With You Always

Chapter 2

The door swung open as a heavy hanging Rose slugged through. Ever since her job was placed on the unemployment line, she'd been miserable.
"Woah. Some kid put a book in the DVD section?" Byron snickered.
Rose's eyes rolled.
"I'm fine." She tried covering it up, throwing in a weak smile.
Byron shrugged his shoulders, deciding to leave her alone for a while. She was happy about that decision.
Their shack consisted of five cramped rooms, equalling out to about the same as two or three in an average home. A bedroom for each of them, kitchenette with 'eat-in' dining, small bathroom, and a living room, if you could call it that. The shagged shingles needed bad replacing, as did the bricks falling out of the exterior. Burgundy carpet spread across the floors, except for cheap vinyl in the kitchen.
Rose slumped over to their 1980 TV with creased antennas, plunking on the velvet sofa. Rose wanted to just fall asleep right there, unsure if she wanted to wake up. Every other day, Rose could tell her brother anything. Despite his constant teasing, he was a great listener, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. The embarrassment and shame was overpowering.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her brother walking over to her, choosing to make a quit exit. Byron looked genuinely puzzled. She ran into her only private space-her room. Liquid flowed from her eyes and barely held until she smashed her door closed.
Continually sucking tears up, she sat against the door, thinking up hidden memories. Adam appeared back in her mind. She wanted to punch a hole in her wall, but a hole in her heart was made instead. Rose assumed she was the only one unhappy about the decision made that summer morning.
* * *
Rose was elated that her meeting was cancelled. Seeing it was much later than her scheduled date, she hoped he was home. Immediately, she called up Adam to let him know. He didn't answer. Rose put that thought aside until she realized he hadn't talked to her all weekend. At school on Monday, she struggled to find him, but finally did.
"Hey! Where've you-" Rose stopped as soon as she noticed Amanda beside him. When they saw her standing behind them, their hands immediately unlatched.
Adam turned around, looking nervously at Rose. "Um...okay, I think you should know," He started, pulling Rose alone. "Amanda...I've been seeing her lately. I didn't think we were much more than friends, and I'd like to keep it like that."
Rose's eyebrows frowned and her jaw dropped. She couldn't bring herself to say a word. She breathed, "How could you?" but not much came out. Her eyes started drooling tears as she stomped away from him, never looking back. Adam clutched her elbow, but Rose ripped it out of his grip.
"Rose...wait," Adam stammered.
"That's Rosemary to you," she snarled in return.
* * *
Rose's sweater was now soaked with salty tears. She knew she was crying over nothing. How could he think they were just friends? His coverup didn't fool her.
Other than the day Adam had told Rose his little secret, no act of sympathy had seemed to cross his body. Amanda would snuggle in his lap and run her bony fingers through his angelic hair just as Rose used to. She kicked herself, trying to discover a valid reason why she was never good enough for anyone.
Byron interrupted her thoughts with the bang of her door.
"Supper!" Byron yelled.
Grunts emerged from her mouth as she stood up.
Opening her door, Byron's tall figure was arranged right in front of her face. Her head jolted back in surprise.
Before Rose could talk, Byron did. "I've known you for 19 years. You're not going to fool be with your 'I'm fine' act. Now, the truth."
Where could she start? Work, Adam, life. She decided to answer with, "I'm not going to pull you into this. It isn't worth it, really."
Byron raised a brow, crossing his arms. Rose knew she wasn't getting out of this.
"Now, get on with it. It's no secret you've been down lately. I'm not going to fall for that. I know you, Rose. Please?" Byron asked forcefully.
"I...I can't." Rose covered her face so that tears wouldn't show.
"You have before...why not now?"
"It's...complicated. Not exactly something I want to think about," she starts. "Let's eat."
Byron took a few seconds to gaze at his 3-year-younger sister. His eyes passed from puzzlement to sympathy. Exhaling a breath, he moved to the side, allowing Rosemary to sneak past.
"That was close," Rose thought to herself.
Walking downstairs, Rosemary came to see kraft dinner on the white stove. She smiled, knowing that was her comfort food. Byron really did understand her best. They talked about their day, and Byron asked about work.
"Do I tell him?" Rose pondered. After silent seconds, she concluded that now was not the time.
"Lydia was really getting on my nerves. She keeps putting the books in the wrong sections!" They laughed.
"Well, she's only been there's for, what, a couple weeks?"
Rose couldn't hide her radiating smile. Byron caught her off guard. His beautiful, glimmering blue eyes stared eagerly into her soul.
"So...that's what's up? Lydia?"
"Yeah." That word had become a pure lie. "I mean, maybe. No, yes...I don't know." Rosemary's overloaded head sunk into her hands onto the oak table.
"It's alright," he whispered. "In time."
Thinking deeper, Rosemary found herself back in the conversation she had with him last month. He'd asked her about Adam. In that moment, she realized she hadn't told Byron of the breakup, yet somehow he put it together. His open ears have always soothed her and her tensions.
She broke up the conversation with the squeak of her chair. After washing her bowl in the rusty sink, she raced back up to her room. Twisting the lock on her door, she plopped on the ground beneath her. Flashbacks tossed through Rose's brittle mind.