We need to talk.
Rosalie
Okay.
I pocketed my phone and looked at Max. “Cover for me tonight?”
“Always,” he said, but his expression was worried. “Just... be careful, Derek. With both of them. This is going to blow up eventually.”
“I know.” I stood up, suddenly needing to move, to do something other than sit and spiral. “But maybe there's a way to make it work. There has to be.”
Max didn't respond, and his silence said everything. We both knew the truth: some lines, once crossed, changed everything. And there was no crossing back.
The studio was dark when I arrived at 10:55 pm, but I saw the light under the door. She was already here.
I found Rosie sitting on the floor, back against the wall, hugging her knees. She'd changed out of my hoodie, probably left it at home to avoid any more questions.
“Hey,” I said softly, locking the door behind me.
“Hey.” She didn't look up.
I slid down next to her, close enough that our shoulders touched. For a moment, we just sat there in silence.
“He knows something's different,” she finally said. “Even if he doesn't know what.”
“Yeah.”
“And he made his position pretty clear.” Her voice was small. “You're off-limits. I'm off-limits.”
I turned to face her. “Rosie...”
“Maybe he's right.” She looked at me then, and the pain in her eyes matched what I felt. “Maybe this is too complicated. Too risky. You're his best friend, Derek. He trusted you.”
“I know.” The guilt was suffocating. “But I can't... I can't just turn off what I feel for you.”
“Neither can I,” she whispered. “But what are we doing? Sneaking around, lying to everyone, almost getting caught every time we're in the same room?” She wiped at her eyes angrily. “This afternoon was terrifying. And it's only going to get worse.”
I reached for her hand, interlacing our fingers. “So what do you want to do?”
“I want to be with you,” she said immediately. “But I also don't want to lose my brother. I don't want you to lose your best friend. And I'm scared that we can't have both.”
“We tell him.” The words came out before I'd fully thought them through. “Not now, but soon. After the Westpoint game, once things calm down. We sit Aaron down, and we're honest.”
“He'll hate us.”
“Maybe at first. But he loves you, Rosie. And he's my brother in every way that matters. He'll be angry, yeah, but eventually...” I squeezed her hand. “We have to believe he'll come around.”
She was quiet for a long moment, then leaned her head on my shoulder. “What if he doesn't?”
“Then we deal with it. Together.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I'm not giving you up. Not for anyone.”
“Even Aaron?”
The question I'd been avoiding all day. I took a breath. “I don't want to lose him. But yeah, even Aaron. Because you're not just some girl I'm hooking up with. I love you, Rosie. And that's not going away.”
She tilted her face up to mine, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I love you too. So much it scares me.”
I kissed her then, soft and slow, tasting the salt of her tears. When we pulled apart, she was smiling through the crying.
