The Everlasting

Nine

Rose tried to shake off the feeling of being betrayed all the next day. She tried to concentrate on the teacher’s instructions in class, and then she had gone into work with the mindset that she wouldn’t think of him once, but every time someone walked in or sat in her section, she secretly hoped it was him.

    She sighed heavily and rubbed at her eyes. She tried to avoid her reflection as much as possible. She had hardly got any sleep; the dream that she had had the night before haunted her in her unconscious state.

    She was once again transported into the world of rich marquesses and medieval weddings. She knew that it was just that, a dream, but when she closed her eyes, she was that girl, Lady Cedany Devereux, the daughter of the duke of Canterbury. She was to be married to Marquess Worthington, a man she had only met but once.

    The dream ended as it had before, with her looking into her own reflection, and then she awoke.

    She had never had the same dreams two nights in a row. She wondered where they were coming from, and decided to lay off the late night snacking.

    The overhanging bell rang as someone entered. Rose looked up and saw Rainey take a seat in her section.

    She sighed. “Hey, Heather, I’m going on break.”

    She untied her apron and made her way toward Rainey.

    She sat in front of her and gave her a smile.

    “So, I figured there was no reason to be upset with you,” Rainey murmured.

    A small smile broke out on Rose’s face.

    “Are you going to apologize for hanging up on me?”

    “Don’t push your luck,” she said, but smirked.

    “Glad to have you back,” Rose said.

    Rainey leaned back against the wall and put her feet up in the adjacent chair.

    “So, there’s a party tonight. I figured you’d want to join. Maybe get your mind off of you know who,” she stage whispered behind her hand.

    Rose rolled her eyes as heat flooded her cheeks. Rainey raised an eyebrow inquisitively, and then her eyes widened in realization. She was too intuitive.

    “Have you seen him?”

    Rose’s blush deepened.

    Rainey turned around to face her and leaned across the table. “You have, haven’t you? You little slut! Is that why you missed class?”

    “No! He just showed up.”

    Rainey smiled knowingly. “He likes you. And it’s obvious you still like him.”

    “It doesn’t matter anyway. He’s a freak.”

    “If you say so,” she replied dubiously. “So what do you say?”

    “About what?”

    “The party, duh. I swear, Rose, sometimes you tune me out on purpose.”

    “I’m not much in the partying mood tonight, Rainey.”

    “Sure! I can come over with another cheap bottle of wine. We can have our own little party.”

    Rose rolled her eyes at Rainey’s enthusiasm.

    “Actually, I was thinking more of a night in, drinking some tea, and reading a good book . . . alone.”