Hidden. (by seasidestyles-original copy)

forty five

"Rosie," my grandfather says, smiling as I enter.

"Hi, Grandma, Grandpa," I greet them, leaning in for them to kiss my cheeks.

"Look how beautiful you are, Rosalie," my grandmother gushes. "You must have all the Portland boys after you."

Elizabeth snorts and I glare at her.

"So how have you been?" My grandfather asks as I sit on an armchair adjacent to the couch.

"Alright," I say. "Very busy."

"Oh, I'm sure," my grandmother says. "I hear you're working for Crystal Publishing!"

"I am." I nod.

"And Elizabeth?" My grandmother asks. "Where do you plan on working?"

Elizabeth shrugs. "I'm still in college."

My grandmother purses her lips. "You should still be planning for your future, Lizzie."

"I'm not like Rose, see," Elizabeth says. "We're very different." She eyes me and I flush, looking to the floor. Elizabeth has always been one to hold a grudge.

"Dinner is ready, everyone," my mother calls from the kitchen.

I've never felt so relieved in my life as I stand and walk to the kitchen. My father is already seated at the table, looking over documents of some sort. He puts them away into a manila folder when we all walk in.

My mother serves the dinner of chicken and mashed potatoes as we all dig in.

"So tell me what it's like working for Crystal," my grandfather says.

"It's very nice," I say. "I like the manuscripts available to edit, and I'm situated quite close to the office. Only a few blocks away."

"Wow," my grandmother says. "You must be able to walk to work, then!"

My mind flashes to when Louis and Niall stopped me when I was walking home from work that night. I swallow. "Not exactly." I laugh shakily.

"We're very proud of you, Rosie," my mother says.

I look down at my food. How can they all act like we're a model family, like my mother and father aren't getting divorced? Do my grandparents even know?

The first part of the meal is relatively silent, with only the sound of chewing and forks clanking against plates ringing through the atmosphere. Elizabeth continues to eye me from her spot across the table. I think something snapped in her today when we ran into Jason at the supermarket. Something snapped in me, too.

"So," my grandmother says, pursing her cherry colored lips into a tight line. "When are you finalizing the divorce?"

I can tell the question caught my parents by surprise when my mother pales and my father spits his wine back into the glass.

"Wh-what?" The shaky tone in my mother's voice tells me they didn't tell my grandparents about the divorce--so who did?

My question is soon answered by Elizabeth's smirk.

My father catches it too, and drops his fork onto his plate. "Elizabeth?" He asks sternly.

"What?" She snaps. "What's the point of keeping it a secret? You think they wouldn't notice if their daughter and son-in-law got a divorce?"

"It was not your place to tell them," my mother interjects.

Elizabeth rolls her eyes. "Whatever. They know now, big deal."

My father picks his fork back up and continues to slowly eat.

"Well?" My grandmother asks. "Are you going to answer my question? When are you finalizing the divorce?"

My mother clears her throat. "November."

I almost choke on my food. "What? November?"

All eyes fall on me.

"Yes, Rosalie," my father says. "November fourteenth."

"That's so soon," I say, my voice slightly cracking at the end.

"What did you expect?" Elizabeth snaps.

My eyes flash to her and my mother sets down her fork.

"Enough, everyone," she says. "Let's change the subject."

Elizabeth opens her mouth to interject but my mother gives her a stern look and she closes it.

November fourteenth. Today is October eighteenth. That's less than a month away. My parents will no longer be married in less than a month.

The thought almost sickens me and I take a long drink of my water.

"So, Elizabeth," my grandmother says, breaking the short silence. "How's that boy you're seeing? Jason, is it?"

My stomach drops to the floor, my throat drying up. I swallow my food slowly, my eyes locked on Elizabeth.

"Oh, Jason?"

I want to be anywhere but here right now. The temperature of the room seems to rise twenty degrees.

"Jason and I broke up a little over a year ago, Grandma," Elizabeth says, smiling at my grandmother. "Things just..." She turns to look directly at me. "...Didn't work out."

"Oh, well I'm sorry," my grandmother says, her eyes shifting between Elizabeth and I. "You seemed to really like him."

Please, Grandma. Please stop talking.

"I did," Elizabeth agrees. "I loved him." Her tone turns cold and her eyes ignite in flames.

I rise from my seat abruptly, causing all attention to turn to me. I continue to stare at Elizabeth, my mouth dry.

"Rose? What's wrong?" My mother asks.

"I..." I break away from Elizabeth's gaze. "Excuse me."

I turn and walk out of the dining room, grabbing my coat from the rack by the door. I swiftly open the door to the apartment and walk out, dialing a number I wish I would have never had to call again.