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Six months had passed since Rosa and the others had been dropped off in a ghost town. Six months, in which the teenagers of West Ham had to govern a town which had no rules or authority. Six long months.
Rosa had struggled with a lot of difficulties during that time; her parents being gone, the guilt she felt over Cassandra's death, the horror of Dewey's execution. And she had made mistakes dealing with those things, often turning to alcohol to nullify the thoughts plaguing her mind. But, since the night Rosa and Harry had broken into the grocery store, she had decided, with the help of her closest friends, to attempt to find a better way of dealing with her problems. Rosa had reconciled with Grizz soon after that night, her best friend wanting nothing more than to help her get through everything – Rosa knew she would be more than lost without him around.
Instead of having to turn to alcohol to manage her thoughts and feelings when things got difficult, Rosa decided to hold talks at the church with Helena. Though hers weren't religious, having people listen and relate to her was not just healing for her, but for everybody. After all, the teenagers were in the same boat, they were all struggling with similar, if not the same, issues. The talks also allowed Rosa and Helena to grow even closer during the past few months, by giving them an opportunity to spend more time together away from the boys, the two of them finding solace in one another.
Rosa also became closer to Luke, who had become her morning running partner. When he wasn't on guard duty, the two of them would get up early enough every morning to jog through the town when it was at its quietest. It was peaceful, and they enjoyed each other's company – it was just a shame they couldn't venture out any further than West Ham.
Rosa had spent a lot more time with Allie too, continuing her position on the decision committee, but also helping the girl out now and then whenever she was having difficulties deciding what to do. Rosa was also helpful in enforcing the rules through her talks, rather than through force like the guards, and she soon found herself becoming one of the first people Allie would turn to for any sort of help.
The one person Rosa had drifted apart from was Harry. He had grown distant a few weeks after the night at the grocery store, and had soon isolated himself from everybody. Rosa wondered whether she had been wrong in thinking their friendship was good for either of them at the moment, and had decided she should keep her distance for a while whilst she'd been working through her own difficulties, not wanting to fall back into old habits, or to make him feel any worse.
Rosa had also found some other ways of coping with the pressures in her life...and one person in particular was very good at helping her with that.
"Wow."
Rosa sank back down against the bed beside Jason, one final pleasurable moan slipping through her lips.
She stared up at the white ceiling, her chest rising and falling as she caught her breath.
