And so we kissed

Seventeen

Morning arrived, and Rosemary slowly emerged from her slumber, still wrapped in her cozy blanket. As her eyes fluttered open, she found herself nestled in the soft embrace of her room's pink sheets. With a groan, she glanced around, her gaze landing on the delicate pink curtains adorning her windows. Memories of the previous night flooded back, causing her to clench her eyes shut momentarily, as if trying to block out the thoughts. Finally, she shifted her gaze upwards, staring contemplatively at the ceiling above.

As she lay there, gazing up at the plain white ceiling, her mind drifting away, she suddenly jolted back to reality. The deafening sound of her door being forcefully flung open echoed through the room, shattering the tranquility of the moment. In an instant, her body reacted, instinctively propelling her upright, her elbows firmly planted on the bed as her eyes widened in shock.

A mixture of fear and surprise danced across her face, evident in the deep breath she involuntarily released, escaping through her trembling lips. The abrupt interruption had certainly left her heart racing and her mind racing even faster.

There stood in front of her was her mother with her hands on her hip and a belt in the other. The belt was black and it was folded in half as her mother held a strong grip on it. Rosemary immediately sat fully up and she gulped.

"I don't want you hanging out with Jenna anymore. I tried to be nice and I tried to still let the two of you be friends but she's got you acting insane or out of your mind." Her mother said, clenching her jaw.

Rosemary had never felt so utterly perplexed in her entire life. It's like her mind was in a maze, trying to figure out why on earth her own mother would suddenly drop the bombshell of telling her to stop hanging out with her best friend.

And the worst part is, she knew deep down that her mother was hiding something, she knew her mother knew something, but no matter how many thoughts raced through her head, she couldn't piece together a single conclusion that included her best friend.

"His name is Jenson mom, he's a boy. I don't know why you can't accept that but I do know that whatever this is probably isn't what you think." Rosemary said,

"What I know is that Crimson McCarty is one of the sons of the men whom built the church. Word around town, Jenna Lennox is dating the priest daughter, Emily Bree. It's a sin and Crimson brought it to our attention. I knew Jenna was going through a phrase but I didn't know it was this bad." Her mother dropped her hand from her hip, "I don't want you hanging out with her anymore."

Rosemary's mother then turned around and started to make her way out of the room but Rosemary got up from the bed and she cleared her throat as she threw on her slippers and stopped her mother.

          "His name is Jenson, mom. He's my best friend and I won't stop hanging out with him because of this transphobic bull crap that the church-"

Rosemary was cut off when her mother's hand went right across her face. Rosemary turned with the force of the hand and she immediately raised her hand up to her cheek and ran her fingers over her cheek. She could feel the burning blood rushing in her, she could feel a bruise left on her.

When Rosemary's eyes met her mother's she could see regret on her mother's face. Rosemary gulped as she slowly shut her eyes and let a warm tear slide down her cheek. Her mother just sighed before running her fingers through her own hair.

And without another word, Rosemary's mother turned around and she left the room. Rosemary removed her hand from her cheek and she looked over at her mirror before forcefully wiping away the tear and turning towards her messed up bed.

—

Rosemary walked into school and she sat down in her first period. Her brother had brought her to school and Jenson had been blowing her phone up like crazy. It wasn't like she didn't want to answer it or anything but she knew her mother and from what had happened earlier, she didn't want to take any chances.