She's Too Naive

Chapter 31

I sat up straighter as he came on the screen. There were bags under his eyes and his hair had gotten longer, curling around his ears messily.

"I don't think that the guys who took her meant her any harm. They seemed like good people when my friends and I got to know them. Mrs. Charleston also informed us that she received a message from Ellie last night, asking us to be patient as she would be back home soon. She also said that Rosen and Cole weren't the one's who took her. So who knows, this may just even be a huge misunderstanding. Either way, all we ask is for Ellie to come home. She has her whole life ahead of her yet." Josh's image faded away as the reporter came back on.

"You called your mom?" Rosen asked me, turning towards me and looking into my eyes.

"Yeah," I said quietly. "I didn't tell her anything about where we were, I just- I just wanted them to know I was okay," I took a deep breath.

"But you said Cole and I didn't take you," he seemed confused.

"You guys have enough to deal with because of the Def, you don't need the police after you too," I explained.

"Thank you El," Rosen smiled, giving my hand a soft squeeze. I smiled, but more so because he used my nickname. It seemed that the both of us had lost our hostility towards each other.

"I'll be right back, time to wash my hair," I said, standing up. I grabbed a change of clothes on my way back into the bathroom. Looking into the mirror, I took a deep breath trying to reign in my erratic heart. This was really bad Ellie.

It took me forever to scrub all the excess dye from my hair, I watched as the water slowly turned from a reddish brown to clear.

After I towel dried my hair, I stared into the mirror. I looked really different. But I no longer looked fragile like I used to. I seemed brighter, more alive and less like a corpse. My skin was still really pale, but it seemed that the auburn hair brought out a little more color in my cheeks.

Picking up the scissors I had left by the sink, I began trimming the ends of my hair. I didn't want a drastic change, just enough to get rid of most of the dead ends. After I had finished, I was happy with the final product. Running my fingers through the dark strands, I no longer was against the idea of dyeing my hair. At first it was simply necessary to help hide my identity, but I found that I actually liked how it turned out.

Rosen didn't notice me at first, too busy looking at his phone. But when he looked up and saw me, I swear his mouth dropped. He stood up, walking towards me.

"Wow," he swallowed, picking up a piece of hair and twirling it on his finger. "It looks so different,"

"I actually like it," I smiled, running my hand through it.

"I really like it too," he replied. "It's beautiful Ellie," his tone lowered slightly and I glanced up, meeting his gaze. My breath hitched in my throat as I realized how close we had become. His hand moved from my hair to graze up my cheek, and this time I did shiver at the contact. Rosen's eyes burned into mine, and the both of us seemed to hesitate. I drifted closer, about to close my eyes when Rosen spoke again.

"Tell me something Ellie, do you still want to go home?" He whispered, his breath fanning across my lips. Realizing where he was going with this, my heart sank.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "but-"

"We shouldn't," he groaned, resting his forehead against mine. His skin was warm, and I felt it buzz every place where we touched. His thumb traced across my cheek, and it was definitely not helping me pull away. We both knew what the right decision was, but neither of us wanted to be the good person.

He only hesitated another moment, before closing the space between us and pressing his lips to mine.

This kiss was entirely different from our first kiss back in Shorely. It felt as if I was kissing a different person. Our lips moved together, each of us desperate to get closer. Rosen's hand pressed against my lower back, steadying my weak knees while simultaneously pulling me against him. My toes curled as my heart raced within my chest. A sweetly burning sensation filled my stomach, and for a moment I couldn't even remember where I was.

I was the first to pull away, drinking in the air with heated breaths. I looked into Rosen's gaze, his eyes lit with an unknown emotion. Our bodies were still close, our faces flushed with heat.

The door banged open, and I stumbled out of Rosen's arms. Cole looked between us, and I could tell he already suspected what had just gone down.

"You two are just going to make it harder on yourselves," he growled vehemently, surprising me.

"Don't be an asshole," Rosen grumbled. Cole narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not going to stop either of you, but both of you need to realize that Ellie is going home. Weather you like it or not, she belongs in Shorely," Cole replied, stalking to the bathroom and slamming the door behind him. I flinched, closing my eyes as I took in what he said. Before we kissed I had known that, but I hadn't truly comprehended it. My feelings were in control of my head.

"I need to think," I sighed, running my hand through my newly dyed hair.

"Ellie...wait," Rosen reached out for me, but I stepped out of his grip and shook my head.

"Cole's right Rosen. What we just did was stupid and pointless," I snapped, my anger rising.

"Stupid?" Rosen's jaw clenched. "Glad to know how you feel about it."

"You know that's not how I meant it," I argued.

"Nah, I get it. It was an in the moment thing, am I right?"

"You're being a jerk." I threw my hands up in the air, exasperated. Rosen completely ignored me.

"It meant nothing to me either. I get lonely and i've been too busy dealing with you to do anything about it." My heart sank at his words, and I felt my eyes burn. At first I thought he had cared, but maybe I was wrong.

"Glad to know how much of a burden I am," I said through gritted teeth, copying what he said earlier. I noticed his expression waiver, but I didn't back down. "Fuck you Rosen," I added, spinning around and heading out the front door.

I made sure to slam it behind me extra hard. 

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