Fool For You [2]

Chapter Four

Rosalie awoke the following morning with a sick feeling in her stomach. Images from last night plagued her dreams. All of the Spoils in that room had left a mark, and she knew she would not forget all she had seen for a long, long time. How the Clave could have allowed such a thing was far beyond her. Nor could she understand how anyone would want to place such things on display. The dead Downworlders were apparently viewed as nothing more than trophies; and Starkweather certainly had a lot of them. Rosalie shivered and pushed the thoughts away. There would be time for her to process everything, but not now. Right now, she needed to prepare for the visit to Ravenscar Manor. Starkweather had explained that most of the house had been emptied- its contents taken for Spoils. But it was still worth exploring. All Rosalie could do was pray that something had been left behind... something that would point them in the right direction. Or maybe they would luck out. Maybe Mortmain was hiding in his childhood home.
The first thing Rosalie did when she climbed out of bed was throw open the curtains, allowing sunlight to fill the room. The sky was clear and a beautiful shade of blue. If she knew how to paint, she would have loved to capture that beautiful view. Dressing without Sophie, she realized, was extremely difficult. Rosalie had grown so used to having help that she struggled to lace her corset. She would have removed it, but she was nearly halfway done. Undoing her work seemed foolish at this point.
A light knock sounded at her door. Once, twice, thrice. Rosalie huffed as she hurried over and opened the door just enough to poke her head out. Will stared at her with lifted brows. "Sleeping in, are we?" he asked with a smirk.
The muscles in her jaw feathered. "I was not sleeping." she said indignantly. "I was just-" Rosalie's mouth clamped shut. He had no reason to know what she was doing... rather, struggling to do.
"You were just... what?" his head tilted mischievously. "Pray tell, dear Rose."
"I- you- you are infuriating, you do know that, yes?" Rosalie's eyes narrowed. "Would you fetch Tessa for me?"
Will raised his brows at her once more. "She's already gone down for breakfast."
"Then go get her!" she snapped. Can't he ever just do as I ask? Honestly, how hard is it to just walk downstairs!
"By the Angel, what's gotten into you today?" Will chuckled lightly, amusement twinkling in those blue eyes.
"Nothing." she said, shaking her head. "I just need her help with something." Don't offer to help, don't offer to help-
"Am I not standing right here?"
Rosalie loosed a long sigh. She could have finished with her stupid corset by now if he hadn't interrupted. Or she still could have been done if Will had just done as she'd asked. But of course, he had to be stubborn about it. "This is not something you can help me with. It would be inappropriate-" Rosalie yelped as Will shouldered past the door. "WILL!" she yelled, crossing her arms over her body. "Get out!"
Will let out a laugh as Rosalie attempted to camouflage herself against the door, her arms wrapped tightly around her slim frame. "Come here, Rose." he instructed, his eyes never leaving her. She did not move from her place against the door.
"You should not be here." she sighed, her forehead pressing against the rickety old door. "You should not have shoved your way in here. What you should have done is run and fetch my sister, like I asked." Rosalie stiffened when she felt his hand on her bare arm. He made no effort to turn her around as he led her toward the armoire.
"I know, I know." Will said quietly. "Go on and tell me how awful I am." there was the faintest hint of humor in his tone. "But the fact of the matter is: I am here, and we are running behind schedule."
"Fine." Rosalie let out an annoyed hiss and braced her hands on either side of the armoire. Goosebumps rose along her skin as Will brushed her hair aside. He made quick work of lacing up her corset and pulled on the strings. "Tighter." he pulled on them again. "Oh, for Heaven's sake, Will! Pull them tighter." Rosalie sucked in a breath as he yanked on the strings.
"Better?" Will purred, his hands lingering on her back.
He was standing so close; Rosalie could almost feel his chest against the exposed skin of her back. Her body shuddered involuntarily as she remembered that night in her room. When she had been crying- for what reason, she could not recall- and he had come to her. Phantom fingers traced along her arms, her jaw. It felt like just yesterday; yet it also felt like it had been a million lifetimes ago. Will's hand brushed through her thick curls, jostling her back into the present. Rosalie knew he was thinking about precisely the same thing; she could tell by the softness of his touch. The gentleness of those warrior hands. Will's hand slid down to rest on her waist, and he twisted her around to face him. Rosalie swallowed hard, her throat bobbing as she met his gaze. She knew she should stop this- whatever this was. Yet she couldn't help but relish in the feel of his hand on her body, the way he looked at her. It was as if he had never seen her before... or that he could finally see her clearly- as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes. He bent forward, his eyes darting swiftly to her lips. "No." Rosalie whispered and pushed as far away as she could. Her back thudded against the armoire, making her wince. "We cannot do this again, Will." her voice trembled. "We know where this road leads, so why travel down it again? Why must you hurt me this way?" Rosalie hated how weak she sounded, hated how he made her so weak.
"Rose-"
"Leave." she whispered.
"Rosalie please-"
"I mean it, Will." Rosalie forced herself to meet his gaze, to hold it. "You must go before I... before I do something stupid." It hurt to send him away. But it hurt even more to realize that they could likely never be friends. Not if it would always lead them back here. Lead them back to a place of longing and pain. It was so much easier to hate him; to act like he didn't exist.
"I always do stupid things when it comes to you." Will murmured. His eyes darkened; the familiar storm brewing once more as he strode forward. He covered the short distance in a few measly steps and brought his lips crashing down on hers. That sliver of resistance Rosalie had been clinging to disappeared, and she melted into him. Her thin fingers ran through his soft hair and trailed downward, tracing along his shoulders and down his long arms. Will's mouth moved against hers with a sense of urgency. He knew how wrong this was. He knew the danger he constantly put her in by stringing her along. But he couldn't bring himself to stop, to let her go. Her touch brought him to life, and that was something he couldn't give up. To stand near her was to feel the warmth of the sun. Her laugh was a beautiful symphony. He longed for it with every waking moment.
Rosalie shoved her hands against his chest, sending Will stumbling back. Her eyes were wide, her chest heaving. Tears were already forming in her eyes as she looked at him. His hair was mussed from where her hands had been, his shirt disheveled. "I cannot..." she broke off, searching for the right words. A tear slipped from her eye as she found her voice. "I cannot love you in the dark, Will. I cannot continue to blindly stumble through life with you, even if I long for nothing more than that. You... you play too many games. One day you treat me like I am the only girl in the world, and the next you treat me like dirt. Not to mention Tessa... have you been playing games with her as well? Or have you decided to torment only one of us?" every word that left her mouth hurt. As if every word was a knife plunging into her heart. "You need to decide what it is you want, because I will not love a ghost."
Will flinched, physically flinched at her words. But he said nothing as he backed away and disappeared out the door.