Just Rose

Chapter Eight

The next morning when I came downstairs it was as if nothing had happened the night before. "Just Rose!" Timmy exclaimed, catching sight of me as I opened the fridge to get out a carton of milk. The name had caught on after the incident with Max awhile ago, but after a few weeks Timmy and Max were the only two who still called me by my 'full name'. Julie took a glance at us and smiled briefly before turning to help Damian and Miguel tie something around their... ankles? Maybe they were doing some sort of one-team three-legged race.

"Hey Timmy," I said. "How did you sleep?"

"Good."

"That's good," I said, glad he had already forgotten about his bad dream. It must be nice to forget things so easily, I thought as Damian and Miguel hobbled by, arms around each other.

I pondered that thought all morning, as I ate, showered, and got dressed. I managed to focus for a few minutes as I read the Bible- I had enjoyed going to church with the Kresses and Reids and felt a little guilty not going now that I was living with Julie, who had made it very clear she wasn't religious at all. I had made a habit of reading at least for a bit on Sundays. As soon as the book went back into the drawer where I had found it, the thought came back.

I wished for a minute that I could forget. What if I could forget everything that happened before I arrived in Seattle? It wasn't lying if I actually believed everything I told people, was it? It would be nice to be completely honest for a change; I couldn't remember a time I wasn't living some lie or another. Even when living with Mother I had constantly been trying to hide my distaste with the life I was being forced to live.

I sighed, pulling up my bag next to me on the bed and fingering the place at the bottom of it where I knew my small journal and photos were. A few days ago I had walked in on Aleck, curious as ever, about to open my journal and had promptly added a hidden flap at the bottom of my bag. I had placed my photos and journal into it and then sewn it shut. I was pretty sure that it would just seem like the hard bottom of a bag to anyone who happened to find it. It was kind of tough not being able to look over the photos or write in my journal, but-

"Rose!" exclaimed a tiny voice from the doorway. I dropped the bag on the ground and turned around.

"Hey, Mig-Damian," I said, catching myself when I noticed the gap between his teeth. A new tooth was slowly growing in and I wasn't sure how I was going to tell he and his twin apart when it did.

 "Max said you seemed sad," he said.

He did? I expected my heart to race, for my face to flush, because Max had been thinking about me. But it didn't. I paused for a second, slightly taken aback, then shrugged the feeling off. He was Kiana's, anyway. Ever since Sarah had shared with me her opinions of them it had become painfully obvious that they were definitely meant to be. I was relieved, in fact. Still though, there was something about Max... I scrunched up my eyebrows in thought.

"You are sad!" Damian exclaimed. I jumped a little. Was he still here?

"What? No, I'm fine," I said, trying to give a convincing smile.

 "Then why are you gonna cry?" he asked, a concerned look filling his face. He looked like he was about to cry himself.

"I'm not going to cry." I paused. Were my eyes even watering? "I'm just... I just need... some... fresh air. To keep my eyes from watering... yeah." I looked at him to see if he was buying what I was telling him. He was.

"Oh okay," he said, his usual grin slipping back onto his face. "You should go outside then."

"I think I will," I agreed, pushing my bag under the bed partway with my foot. "Do you want to come?" I asked as I stood up and we walked out into the hallway.