till' we meet again, william schofield

fifteen

•      •       •       •

  Alfred's appointment was only an hour, and by the time he was finished, Rosine had finished organizing the file cabinets. But she still had some paperwork to organize for Betty.

Alfred walked out of the pool area with his hair wet and body slick with moisture. Rosine lifted her head up just in time to see the war veteran flash her a happy grin. She didn't hesitate to return it.

"You seem happy?" Rosine commented. Alfred nodded.

"My last daily appointment is next Friday. Then, from that day forward I'll only be here when I feel I need it."

Rosine beamed and let out a happy giggle. She got up and enveloped Al in a hug. She froze. The slick feeling of wet skin made her sick to her stomach as her skin came in contact with Al's wet skins. Rosine's heart beat like African war drums as she felt vomit begin to surface.

A tree was sprawled across the river, and at joint between the tree and the water laid about a dozen dead bodies. All of them were bloated from the water and decaying.

Rosine couldn't stop shaking as Al let go of her. He tried to ask her what was wrong, but words barely registered as she remembered her time spent in the river.

"Fuck," Will cursed. He started off towards it, Rosine only a couple seconds behind him. They climbed on top of the bodies. Rosine felt her stomach acids rise as she gripped the dead body, feeling the rotten flesh and water-filled skin underneath her hands.

Rosine couldn't help the vomit and tears that came next. Al backed up, clearly shocked by the ordeal, while Betty came out from the nurses lounge to see what happen. Rosine couldn't register the words between Betty and Al, but she did notice him try to say something to her, but then he left.

Betty walked over to Rosine, being careful not to step in her vomit. She looked worriedly at the girl in front of her. Rosine was lightly shaking, breathing hard and was crying silently. Betty lightly gripped her shoulder, leading her towards the door.

"Rosine, if you can hear me, in anyways, nod," Betty said slowly. Rosine lifted her gaze from the ground to Betty. She watched Betty nod her head. Rosine repeated the same action.

"Okay.. Rosine. I need you to go home and get some rest. I know you're running low on sleep, and I'm not sure about what happen there, but let's just chalk it up as you need sleep."

Rosine nodded and walked away, hoping to get slapped in the face with the cool air outside.

•      •       •       •

Rosine didn't tell Lara or Blake about her experience. Instead, she said she didn't feel well. She cleaned herself up and brushed her teeth. When she exited the shower, Blake was standing at the door with Timmy.

"Where are you going?" She asked. Blake's tired eyes met with Rosine's traumatized ones. He offered a small smile, not knowing what was going on with his sister, but respecting that there's a whole part of her life he wasn't around for.

"Taking Timmy to the park. If he blows off some steam maybe he'll sleep better tonight."

Rosine bit the inside of her cheek, before grabbing her coat and tugging on her shoes. Blake stood there dumbfounded.

"I'll take him. I could use the fresh air," Rosine declared. "You can go sleep. I know you've been working hard."

Blake nodded, and handed off his toddler to his sister. He truly didn't deserve such a caring sister like her. Rosine readjusted Timmy on her hip and left, being sure to close the door tightly behind her.

Timmy and her walked for a couple blocks, until they were on the street across from Pub Lane— the street in the city filled with plenty of bars. Rosine constantly wondered why put a children's park near pubs. Talk about design flaws. Maybe that's point of the design— perhaps alcoholics planned it, so that they'd be able to drop off their children before getting wasted.

Rosine sat down on a bench at the park, being sure to keep an eyes on Timmy the whole entire time. There wasn't any other kids around, since the sun was now setting, but she couldn't be too careful in an unknown area.

She watched as her nephew ran around, squealing and giggling as he climbed the structure. His pure happiness was enough to soothe Rosine's soul, ridding her off any negative memories associated with 1917.

Timmy ran up to Rosine, squealing as he wobbled from side to side while running. Rosine couldn't help to open her arms and embrace the child, picking him up and twirling him around. He let out joyful giggles as Rosine proceed to tickle him. Timmy laughed so hard that Rosine found herself laughing as well.

Rosine hugged the kid close, closing her eyes as she spoke aloud. "I love you Timothée St. Martin. So very much."

The child snuggled into her, wrapping both his arms around her neck. But his head remained up, not in the crook of her neck as per usual.

Rosine felt her heart stop, body seize, and grip tighten on Timmy as a familiar voice ran throughout her ears. "Rosine?"

not edited. :) hope u enjoy. I CANT BELIVE I DID THIS. i had no intention of writing this but i pushed myself and hOpEfUllY i'll start updating more frequently now.

have a goodnight. i love you all.