She woke up crying. Steady tears silently soaked her face, continuing to flow steadily even after awakening from a deep sleep. She noticed then her sobbing. It was quiet, but she ceased. No one needed to hear her.
"Rose, darling, you up?" she heard her mom call from the kitchen.
She heard footsteps shuffle down the short hallway, then a gentle knock. Her mom twisted the doorknob and opened the door. Just as she stepped in, Rose ducked under the covers of her bed, hiding her wet face and sad eyes.
No one needed to know.
"Don't you pretend you're asleep. You can't fool me. It's your turn to make breakfast. Everyone's up and waiting. Chop chop."
She remained silent, her eyes shut tight, wishing her mom would just turn and leave without a fight.
"Rose, get up." Silence. "Rose Marion Tyler! Stop acting like a child. John is starving. His stomach hasn't quit roaring since the first second he woke up this morning. He was about to get something to eat but he was respectful and was waiting for you to get up." She walked over to the large window parallel to the door and opened the drapes. Sunlight flooded the room, causing Rose to moan. "I knew it!" Jackie made her way to her daughter's bed, keeping her eyes on the floor so as not to trip over the dirty clothes that were scattered about.
"Mum, don't!" Rose yelled. Jackie tore the covers from Rose's bed. Rose tried to hide her face but it was useless.
"Rose. Why are you crying?"
"I'm not." She tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks and eyes as she thought of an excuse. Well I was. Sort of. I just had a sad dream, that's all. I was just crying in my sleep."
"What dream was that, Sweetheart?"
Rose paused, searching her mind for a decent lie. "I had a dream that…you…died." No one said anything for a moment.
"Well I'm not dead as you can see," Jackie said, a bit insulted. "Everything's alright so can you please just make some breakfast?" With that, Jackie left the room and headed back to the kitchen to join the rest of the hungry family.
Rose took a deep shaky breath as she dragged herself out of bed. She slowly walked to the bathroom and turned the faucet on. Splashing cold water on her face, Rose decided to forget the source of her sadness if she could.
"Mum!" Rose called. "Where's the towel?"
"Under the sink!"
"Hurry up Rose!" John called playfully.
Rose smiled a bit as she grabbed a fresh hand towel. As she stood up and looked in the mirror, she saw someone standing behind her.