"Here we go," she muttered, and slung her arm over his shoulders, immediatly bending over and clinging at her stomach as though it hurt, and he helped support her in as she proceeded to cry out in pain. He was impressed. She was still a good actress. "AAUUGH!" she shrieked. "Somebody help me!" The nurse behind the desk looked up in alarm and ran over to them.
"We were having dinner when she suddenly started screaming about her stomach," said Willy, looking frantic. "I don't know what's wrong with her." Rose gave another painful cry, and the nurse switched places with Willy.
"We'll take you to an empty room, and the doctor will be right with you," she said over Rose's fake cries.
"'Kay," said Willy. "I need to make a quick phone call. You're gonna be all right, Julie!"
Willy waited till they were gone, then went over to the computer behind the desk. He had a name and began to search frantically to find her room. It wasn't as hard as he thought it would be, and once he had the room number, he shut down the computer and turned it on again, not really knowing how to make it so it wouldn't stay on the page with Rose's mother's room number and personal information. Willy then proceeded down the hall and into the room they had placed Rose, who was still screaming.
"I called your brother," said Willy. "He said he's on his way." Rose looked up at him and nodded, then gave out another scream of pain.
"Can you watch her while I get the doctor?" asked the nurse to him.
"Yes, of course," said Willy, and he hurried over to Rose's side, taking her hand. "You're gonna be okay, 'kay? Just try to calm down."
"It hurts!" she shouted, and looked over his shoulder. The nurse was gone and she winked at him. "Okay, let's go," she whispered. They slipped out of the room silently, locking the door to buy them some time, and hurried over to the elevator.
"You're mother's in room 286. Go and see her while I keep watch. If you hear me knock three times, get out of there," he whispered. She looked at him, thinking he was starting to sound like her and nodded.
"I'm scared," she whispered.
"It's going to be okay," he said, lightly patting her on the shoulder, and walked with her up to the door, leaning against the wall and watching for nurses. Rose stepped in, looking at the bed and saw her mother laying there. Her hair was gone, and she looked so tired. Rose bither lip and walked over to her, kneeling down.
"Hi, mom," she whispered. Her mother's eyes wandered around the room until they met hers, and for a minute she stared at her as if she didn't recognize her.
"Rose?" she said in a tone that was barely audible.
Rose's eyes were threatening tears and she nodded. "I love you, Mom," she whispered, trying so hard not to break down. "I'm so sorry... for everything I've put you through. I'm so sorry, Mom." She was still trying so hard not to give in, and baried her face in the bed sheets. She could feel her mother's shaky hand stroke the top of her head, and she looked up at her.
"I... l-love you... sweetheart," she whispered. "You were always... my little girl... no matter what you did." Rose smiled briefly, placing her hand on her mother's cheek. The bittersweet moment was interrupted by three sharp knocks. Rose looked up and gasped.
"I have to go, mom," she whispered. "I love you." She turned and ran to Willy, and the two of them ran down the hall and to the opposite elevator. When the doors opened, they ran into the waiting room, hearing the shouts of the nurse trying to stop them, and they ran into the glass elevator, taking off before they could be caught.
Willy sighed with relief once they were close enough for the factory to be in sight, and for a brief moment, he was sure she was about to start crying. One thing that had yet to change with her was the fact that she almost never cried. There had been a few exceptions, but it took the most dire circumstances to get even a tear out of her. But she was so silent, it made him nervous. This was another one of those confusing times when he didn't know if he should say something or not. Perhaps she didn't want to talk right now. Maybe she needed to be alone. Well, if she did she would definitely voice it, so he gave it a shot.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," she muttered, and at once he saw her shell come up again. What ever weakness that was threatening to come out before was gone now. She had turned back into her cold self and he hated it. He hated her like this, and hate was a very strong word for him. "I have to sleep a little, Will. I'm so tired. I'll be out of here by four thirty or five, I promise. I just need to sleep." He nodded, understanding what she meant.
They arrived into the factory, and she split off from him and went to bed, barely even saying goodnight to him. The next morning she left just like she said she would, leaving behind a letter for him.
"Dear Will,
I can't tell you how greatful I am for everything you did and have done for me in the past. I really wish things could be different for us, but they aren't. If I could, I would take everything back. The shoplifting, the lying, and especially the man I killed. I wish we could have lived out our dream of becoming highschool sweethearts and getting married, but we both know that can't happen either. Chances are we won't be able to see each other again face to face too.
But there's one thing I have to tell you Will, and I need you to understand it because it's really important. I never forgot about you. Ever. I still have dreams about you some times, about how things used to be. You've amazed me with what you've done, and when worst came to worst with your father you were still able to rise above the rest. I'll never know how you did that, but you did it, and I'm happy for you. I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you over the years, and I'm sorry that we had to meet again under these circumstances. I hope you'll be able to forgive me some day, and maybe, if we get lucky, we'll be able to live as we used to, as friends.
I'll miss you, and I'll never forget you, I promise you.
Sincerely, Rose"
Willy folded the letter so it would fit into his jacket pocket, and kept it close to him the remainder of that day. In his heart he knew he would see her again, he just couldn't promise the circumstances would be any better.
----
"When your life has gone wrong/ And you're wondering why/ When your tail is so long/ You're unable to fly/ Tell yourself how lucky you are/ Why de-cry a cloudy sky/ An empty purse? A crazy universe/ My philosophy is simply/ Things could be worse/ So be happy you're here/ Think of life as a thrill/ And when worse comes to worse/ As we all know it will/ Thank your lucky star you've gotten this far/ And tell yourself how lucky you are"
-'How Lucky You Are,' Suessical the Musical.
(This is the end of Part 1, or Act 1, or whatever you'd like to call it. Part 2 is not a different story, meaning you'll still find it here. I'm just taking a brief break from this story for Christmas, mostly because the Christmas season is supposed to be happy, and this story is sort of angsty. So around the beginning of January-ish, we will resume. Thank's and luv you all! And if you didn't read the above lyrics (be honest people) please do. They're so true. And forgive me for being politically incorrect, but I still say Merry Christmas.
-Smeagol's (Ociffer! I swear to drunk I'm not God!) girl)