Forever Rose ✓ k.th

Chapter 51 : Dead

"Astrid," Your dad called you from the living room. Turning on the sink, you wash your hands after doing the dishes. The next thing you did was to show up in front of your father. Once he saw you, you put on that same old fragile smile on your face. "Hey, Merlie called on the phone," He informed.

"Did she tell you why?" You curiously, grab your phone which was neatly placed on top of the fireplace.

"No. She just wants you to call her." With that, I go back into my room and put on FaceTime. A few rings later, Merlie answered, to be exact, squealed.

"Oh my god! What took you so long to call me?" She gasped.

"I—" Before you could answer, she speaks again.

"Hey, Kayla, come here." You silently wait for the two to settle their problems.

"Why?" You heard your other friend whine in the background.

"Astrid's on the phone. Duh." You smiled a little after you saw her rolling her eyes as usual. A second later, an excited Kayla popped into the screen with a wide smile.

"Why didn't you call?" She asked.

"Busy days," You simply stated. "Some of our stuff is still not arranged, that's why," You grinned timidly.

"Why did you even move to London in the first place? It's not like you're running from something," Merlie scoffed.

"I don't know. I kinda felt like I wanted to move here." Your friend was right. You don't remember any particular reason why you moved here in London. It's been a week since you first settled here.

Your father was ecstatic about the idea. And it didn't take long to convince him to come with you. Ever since that day too, you feel so down.

And what frustrates you, even more, is that you don't know why.

It's like you're alive but dead at the same time.

Your sudden lack of enthusiasm affects your daily life. Sometimes you don't have the appetite, but you had to force yourself to eat so that you don't worry about your father. Some mornings you wake up crying, and that sadness kills you first thing in the morning. Every time that happens, you lock yourself inside your room and think too much.

But that doesn't help.

It only suffocates you even more.

"What's with the ugly face, A?" Merlie called your attention.

"Merlie!" Kayla gasped, swatting your other friend gently.

"What?! She looks bothered." Merlie pursed her lips. Her pupils suddenly dilated along with his lips parted. "Good gracious! I just solved the mystery!" She shrieked as if she won the lottery. You lower the volume of your phone as your friend continues to be loud. Kayla, on the other hand, covers her ears.

"I know why you moved all the way to London," Merlie eyes you through the camera.

Grinning, you thought it was just some absurd speculation from her. But still, you entertained her, "Why?"

"You fell in love so bad, and that guy was moving to London. Since you can't bear to be away with your one and only love, you followed him all the way there."

"That sounds like..."

"Bullshit," You mutter, continuing Kayla's statement. "That's not the reason why. But thanks for coming up with that story. It's very creative," You force a laugh.

"Then, why?" This time, it was Kayla who asked.

It's not like you were running away from something. You're a hundred percent sure about that. Why? Because deep down, every day, you felt like you've lost something. Like you've left a part of you back there at Tyler. But since you wanted to move here, you can't do anything about it and just accept that whatever that is, it's already gone.

"Why not?" You shrugged at the two.

The rest of your afternoon was spent with your friends on the phone. The three of you talked about Christmas presents, and it bothers you how you'll send these two demanding friends of yours their gifts.

Once the call ended, you lay on your bed and grabbed a random book from your shelf. You scan through the pages and start to read, but you didn't understand anything. Not literally, but because you're too occupied to think and comprehend.

Giving up, you just tossed the book on your bed. Staring blankly at the ceiling, your friends' questions lingered inside your head. Why did I move here? You asked yourself.

To think that you own a bookshop in Tyler, your friends are there, you graduated there, and you lived your entire life there, what was the reason you suddenly flew all the way to Europe?

I want to. That other part of you answered. I want to explore the city, meet new awesome people, and perhaps find... love. It's not wrong of you to seek for those, but it felt like it was.

So for the first week of your stay here in London, you locked yourself at home with your dad. He was a little persistent about asking you for a walk outside. It might've broken your heart and his, but you had to decline. Instead, you promised him that you'd go out once all the furniture are fixed inside your new home.

This house was surprisingly cheap. It actually has a nice view of the city on the balcony on the second floor, or shall you say the first floor.

Finally, you jumped out of bed, and the first thing that your eyes laid on was that dying rose on the table at the corner of your room. Sighing, "It lost another petal."

You got this rose inside your trunk when you were unpacking your things. Putting it inside a vase with water, you guessed it helped it to stay alive for a week. But what's odd is that a petal falls every other day. It's down to its last two petals, since the third one fell today, and you feel sad about it.

Taking a deep breath, you grabbed the vase and changed its water in your bathroom. You've decided you'll just buy another rose once this one dies completely.