Category: Black Sheep in Society: Season 3

On the night that I saw Hudson on the TV for the first time, my boyfriend was high off of his mind. Just hours before, he had accused me of fucking one of his dealers; he insisted that the video the guy showed him was with a girl that had hair that looked like mine. The video went viral after that girl “overdosed”, even though the autopsy revealed that she was strangled to death. That night, I was cared for my life. I had this feeling that if I stayed in this place any longer, I’d be the next girl found in some ditch and wrote off as some junkie.

I had no information about his daughter that was missing, but it was the only way I felt like I could get out. Since then, I felt like I owed my life to Hudson, despite constantly letting him down, and playing with fire with a much more dangerous man: a billionaire’s son.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around, realizing I was in the hospital. The beeping of the heart monitor continuously went steady until it began to speed up. Immediately after that, I see someone come into the room; the closer the person got, the more I realized who it was.

“Rosie,” Hudson said, pulling a chair up toward my bed. “Hey, kid.” I grunted as a response, still trying to get my vision straightened out.

“What time is it,” I asked as I looked out the window and saw the sunlight. The last thing I remember was that it was dark outside.

“It’s about 1 in the afternoon,” Hudson answered, looking out the window as well. “How are you feeling?”

“Like a bus ran me over, and if that’s the case; I’m totally suing,” I said, adjusting myself on the bed. Hudson shook his head, probably regretting taking me under his wing all those years ago.

“Glad to see that you have a sense of humor,” he mentioned, not seeming to be in a jokey mood.

“You have to be in situations like this,” I spat back. “Or else you’re just sitting in a hospital bed, rotting away.”

“Rosie, you were found unconscious at some party you were throwing in a place that I recently found out was your apartment,” Hudson mentioned as he looked at me. “I thought you lived on campus.” Fuck.

“I, uhm,” I began to say, but I honestly had nothing prepared to explain the situation. Hudson wasn’t suppose to know this, and for this to have happen at my place made the situation a lot worse.”

“I had to find this out on top of everything else that night,” Hudson emphasized before sighing. I looked at Hudson, feeling guilty. He’s been the closest thing to a parental figure in my life, and I feel like I’ve done nothing but disappoint him, and possibly regretting the decision to look after me. He probably wishes that it was his daughter he was caring for; not some ex-teen runaway from Philly. I snapped back to reality once Hudson adjusted in his seat, taking out a notepad. “I need you to tell me what you remember from that night.”

“Are you joking right now?” I said, getting angry. “Are you really about to interrogate me in a hospital room like this is an episode of Law & Order?” Hudson scrunched his eyebrows, closing the notepad and sticking the pen in the spiral binding.

“Whoever did this to you is looking at an aggravated assault charge,” he revealed. “To further explain how serious this is, it would’ve been an aggravated manslaughter charge if you never woke up from a coma.” I looked at Hudson, speechless and scared. Did Hudson really tell me there was a possibility I could’ve been… dead? There was a possibility that night could’ve been the last one being on this earth, and my last moments on it would’ve been with… I can’t even say his name. It finally dawned on me as I thought about that night, and I quickly turned my head back in Hudson’s direction.

“Where’s Micah?” I asked.

“Micah?” Hudson repeated. “Is that the person that did this to you?”

“No, no; Micah is my friend,” I said, beginning to panic. “Did anyone tell him? Does he know?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hudson said, seeming confused.

“He’s my friend that I threw the party with for our class project,” I began to explain. “Is he okay?” The heart monitor began beeping faster and faster, which made Hudson nervous. He called out for a nurse, in which two of them came in to check my vitals.

…

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said to Prescott, standing outside of the party.

“Do you really think I’m stupid or something?” Prescott said, getting angrier as the minutes went by. “You go on and open about how you want to be with me, but the I find out you’re with another guy out here, and then get caught by the paparazzi?’

“Oh, so now you care about where I am and who I’m hanging out with?” I said, rolling my eyes. “Now you want to act like a boyfriend and be all overprotective of me?”

“When I’m taking you out to important events and introducing you as my date; yeah, I have to. You’re making me look bad in the press.” Prescott emphasized, throwing the magazine at me. “Get your shit together and stop hanging out with a bunch of losers before I cut you off; got it?” He began walking away from me, which pissed me off. He was always trying to say the last word and I was tired of it.

“I’m sick and tired of you treating me like I’m some sort of rag doll, Prescott,” I said as I followed him. “One day you want me, and the other day you could care less about what I’m doing or where I am.”

“You’re failing to realize that this is a service; not a relationship,” Prescott spat back as he turned around. “This is simply a transaction.” Hearing his come out of Prescott’s mouth hurt my feelings, despite already knowing the context of our relationship. One day I’m stoic and able to just see it as a way to get money for every day living, on other days, he treats me like he actually wants to be with me.

I couldn’t help but compare the way he treats me from the way Micah does. Maybe this is why I suddenly feel this way. Maybe I’m finally seeing Prescott for the person he truly is, rather than the way that I want to see him.

“If that’s the case, then I’m allowed to be ‘transactional’ with other guys,” I spat at Prescott. “You’re not special.”

“You’re not either,” Prescott snapped back, growing angrier as we spoke. “All my other girls know to not make me look like a fool in public.” I began hitting Prescott, upset he would admit something like that to me. I had a feeling that there were other girls; he was a rich boy that had unlimited access to the things he wanted. But he always treated me like I was the only one. He treated me like one day, he would finally ask me to be his girlfriend. He treated me like he saw more in me than some… slut.

Prescott began to defend himself until he pushed me so hard that my back landed on a bunch of garage bins. Before he got any closer to me, I spat in his face. That pissed him off more than anything and that’s when it happened. That’s when the pain began to spout in different parts of my body. I couldn’t see much after that, and for a moment, I don’t hear anything.

I remember seeing Micah on the sidewalk. There was a girl screaming for help, and another guy’s voice in a panic. I heard the guy’s voice come closer to me, faintly calling my name.

“Rosie?”

“Rosie?” I heard Hudson call my name as I opened my eyes. My skin was sweaty and the beeping of the heart monitor started to steady itself out. I looked around and saw nurses surrounded me, taking my vitals and reading the different screens near my bed. I could feel letting out a sigh of relief once I groaned in pain. “Hey, kid; you’re going to be fine.”

“I need to see Micah,” I kept repeating, crying as the nurses tried to calm me down.

…

It was quiet by the time it was nighttime. The only sign of life was the beeping of the monitor; the sound that I’ve grown custom to ignore for my own sanity. The sky was the clearest it’s been for a long time, considering we’re in the middle of Spring and the rain has taken over New York. Hudson had left for the night, and of course left another police officer in front of my room like I was the president’s daughter or some shit.

Hudson broke to news to me earlier that I would be taking a leave of absence from school, which I didn’t fight. In the long run, I think I needed the time to get myself together, and I could always go back to school when I was ready to. He also told me that I couldn’t keep my apartment anymore. I didn’t fight that either; maybe it was better that Prescott didn’t know where I was after what happened that night. I also didn’t want to live in a space where I was constantly reminded that I was so close to death in. In the same breath, I will miss the good times being in that space. I’m going to miss Micah mixing on his mixer, playing music and dancing around carelessly around the apartment. I’m going to miss Micah always commenting how much it was a killer climbing all of the steps to get to the top of my building. I’m going to miss being in a space where Micah and I were on good terms, understanding at we are here to just live life as simple as possible, despite how complicated our lives were.

I couldn’t help but hear Dani’s voice replaying in my head, screaming at the top of her lungs for Micah. I couldn’t stop visualizing Micah’s body on the ground just yards away from mine. I couldn’t help but lay in the bed and cry, not knowing what happened to Micah.

Micah was the only person to ever showed me that he genuinely cared. He never seemed to things for the sake of getting something out of it. He never did things as if they were transactional. Micah wasn’t perfect and he had his own issues that he dealt with, but he never would put them on me or seem absent-minded whenever we hung out. He was always attentive and present; something I don’t think anyone in this day and age can be.

The door slightly opened, which made me turn my head toward that direction. I squinted, trying to see whose silhouette it was.

“Hudson?” I said, surprised he’s back at such a late hour of the night.

“Hey kid,” Hudson opened the door and closed it behind him. I turned on the light next to me, dimming it slightly so that it wouldn’t hurt my eyes.

“Whatcha doing here?” I asked, sitting up now. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” he reassured before he sighed. “I just wanted to let you know that the doctor said you’ll be able to come home some time this week.” He’s talking about going back to Philly.

“Are you going to make me stay there for good?” I asked, feeling defeated. “Please don’t make me stay in Philly, Hudson.”

“As much as I want you to be close in case of emergency, I can’t stop you from doing what you’re going to do, but until you are completely ready to change your life around and stick to it, you will stay with me.”

“Wasn’t being in college ‘me changing my life around’?” I argued, getting annoyed.

“Let me remind you where we’re at, Rosie,’ Hudson said, rolling his eyes. “I know there’s a lot you’re not telling me about your life here in New York, and that’s fine. What’s not fine is getting a call from a random New York number in the middle of the night, telling me that you’re in some hospital fighting for your life.” Well if you put it like that…

“So now what?” I asked, being dismissive. “I get discharged, pack my shit, and just go and live in Philly until you feel like I got my life together?” Hudson sighed, not answering my question right away. I already knew what the answer was going to be anyway.

“I spoke to your friend today,” Hudson said, looking at me. “The one you were worried about; Micah.” I felt the knot in my throat drop straight to my stomach. Micah?

Growing up, I wasn’t really close to my older brother. By the time I was old enough to have memories, Milo was in high school, hanging out with his friends as any teenager would. We don’t make much in common besides the fact that we both grew up around music. I know for sure that my brother grew up with our parents with music blasting through the stereo as they did their Saturday cleaning. I have this one memory of being a kid and watching Milo look at our parents in horror as he brought Sophie to the house on one of those Saturday mornings. Music, if anything, symbolized a lot of things in our family. To my parents, it symbolized love. They had their own band growing up, writing and performing songs with Uncle Danny and Aunt Nicki, and as they got older they still used music to showcase their love. For us, it meant togetherness. Our family always came together whenever music was playing; whether it was on the car radio or at one of our performances in school, our family always was so passionate about music.

But even music did not bring my brother and I close together.

I walked up the front steps of a small house, catching my breath as I carried my DJ equipment on my back. I rang the bell, and shortly after my brother answered the door.

“Hey, dude,” Milo greeted me, opening the door wider in order for me to walk in. I looked around the house as I took my bag off, leaving it near the door with my shoes. We weren’t allowed to wear our shoes in Milo’s house, as it showed disrespect in Asian culture.

“Hey,” I greeted back, digging in my bookbag and getting straight to the point. “Mom wanted me to drop this off on my way home. I guess Sophie was asking for it.” I handed over the container to Milo as he took it.

“Ah, yeah; Sophie said that Jennifer was giving this back to us,” Milo said, walking towards the kitchen area. “She’s making cupcakes for Summer’s bake sale thing at school.” Summer was Milo’s and Sophie’s oldest kid. In a way, Summer felt more like a sibling of mine than my niece. Of course, I was her uncle whether she would get too boy crazy; like, she’s 13 for fuck’s sake.

“Yeah; one less thing I need to carry on my bag,” I said, pointing at my bag. Milo glances over to look at it, then back at me.

“Is that what was at Dani’s place?” he asked. I nodded, annoyed that my mom would even tell Milo what I was doing today. “That’s a lot of baggage to carry around.” I looked at Milo, trying to decipher his words. He was always known as someone who never bluntly said what he said and meant what he meant.

“Yeah, it is,” I spat out, getting myself ready to leave Milo’s place. “I have to get–“

“Wait, Micah,” Milo interrupted me, getting my attention. I turned around to face him. “I wanted to actually spend some time with you before you head back home.” I couldn’t help but scoff when we said that.

“Yeah? What, mom told you to do this?” I asked, shaking my head. “We never spent time with each other before–“

“Micah, I mean it,” Milo began to explain. “I haven’t gotten the chance to just sit down with you and talk. We’re both so busy living our lives that–“

“I’ve been perfectly fine just passing by, bro,” I cut Milo off, not wanting to get into it with him. “I have to get going before mom thinks–“

“For fuck’s sake Micah, can you just listen for once?” Milo spat out. Ah, this is the brother I’ve grown to know. “You’re acting like I can’t be concerned for my own brother–“

“Half brother,” I corrected him. I had to remind Milo that the reason why we weren’t close isn’t the fact that we’re literally 10 years apart, but simply just the fact that he made it clear as day that his siblings were just half of him.

“We’re still brothers, asshole,” Milo spat back, now annoyed. “Let’s not act like I wasn’t there when you were thrown in jail.”

“Oh geez! Thanks for the reminder!” I sarcastically reacted. “Seriously, what could I have ever done if you weren’t already at the house having dinner with mom and dad? You wouldn’t have even cared if I was sentenced to life–“

“Are you fucking hearing yourself, dude?” Milo said, growing more angry. “Seriously, why do you always act like the world is out to get you or something?”

“Because you guys always act like it is!” I shouted back, growing frustrated. “Like seriously dude, when was the last time we actually did something together as brothers without it being because mom and dad forced us?” Milo didn’t say anything, which was extremely telling. “Stop acting like you care when all I am to you is a thorn in your side. You, mom, dad; all of you treat me like the damn black sheep of the family, and then care when I’m in danger. Like pick a fucking side!” I thought that would be the end of our conversation and that Milo would just kick me out of his place. I’ve come to terms that Milo will never truly be the older brother I could confine in; his picture-perfect life with his family has no room for anything that is damaged.

Milo started to laugh, as if this shit was just some game to him. The louder he laughed, the more angry I became.

“Oh shit, that was a good one, Micah,” Milo said as he got his composure together. “You? A black sheep? You grew up with both of your biological parents in a nice ass house in Brooklyn. You were in all the music extracurricular activities that you wanted to be in as a kid. You didn’t grow up watching your dad date all these different girls until he married Jennifer. You didn’t grow up being a black sheep because you never were the black sheep. I was.”

“Is this some fucking competition?” I yelled out, walking toward Milo. “Seriously, are you making this a competition?”

“No, Micah; I’m tell you how it really is. Your problem is that you believe you’ve been so mistreated by your family because you’re “so different”, when really it was you that distanced yourself from everyone around you.” Thankfully, Milo’s phone started to ring and answered it in the other room. I had no other reason to stay any longer, so I grabbed my things and left his place.

Milo and I were never close; I grew up thinking that maybe it was just the age gap between us. As I got older, I realized that our age had nothing to do with it. Milo was proud to being the original black sheep of our family.

The door of Dani and Tanner’s apartment opens; Dani walks in first to turn on the lights. I walked in, looking around the home that she and Tanner made in this studio-sized college apartment. I closed the door behind me, taking off my jacket and putting on the rack with the other hanging coats and jackets.

“Jennifer knows you’re here?” Dani turns around to ask me. “I don’t need my mom spazzing out about how Jennifer is looking for you or some shit.”

“She knows,” I answered as I rolled my eyes, fighting sitting down on the couch. “She was the one that told me you guys had my equipment.”

“That shit is no joke,” Dani began to comment. “The fact that you carry that shit around for gigs is absolute insanity.” I couldn’t help but laugh to myself, not because it was funny, but she was absolutely right about the insanity part.

“That’s the life of DJ Salem,” I said, sighing afterwards. I haven’t even thought about music since the night of the party. If it wasn’t for me needing to finish this art project, I would’ve just left my stuff here at Dani’s. Knowing Dani, she would’ve nagged me about it taking up space in her apartment, and pleading for me to pick it up. Dani comes back to the living room and hands me a can of soda. “Thanks. For both the soda and or taking my equipment after… you know…” It was still so hard to really talk about that night; it seemed like it was hard for Dani to talk about it as well the way she was fidgeting with the can topper on her soda.

“Yeah,” Dani finally said, sighing as she looked up. “It’s nothing. We’re like family.” I nodded, agreeing with her. Dani was more like a sister to me than a friend growing up. She was around for all of the family functions with us; sure we grew up practically wanting to rip each other’s heads off, but she always valued our friendship and supported me when it was needed. “We are family.”

“Tanner would’ve never told you this because I told him not to, but that night really fucks me up when I think about,” Dani admitted. “Like… seeing Rosie laying there was fucking scary. I thought I was looking at a dead body, Micah.”

“I know,” I quickly said, trying to cut Dani off. “I’m sorry for having to put you and Tanner through that.” There was a noticeable silence after that; it was like we didn’t know what to do or say to even continue without addressing the huge elephant in the room. “She’s gonna be okay–“

“Are you okay?” Dani abruptly asked, looking at me now. “Like, seriously dude. You’re worried about Tanner and I as if you didn’t go through this horrific shit.”

“I’m fine,” I simply answered, trying to not worry Dani any more than she already is. Dani looks back down, fidgeting with the nail polish on her nails. She sighed as she got up and walked out of the room. I let out a deep breath, letting out the intensity of this conversation out of my body. I wanted nothing more than to just move forward and leave this shit behind, but I understand the impact it has left, especially with Dani.

I looked up as Dani reentered the room; this time she was holding my backpack with my equipment in it. I get up, helping her gather my things.

“Thanks again,” I said, opening the bag to check if everything was in there. Dani watches over me as I do so. I looked up at Dani again, noticing she still had her hand out with something else in it. I immediately felt my stomach knot up, haunted by the sight. “Is–“

“It’s Rosie’s camera,” Dani finally said, handing it to me. “I saw it on the sidewalk going back to her place and picked it up. I didn’t want anyone to steal it or something.” I slowly took the camera from Dani, analyzing it intently. It seemed like Dani tried to clean the dirt off of it from being on the ground that night. This has to be triggering some PTSD type shit.

“Thanks,” I said, not knowing what else to say. As I gathered my things to get ready to leave, Dani just stood there, watching me. I was used to Dani making snarky comments about everything, and by this time we would’ve had a screaming match of insults with each other. Dani wasn’t being herself; she seemed uncomfortable and quiet. She was definitely in her head with the million thoughts spinning with her. “Dani?”

“You know, for someone that was nearly beaten to death and thrown in bookings for a night, you sure are so fucking nonchalant about it,” Dani finally spat out, seeming angry now. “Like sure; I know you don’t care what happens to you–“

“What do you want me to say, Dani?” I spat back, now defensive. “What is there to possibly say? It happened, and I’m trying to move on from it–“

“Like I said,” Dani yelled to interrupt me. “Maybe you don’t care about what happens to you, but that doesn’t mean that people don’t either.”

“I know, Dani–”

“No, you fucking don’t!” she finally snapped. Her voice echoed the tiny apartment, also piercing through my ears. “You think you know when you don’t! Do you even know the shit I had to go through seeing you laying on the ground with a busted up lip and eye, un-fuckin’-conscious?! Do you know how much damage that shit caused? I couldn’t sleep for days, Micah! I couldn’t stop crying because I had no fucking idea if you were even going to get out of jail that night!” Dani began to cry, feeling frustrated afterwards.

“Dani,” I grabbed her and hugged her tight as she sobbed into my chest. I felt horrible being the reason for Dani’s anxiety lately. Dani wasn’t the type to ever show how she felt, especially with me. She always tried to be this tough chick, but I knew that deep inside there was some softness in her. It wasn’t often that she would break down like this, and quite frankly it’s been a long time since the last time she did.

“Hey,” I finally said, gently pulling Dani to look at her. “I appreciate you looking out for me, and I’m sorry for worrying you. I’m… doing okay. I’m going to be okay.” Dani nodded her head as she quickly wiped her eyes, finally calming down. She took a deep breath before she said anything.

“If you tell Tanner about this, I will kick you in the balls,” Dani said, grabbing the sleeve of her sweater to wipe her face dry. I couldn’t help but laugh. There’s my Dani.

It felt like nothing happened when I got back to school that following week. Sure, I had a shit ton of work to make up in the week that I was out, but everything else seemed as if the world kept on going without a care in the world. It was weird, to say the least.

The only thing that was different was that Rosie wasn’t in her usual space, waiting for our Art History class in the hallway of the Arts building. She was never late, and only was ever absent whenever she felt sick. When it came to her art classes, she made sure to make them to all. Today, she wasn’t there, and I only knew that because of the week before.

I had tried to visit Rosie in the hospital during the week, but her guardian made it nearly impossible for anyone to visit her. I don’t blame him; he doesn’t know anyone that Rosie associates with, which means he could think I’m Prescott for fuck’s sake.

After our art class–the one where Rosie would normally sit next to me–our professor called me up to his desk once the rest of my classmates were dismissed.

“Micah,” Professor Ross began to say. He sighed as he crossed his hands on op of his desk. “I was informed this morning that Rosie will not be returning to class for the rest of the semester.” Something told me that was going to be the case. I know this is was a decision made against her will. “Because the project is set to be due in just a couple of weeks, I will allow an extension for you to wrap things up on your end so that you are able to earn a final grade for the project.” I nodded my head as I left the classroom, sighing at the realization that this time was different. I really hope Rosie is okay.

“Micah!” I hear Dani’s voice shout across from the library. The librarian at the front desk shushes her, in which Dani ignores her and walks toward me. Tanner is seen apologizing to the librarian on Dani’s behalf. The usual.

Dani and Tanner walked up to my table, sitting on the chairs across from me.

“Dude, you actually made it to school this week?” Tanner asked. I nodded and sighed as I closed my binder.

“I couldn’t afford to miss any more classes,” I began to say, scanning the library as I did. Micah, she’s not coming. “Plus, I was just told by my Art History professor that the project me and Rosie were working on now needs to be done by myself.” I looked at them; I wasn’t surprised that they seemed uncomfortable when I mentioned her name.

“How is she doing?” Dani was the first to ask. I shrugged my shoulders, being very nonchalant with the topic.

“I don’t know,” I began to answer. “Her FBI agent guardian had her hospital room on lockdown and didn’t let anyone see her.”

“That’s suspicious,” Dani commented. “It’s not like she’s the Queen or something–“

“Dani,” Tanner nudged her on the shoulder. I looked at Dani, feeling bothered by her comment.

“Who the fuck knows what she told him abut her life in college,” I spat out. “Maybe she’s kept her whole life a secret and anyone that he doesn’t know is considered a threat to her safety.”

“I think it’s shitty that someone that suppose to know her and her life doesn’t even know her friends,” Dani continued to comment. “You would think that in situations like this, he should know who’s there for her and who’s not.”

“You don’t know Rosie,” I stated, stern and loud. Dani took a moment to just look at me, as if she was trying to find answers in the facial expression I had on my face. As usual, Tanner tries to diffuse the tension between Dani and me.

“I think Dani is just questioning your friendship with Rosie,” Tanner added. I looked at him, feeling even more annoyed and confused now. Not helping dude.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I questioned, looking at both Dani and Tanner. “Well?”

“We saw you at the party with her,” Dani finally spoke up. “You guys were… close.”

“We were dancing,” I defended, knowing exactly what Dani was talking about.

“Nah, you guys had some fuck me eyes on,” Dani bluntly said. “You see her more than just a friend.” I immediately shook my head.

“Absolutely not,” I quickly said, trying to dismiss the discussion. “She’s not my type—“

“Bullshit,” Dani spat out, leaning toward the table. “And something tells me her little relationship with that rich boy is the reason why she didn’t tell her guardian about you—“

“Fuck off, Dani,” I said as I slammed my hand in the table. It made Dani jump in place; she wasn’t expecting me to react like that.

“Alright, alright; let’s chill out,” Tanner intervened again. “How you tried calling or texting her?” He asked me.

“Out of service,” I sighed as I answered, leaning back on my chair. “Guess it’s what’s best; Prescott doesn’t have any contact with her.”

“Is he getting charged for aggravated assault?” Tanner asked. I didn’t answer, not because I didn’t know the answer, but because I knew what the answer was going to be. Tanner got the hint and sighed. “That’s fucked up.” I shook my head, trying to get the image of Rosie in the alley out of my mind. I took a deep breath and let it out, getting up from my seat.

“Watch my stuff, I’ll be back,” I said, walking away from the table.

“Where are you going?” Dani turned around and asked.

“I need some air,” I said, not turning back.

…

I immediately walked out of the library and swallowed the bile that came up, thinking about Rosie’s condition. It nearly killed me not knowing what was going on with Rosie, and it saddened me knowing that the last image I have of her is the one her laying face down in the dirt, unconscious and bloody. The image couldn’t erase itself from my mind, and eventually I felt sick to my stomach.

“Roe,” I said in Rosie’s ear as the music played loudly at the party. She turned around, now facing me and dancing. “Who taught you like to dance like that?”

“I’m Puerto Rican,” Rosie explained. “We were naturally born with these hips. She placed my hands on her hips as she danced, hypnotizing me with the moment of her hips. She was hot, she was sexy, and I wanted nothing more than to–

Rosie stopped dancing once her phone vibrated in her pocket. She quickly took it out and looked at her screen. Her face had completely changed in the process.

“Roe,” I said to Rosie, which made her immediately lift her head up. “Everything’s okay?” She smiled and nodded, starting to dance in place as she spoke.

“I’m going to take some more photos and talk to some of my friends,” she smiled as she said. I watched her walk away before returning to the DJ booth, playing the next song.

I should’ve went with her. I should’ve just stayed by her side and protected her and have been there for her. My head starts to spin, and the image of Rosie in the alley keeps popping up in my head, scarred into it at this point. I couldn’t hold it in anymore and ultimately threw up in the bush next to the library building. Sick. Angry. Defeated. Worried.