5: ROSE

After I got myself checked into the school again, I smiled to see Charli in the office, giving me the biggest hug she has ever given me. She looked concerned, though.

"Oh my god. Are you okay, Rose?" Charli asked me and I shook my head.

Charli looked at me up and down, realizing that I was wearing my mother's hoodie and her converse that she painted.

"Oh no, girl. You're going through a crisis?" She asked me and I slowly nodded as she went in for a huge hug.

"Yeah." I said and my dad left the office.

Charli took my hand and she walked me outside to everyone else.

"Oh my, babe! I'm so happy to see you." Christian said, as he gave me the biggest hug.

Christian is my boyfriend if that wasn't fully obvious. Him and I have known each other since we were kids and he is my happy, safer place. He makes me feel comfortable with myself and has been making me comfortable since I was a kid. We've been together for a year and it feels like I have known him my entire life, which is partly true. We met at six, though.

"I am so sorry for your loss." Christian said and I looked at him with a gleam in my eyes.

"You know, I'm fine." I lied.

The bell rang for first period and I went to my kinesiology class, and everyone was staring at me. Why is everyone staring at me? What did I do to earn all these stares?

"So sorry your mother isn't alive!" One girl said after walking to my desk.

"Such a shame that you weren't here to satisfy Christian like Charli did!"

"Yeah, they were hanging out while you were gone."

These other girls were saying things in my ears and I didn't understand. Christian would never do that to me, and neither would Charli. I decided to black out their judgment and go back to work, until Christian's sister, Christine walks up to me.

"Rose, you should know something about Christian." She said, showing me a video of Charli and Christian making out in his bedroom.

As I look at this video on Christine's tiny little phone screen, I realized how stupid I was. How do you expect men to be faithful? All they're going to do is break your heart and act like nothing happened the next day.

As Charli and Christian are waiting outside of my class after the bell rings, I walk right past them, lightly stomping my feet to my next class.

"Rose, talk to us!" Charli said and I ignored her.

"Babe!" Christian said, and he grabbed on my shoulder.

I turned around with tears strolling down my face. They weren't tears of sadness, they were tears of anger.

"Don't babe me!" I shouted at him and they both looked confused. "I saw the video of you two slumming it up on his bed!"

Their facial expressions immediately changed and they were trying to apologize to me, making up shitty excuses in the process. They were saying things like "it's in the moment" or "it's the closest thing he has to you" and even "We were drunk" when I know damn well that neither one of them drink alcohol.

"You know what? Stay out of my life. Both of you." I said and then I thought of more I wanted to say. "While my mother was being buried and my father was planning her fucking funeral, you two are slumming it in bed and acting like I'm the bad guy? Christian, you are a cheating piece of garbage and everyone should know that. And you, Charli, you are the biggest traitor I've ever met. And I was actually picturing a life where I would call you aunt to my kids! You two are fucking unbelievable!"

I ran away from them both in anger and went straight to second period, which is my chemistry class.