Slipping Through My Fingers

Chapter Thirty Four

Chapter Thirty Four

Rosalie's POV -

My legs felt like jelly and my head felt numb. I felt myself sink into the grass below me as I watched ahead to see if Nate would come back. It had only been a minute since he left, but still, I wouldn't have thought he would actually leave me on the side of the road.

My mind was racing and I couldn't seem to form a coherent thought, I was just in a mere state of shock.

Nate had kicked me out of the car, and left me on the side of the road.

But, I made him mad. It was probably my own fault anyway. We were going on a date to a nice place, and Nate had already seemed nervous about something, having too much on his mind. And then I had to go and be all selfish and put even more stress on him. I ran my hand through my hair, fighting back a new set of unwelcomed tears.

I reached into my clutch purse and picked up my phone. I couldn't find a cab at this point; they weren't in areas like these. I would never hitchhike so my only option would be to call someone to pick me up. I dialled Adam's number. It rang a few times and went to voicemail. I tried again, and for the second time it went to voicemail. Maybe he was with Chloe?

I tried Chloe's number and I was submerged in relief when she picked up right away.

"Talk to me," She answered in a ghetto tone.

I bit my lip to stop my shaky laugh.

"Hey, Chloe." I greeted. "Do you know where Adam is?"

"He's in Tulsa, remember?" She reminded me.

Oh crap! I forgot that he has to go once in a while for work. I ran a hand over my face in frustration, holding in a groan. Now what? Cam was pregnant, Chloe was taking care of her and Chris was Nate's best friend, he probably wouldn't want to even pick me up.

"Oh I forgot," I kept my voice calm. "Thanks."

"Wait, Rose! Are you okay?" She asked skeptically.

I could hear Cam and Chris in the background, asking Chloe who was on the phone. She answered them back and told them that I sounded weird.

"Chloe, I'm fine." I assured.

"You don't sound fine; you sound like you've been crying! What happened?" She argued, choosing not to believe me.

Of course, if I ever found one of them crying, I wouldn't let it slide off so I understood why they weren't letting me go so easily.

"It was nothing, I'll explain later," I tried in a tired tone.

I didn't trust my voice to recount the events so I just bit my lip hard, shutting my eyes tightly, hoping that my voice wouldn't break again. I heard a few sounds of banging and Chris was yelling, and Chloe was screaming in return. The phone dropped a few times before a breathless Chris began talking.

"Rose, what happened?" He asked.

"Chris, can you come pick me up?" I asked, cursing a tear that fell.

"Pick you up?" He asked confusedly. "Rose, where's Nate?"

"He left."

"He left?" His tone sounded disbelieving.

"He left. I'm on Boerum Street." I answered.

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Rose, stay safe." And with that, the phone went dead.

I exhaled deeply, not knowing how scared I actually was of not being able to find a way home. I knew that one way or another, if I wasn't able to get Adam to pick me up, I would ask one of my friends. Because, if our roles were reversed, I would never want them to feel like they couldn't call me to help them.

I crossed my legs and took off my heels. Guess this was all for nothing.

I was embellished with disappointment. I had been looking forward to this evening so much and now, it was not going to happen. And it only sparked up my curiosity to know that Nate wanted to say something to me.

I covered my face with my hands and let out my tears, knowing that sobbing now would be better than crying in Chris' car. Fifteen minutes later, a car pulled up right in front of me and Chris shot out of the car and ran to me, bending down worriedly, hovering over me.

"Rose, are you okay?" He asked fearfully.

Most of my tears had dried up and I was confident now that I could talk without my voice breaking.

"Yeah, thanks for picking me up." My voice was dry.

He nodded vigorously and put his hands on my shoulders, lifting me up and walking me to his car. I sat in the seat and put my seatbelt on, only wanting to sleep.

"What happened?" He asked hesitantly.

I shook my head, not knowing if I could talk about it just yet. Plus, what if Chris agreed with Nate and screamed at me too?

"Rose, tell me. Where is Nate?"

"He left."

He rolled his eyes and nodded, seeming a little frustrated.

"I get that, but where did he go? I thought you guys were going out tonight?" His lips turned into a bright smile and his eyes shone. "He had big news for you, did he tell you?"



"What was the news?" I asked.

He looked like he said something he shouldn't have and he smiled sheepishly.

"It's not something I can say." He mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. "Anyway, why did Nate leave?"

"He got angry with me on our way to Roberta's and kicked me out of his car." I muttered.

You know when you watch a cartoon and ridiculous, abnormal things happen to the character? Yeah, at the moment, Chris' eyes bulged out of their sockets and he stared at me incredulously. So I wasn't the only one that took Nate's kicking-me-out debacle badly?

"He what?!" He yelled, starting up the car.

I nodded and stared around awkwardly, fighting back tears. God, why was I so emotional!? So Nate kicked me out of his car because we had a fight? He and I had been arguing often anyway, why was this such a surprise?

Now that I thought about it, I kind of could believe that Nate would leave me on the side of the road. That's what hurt so much, the fact that I could expect this kind of behaviour from Nate.

"Why was he so angry at you?" He breathed, running his fingers through his hair.

So I trusted my instincts and decided to tell Chris, hopefully he would actually understand. I spoke about the whole thing, my voice only cracking twice but I never broke down. Chris just kept driving, never interrupting me once, and when I was finished, he had a twisted smile and shook his head a little.

"What's wrong?" I asked, hoping he wasn't about to kick me out of the car too.

"That bastard!" He yelled.

I was praying that he was talking about Nate and not my mother, because that would only lead to another argument.

"W-who?" I stuttered.

"Who? Nate! My God, Rose, I know we told you to be patient with him but he has honestly crossed the line. What the f*ck is wrong with him?!" He shouted.

I was about to speak but he kept on yelling, making me feel uneasy.

"You are in a relationship! He has no authority over you; you shouldn't have to put up with this shit, Rose. Especially after what you've been through. That guy needs to understand that. My God, when I see him I'm going to kill him!"

"No, don't hit him." I pleaded.

Chris shot me a look of disbelief when we stopped at a red light.

"Why? Aren't you angry?"

"I guess so, I mean, I am the one who made him angry, it kind of is my fault. But he shouldn't have left me on the side of the road."

He drew in a deep breath and rolled his eyes.

"Only you, Rose," He smiled.

I was about to question what he meant by that when he continued to talk.

"Cam would literally kill me if I ever did that to her. Well, that's something I would never even consider doing. I killed myself from how bad I felt when I accidentally forgot to walk her to class."

That's something I would never have expected from Nate, he was too closed off for that.

"But do you see my point with my mother?" At this rate, I didn't care if he was angry with Nate or not, I wanted a second opinion on my mother.

And I wanted that second opinion from someone so much more rational.

"Yes, I agree with you. I'm close with my dad, I'm good with my mum too, but I'm happy with my dad. And in your situation where one of your parents are trying to reach out to you and let's face it, that's something you've wanted for a while. I don't blame you for believing her. And especially when she says she's in danger." He agreed.

I let out a breath in relief and smiled.

"Thank you, Chris." I smiled genuinely.

I was starting to feel a little better now.

He was about to say something when his phone started to ring. Since he has his phone bluetoothed to his car, he only had to press a button near the radio for him to answer.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Chris! Thank God!"

I froze.

"Nate?" Chris frowned.

"Chris, do you know where Rose is? Has she contacted you? I can't find her; I'm going to rip my hair out-"

"F*ck you!" Chris yelled, interrupting Nate.

The line was silent for a while before Nate recovered from whatever stopped him from speaking.

"What?"



"How do you do that to someone, Nate? Are you out of your mind? What the hell is wrong with you?" Chris continued angrily.

"Is she with you? Rose, babe, are you there?" Nate sounded relieved.



I was about to reply when Chris suddenly covered his hand over my mouth and mouthed 'don't say a word'.

"Yes, she is with me, but she doesn't want to talk to you." Chris replied.

"Chris, please, put her on." I had never heard Nate sound so desperate before.

"No."

"Chris, this isn't the f*cking time to play games! Put her on!" He was obviously frustrated.

"Nate, we're in the car at the moment. You're on speaker and she can hear every word you're saying and she's not replying. She doesn't want to talk to you."

"Rose? Rose, babe, please say something." Nate begged frantically.

I felt my eyes water from how sad he sounded, he was so very sad and I felt so bad for him. I opened my mouth but Chris sent me the same look. He pressed mute so he could speak without Nate hearing us.

"Rose, he kicked you out of the car, he yelled at you and insulted you in every possible way. You need to teach him a lesson and make him suffer." He reminded me. "Do not talk to him."

He took us off mute and Nate, after hearing a long silence, began to become frantic again.

"Rose?" The desperation was evident.

I shook my head and pressed my lips together tightly, hoping that I wouldn't begin to cry at hearing him worry. He continued to call my name, and Chris kept telling him to 'shut up' and that what he did was a 'low blow' and how he didn't deserve any forgiveness on my part.

Finally, I couldn't handle it anymore and I stretched out and pressed the end call button.

Chris turned to me and his lips turned into a twisted smile.

"You are not to talk to him. Not until he apologises. And any quick, unemotional apology won't be acceptable." He told me, pointing a finger at me playfully.

I nodded and smiled.

"Thank you, Chris."

He smiled, and squeezed my knee affectionately.

"Anything for my boy's girl." He winked.

"And I'm always here for you, you know that? Just because I'm going to become a father, doesn't mean I won't be here for you."

"How are you doing with that, anyway? I've been so caught up in my own drama that I tend to forget everyone else." I admitted, ducking my head in shame.

He laughed and tilted my head up.

"If my brother was kidnapped, I'd behave the same way. Anyway, it's been good, Cam's been edgy and all but nothing I can't handle." He smirked egoistically.

I laughed and he turned the radio on, keeping the music down.

"So am I taking you back to your place or...?"

"Yeah, the pool house. But um, what if Nate comes to see me?" I asked anxiously.

He seemed to think about it for a while before he finally shrugged.

"Just lock the doors. He wouldn't actually come in if he knew you didn't want to see him." He replied easily.

I shot him a disbelieving look and he hid a laugh.

"Okay, fine, he wouldn't really care. Do you want to stay somewhere else tonight?"

I thought about it for a while, weighing my options. If I stayed, not only would Nate try to contact me in every single way, but he'd probably become angry in the midst of it, awakening both my brothers and involving his parents and brothers too. But I also didn't want to seem like I was only living at the Sanders' residence because I was dating their son. That just because I was in a fight with him, that I would flee at every given moment.

"I'm not sure..." I muttered.

"How about I take you home and you pack the essentials and I'll take you to my place for the night? Or you can go stay with the girls? I don't want you in the same place as Nate; he doesn't deserve to see you yet."

"Okay, that sounds fine." I agreed.

He grinned and we stayed silent for the rest of the ride. We finally pulled up into the Sanders' driveway and I had every intention of going to the pool house, grabbing the essentials and taking the boys from Brandon, and going back to Chris.

Yes, that was my intention, but I hadn't realised that Nate would be waiting in the driveway; sitting on the hood of his car seeming like he was going to pull his hair out. As soon as he saw us, he jolted off of his hood and his eyes met mine.

"Shit," Chris breathed, obviously not feeling as uneasy as I was.

"What do I do?" I asked fearfully.

He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged.

"Go straight to the pool house, do not make eye contact with him, just keep ignoring him the entire time, and don't give him the time of day. I'll go get the boys from Brandon. Make sure you do not speak to him." He warned before seeming like he was preparing for battle and opening the car door.

I drew in a deep breath and shut my eyes tightly before I opened the passenger door and stepping out. As soon as I did this, Nate was in front of me, grasping my hands in his.

"Rose, thank God, you're so safe. I thought something had happened to you when I drove back for you!" He spoke quickly, bending his knees a little so he was head level with me.

I kept my eyes glued to the cement below me and tried to block out everything he was saying.

"Rose?" He noticed I wasn't looking at him.

"Rose?" I wasn't replying to him.

"She's angry at you, leave her alone." Chris spoke.

Nate finally moved away from me a little and glared at his best friend.

"I will deal with you later! Why the hell would you hang up on me?" Nate scowled, pointing an accusing finger at Chris.

Chris' lips turned into a twisted smirk and he folded his arms across his chest.

"Actually, it was your girl who hung up on you." Chris said amusedly.

Nate's scowl turned towards me and he replaced his glare with a softer expression.

"Rose?"

I finally looked up and saw just how desperate he was for me to speak to him. But, like Chris had said, I had to ignore Nate until he apologised. Nate never listened to me and my opinions, and in order for him to actually acknowledge that we were both equals, he had to learn a little lesson.

I bit my lip hard to stop myself from crying and blinked back my tears. When Nate saw how upset I truly was, he looked like he could break.

"Chris, please take him away from me." I muttered, turning my gaze away from Nate.

I heard Nate yell something unintelligible and Chris walked towards him. Nate lifted his arm, about to punch Chris, however Chris was able to catch on to this and held Nate's fist.

"Just leave her alone." Chris muttered.

Nate stayed silent for a while and I dared myself a peek at him. He had his head ducked down, glaring at the cement below him. Chris noticed me looking and grinned widely and pointed at Nate, before hooking his thumb upwards, motioning a positive sign.

Then, like a professional actor, his grin turned back into a glare when he faced Nate again.

"Now, don't do anything stupid. I'm going to go get Jace and the twins from Brandon and Rose is going into the pool house. Stay out of our ways." Chris commanded.

Nate looked up, surprise written all over his features and nodded his head, gulping heavily.

Chris motioned for me to go to the pool house and I finally tore away my gaze from Nate and kept my legs moving towards my home. Once I was there, I locked the door behind me and rested my back against the door, sighing heavily.

How long was I supposed to not talk to Nate? Not speaking to him seemed like an impossible task, especially when he looked as guilty as he did. I get that what he did was wrong and that he deserved the silent treatment in order for our relationship to work, but God, it was killing me. I even forgot all about my parental issues, worrying too much about Nate and his reaction towards me.

I walked straight to my bedroom and packed my pyjamas, school necessities, toothbrush and all that and a few DVD's and I packed the main essentials for the boys too. Once I was finished, I walked back to the lounge room and was startled from what I saw.

Nate was sitting on my couch, his feet rested on the coffee table like usual, however this time the TV wasn't on. He looked up at me once I walked in and my eyes widened in fear.

"Please Rose, just hear me out," He stood inches away from me as soon as I walked in.

I shook my head, keeping my eyes glued to the ground. I didn't want to speak because honestly, I didn't trust myself to give in to him straight away.

Nate was about to say something before his voice was cut off by Chris from the intercom.

"Rose! He walks all over you, and you just let him treat you like that. You don't have to give in to him if you don't want to. Just remember what he did, and how poorly he treated you." Chris said quickly through the speakers.

I guess he must have realised that Nate was in the pool house and that without back-up, it would be very easy for me to give in.

"I give her enough f*cking respect!" Nate muttered curtly through the intercom.

"Hey man, it's her choice if she chooses to speak with you." Chris said defensively, leaving the decision up to me.

Oh God, I knew what he was doing. Nate must have realised that it was Chris who convinced me to use the silent treatment and now, he was trying to make it seem like this was all my idea. Now, I did want Nate to learn his lesson, but...

Ugh, this was so annoying! I should have just never opened up my stupid mouth and said anything to him. I just should have gone on the date, find out what it was that Nate wanted to say and tell him at another time, one where I wasn't at risk of being left on the side of the road.

"Rose?" Nate's soft voice was so, so close and I closed my eyes and tried not to show how much he had an effect on me.

However much I loved him, if I wanted this relationship to work, and to be happy about it too, he needed to learn his lesson. I wouldn't go as far to say that he walked all over me, but he definitely did not take my opinions into consideration and he never really listened to me. So I needed to be angry, and I needed to be in control of my emotions.

So, I let my head travel upwards and let my eyes bore into Nate's brown ones.

"Get out." I stated clearly.

"What?" He frowned.

He must have thought I would be easily forgiving. He couldn't just keep losing his temper and doing ridiculous things and expect me to be okay with it.

"Leave the pool house now." I said in the same tone.

Hurt flashed across his eyes but he pushed it back and replaced it with determination.

"No." He murmured, shaking his head slowly.

"Leave." I spoke.

"No!" There he goes losing his temper again, and mine was running really thin right now.

"I don't want to see you, or be near you right now so leave." In my head, it almost sounded like I was pleading.

I hoped to God that's not how I really sounded.

"I'm not leaving until we sort this thing out." He said defiantly, crossing his arms over his chest broodingly.

"Just like we oh-so perfectly sorted it out in the car?! No, Nate. You cannot get your way every single freaking time." I shouted.

"But-"

"No!" I interrupted him from saying whatever it was that he was going to say. I put my hand up and pushed his shoulder and despite me having zero strength against him, he stumbled back.

"You screamed at me and insulted me, making me feel small and stupid!" I pushed him back again. "You know how much you mean to me yet you throw whatever it is out the window and you continue to make me feel bad." Another shove. "I don't care whatever emotional issue it is that you have because you cannot and I will not accept you using it against me." By now, he was standing right outside the pool house and I was blocking the doorway entrance.

"Rose-"

"You kicked me out of the car today, Nate. And even with your disgraceful attitude, that was still a very low thing to do. You kicked me out of your car and now that you're on the receiving end of things, you want to work this out?" I chuckled without humour.

"So," I said confidently, grabbing the handle of the door, "Consider yourself kicked out."

And with that, I slammed the door in his face.

Wow.

I never, ever thought that I could be that tough when it came to him. And now I've proven to both him and myself that I could be tough. And honestly, it was the worst feeling ever.

I heard some things being smashed outside the door and I prayed to God that Nate wasn't doing much damage.

I shut my eyes tightly and slid down the door, covering my face with my hands. I bit my lip tightly, hoping that I wouldn't break.

"Rose?" It was Chris from the intercom.

I stood up and walked towards the speaker, pressing the button so I could reply.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay? I'm proud of you for what you said but I know that it must have been hard for you."

Crap! We left the button on the whole time; the whole main house must have heard us arguing now. Oh, Lord!

"I'm fine." My voice was hoarse. "Can you bring my brothers over here, though? I think I'll just stay here for tonight." I replied.

I just couldn't see me having the energy to go somewhere else to sleep, and I wanted to avoid as much confrontation about the whole sleeping-somewhere-else ordeal with my brothers.

"No problem." He replied. "But you do know I can't stay here to protect you from Nate, right?"

Right, he had to go back to his pregnant girlfriend. My problems sounded so petty compared to what they were going through and I felt selfish for even having him for this time.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks."

He replied with a 'no problem' and shut the intercom off. Only a couple of minutes later, Ashton and Brandon were at my door with my boys.

"Hey," I smiled, opening up for them.

"My brother got what he deserved, good on you." Brandon grinned.

I forced a smile, pretending that it wasn't hurting me probably more than him, and nodded.

"I did what I had to do," I shrugged.

My brothers came inside, Liam and Mike both hugging me quickly before running towards the games room. Jace quickly kissed my cheek before saying he had last minute homework and then he was going to sleep. We chatted for a bit while the Sanders brothers sat on the couch. When Jace left to his room, I stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"Do you guys want pizza? Or brownies?" I asked, offering both.

I had some frozen pizzas in the freezer and since I didn't go to dinner, I was kind of hungry.

"We just ate, but brownies would be nice." Ashton spoke.

I put in two packets of pizza in the oven, knowing that the boys would get hungry anyway, and took out some plates and put brownies on to them.

"Any drinks?"

"Yeah, a beer would be nice." Brandon said.

I rolled my eyes and muffled a laugh as I turned towards him.

"I'm underage and I'm parenting three young boys. You honestly think I have beer here?" This would be a perfect moment to raise my eyebrow.

And then, that suddenly got me thinking about Nate and how much he laughed and enjoyed raising his eyebrow towards me. A nauseating feeling swelled in me and I realised it was an emotional pain.

Ignoring Nate may be one of the hardest things I'm going to have to do.

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Authors Note:

Surprise XD

I said I'd upload early, and being the awesome person I am, I did :D

Shocked to see that I've uploaded so early?

Anyways, I think overall, this has been my favorite chapter to write! It's so fun writing an argument scene, you guys need to try it, it's so cool :D

Anyone agree with Rose to ignore Nate? Remember guys, they ARE NOT broken up, just going through a fight. And like I said, this isn't the last chapter or anything. Story isn't over until I sing ;)

So what's new in the few days I was gone? Miss me? Hahaha can anyone guess what Nate wanted to tell Rose? Dedication on the next chapter for whoever gets it right! :)

Vote, comment and fan.

Farewell xx