THE ROSE AND THE THORN

Chapter 50

The silence was deafening. Someone had turned the music off. You could've heard a pin drop. Slowly, people began whispering and moving amongst themselves, exchanging versions of what they had just heard to be sure they had heard the same thing.

"Did she say 'girlfriend'?"

"Wait, Miss Rose and India are dating?"

"Is she joking? She's joking, right?"

All eyes were on the four of us. Cara, backed up into the corner of the back deck, a look of confusion and pure fury on her face. Ruby, slowly backing away from Cara, a look of utter horror and regret plastered on her face as she glanced towards me. Kelsey, her hand that was once holding Ruby back now hanging limply at her side. And me, standing next to the three of them looking dumbfounded, hoping that this was all just a bad dream.

Kelsey's awkward tone broke the buzzing crowd.

"Aha...good one, Rubes!" she nervously laughed, patting Ruby awkwardly on her shoulder. "I think you've had a bit too much to drink, mate!"

Footsteps punctured the silence that followed, as Aimee, Connor and Scott all ran out onto the back deck.

"Good joke, Miss!" Scott quickly reiterated, elbowing Aimee in her side.

"Ha! Yeah, Miss Rose! We all know Inds gave you hell every lesson!" Aimee chimed in.

I was dumbfounded, unable to find the words to say. I wanted to yell at Cara for pretending I was her girlfriend. I wanted to yell at Ruby for being so hot headed. In the end, I yelled at nobody. Instead, I forced out a nervous laugh and found myself walking towards Cara.

"Don't worry, Miss Rose. I know I asked you to help me get Cara off my case, but it's okay. I think she gets it now, we don't need to fuel any rumours," I said, patting Cara gingerly on the shoulder.

Cara's eyes flirted between Ruby's and my own, clearly unsure of what to say. Before she could find the words, I turned to face everyone.

"Party's over folks. Let's take it to a bar or something for all you legal aged adults. Sorry kiddos."

Groans were heard from the crowd as everyone began to gather their belongings, lingering around the four of us as if they were hoping to gather more information.

"Come on, let's go!" I heard Kelsey mutter, and she dragged Ruby unceremoniously from the back deck, through the house and out the front door without looking back.

I stood nervously next to Cara, both of us unmoving as the crowd around us began to disperse. People glanced curiously at us as they passed, while Aimee, Scott and Connor all shooed them out the front door. The fact remained that Cara had once again been spreading lies about me. I thought once school was over it would stop, but I guess it was still too soon to tell. Even then, she didn't deserve to be attacked by Ruby.

"Look, Cara...I - ," I began, but she cut me off.

"I get it," she said.

"No, I really don't think you do..." I said, my voice beyond exasperated.

"You don't like me. You never did. And you never will," she responded, her eyes finally meeting mine.

"Oh, shit. Maybe you do get it!" My shocked tone earning a dirty stare from her.

More silence greeted us. She didn't speak, shuffling her feet and rubbing her shoulder where Ruby had pushed her back into the wall. I was going to offer her some painkillers or an ice pack, but before I could open my mouth she spoke first.

"I know you're in love with Miss Rose."

Silence again. I heard the footsteps surrounding us come to a halt as Aimee, Connor and Scott all stopped, no doubt in shock, to listen to our conversation. My brain was completely frozen as I desperately tried to thaw it out enough to come up with a remotely decent reply.

"I - uh...I told you she was just doing me a favour. To try and get you to leave me alone," My voice faltered slightly.

"Oh, please. I'm not stupid. I saw the way she stormed out of prom when we kissed - ,"

"When you forced yourself on her, don't you mean?" Aimee interrupted from across the room.

"Aimee, not the time!" I snapped.

Cara huffed, rolling her eyes dramatically and crossing her arms across her chest.

"Whatever. What I'm saying is, I know how you feel about each other. If I could prove anything happened between you two before you graduated, I'd probably go to the police. But I can't, so I'm not going to waste my time."

"Nothing has happened," I quickly retorted, "But, um...thanks. I guess?"

"Yeah, whatever. Good luck with whatever happens," she grimaced slightly, walking over to one of the outdoor chairs and picking up her bag.

"I'll see you round. Or not," she shrugged, nodding at the others before walking herself out.

I stood dumbfounded in my place, my feet rooted to the floor. The four of us looked at each other in disbelief, waiting for the other to speak first. Eventually Scott spoke.

"What...the fuck...just happened?" Scott said slowly, and rest of us shook our heads slowly, mouths agape.

"Ruby shouldn't have lost her temper like that. She should know better," Aimee sighed, bending down to pick up some rubbish that was strewn across the hardwood floor.

"I know. Cara must've pushed her over the edge," I reasoned. "I should call her. I need to make sure she's okay."

"We'll clean while you call," Aimee said, much to the boys dismay.

I nodded stiffly before grabbing my phone from my back pocket, dialling Ruby's number and waiting impatiently for her to answer. The line rung for what seemed like hours, until finally,

"Hi, you've reached Ruby. Please leave your name and number, and I'll get back to you ASAP. Cheers."

"Fuck!" I hissed, redialling and reaching the answering machine once again.

I threw my phone onto my bed in anger, ripping my fingers angrily through my hair. I paced back and forth, looking anxiously out the window for a sign of Kelsey's car pulling back into the driveway. Nothing.

I sank onto my bed, too nervous to go downstairs and help my friends clean my house. I was too anxious to feel bad in the moment.

My ringtone pierced my anxious thoughts. I scrambled to pick it up, answering without looking at the caller ID.

"Ruby?"

"India, it's Kelsey. Come to my apartment quickly, please. I'll text you the address," they answered, and the line went dead.

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AUTHORS NOTE
This story is coming to an end. The next chapter will be the last (unless I decide to do an epilogue, which is likely). I've started writing the last chapter but I haven't finished it yet. I will post as soon as it's complete!