echo // hemmings [completed]

thirty-six | aware

—January 24th—

When her phone started ringing that morning, Rowan found her nostalgic dream of home rudely interrupted. In her dream she remembered Stockton, the streets, her neighbors, and everyone she ever loved. She had recalled all the memories of high school, from freshman homecoming to senior prom, and all those late night drives she took to San Francisco. To the night life she used to adore before she grew tired of the meaningless drinking and drunken dancing.

She picked up her phone and immediately recognized the number, taking a deep breath before answering.

"Hey Liv," she said, trying not to sound too exhausted.

"Hey Rowan. Look I'm sorry for snapping at you yesterday. I just... I don't know how to explain it."

"It's okay," Rowan told her. "I get it, things have been stressful recently, we're all bound to snap."

"Thank you so much for understanding," Olivia said earnestly. "I know I should've done this in person, but I guess I was nervous ya know? Which is silly I know, but... Um..." The older girl had a trouble with words when she found herself apologizing.

"Calm down. It's alright."

"Yeah, okay. Well I need to get packing so I'm gonna hang up, but thanks for being so cool about this. You're the best."

Rowan hesitated before answering, wondering to herself if Olivia would still be saying this if she knew what the short haired girl had been up to for the last couple of weeks. "Yeah. Have a safe trip." Normally she would ask Olivia to stay for a couple of more days to catch up and hang out, but Rowan couldn't handle the immense guilt she felt in front of Drew's sister. A type of guilt that felt heavier and heavier each and every day.

Last night, her and Michael had discussed the proposition he presented to her, going to San Francisco with Luke. A daring and bold move that only added to the list of lies they had already told. At first Rowan rejected the idea, she was bewildered as to why he even thought of such a thing, but Michael was an extremely persuasive guy.

He started talking about how it would relieve Luke's mother from the stress of going and how happy it would make Luke to go with "Riley". And eventually Michael sold her on the idea of going with his elegant words and convincing demeanor. So as Olivia prepared for her flight home, Rowan was planning her trip to what was known to some as "Fog City".

The trip wasn't until the second of February, but Rowan still found herself nervously thinking about it. She would be spending a whole week with Luke and she had no idea how to keep up her act for such a long period of time.

So to soothe her nerves, she decided to talk to Michael. The lavender haired boy had become her outlet and support through everything and she now trusted him a great deal. So she sent him a text and after receiving his reply, she drove over.

His entrance was open for her when she arrived and Michael was there waiting for her on the other side of the door. They traded their usual greetings before the boy asked her what was wrong.

And just like, she spilled to him all the things she was worried about and Michael, being the fantastic listener he was, sat and patiently heard her out. 

When she was done talking she asked him if what they were doing was really okay. If lying was okay. And Michael replied honestly to her question.

"No. Honestly, what we're doing? It's terrible." Rowan nodded in hesitant agreement. She already knew the response he would give her, but she wanted to hear the answer from his lips so she'd feel a little less alone in this. "But... Luke's happy right now. He loves you and if loving you is what gets him through all this shit, then so be it."

"Yeah, that's true."

"And I don't think this will be going on for much longer."

"What do you mean?" She asked him.

"I mean we're gonna tell him. It's gonna hurt him, but you're right Rowan. We can't do this anymore, none of us can. I'm just about dying from the guilt, Ashton is going insane, and Calum has been against this since the beginning. We're gonna tell Luke the truth."

Rowan was in shock from hearing this. They were going to put an end to their charade and she didn't know how to feel about it. Of course she wanted it all to be over, but she wasn't ready to deal with the consequences of her actions. She wasn't ready to admit all the things she'd done wrong.

"When?" 

"After the consultation with Dr. Jenkins. That's when we'll tell him."

"Everything?"

"Yeah... About you pretending to be Riley, about us telling him that she was alive, everything. You don't have to be there. I dragged you into this. I'll take the blame."

Rowan scoffed. "I chose this Michael. I was never forced to do anything. I have been completely aware of everything that has happened. I brought myself into this. I chose to be the dead girl."

"So you'll be there when we tell him."

"Yes, I guess I will. I mean, it's too late for me to back out now," she stated. "This is fucking crazy." Michael chuckled when she said that. They looked at each other and shared a look of relief. The boy was about to thank her for cooperating with his antics, but before he could do so he heard the familiar squeak of his door behind him.

Rowan didn't lock the door behind her and left the door open for the guest standing in front of them. 

Hands clenched, teeth gritted, her shoulders tense, Olivia Kerrington stood beside the slightly ajar door. Her face masked with a look of disbelief and disgust. She wanted to say goodbye to Michael before her departure and thank him for everything he had done for Drew, but when she arrived, him and Rowan were immersed in conversation. A conversation that involved things she didn't understand. 

But the one thing she did understand was that her brother's best friend and one of the people she trusted the most, was a liar.

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a/n: love you guys