Page 43 of Withered

What remains is his lingering fragrance. I wanted him to leave, which he did, so why does it feel so wrong? All my life, I’ve always looked out for others first. No one notices, and I never let them. I try to help others, even if it meant losing something.

I’m most definitely not selfish. And uptight? I can be uptight, but only when I want to be. I know when to loosen up and when not to.

Jake doesn’t even matter to me. He is someone I lost my first kiss to. His words shouldn’t matter to me, so why do they hurt me so much? I press my knees against my chest, burying my head between them, and wail. I can’t remember the last time I sobbed this hard.

Ten minutes of crying felt like hours to me before I wipe my cheeks and get up.

I go upstairs to my room after locking the front door. I need to vent to someone, and the only person who can help me in my situation is Kristy. She’s the only person I ever vent to about anything. Most of the time, though, it is the other way around.

I grab my phone and call her, but before the ring goes off, I cut it off, remembering that she is out with Tyler. She must be with him at the moment, and I don’t want to bother them. What kind of friend would I be if I did that?

I throw my phone on the bed, enter the bathroom, and splash my face with cold water before grabbing a book from the room and spending the entire day reading.

Reading is my escape from reality. Only in a book can you find the ideal man. Look at Darcy; he might be rude and all, but get me that man. Can’t he just jump out of the book?

Time flies by, and by half past five, my mood has changed. I pick up my phone, which is always on silent, to check for some messages from my friends and one missed call from Mom.

I call her first. “Hey, Mom.”

“Hi, honey. What were you doing? Are you okay?” She asks with concern, lacing her tone.

“Yes, Mom. Sorry, I was reading,” I tell her.

“Alright then. I’ll be home with your dad in about an hour. We will have a family dinner today,” she states and asks, “You aren’t going anywhere, are you?”

The words‘family dinner’make me smile, and I almost forget that Mom is on call.

“Rose?”

“Yep! I’m not going anywhere,” I tell her before she cuts the call.

I’m starving. I grab my purse and reply to friends while heading downstairs, as dinner is still an hour away.

Someone calls my name as I close the door. When I turn around, Aria is sprinting towards me. Her ponytail flies in the air with every stride she takes, and she is dressed in a lovely pink outfit with her stuffed toy tucked in her arms.

A smile spreads across my face. I’m not sure what gets into me, but I get down on my knees and open my arms, and she runs straight into them, clutching me fiercely.

“Aria, how are you, sweetie?” I ask, still holding her.

She moves back a little and smiles brightly, showing me her teeth. “I’m bored. I came to play with you.”

I would love to play with her, but I’m starving. My smile fades a little, but I quickly mask it up. “I was just going out to get some ice cream. Want to come with me? We will play after that, I promise.”

Her eyes light up, and she starts jumping on the spot, saying, “Yes. Let’s go.”

She takes my hand and starts dragging me as I giggle at her. I never knew kids were so fun until now.

An elderly woman named Martha runs the ice cream shop. I’ve known her for so long that I call her Granny now. Kristy and I are regulars here.

It’s a warm and cozy place with plain white walls and cute yellow lights hanging from the ceiling, and it is never empty. Martha’s ice cream parlor is well known. She isn’t one of those cranky old ladies—quite the opposite.

Granny looks at me from the counter and smiles, making her way towards me and hugging me.

Once we split apart, she says, “Rose, my dear.”

I smile, holding her hands, and say, “Granny, it’s so good to see you.”

Her focus shifts from me to the little one on my right side. I introduce her, “This is Aria, our new neighbor.”

---