The Everlasting

Twelve

Rose awoke with the sunlight in her eyes. She rolled over to try to go back to sleep, but did she really want to do that?

    Her dreams had come back, and they usually left her awake and sweating through the night, distant and exhausted through the day.

    It had been a week since she returned to Weber, and though she was more than happy to be reunited with her family again, she couldn’t deny the twinge of longing she felt at being away from Lyme. But if she were truly being honest with herself, it was Eli she didn’t like being away from.

    She had told herself that she was leaving to get away; to get away from the dreams, and Shawn, but she had really come to escape from Eli. No matter how much he made her heart stutter, he also scared her.

    He was a mystery, and mysteries didn’t always end well.

    She had told Rainey that she needed to get away for a while. She had a small window of break time from school, and decided to take the opportunity to flee.

    She thought by getting away, she could leave behind the dreams, and most importantly, her strange feelings for the boy who seemed to follow her.

     But they had both shadowed her.

    Her mother placed a hand to her forehead as she appeared from her room.

    “Are you okay, sweetie? You look a little pale.”

    “I’m fine,” Rose replied, “Just haven’t been sleeping well.”

    “Again? You haven’t had a good night’s rest since you’ve been here. Are you sure everything’s okay? Did something happen at school?”

    Rose waved off her concern.

    “No, nothing like that.”

    As she denied it, an image of Eli came to her mind, and she tried to ignore it.

    “It’s just a case of insomnia, is all.”

    “Well, I don’t think you should suffer through it. You look exhausted. I’m calling Doctor Jennings and getting you an appointment.”

    Her dad, who had sat quietly at the kitchen table, looked up from his book to gaze at his daughter.

    He asked, “Do you really think that’s necessary?” as Rose said, “That’s not needed.”

    “Rose, you haven’t slept well in almost over a week. You’re going to see Doctor Jennings.”

    Much to Rose’s contempt, they were able to fit her in the same day. Uma, her younger sister, got to spend the day with their father at the downtown zoo.