Page 88 of Rosie and the Beast Next Door

I relaxed into my chair and pulled up the news as well. The semi-finals were on tonight. Even though the Peaks were out of the running, I wanted to watch it. Rosie was supposed to work at the Icy Asps tonight too, which was a bonus.

The pang of loss hit me, followed by a surge of regret. My therapist was trying to help me understand that my grief had made me self-destructive, and if I’d been the only person hurt by my actions, it would be much easier to swallow. But I’d let down my entire team. They weren’t even answering my texts anymore.

Maybe I deserved to be officially kicked off the team, even if the thought of not playing for the Peaks again made me want to throw up my breakfast.

I posted a few pictures of myself wrapped in Mom’s quilt after Dad went upstairs to get ready. Selfies were still not my strong suit, but Rosie said my bad angles and inability to locate the camera were charming, so I went with it. I captioned it: Coming home again isn’t easy, but it’s had its perks. Isn’t my mom talented???

As heart notifications rolled in, I decided to make a quick, simple reel. I stood facing the open window, like Rosie taught me, to get the best light, and held the phone far enough away from my face to show it all, plus a bonus section of my arm holding the camera.

“Hey, everyone. My friend had a pretty devastating blow a couple of nights ago to her art studio and boutique. A storm blew in and caused some major structural damage, so she’s going to have to shut down for a few months while it all gets fixed. She lost one major piece of artwork that sadly can’t be recovered, but we did manage to retrieve the rest and get it to a safe place. She is a wildly talented artist, and an incredible person. I’m going to link her website and tag her store below. Check it out, and I promise you’ll fall in love. I know I did.”

I hesitated before posting it. Would Rosie be upset? No. This was exactly something Rosie would do. She’d use every resource at her disposal to help her people. I wanted to be more like her in that way.

She made me want to be a better person in so many areas.

If only figuring out what to do with that realization was as easy as knowing how to get a goal on the ice.

It was mid-morning beforeI heard Rosie moving around upstairs. I’d had time to go for a run, clean up after breakfast, do a rotation of one minute of push-ups followed by one minute of sit-ups for thirty minutes, then practiced some yoga poses my therapist suggested I try.

After a long shower and a second breakfast of scrambled eggs and diced veggies, I was starting to feel restless. Mom and Dad had gone to Lily’s house to break the news to her that I’d be staying with them for a while.

I wasn’t sad to be missing that meeting.

Repairing my relationship with Lily was going to take time, patience, and more hope than I had to spare right now.

Repairing my relationship with the team was also going to take all those things—but at least I knew where to start with them. I sat at the table and pulled out my phone. Time to use every resource at my disposal to make things better.

I started by ordering the brand-new navy and white Peaks hoodie for every person on the team, including a note that said: You guys did great. Sorry I let you down.

Then I sent another text to Bret and Gage. Since the Peaks’ loss, they’d stopped answering my texts. It hurt worse than I’d have expected it to, and I needed to fix it. I didn’t blame them for being angry at me for messing up the season, though.

Dylan:I need to apologize to you both. I’ve been selfish for a long time, but especially for the last few months, since Shiloh died. I was only thinking of myself and not the team. I messed up pretty big and I hope someday you’ll be able to forgive me.

I sent it off, listened to Rosie moving around the bedroom, and then headed into the bathroom. At some point I was going to have to tell her that this fake relationship had become real to me. But the timing needed to be better—maybe not right in the midst of her facing devastation over her store. I wanted to think about what was best for Rosie, not just what I wanted and hoped for.

A loud banging on the door startled me from my thoughts.

It pounded again aggressively, like someone would take down this whole door if they could. I stiffened my back and tensed my muscles as I approached it. Dad had gotten the occasionally angry person at the door because of some arrest he’d made. It sounded like he’d upset someone once again.

I braced myself just like I did before stepping on the ice and threw the door open.

Gage stopped pounding on the door with the back of his fist and grinned.

“Why do you look like you want to fight us?” Bret said with mock offense. He held up his phone where he had my message pulled up. “Was this apology not sincere?”

I blinked in shock, still trying to process. “What—”

Gage stepped forward first and pulled me into a back-pounding hug, followed quickly by Bret.

“We saw your text and rushed over,” Bret said.

“I literally sent it fifteen minutes ago.”

“We had toreallyrush,” Gage said, that stupid grin still stretching his face.

“I can’t believe you guys are here.”

“Can we come in or …?” Bret asked.

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