"Rosie!" Mom shouted after me.
Ignoring her, I steped inside the store and made my way towards the candy.
I've been here before, I know exactly where it is.
"Rose?" Mom shouted at the front of the store.
Ignoring her again I grabbed at a Hershey chocolate bar for dad and a Snickers bar for mom.
"Rosalee get over here." Mom ordered I turned towards her voice.
She only calls me Rosalee when she's serious.
"Please." She said quietly and I frowned.
"I'm sorry, I was buying candy for you and daddy." I apologized.
"You shouldn't have stepped in here lady." Another voice said and I stepped into his view.
He had on a hat and sunglasses and there was a gun in his hand.
"Ah shit you got a kid!" He shouted and mom stepped in front of me and she grabbed onto my arm, holding tight.
"Mommy."
"Please, just let us go." Mom begged and she took a step towards the door with me behind her.
"Don't move!" The man shouted and I flinched at his loud voice.
"Just let me take her out of here." Mom begged and I started crying.
"I wanna go." I asked and the man held onto the back of his head before groaning.
"You're going to call the police and I'll go to jail again." He said and mom's grip on my arm tightened.
"No." He shook his head. "I have to kill you. Like I killed the cashier. I have to do it." He said and I sobbed.
"Shh, baby." Mom cooed.
[0][0][0]
A phone ringing woke me up suddenly and completely disoriented.
Squinting for a moment, I reached over and grabbed for my phone but stopped.
I started crying.
Because this morning I remembered my dream.
"No." I choked out a sob.
If I hadn't gone into that gas station. If I hadn't tried to be an over achiever and tried to get candy for my parents. If I had just listened to my dad.
Pain blossomed in my chest and I laid my head back down on my pillow before letting it take over as I cried.
I felt my mom's piecing cry of pain when the bullet hit her chest.
I felt the gunman's fear when he saw the flashing lights of the police cars.
I felt mom's warm blood on my hands.
"No."
A sharp knock sounded on my door before it swung open and I didn't have time to collect myself.
"Ros-" dad stopped and I buried my face in my pillow to hide my tear streaked face
"Are you alright?" He asked and I shook my head no.
"Uhhh, are you having your menstrual cycle?" He asked and I hiccuped a no.
"Then Rose I don't know what's wrong with you."
The tears came down harder.
"Get it together and tell me what's going on." He ordered.
Pulling myself together I sat up and held my pillow to my chest.
"I had a dream about mom. But it was a memory.
"About what?" He asked carefully, his voice tight.
"The last day she was with us." I replied quietly, waiting for him to say something.
"She was angry that day. I don't remember why but she was angry." I frowned and he shook his head.
"I don't remember her being angry." He grunted with a shrug.
"The dream was when she and I were in the gas station. Right before and after the gunman shot." I told him and he hitched in a surprised breath.
"After you sent her in there to get me." I told him and he shook his head.
I remember now. Mom didn't go in there because I didn't listen, she went inside because dad told her to.
"Be careful Rosalee, you're nearing dangerous waters."
"Why don't we talk about it? Why don't we talk about mom's death?" I asked and he gritted his teeth.
"I don't need this today."
Today is Liam's court date.
"We don't ever talk about her death!" I shouted, demanding to be heard.
"I said I'm not doing this today." He warned and I took in a shaky breath.
"I miss her." I breathed out. "I miss seeing pictures of her. I miss her voice. I miss talking to her, talking about her."
"Well Rosalie, why is she not here?" He asked and I looked up at him with my tear stained face.
"Because I was disobedient." I answered through gritted teeth.
But that doesn't mean she doesn't deserve to be remembered.
He walked away from me before I could say anything else and I wiped away my tears with the back of my hand.
My phone rang again and I let out a frustrated sigh before grabbing it off the nightstand without checking the ID.
"Hello." I snapped.
"Good morning sunshine." Katelyn greeted.
"What do you want?" I asked quietly before running my hands through my hair with a sniffle.
"Well, I wanted to talk, what's wrong?" She asked and I let out another frustrated sigh.
"Nothing."
"Did I do something wrong?" She asked and I sniffled again.
You just freely received the love from my father that I've been trying to earn for years.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
"I don't think I believe you. You've been kind of distant lately. " She said in a quite tone.
"Kate, I promise that you didn't do anything wrong, it's just been a stressful couple of weeks and I'm nowhere near being stress free." I told her.
"Why?" She asked.
"I know dad's current client and I want him to win this case." I told her. Technically that's not a lie.
"When does he go to court?" She asked and I let out a long sigh.
"Today." I sighed.
"Is he there? I wanna wish him good luck." She said into the phone and my mood turned sour.
"I just woke up, I don't know where he is. ."
"Okay grumpy pants, I'll just call him myself." She scoffed and I let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry." I apologized. "I'm being unnecessarily rude."
"It's fine, I get it, you're stressed. I'm gonna go and call Charles, call me later when you're in a better mood." She hung up and I dropped my phone on the bed with a long sigh.
Way to go.
Letting out another long sigh, I picked myself up and made my way to the bathroom. I have to pull myself together for school.
As I was brushing my teeth, I tried to think of to why mom was angry that day. We were coming home from the beach, she loves the beach. So, why was she angry?
Not able to come up with anything else's, I spat in the sink and rinsed my mouth and toothbrush before leaving the bathroom.
I slipped on a pair of white jeans and a soft blue floral top before slipping my feet in a pair of black ballet flats.
Grabbing my backpack and phone, I made my way downstairs.
"No Katelyn, I will not tell you what my case is about." Dad said into the phone with a smile and I walked over to the cabinets.
I placed some water into the tea kettle before placing it on the stove.
Dad let out a short laugh into the phone before he said a quick goodbye.
"Good morning." I greeted and he gave me a nod.
"Did you already have breakfast?" I asked and he nodded.
No verbal communications I see.
I grabbed the jar of peanut butter and jelly and grabbed some bread to make a sandwich.
"Can I ask a question?"
"Is it about this case?" He asked before sipping his coffee and I shook my head no.
"Go ahead." He nodded as I prepped my sandwich.
"Did you and mom get in a fight on the day she died?" I asked quietly and he choked on his coffee.
"Why the hell would you ask that?" He glared.
It was a simple question. Nothing about it was inappropriate or surprising. He was just caught off guard.
"Dad, she was angry. Why was she angry, I just want to know."
Dad stared at me for a moment before his eyes turned cold.
"No." He replied and sipped his coffee.
"What?." I asked.
"If it wasn't for you, you could've asked her yourself." He sneered and I blinked away the sting of threatening tears.
"I have to go." He placed his mug in the sink before grabbing his briefcase.
I listened to his car starting and him driving out of the driveway before taking a seat on one of the barstools.
If it wasn't for you, she would be here and you could ask her yourself.
If it wasn't for me, she would be here and I could've asked her myself.
Letting out a deep breath, I tried to ease the ache in my chest.
[0]
"Where are Noah and Jonathan?" I frowned halfway through lunch.
"They went home early," Sam explained. "To get ready for Liam's hearing."
I gave her a single nod before looking down at my tray.
"Have you guys talk to him?" I asked without looking up.
"We haven't no, but from Noah, I hear he's kind of a mess. He keeps snapping in anger at them." Mia explained and I looked up at her with a frown.
Liam doesn't get mad. At least not really.
"This all sucks for him." I replied and the girls nodded. They don't know the full story, the boys refuse to tell them and as far as they know, I don't know anything at all. They just know that's Liam is being trailed for something he didn't do.
"Maybe we should text him good luck." Sam suggested before taking out his phone.
"Luck has nothing to do with this. It won't do anything." Mia shook her head.
"Yeah, but at least he'll know we're thinking of him." I shrugged before taking out my phone.
With a small smile on my face I placed my phone down before finishing my lunch.
[0]
"Stop looking back there or Mrs. Knowles is going to call you out." Mia hissed beside me and I turned my attention away from Liam's desk behind me and I turned to face her.
"Just go to the hearing." She whispered and I shook my head no.
"My dad doesn't want me to." I told her and she rolled her eyes at me.
"Well your dad isn't the one that might be going to prison." She snapped and my stomach clenched.
I think I might throw up.
"Besides, you can just sneak in and sit in the back and leave right as things are dismissed. Your dad won't even know." She told me and I shook my head.
"I can't go, the school will notify him that I am not in class."
"They only do that in the morning, the school day is over halfway done. Just as long as you check yourself out, you'll be good." She told me and I let out a sigh.
I can't do that.
"It's one forty, if you leave now. You can make it by two."
"I can't." I sighed before turning my attention to Mrs. Knowles.
Liam would do this for you.
I would never be in a situation like this. And he would literally skip school for anything. Besides, what could I possibly do for him in that courtroom.
As Mrs. Knowles placed the answers to last night's homework up, a thought occurred to me.
What if dad doesn't use the recording I gave him?
He will, he was really excited for it. He's going to use it.
When had Charles Thorne ever used someone else's evidence on one of his case?
Never, but this is an important case. He wouldn't do that.
You know your father. He barely likes Liam, he's not going to use that recording.
"Oh my God." I said out loud and Mia frowned at me.
"Mrs. Knowles, I have to go." I blurted as I packed my stuff.
"Yes!" Mia exclaimed.
"Where are you going?"
"Dr's appointment." Mia whispered beside me and I looked up at Mrs. Knowles as I shoved my books in my backpack.
"Dr's appointment." I repeated before standing up and running towards the door.
"I'll bring a note back. I promise." I told her before closing the door behind me.
With my keys in hand, I walked to the school secretary desk to signed myself out.
"Rose, you never leave school early." She said with a smile and I nodded.
"I have a doctors appointment that I forgot about." I told her before signing my name.
"See you tomorrow." I waved before walking out.
[0]
I made it down to the courthouse by one fifty.
But I couldn't bring myself to go inside.
Dad is going to use that tape. He has to.
I don't have to be here.
Letting out a sigh, I put the key back in the ignition just as my phone chimed with a text.
Letting out a sigh, I took the key out of the ignition before stepping out of the car.
"What the hell are you getting yourself into Rose?" I muttered to myself before walking towards the entrance.
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I hope you entered the Wattys 2017 if you're a writer ☺️.
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