Long Live. // Luke Hemmings 5SOS (Vampire)

Chapter 18 - Interrupted

Photo above is an original edit by me. Please enjoy this chapter :)

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To Rosemarys relief, Vera's return home was not postponed again; however, another unexpected change was thrown at her when Vera rang her the night before she returned and told her she wouldn't be coming back alone.

"...What?" Rosemary uttered flatly, eyebrows furrowed as she sat on the sofa with her knees pulled up to her chest.

"Uh- yeah. A lots been going on over here but my cousin- he actually has a work thing here in London, and I thought it'd be better for him to stay with us in the spare room than to waste all that money on temporary renting or whatever." Vera explained in a notably hopeful tone of voice. She knew that the news she was presenting to Rosemary likely wouldn't be taken well, and she tried to offset that with a sense of enthusiasm... which was met with deathly silence. "...He'll be with us for about a month, and he'll barely be in the house for most of it anyway so... Is that alright with you?"

"...I mean..." Rosemary trailed off, huffing to herself, and she could imagine the wince on Vera's face as she did. She knew what that exasperated tone meant. "It's already decided, right? So yeah, sure." She shook her head, pursing her lips in a bitter smile. Vera could hear the bitterness in her voice, and let out a sigh.

"Rosemary, I don't want to inconvenience you. If you're not okay with it you can tell me."
Rosemary raised her eyebrow at the suggestion.

"Alright, I'm not okay with it." She then stated bluntly, shrugging to herself. "But that was obvious. That's why I didn't feel like saying it out loud, it's kind of pointless... It's whatever, though, I'll get over it. I don't expect him to find another place to stay just because I don't like house guests." She let out an unamused chuckle, knowing that she didn't really have a choice in the matter - and that bothered her more than the guest himself.

"Okay, sure. That's fair... I'm sorry that it's so last minute, Rosemary, really. He just... needed the help."
Rosemary rolled her eyes to herself, glad that she wasn't having this conversation face to face.

"Yeah, I get it. I'll see you tomorrow."

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Rosemary was grateful for one thing, and it was that she was at work when Vera came home with this... stranger. Although Rosemary had a tendency towards impulsive and reckless behaviour, her home was one place where she hoped for things to remain consistent and safely in order. The stress of having a long term guest, potentially changing the dynamics of her home life, put her on edge all day. She thought about it at work, on her break and as she walked through her door after travelling home.

Vera came and answered the door before Rosemary could unlock it herself - although she'd waited practically all week for Vera to return, she was tense when she saw her.

"Hey, Ro. How's your day been?" Vera asked as she closed the door and Rosemary wandered past her towards the shoe rack.

"Good. Yours?" Rosemary responded monotonously, already wandering where the new housemate was lurking...

"It's been good, yeah. Long journey home." Vera said, letting out an awkward chuckle that Rosemary didn't respond to. Then, Vera cleared her throat, biting the inside of her cheek nervously. "Uh... Rosemary?" Without responding, Rosemary simply turned to her with an expression that told Vera to say whatever it was she was thinking... She began to speak, her voice low. "Just a heads up - my cousin, he's in the kitchen. You wanna come and meet him?"

Rosemary hesitated to answer, casually reaching her hand across her torso to grasp her elbow and stretch her arm out, twisting at the waist and hearing her joints crack slightly as she did. She easily avoided the question for a couple of seconds whilst stretching before she let out a sigh and nodded. "Okay."