Welcome Home, Rose

Seven

I stared down at the message on my phone aware my Uncle Randy was waiting down in his truck. My heartbeat thudded loudly in my ears my breath coming out in ragged gasps. Two years, that was how long I had gone without having a panic attack. Whoever was sending this text message knew the families that made up the small town of Bennington Parque and their histories. They weren't the only ones to call AJ a dead weight. The entire town still believed AJ would follow in the footsteps of Abraham Fender. They were still convinced he would turn to the bottle and embrace its comfort, lashing out with his fists if anyone told him off. AJ refused to drink, he learned to control his anger by embracing the music. He was nothing like his father and everything like his mother.

I pulled up the message, my hands shaking so bad my phone slipped from them several times. They were not the only ones to tell me I couldn't be with someone. My old man didn't allow me to date the remainder of my high school career. I mentally scolded myself the past didn't matter, not now. With a tightened grip on my phone, I hit reply.

You are not the first to call him a deadweight and you won't be the last. You hurt my brother in any way, you son of a bitch, I will hunt you down and kill you myself.

I hit send before I lost my nerve. I slowly made my way through the rest of the house. After making sure the place was secure, I made my way down to Randy's truck. He didn't ask why I had taken so long, he simply put the truck in gear, and took me to The Grill. He pulled up alongside the curb just as my phone went off. I waited until I was out before pulling it out reading the message on screen.

I look forward to our meeting.

I swore underneath my breath, running a frustrated hand through my hair. What was more important to me, my brother's life or whatever was happening between AJ and I? I headed inside seeing my friends and AJ sitting at our usual table. AJ waved, his smile making my heart skip a beat. Tyson would tell me to put myself first. He would say he was the big brother who could take care of himself.

Live your life Rosie, I can handle myself. The ghost of his voice echoed in my head. I headed for the table taking a seat next to AJ. He took my hand our fingers lacing together. Live in the moment, that is what I would do. The sender of the messages could wait another day.

The days began to blend together, the first week blending seamlessly into the second. The house officially ready, the paperwork finally underway. There were still plenty of moments of downtime. Randy, still an active member of the search party for Tyson. So far, the team in Wisconsin had turned up nothing. The search party in Washington had a few leads changing into dead ends at a rapid pace. The son of a bitch who had my brother knew how to disappear and knew how to be invisible.

Staying true to my word I became a regular at the mental institute. Soren enjoyed seeing me, telling me how he was officially Val's Orderly, a promotion in itself. Cersei took up the mantle of receptionist. Remembering the Cersei, I had gone to school with, being a receptionist was not in her wheelhouse. Cersei had the bedside manor of a porcupine and was not really a people person. A part of me wondered how she got the job here in the first place.

"Take my advice Heath?" Val asked, taking his usual spot in the window seat.

"Is it really taking your advice when I have no idea what you mean?" I countered. He rolled his eyes.

"You've always been good at burying your pain." He leaned forward. "Why are you hiding from your past? Everything you need is there the answers to those questions in your mind."

"I'm not hiding from my past V." I said defensively. "I've been facing it every day for the past week."

"Oh yes, redecorating your home to appease the town council's dreams of immortalizing your parents." He stood up. "My hear breaks for you Heather, it really does."