AimeeBlack

Girl-next-door, Rose Becket, clings to her thrill-seeking cousin, Angie, her sweet grandmother, and her two amusing best friends, Matt and Penny; Rose's mother and aunt passed when she was little and her father left for the military to grieve, leaving only her grandmother to raise her and Angie. They're practically sisters.

Over the years Rose and Angie have drifted apart. Rose struggles with their distance because of her fear of abandonment, and longs for them to reunite. They're close to rekindling their sister-ship when suddenly Angie changes after a night out at the beach.

Angie turns to drugs and partying while Rose and her friends try to make their last year of high school count. Her friends and a blooming new romance with a smooth rich artist are her silver linings, but messy love triangles threaten to split up their trio.

Angie finally opens up with the help of a gum-loving British greaser-boy whose own history entangles with hers. They create a scandalous website that goes viral and shatters Rose's heart, sinking her with guilt.

Rose is losing the few loved ones that she has, but knows that she can't hold on forever and must find herself. The time for following has come to an end. She must learn to stand alone as adulthood nears.

And She Follows

                                              *Warning: Drug Use*


    I feel naked ruffling my curls. I haven't had my hair this short since I was a kid, but it still feels right. Feels like the new me.


    I pull up my black hoodie and lay on the sofa, stretching out my legs. I blow smoke, recalling how some random girl from math class snickered my way. I told myself that I was imagining it, that I was letting things get to my head.


    When she passed her phone around and others started staring, I got out of my seat. She practically let me snatch it away. They laughed as I watched a video of Dan and I soaking wet in his backseat. It had been edited with the word slut branded across in bright red letters.


    Some of them mouthed the word at me. I sat at my desk, burring my head in the sand. I don't know how I kept myself together, my heart was so faint. It was the last class for the day, and when the bell rang, I hid inside of a bathroom stall. I had another panic attack.


    My jaw tightens as anger swells inside me. I wipe away a tear when Sam comes over. Her green eyes are glossy beneath her blonde bangs. She hands me a soda that I set down untouched. I won't ever drink something that I haven't seen get poured.


    She makes small talk, but I can't hear her over the live music playing. When she gets tired of repeating herself, she just points a thumb upstairs. Heading up the steps, she leaves me to my thoughts.


    The dark room is smoky. It smells like a mixture of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana. Normally this would nauseate me, but tonight I don't care.


    This place is hardly ever crowded. About twenty or so people hang here, playing music and staying to themselves, like me.


    I focus on the current sax and drum duo, hanging onto their every note. Tears stream from the corner of my eyes. I let them this time, surrendering to my emotions.


Sick Day: Angie