Chapter 31- See You Around

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Rose looked outside, the roads were finally clearing up enough so she could leave soon. She hated making this family feel like they had to take care of her, and she had been thinking of all the ways she could pay them back. Most of her bruises were almost gone, her left eye was almost completely healed, and the stabbing pain in her chest was almost gone. Her voice began to return, and her throat wasn't damaged as much anymore.
"Hey Rose?" Liz asked as she turned off the console.
"Yeah?" Rose replied helping her plug in the controllers to charge.
"Are you also getting tired of being stuck in this house?" Liz asked, leaning against the wall.
Rose looked down and thought for a second.
"Your family is really nice, but I've never been one to rely on others for my survival," She said.
"I mean... not quite what I meant. I was going to offer that we go for a walk," Liz explained.
"Oh, my bad," Rose said scratching the back of her neck.
"Anyways I'll go ask Dad," Liz said leaving the room.
Rose finished tidying up the room, and got lost in her thoughts.
"I said too much didn't I? Damn I hope I didn't make things too awkward between us," Rose thought as she touched under her left eye to check on the swelling.
"Dad said it's fine, but we can't go for long," Liz said cheerfully walking back into the room.

Liz practically dragged Rose through the snow-covered woods. Liz said she had a destination in mind, but Rose wasn't paying attention.

"It's beautiful, I don't mind dying here."
Rose only felt pain as the cold snow slowly enveloped her body. She closed her eyes, the pain seeming to dissipate as she fell deeper into her permanent sleep.

"Rose? Rose? Is someone in there?"
Rose shook herself from her thoughts, and looked at Liz. Liz was waving her hand in front of Rose's face.
"Sorry, zoned out," She apologized.
"I was saying I found this really cool cave a few weeks ago, let's explore it!" Liz said grabbing Rose's hand and dragging her away.
After a few minutes of walking, Liz showed Rose the entrance with pride. It seemed they would have to duck just a tiny bit to get in, but it was manageable.
"What are you waiting for?" Liz asked Rose, who was unmoving.
"It looks unstable," Rose replied.
Liz examined the entrance to the cave and shrugged.
"Looks fine to me, but if something goes wrong I have my phone," Liz said pulling a pale yellow smart phone out of her pocket.
Rose still seemed on the fence about it, but Liz went in anyway. Rose followed, knowing if something went wrong Liz would need help.

The girls walked further into the cave. Liz eventually pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight so they could see. A small rock hit Rose's face, so she looked up. The roof was ever so slightly beginning to creak, and small pieces of rubble would occasionally fall.
"Stop."
Liz turned around with an annoyed face.
"Rose I told you it's fine," Liz sighed.
Rose simply pointed to the ceiling with her left hand, and put her right pointer finger over her lips indicating to be quiet. Liz's eyes went wide, and she slowly nodded. For a few minutes all they heard was the breathing of themselves. Neither of them dared to move, the ceiling of the cramped cave still slowly falling.
"Slowly come this way," Rose whispered to Liz, who looked terrified.
Liz seemed hesitant, but eventually took a very slow step towards Rose. Rose held out her hand for Liz to take, who was taking each step with as much caution as possible. Liz noticed the roof started to creak more and stopped moving, Rose did the same.
"I-it's going to fall," Liz whispered, tears starting to slowly fall down her cheeks.
"No it won't, just take my hand," Rose instructed, her hand still reaching out.
Liz took one more step, when a crash was heard down the cave. The roof seemed to be collapsing towards them, faster than they get out. Liz and Rose tried to run out, but it was too cramped. Liz looked up as pieces of rock fell on her. She looked at Rose for what she believed to be the last time, and saw her hair and eyes glowing. She closed her eyes, and someone pulled her into their chest.

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Liz looked around, and noticed she was sitting in the snow outside of the entrance of the cave. She didn't even notice she was holding onto Rose's shirt like a toddler. Rose let go of Liz, and gently removed Liz's hands from her shirt. She didn't care about the wet stain of tears that Liz had created.
"A-are we dead?" Liz asked letting go.
"Don't think so, but your arm got scraped," Rose replied, standing up.
Liz noticed a stinging feeling on her leg arm, and saw her jacket was torn. A little bit of blood stained the torn thread, so she put her free hand on it to slow the bleeding.
"What happened?" Liz asked, looking around at her surroundings.
"Cave collapsed, and I got us out," Rose explained rather harshly.
"No I mean how did you get us out?" Liz questioned in a frustrated voice.
"You blacked out, so I dragged you out," Rose said, her voice cold and serious.
Rose dusted some snow off her pants, and Liz fiddled with her thumbs.
"Everything alright?" Rose asked Liz, noticing her nervousness.
"Well... I couldn't help but notice something with your hair..." Liz began, still playing with her thumbs.
"Go on," Rose said with a hand gesture.
"Light seemed to flow out from your scalp and down to the tips. It was dark so the light couldn't come from anywhere else..." Liz explained.
"Are you sure the light wasn't coming from anywhere else?" Rose asked.
"Your eyes,"' Liz said pointing to Rose's face.
"My eyes as well? Honestly I have no clue what you are talking about," Rose sighed as she helped Liz stand up.
"I'm going to say something crazy," Liz warned Rose also dusting the snow off of her pants.
"No point in waiting," Rose replied.
"Does it have to do with why someone hurt you?"

Rose and Liz stared at each other in silence for a few seconds.
"Someone beat the shit out of me because they thought they owned me and I thought they didn't. Hence why I said it was misunderstanding. Also when I said an animal attacked me, I didn't specify the animal. People are technically animals. Now if my eyes and hair could glow that would be pretty damn cool, but they cannot," Rose said, her serious tone throwing off Liz.
"I guess you're right, it was probably all the stress," Liz replied with a smile.
"Probably, now let's head back and patch up your arm," Rose said walking away.
Liz nodded, and they started waking back. Liz seemed down, like a guilty child.
"Jeez you look like a hurt kitten," Rose said to Liz.
"O-oh sorry... It's just... you warned me that it was dangerous but I went in anyways," Liz said, hanging her head.
"Well we survived right? No point in dwindling on the past when you can't change it. Also I kind of owe your entire family a big one, so this helps pay off that debt," Rose shrugged.
Liz seemed to cheer up, and the walk back wasn't as awkward.

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Mary allowed Rose to call her dad every night until the snow cleared up enough so they could take her back. In reality Rose dialed a number she knew wasn't in use anymore, and talked to nobody on the other end. She made up a lie that her dad was going to get a plane and meet her up in a nearby city. She also made up a lie that her "dad" already reported it to the police, and she would be talking to them when she got back home. She lied about this so they wouldn't fear for her safety, and would drop her off in a city without second question.
"Hey Rose, where did you get that necklace?"
Rose looked at Liz, then back at the necklace Markus gave her.
"A friend," she responded, looking back at the screen.
"Oh, they must've been a good friend to give you something so nice," Liz said with a smile.
"Yeah, too bad I probably won't see them again," Rose said in a monotone voice.
"What? Why not?" Liz asked.
Rose cursed herself for saying too much, then looked back with a fake smile.
"They live in a different country, I met them while I was traveling. Neither of us had a phone, and we never even got each other's full name," Rose explained, Liz seeming to understand.

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"Rose I'm heading into the city to meet with some clients, so I will drop you off at the airport there," Thomas told Rose as he walked back inside.
Liz and Rose were playing a board game on the dinner table.
"Hey Liz, any idea where the clothes I came in are?" Rose asked.
"Mom threw them out. They were torn and covered in blood," Liz said while moving a piece on the board.
"Oh... makes sense. I don't want to take your clothes," Rose said looking down at the t-shirt she was wearing.
"Oh that old thing? I don't listen to that band anymore, so I don't want it. Oh and the pants are hand-me-downs from my friend's siblings, so I never felt comfortable wearing them anyways. For shoes I got a pair of white Converses that are no longer white, so you can have those," Liz said finishing up her turn.
For some reason Liz could tell Rose never wore nice things, and knew she would be more comfortable wearing her clothes that she never wore.
"I mean you are older than me, so I know they don't fit that well," Liz shrugged.
"Doesn't matter to me, as long as I don't look like a stripper," Rose said with a smirk.
Liz tried not to laugh, and Thomas walked back into the room.
"Alright we're leaving, ready to go?" He asked Rose.
Rose nodded and turned to Liz.
"Goodbye Liz, see ya around," Rose replied with a wave.
Liz stood up and hugged Rose. Rose wasn't great with hugs, and awkwardly pat Liz's head.
"Thanks for saving me," Liz whispered.
"Anytime, don't make me come back here to do it again though," Rose replied.
"Don't make me find you passed out in a forest again," Liz said laughing.
"No promises."

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"Alright Rose, can you walk from here?"
Rose nodded and got out of the car. Before she closed the door she turned back around.
"Thank you so much, I owe you a debt I won't be able to repay," Rose said.
"You can repay it by being equally as kind to others," Thomas replied with a smile.
Rose nodded, thanked him again, and started to close the door.
"Rose make sure your dad takes you to a hospital."
"Yes sir."

The Nameless Avenger (MCU oc-insert) DISCONTINUED!!!Where stories live. Discover now