Hello! Thank you for clicking on my story! I hope you enjoy it. A couple things before we get started. I began writing this when only the first three books had come out, so character and plot details come from only the first three books. This is really just an alternate ending, with new characters not introduced in the original series. I will be posting two chapters per week for the first eight chapters. After that, we'll see. Also, I love feedback! So please comment! Anyway, without further ado, here is Rosy.
Sunlight pours in through the gap in the curtains. I stretch my arms and shut off my alarm. Rubbing my eyes, I get out of bed and into my slippers. I hurry through my weekend morning routine, making my bed, eating, changing, and brushing my teeth. I grab my gym bag and hurry out the door.
I hurry to get in the shower, desperate to be on time to lunch. I blow my hair dry and slip on a pink blouse, white jeans, and nude flats. As I put my coat on, I get a text from Lindsey. It reads: "Blu's Friday?" I respond: "Of course :)" Lindsey, who I met in college, is my best friend now. We go to Blu's every Friday night without fail. I still keep in touch with Anna, but she moved away to New York City.
I open the front door and step in. I keep telling Daddy that he should lock the door once in awhile. He refutes me by saying that no one will break in during the day and that Iantha locks it at night. Sometimes he has too much faith in people.
"Hello? Anybody home?" I call out. A slow and old, but young at heart Hound answers me. I bend down to scratch behind his ears as he licks my face.
"Gross, Hound," I say.
"Rosalind, dear, hello," Iantha sweeps me up into a hug.
"Hi, Iantha. How are you?" I ask.
"Busy, busy. They sure keep me on my toes. How are you? Martin, Rosalind is here!" She calls up to Daddy.
"I'm doing well. Just the usual stuff going on," I say, pulling my coat off. Iantha tries to take it from me, but I refuse her and put it in the hall closet myself. We walk into the kitchen where Madison is sitting in the breakfast nook.
"Hi, Maddie!" I drop to my knees and hold out my arms.
"Rosy!" She jumps up and runs into my waiting arms.
"I missed you so much," I squeeze her and she giggles.
"It's only been a week, Rosy," She says as I release her.
"That's true," I say as she tugs me to the nook. Madison was born a couple years after Daddy and Iantha married. As much as they loved their children, I could tell they wanted to have another one together. Daddy was a little nervous because it had been awhile since he took care of a baby, but I assured him that he would be fine and reminded him that Iantha would be there too. Iantha was worried about the lack of time my sisters and I would have with our new sibling because we were almost to college, but we always came home during breaks and spent as much time as we could with her. Lucky for me, I attended Boston University so I could occasionally drive home on the weekends and spend time with my youngest sister.
"Look!" Maddie says as she plops down in her seat. I pretend to examine her drawing.
"This is a real work of art, Maddie. I mean, look at all this movement and variety. Wonderful job! I love it, honey," I say. Iantha calls out the back door for Ben. Batty comes running down the stairs. She's getting so tall, and she looks more and more like Mommy every time I see her.
"Rosalind!" She jumps into my arms.
"Hi, Batty," I giggle. Ben bursts in from the backyard. His shoes and the soccer ball he is carrying are muddy. Iantha immediately tells him to leave them outside. Once he does this, he sits next to his sister.
"Hi, Rosalind," He smiles at me. I cannot believe he is fourteen already.
"Hi, Ben, how's soccer?" I ask.
"Good," He replies with a typical teenage boy answer.
"They practice so much! I guess this is how high school sports are now," Iantha sighs as she chops.
"Mmm… When does winter break start for you?" I ask.
"This week is our last week before break!" He cheers.
"Nice. Are you guys going anywhere?" I ask.
"Nope. Your father has a convention in town so we'll be here, braving the cold," Iantha says. I laugh as Skye, Jane, and Daddy burst into the kitchen. We say our hellos and then sit down in the dining room. Sometimes our Sunday family lunches are my favorite part of the week.
After lunch, Skye and I are washing the dishes. The rest of the family is in the living room. Skye rinses and I load the dishwasher.
"So, how's Jeffrey?" I ask. Skye and Jeffrey have been dating since high school and I am honestly a little surprised they have not gotten married yet.
"He's doing well. Work's been busy recently," she responds. I nod.
"And how are you?" I put a fork and a plate in. She looks at me sideways. She knows I am asking about her emotional health. I just like to make sure that everyone is not only doing well on the surface, but also deep down. As a teacher, I have to make sure of that in my students too. It's a little hard to get it out of first graders though.
"I'm fine, okay?" She rinses another dish.
"Alright, alright. And how are you and Jeffrey? You know, as a couple?" I ask.
"Oh my gosh, Rosalind! You are so nosy! We talked about this a week ago and nothing has changed!" Skye slams down her palm.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. A lot can happen in a week," I say.
"Well, not enough. Hey, since we're on the wonderful topic of love lives, how about yours?" Skye leans against the counter.
"What?" I was not expecting her to ask about me.
"If you can ask me about mine, I can ask you about yours!" She slides a glove off and places her hand on her hip.
"Fine. Nothing is happening," I say. I'm not lying.
"Come on! There must be something!"
"Really, nothing. Ask Lindsey! My last relationship was-"
"Tommy! Yes, we know! Your last real relationship was with Tommy! But that was seven years ago! You've gone on dates since then obviously. You've told me about them. But I'm not asking if you're in a relationship, trust me, I would already know. I'm just asking if you've met anyone recently."
"Oh. Well, yeah, I've gone on dates."
"Within the past week?"
"Yeah."
"See! This is what I'm asking about!"
"I don't mean to be rude, but why are you suddenly caring about my life?"
"Jeffrey said I should pretend to care about people's lives more."
"Oh."
"I'm kidding! I am just being nice, gosh!"
"Okay. Well, thanks for caring. But, yes, I went on a date, I think it was Wednesday. Yeah, Wednesday."
"And how'd it go?"
"Boring. That's why I didn't say anything. It's not going to go anywhere."
"Aw. What happened?"
"We just had nothing in common, and he knew it too."
"Ah. How'd you meet him?"
"I guess he's a friend of Lindsey's brother."
"So Lindsey's trying to be a wingwoman again?"
"I guess so. Now that she's single, she's focusing all of her attention on me again."
"Doesn't she do that every time she breaks up with someone?"
"Yep. It's an irritating cycle."
Well, that's chapter 1! Thank you for reading! Please comment :)