rose?" said Addison, munching on something crunchy that I hadn't really come to acknowledge. I was flipping through the channels on the television, looking for something decent to watch.

"Yeah?" I responded, with my eyes still glued to the TV.

"When did Harry and the guys say they'd be back?"

At this point, I settled with The Gossip Channel, slowly turning to face Addison as I put the remote down. I suddenly felt defensive over something so little, when there was no particular reason... Her words shouldn't have bothered me, but they did. She made it seem like One Direction revolved around Harry. Not only as a band, but as best friends. It obviously had something to do with the feelings she held for him.

Something was pulling me back and telling me to leave it be... I was pretty sure that there were a couple of times that I'd said Niall and the boys.

I was all new to this... There was nothing I should have expected any more nor less. The sensitivity, or rather defensiveness that I was feeling was not apart of my character. It was outright abnormal.

"Uh... They got on the plane late last night and the flight is twenty-four hours, I think... So, um... about late tonight-ish?" I said quietly, still secretly hooked on what had just came out of her mouth.

My eyes finally moved from her curious ones and back to the television. Although I was looking directly at it, the TV appeared as a blur while I begun to get caught up in my thoughts. The muffled television voices, frequent audible munching, and thunderous rumbles from outside faded into the background.

There was nothing in particular going through my mind... in fact, there wasn't quite anything there. The expression on my face... probably as blank as my mind.

A tap on my shoulder pulled me from my empty little world. Addison said to me, "I think I'm gonna go home."

"But why? It's raining," I said. "And you don't have a car."

"I'll take a cab..."

"No... You can't..." I was starting to plead with her to stay at this point. I couldn't tolerate being alone. She couldn't leave me in this big house all alone. I didn't want to be.

I thought of packing a bag and going with her, but maybe she was trying to escape me.

The thought of fending for myself sent shudders down my body.

"You're a big girl. I'll be back later... Tonight." Obviously to see Harry. "Just give me your keys so I can get back in."

I pulled my legs to my chest and pointed at my keys on the coffee table. Addison stood up, dusting the crumbs off of her shirt, then picked up my keys which were set between a bowl of crisps and the remote to the cable.

I watched her as she stretched and ran her abandoned hand through her waves. "Cheerio," she winked, walking towards the threshold to leave.

"Au revoir," I muttered, not sure whether Addison had heard me or if she would even understand what the foreign phrase meant.