Awakening

Chapter 23

"More coffee Miss?" the waitress asked.

Rose nodded and watched as she refilled her cup with the dark, warm liquid, noting the name on her badge, Lucy. Rose gave her a small smile of thanks and took a sip before focusing on her laptop screen again. Her brow furrowed as she sifted through the articles.

For the past week she had been doing some digging, trying to find some shred of evidence that Victor had managed to survive the fall. She had scoured dozens of websites and articles, but nothing. No trace of him existed anywhere. Still, she wasn't giving up. She had to know. After twenty minutes of finding nothing, yet again, she sighed and thought for a moment. She reached into her bag and pulled out the photo that was left on her bed. Carefully she studied her face, tracing the outline with her finger. She looked so happy. If she had only known. She looked at Victor's face and the familiar feeling of dread came over her. Her hands started to shake as memories of the day of the fall flashed before her eyes. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Quickly she put the photo away and took a sip of coffee instead.

She sat back and stretched her arms over her head. Her eye caught a dark haired figure jogging towards the window she was sitting at. Her heart skipped a beat in anticipation, but it quickly made way for disappointment when he came closer and she realised it was not the dark eyed doctor she had come to know in the past few months.

She felt a twinge of sadness. She hadn't seen or spoken to Max all week. She knew she agreed to give him time, but it still felt weird not seeing him. Maybe that's why she hadn't fled like she originally planned. She wanted to see him at least once more before she left. But she knew she was running out of time. The longer she stayed put, the more dangerous the situation became. She didn't know for sure if it was Victor, but who else could it be? At least she was ready to go. Her suitcase was packed safely in the trunk of her car. All she had to do was get in and drive.

A yawn escaped her mouth, her eyes tearing up as it did. Sleeping had been nearly impossible. The nightmares had gotten worse. It was mostly about Victor, but Max had also featured a few times. The ones about him hit her hard. He was always walking away from her and no matter how loud she screamed, he never turned around. Between nightmares she would lay awake, every sound around her setting off alarms in her mind. At this point she was surviving on energy drinks and short naps during her free periods. She was absolutely exhausted. She looked at the screen mocking her on the table in front of her. She sighed and started again. Maybe she missed something.

#

Two hours later she looked up, her neck muscles strained from the position she had held. She still hadn't gotten anywhere. She sat back and stretched her aching muscles before calling for the bill. A few minutes later Lucy was back, trying very hard to hide an excited smile. She pulled out the bill with her one hand, but kept the other hidden.

"Here's your bill, Miss."

Rose reached for her wallet, but Lucy stopped her.

"Oh, don't worry. It's all been taken care of."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"A gentleman paid on your behalf. He asked me to tell you that you look as beautiful as ever. And to give you this."

Rose watched in horror as she pulled out a red rose from behind her back and placed it on the table. For a moment the world slowed down, her heart going cold. She whipped around, looking around frantically, trying to spot him in the cafe, but he was nowhere to be found. She felt herself starting to shake, the fear almost crippling her. Lucy was still going on about how sweet the gesture was, but Rose grabbed her things and darted out the front door. Her mind was blank, the shock too big to process. Her instincts took over, forcing her legs to move towards her car.  

Ten minutes later she was sitting in Emily's drive way. She looked around confused, her mind starting to catch up with her body. She had to leave. The time for waiting was over. She looked in her rearview mirror. All the colour was drained from her face. She softly pinched her cheeks, trying to regain her composure and some of her colour. When she was satisfied that she looked normal enough, she got out and with a heavy heart she walked up the steps, each step feeling heavier than the last. She rung the bell and listened as Emily made her way to the door. Her heart ached when she saw Emily's face. She didn't want to do this, but she had to.

"Hey, Em." she said as brightly as she could.

Emily frowned. "Rose? What... Did we have plans I forgot about?"

Rose shook her head. "No, nothing like that. I actually came to say goodbye."

The confusion on Emily's face grew. "What? Where are you going?"

Rose smiled. "Just a small trip. An old friend invited me to stay at her cabin in Sleptis for a week or so. We haven't seen each other in so long, we thought it'd be good to catch up while she has the time. It's a bit spur of the moment, but I wanted to say goodbye before I left."

"Oh." Emily seemed to think it over for a moment, then smiled. "Well, who am I to deny you a break. You deserve some down time. You look utterly exhausted."

Rose smiled and pulled her in for a tight hug. "Thanks, Em. And thank you for being such a great friend. You've really made my life fuller... You know I love you, right?"

Emily frowned as she hugged her friend. "Rose, are you ok? You sound weird."

Rose shook her head, trying to keep the tears at bay. "Don't be silly, Em. Everything's going to be fine." She let go of her friend. "Well, I've got to get on the road. Goodbye, Emily."

She gave her friend a last smile and turned around before walking back to her car, trying to hold back the tears. She gave another wave as she drove off, noticing the confused looked on Emily's face. But she knew Emily would be ok. In a week Rose would call to say she had gotten a fantastic job offer and wouldn't be returning. Emily might be sad, but at least she'd be safe. And Emily would make new friends quickly. She was loveable like that. Rose swallowed the tears threatening to spill. She had one more stop before she could leave. And she knew it wasn't going to be any easier than the one she just made.