Death by a Thousand Cuts | Rosalie Hale

Chapter 24: An Overdue Conversation

I sat up on the bed sweating and panting.

"It was not real" I tried to remember myself as I reached for my inhaler on the bed side table "It is not real"

Even after taking a hit form my inhaler I felt like my breath was short and uneven.

"You are safe" A velvety voice whispered from across the room, I got startled and my eyes set on the silhouette sitting in front of a desk.

I thought that I was alone.

It was so dark; the moonlight was the only thing that gave me some visibility. However, I did not need light to know who had spoken. Just the sound of her voice was enough to recognize her.

"What are you doing here?" I grumbled, as I dropped back into my pillow, my eyes still on her.

"This is my room" she joked, I did not laugh.

"In case you haven't notice it is currently occupied and I did not invite you in" I rolled my eyes.

"Soff" she sighed and I saw her silhouette walking towards the other side of the bed, and turned the light on.

I blinked for a few seconds trying really hard to get used to the sudden light.

"I am trying to sleep" I closed my eyes, ignoring what I knew was coming.

She wanted to talk, she had told me so. It had been more than 10 hours since they have been back. I knew this was coming.

But that did not mean I was not going to put up a fight.

"How is school?" she asked softly, I bit my lip.

"That is really how you want to start this?" I snorted and crossed my arms in front of my chest, I was still looking at her, refusing to be intimidated by her beauty or her fake kindness.

I knew all too well now that it was nothing but a façade, that she was as cold on the inside as she was on the outside.

"How is school?" she repeated with the same kind tone as before, she was taking the high road and not falling into my pettiness.

I felt a little immature "School is hell, as always"

"Is Lauren bothering you again?" she inquired leaning her back on the headrest of her king size bed.

"Not more than usual" I sighed "It is Mia who had been particular mean"

"I see"

"My grades slipped" I snarled "I am still valedictorian but now I have a B on my school card, that is on you"

She mused, but did not said a word waiting for me to continue so I did "You ditched me on music class, I told you I sucked at it, the teacher gave me a B for effort"

"Well a B is not so bad" she comforted me "I am sure that Dartmouth will forgive you for one B"

"I am not going to Dartmouth anymore" I shook my head "I am going to Stanford, for their engineering programs"

"California?" she frowned "What changed your mind?"

"You know what" I laughed bitterly "Stanford was always my first choice; I only consider Dartmouth because it was the only university on my top 3 choices where you would follow me"

She did not reply.

"Since that is not going to be the plan then I readjusted" I fiddled with the hem of the covers.

Silence once again, tension so thick that it could be cut with a knife.

"Maggie mentioned me something about you having a new friend" she spoke so low that it took me a few second to process what she had said, I gulped.