Sorry everyone I have been very busy as of late! But I'm sure this chapter will make up for it!:) ENJOY!
RPOV
"Okay Rose, you have everything right? Clothes, make-up, your camera, your pictures, the dress and heels, shampoo-"
"Yes I have everything this time!" I exclaimed, pouting as she eyed the bags surrounding me. This was the third time that I had to run back in the house because I forgot something.
"Are you positive?" She repeated, again. I looked at John and gave him my best puppy dog eyes asking for help. He looked extremely amused but wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him softly.
"Stop worrying about her Dory, she is fine," he said, kissing her cheek. I smiled and looked away when she kissed his lips lovingly. My eyes caught Jeremiah's and he winked at me making me shoot him my signature smirk.
"Alright, lovebirds, let's get going!" I sang, picking my bags up and skipping to the truck. I threw my bags in the back and hopped in the passenger seat. Jeremiah sent me a disgruntled look as he hopped in the backseat but remained quiet as I sent him a dazzling smile.
"Bye Rose, good luck! Call me when you get there Dory, and Jeremiah," John only shot him a look which I laughed at once I saw the innocent smile on Jeremiah's face.
"Bye John!" We chorused, waving as Doreene put the truck into drive and made our way done the road. Excitement had me chatting with them the whole time, we were heading towards the airport to make our way to California for my art show. I was nervous by how fast the time went but also extremely giddy.
"We have to see the beaches too! Oh my god, do you know how many hot, shirtless guys will be roaming on the beach!" I said, licking my lips in anticipation.
"And how many hot, swim-suit models that need help putting tanning oil on their back." Jeremiah added making me laugh and Doreene shake her head.
I don't know how Doreene made it to the airport with the excitement pulsing through the truck. She parked the truck and we slid out, picking up our bags out of the bed and making our way inside.
It was a pretty small airport, seeing as it was a small town and we had to drive thirty minutes to get to one. Doreene led us over to the front desk where we picked up the tickets that John already bought over the phone.
"So, this plane leads straight to the Los Angeles Airport where someone will be waiting to pick us up at take us to the hotel where the other people from the art show." Doreene said quickly while walking us to our terminal. I huffed as I raced to catch up to her, and when I was walking next to her I saw her nervous face.
"What's wrong?" I asked breathlessly. She looked at me from the corner of her eye before looking away quickly.
"I just want to make sure everything goes on like planned," she said simply, looking at the papers in her hand. I didn't fully believe her, but when Jeremiah spoke up beside me, I understood.
"She hasn't left state before," he stated, eyeing Doreene softly. She looked over at him and glared but when she met my gaze she softened and a small sigh escaped her lips.
"Sorry Rose, it's just something different for me, so I want to get everything right." She told me quietly, right as we reached the area where we were to be loading. We sat our stuff down and I grabbed Doreene's hand comforting.
"Everything is going completely fine so relax and have fun, nothing wrong is going to happen." I assured, resting my head on her shoulder like I usually did. She smiled and smoothed down my hair.
"Thank you Rose," she said smiling and looked at something behind me. I felt something lay on my shoulder and then hair was tickling my neck. I looked over and saw Jeremiah's blonde hair in my face as he rested his head on my shoulder.
"What are you doing Jerry?" I asked giggling. He looked up at me with his brown, puppy dog eyes and fluttered his lashes at me.
"I thought we were all laying our heads on the other's shoulders?" He questioned innocently. I laughed and ran my fingers through his hair before laying my head back on Doreene's. People gave us weird glances but we all ignored them and talked quietly to ourselves, laughing sometimes and hitting shoulders at other times.
"Flight 30 now boarding," a voice announced on the intercom. We all stood up and made our way towards the tunnel to board. The lady at the entrance smiled and took our tickets letting us pass through.
There were only two seats a row, so Doreene sat beside me while Jeremiah winked and walked over to a girl with curly brown hair and green eyes. She had a button down shirt and blue jeans with boots over the leg of the jeans. Freckles played across her face and she smiled sweetly and Jeremiah, allowing him to sit beside her.
I shook my head at him and whispered what I saw to Doreene who was looking out the window. She laughed and looked back smiling at the scene.
"And I thought Blane was bad," I commented playfully, giggling as she nodded and laughed along with me.
Flight attendants walked up and down the aisle, closing the luggage bunks and asking passengers to buckle up for take-off. When they were done, they disappeared through a door in the front and not seconds later the plane started moving.
When the plane was in the air, a sign blinked above us signaling that we could take our seatbelts off. I got comfortable, grabbing my camera out of my bag and flickering through my pictures. Doreene leaned back and closed her eyes so she could sleep.
My eyes created a path towards the back where I looked at Jeremiah and that girl who was talking quietly to him while he smiled and listened intently. I giggled softy before snapping a picture of them. It was cute and I made sure to save it and show it to Jeremiah later.
After looking through more of the pictures, I turned it off and packed it away again. I looked out the window, past Doreene's sleeping face and felt my eyes droop with lack of sleep from past nightmares.
"Rose, Rose, wake up sweetie. We're here," Doreene whispered in my ear, awaking me from my much needed sleep. I groaned and rubbed my eyes tiredly before standing up, stumbling when I started feeling light-headed.
"Woah," I breathed, grabbing Doreene's outstretched hand. She laughed and steered me towards the aisle, allowing me to grab my bags and hers before I looked around the empty plane. "Where's Jeremiah?"
"He walked his 'friend' off the plane. He told me that he would meet us outside." She told me grinning. I smirked and followed her off the plane, searching for Jeremiah through the much larger crowds.
"Rosie, Doreene, over here!" I heard him call and I turned to my right to see him standing by a guy in a black suit and black hair holding a sign that said Rose McNeill.
John told me that he didn't have any problem with letting me use their last name seeing as I needed one. I smiled at the sign and rushed over to them, nodding to the man.
"Miss McNeil, I am your driver Rick Kregor, I will be driving you to the hotel and then towards the art show tonight. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer any of them." Rick said giving me a nice smile.
I shook my head at his suggestion and followed him outside towards a black car. It was nice and sleek, making me feel like a famous actress or something. He opened my door and I got in follow by Doreene and then Jeremiah got in last.
"I just need to call John real quick and tell him that we are here," Doreene said, pulling out her phone and dialing the number.
"Hi sweetheart," Doreene started, slapping both Jeremiah and I on the shoulder when we made kissing noises at the phone, "we just arrived."
There was a pause as she listened to John talk. Her eyes grew surprised before angry and then she growled softly. "He did what!" She exclaimed angrily. I leaned over and looked at Jeremiah, and we both mouthed 'Blane'. "Ugh! Tell him that if he tries to make toast again then he will be in trouble by me." She chastised over the phone.
Jeremiah and I laughed at the thought of Blane in the kitchen and Doreene had to 'shush' us twice before we shut up so she could finish her conversation with her husband.
They said a few more things before she hung up with him and grimaced. We gave her a look but she shook her head and muttered a 'don't ask'.
"We are here Miss McNeil," Rick said, stopping in front of a very tall hotel. I gasped at the sight because of how beautiful it was.
"Thank you Rick," I told him, reaching into my wallet and pulling out a twenty. He took it happily and thanked me profoundly. "And please call me Rose; I'm not big on formalities."
"Of course…Rose." He replied, before entering the car and driving forward, away from the hotel.
"So Miss McNeil, lead the way," Jeremiah said, waving me forward dramatically. I slapped his hand away but walked ahead of them both anyways.
I checked us in, grabbing the three room keys and handing one to Jeremiah and one to Doreene. I looked around the enormous lobby, glancing at the groups of people that were most likely in the show tonight. A girl with fine, blonde hair, standing next to a guy with black hair was sitting in some chairs to the right. A red-headed woman was standing next to another woman with black hair, coffee in hand and talking animatedly with the other.
Others were scattered around the room, and I even some girls in bikinis walking out of the elevator. I walked towards it, and put my bags down as did Jeremiah and Doreene as I pressed the 23 button. I hope I'm not scared of heights seeing as I didn't know because I never at heights back in Oregon.
"This is beautiful!" Doreene gasped, walking into room 2304. I repeated her gasp as I looked around the large room. The color was gold and black with pictures of the beach and others sights around Los Angeles. There were three doors, a couch, and a small kitchen filling the room. I was glad that the show was covering hotels prices because this place looked very expensive.
Jeremiah, being the teenager he was, ran towards a door on the left and started jumping on the large bed inside. I was about to follow him, but was stopped by Doreene.
"Jeremiah Fredrick, stop acting like a child and get off the bed!" Doreene chided, pointing towards the ground at her feet as a place for him to move towards.
Grouchily, he got off the bed and made the walk of shame towards where she was standing. I was having a hard time controlling my laughter, but when Jeremiah shot me a look I let it all out.
"Rose McNeil, I know that you were seconds away from doing the same thing so be quiet." My laughter stop and I grumbled under my breath as she pointed at the couch.
"Aww Rosie got in trouble!" Jeremiah sang.
I glared at him for a second before smiling and saying, "I wouldn't be talking Fredrick."
It was his turn to glare and as we were glaring at each other, Doreene huffed and walked away muttering something about children.
"I'm about as old as you Doreene!" I called after her.
"Don't act like it!"
I pouted and walked towards my suitcases and started dragging them to a room. I put the biggest one on the bed and opened it so I could take the clothes out. I put them away in drawers and then hung the dress that I would be wearing tonight in the closet with my heels.
I placed my camera bag on the dresser and then walked towards the bathroom to place my bathroom supplies in.
After everything was where it was supposed to be, I opened the window and gasped at the terrace outside. I opened the door and stepped outside cautiously.
"Oh…my…"I breathed staring at the beautiful view of the ocean in front of me. I had a weird feeling that I was looking at the same thing before but from a different view.
Looking towards the other buildings, I saw a larger glass building that's sign said 'Spirit Magazine'. I frowned, thinking about how weird that name sounded.
Looking back at the ocean, I quickly thought about the pictures I could get and ran towards my camera bag inside, turning on my camera, I pointed it towards the ocean that held a beach on the horizon and a kite flying in the sky.
I took several pictures before turning my camera off and walking back inside.
"We will be leaving in about an hour so I suggest you take a shower now and start getting ready." Doreene said, walking into my room and the same time as me. I nodded, waiting for her to leave the room before grabbing some shorts and a loose shirt to wear before I changed into the dress.
My shower was quick and I used the hairdryer that was supplied to make my hair full and naturally curled. I didn't need to curl my hair thankfully because it was already natural.
I walked out and grabbed my makeup out of my bag, walking back into the bathroom and applying a little powder, blush, eyeliner, mascara, and a gold eye-shadow with a red tint to match my dress.
I walked back into my room and pulled the dress out of the closet, switching out of my regular clothes and into it.
The dress was stunning. Loose red cloth made a strand over both shoulders and curved into a 'v' above my chest. From my chest to my waist, red and gold sequins glittered and wrapped around my frame. The same soft, see-through red material on the sleeves swayed out so I could feel the silky texture run down my legs. Unlike the other dresses that poofed out, this one traveled straight down to show my slip form.
The heels were red and a gold lining on the bottom to keep with the colors. I walked shakily towards the mirror, stunned as I saw my reflection in the mirror. It looked gorgeous on me, I looked gorgeous with it on, and it was amazing. I haven't felt this good about myself since the day I woke up in the hospital.
It was hard, but I covered up the scar on my face slightly so it wasn't as pronounced. You could still see it, but not as much. I couldn't do much about my arms since they weren't covered, but after walking around the town for a month, I didn't care about what I looked like.
"Rose?" Doreene said as she opening my door. I turned to her and gasped at the same she did. I don't think I have ever seen her in a dress before, and she looked beautiful.
"Doreene you look gorgeous," I told her grinning.
"Well you look stunning Rose." She stated, returning the smile. I walked towards my camera and pulled her arm towards the living room where Jeremiah was sitting with an actual suit on, pulling at the neck tie nervously.
When we walked in, he jumped up, eyes widened at the two older women in front of him.
"Whoa," he breathed.
"That's all you got Jerry?" I smirked, twirling Doreene around. She did the same to me and we laughed. "Come on Doreene, stand next to Jeremiah so I can take a picture!"
She did as I said and they took a few before Doreen grabbed my camera and told me to stand next to him next. I walked over and wrapped my arm around his waist smiling happily into the camera. Jeremiah poked me in the stomach as the camera flashed and I knew that I must have had a weird expression on my face so I punched him in the arm.
We were finally able to take some pictures and after I took some with Doreene I put the camera on a table high enough to capture all of us and put it on a timer so we could take a group picture.
"Okay, let me grab my folder and we can go," I told them, taking my camera and putting it in the bag before grabbing it and my folder and following the two out of the door.
As told, Rick was waiting outside for us when we got there. He complimented us and opened the door for us to get in.
He drove us through the streets of Los Angeles, pulling up fifteen minutes later to a large white building lined up with people buying tickets to get in. Nerves started kicking in as we pulled up.
What if they look at my picture and are disgusted? What if they were just kidding and really didn't like it? What if-
"Rosie, you okay in there?" Jeremiah asked, waiting by the side of the car where my door was open. He bent down, and touched my knee comforting. When I didn't say anything and look at him in pure panic he kissed my forehead and took my hand. "They will love your pictures Rosie; you are one of the best out there. Don't worry, let's go enjoy the other pictures and watch the critic's jaws drop in disbelief when they see yours."
I took a deep breath and nodded, letting him pull me out of the car. Doreene sent me a sympathetic look and I smiled at her softly.
We all walked up the steps, waiting for Doreene to take the passes out of her purse. The women nodded and allowed us in.
I took in the sights around me as we walked in feeling as if I looked like a fish. Jeremiah laughed at me, but otherwise had the same look on his face as I did. We walked around the open space, looking at the pictures and drawings that people drew. There were even sculptures and other clay objects that people had made.
A large group of people were standing by one of the pieces of work. Curious, I walked towards them, wondering what they were looking at.
I stared in amazement when I saw multiple photos enlarged in frames scattered around the section of the wall. They left me stunned and when I felt a hand on my shoulder I jumped.
"Told you so," Jeremiah whispered in my ear as he looked at the group of people staring at my pictures. Most looked amazed and some were smiling and writing something onto a piece of paper.
"This is beautiful; I want to meet the person who took these so I can have her take pictures for my company!" A woman exclaimed, looking at the pictures overjoyed. Frozen, Jeremiah walked forward before I could stop him and started talking to the woman before pointing my way.
"What is that boy doing?" Doreene asked, walking up. I stood wide-eyed, not answering as she walked towards me and shook my hand.
"Hello, my dear, I am Evalign Carter, you must be the famous Rose McNeil that has taken these wonderful pictures here!" She exclaimed, wavering her hand towards my sea of photos.
"I am," I said, surprised when my voice sounded normal and composed.
"I am from the New York Times looking for someone like you to work for us as a photographer. You seem like the right girl for the job since I can see the talent you have-"
She continued talking, and soon she wasn't the only one offering me a job. People were talking to me left and right telling me how great I photographer I was. I didn't know how to deal with this, but somehow I ended up standing alone as Jeremiah and Doreene conversed together on the other side of the room.
"Ma'am?" Someone said from behind me. I turned around and looked at the brown-headed girl standing there. She had brown eyes and freckles covering her pale face and I could see her eyes wide and wondering.
"Yes," I asked her, wondering if she was part of another company.
"I was standing next to my father earlier while he talked to you about a job and I know I recognized you, there is only a small difference…"
"What?" I asked impatiently, wondering when this girl was going to spit it out.
"I think it would be easier for you to see than for me to tell you." She stated, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards a section that I haven't looked at yet. A small group of people were standing there when she pulled me up and she pointed towards a large picture mounted on the wall…of me?
What the hell?
I stumbled over to the picture and read the inscription on it.
In memory of Rosemarie Hathaway, a wonderful daughter, friend, and photographer. Forever in our hearts.
I could feel my heart thudding in my chest as I stared at it, feeling like I knew what was going on. Around the picture of my by in a white dress by a rail beside the ocean was other pictures of me at random times. I felt like I was being suffocated, and I felt myself slide to my knees.
What was going on? I was…I was Rosemarie Hathaway, I was this girl.
This dead girl.
"Rose? Rose! Move will you!" I knew the voice but I didn't look up from the picture of me. Someone moved in front of me and my eyes met theirs. "Rose what is wrong?" Jeremiah asked, noticing my shaking figure.
"I-I," I stuttered, finally pointing at the picture behind him. He turned around and I could read the expression on his face but he looked at the words below it before turning around and kneeling beside me once more.
"Doreene," Jeremiah called loudly over the sea of people. I heard scuffling before she was kneeling beside me too, but she had seen the picture first and looked pale.
"We need to find the people responsible for this," Doreene said, helping my frozen form up. I felt my legs give out and Jeremiah caught me before I could fall, lifting me up in my arms. I continued to stare at the picture, feeling an intense headache starting in my head.
I was dead, I was dead, I was dead, the words echoed in my head. Jeremiah carried me out of sight of the place and opened a random door in a hallway. The room had a long table and chairs around it.
He sat me down on a couch I didn't see and told me to wait here while he walked back out of the room. I think I started hyperventilating. These people…they think I'm dead, I don't know who they are and I was so lost I could feel my vision wavering.
I needed to see it again, I had to remember!
I got up, my legs shaking, and walked towards the door, opening it and walking down the long hallway where Jeremiah had taken me.
Once I got to the main exhibit area again I noticed a large crowd gathered around my picture. I started walked towards them but stopped when I noticed a vaguely familiar face in the crowd, and like she knew I was staring at her, she turned and caught my eyes.
So, yes another cliffhanger:) Who is it? haha please review and tell me what you think! Poor Rose and having to deal with her own death! Next chapter will be up (hopefully) soon!