To Catharticone and RandomSugarRush for their help editing this story. I could not manage to do this on my own. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga Characters-they belong to Stephanie Meyer. The rest of this story is mine, though. No touchy! ;)


Thorns

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Do you want to listen to the radio?" She asked cheerfully.

I couldn't believe she was acting like this… like nothing had happened between us. I should believe it — my mother was a selfish whore — but she obviously thought we were going to carry on like she had not just screwed up my life!

"Get fucked!" I told her plainly. I liked the sound of that. It had not felt as nice saying it to any one of the Cullens. Swearing didn't make them angry — only horrified and disappointed. It had never felt right to curse at them. There was very little satisfaction to gain from it.

I could tell I reached Lily with my words because her hand whitened around the gear shift as she changed gears and slowed down. I had never known Lily to drive, but I guess after almost four years she had finally learned how and got a fancy car to go with her fancy new image. Seemed pretty useless, in her profession, but my mother was nothing if not for show.

"Rose," she murmured. "We should talk…"

I shoved my ear buds into my ears instead of listening to her. Emmett had transferred a few dozen of his favorite songs into the cell phone they had given me for my birthday, and I needed to hear them right now. They were not the most romantic songs, but they were his favorites and therefore, they were perfect.

In the middle of some song that was more screaming than actual singing, the cord was ripped from my ears and I jumped. The car was parked at the side of the road and Lily had my earphones dangling from her hand.

"What the fuck?" I demanded.

"I won't tolerate this rudeness, Rose. What's done is done and we have to move on. You have held this grudge too long! I can't even remember that it was about…"

"You're fuckin' kidding me, right?" Of course she remembered! How could she not know?

She was calm as ever, twiddling the white cord around her finger thoughtfully. Her expression was one of sorrow and self-pity, but it was not genuine. It never was with my mother.

"It's taken me a long time to get over what you did — to forgive you," she said. "When you ran away it hurt me very much, Rosebud."

"You know why I left! You didn't even try to stop me, remember? You never came to get me back before now. Why did you wait so long?" I snapped. I hoped she would have something honest to tell me this time.

"You've been at it again, spreading lies, haven't you?" She asked rhetorically. She didn't want me to answer.

I had not been lying. I didn't lie about that!

I scoffed and glared at the dash loathingly as she began to speak. Here we go again…

"There was a doctor's letter that your social worker tried to use to discredit my name, reporting your admission to some sort of assault that you believe went on in our home."

"He tried to rape me!" I interjected. She was delusional if she didn't remember how rough Royce was with me that night. She knew it was the truth. If she honestly didn't, then she was more fucked up than I thought possible.

Lily remained placid and patient, which irritated me further.

"It is a good thing you have quite the reputation for being sullen and untrustworthy, Rose. Your previous foster parents gave plenty of evidence of that," she told me with pleasure. "I think you pissed off a lot of those housewives, dear. You should know by now that women of our breeding are not well liked by other, more common women. Making enemies with those ladies was not in your best interest. Women are catty, darling. They will rat you out if given the chance..."

"That's bullshit!" I yelled at her. "I didn't do anything to them!" However, I felt my stomach sink because I had been pretty terrible in a lot of those homes. It was very possible that my behavior back then had hurt my case now. "It doesn't matter what they said, anyway… That night with Royce happened, and you know it did!"

She smirked and tsked her tongue a few times. "I am afraid you do not have a very good track record for honesty and integrity, my darling. It is hard to believe anything you say."

She was ignoring the issue.

"I'm not lying," I repeated darkly. "And you are insane if you can't remember that night."

"What's done is done," she sighed. Then she looked out the windshield. "You are coming home now, and you need to accept that. The sooner you do, the better off we'll be."

"You waited too long," I told her. "You shouldn't have come back. I was already doing better!"

"Well, I couldn't very well let you run off and spread those nasty rumors about me and your step-father like you were doing. I thought you had let it go, but obviously you still need the attention from me. That is why I decided to give you another chance."

"I don't need you!"

"Don't be silly, Rosebud," she laughed dully. "Of course you do. We are alike, you and I."

I laughed this time. "Fuck! I hope not."

She didn't find it amusing. "It is time for us to let go of the past and move on, Rose. You were making a spectacle of yourself and I am tired of covering up for you, pretending that you were just some spoiled teenager that I could not handle. If you carry on like this, you will end up alone, I'm warning you…"

"I wasn't alone," I argued, thinking of one member of the Cullen family in particular.

"No. You were sent to the middle of nowhere with the Von Trapp family for the summer. For goodness sake Rosalie, that is not where you belong. Those people will only bring you down, make you a commoner — some average Jane. No! You belong with me. I am your mother, and that is supposed to stand for something. We are a team, and I won't let you ruin your future!"

She seemed a little bit pissed at me now for some reason — more so than before. She was not in keeping with her passive-aggressive act as much.

I didn't think very long about what she was really getting at because I was still annoyed that she wouldn't admit what Royce did to me."You know what he did! You were there when he — you were there and you didn't stop him!" I insisted, my voice sounding weaker than I intended.

"Cut the dramatics, Rose. You will only make yourself look foolish in front of others if you choose to continue on with this charade of yours. You can lie all you want to-"

"Fuck you!" I spat at her.

I felt her palm hit my face before I could shield myself. By the time my hand came up to touch my cheek, it was starting to prickle and heat up. I knew my mouth was gaping, but I really was shocked, and there was nothing I could do to repress my feelings. It had been a long time since I had been slapped.

"I said… I won't tolerate rudeness," she repeated slowly giving me a stern glare. Her eyes told me that she was serious about me keeping my mouth shut about Royce. "You can swear all you like, but not at me. Is that understood?"

I glared at her, tempted to test her out, but then again… I already knew her, so I knew she was not bluffing. She would slap me again if I cussed back.

"Is that understood?" She required an answer. I gritted my teeth harder and managed to move my head slightly. It was the only agreement I could muster.

"You can be as stubborn as you'd like, Rose, but this is how it is going to be. I am your mother. I am the boss. And you will do as I say."

And that was the end of that.


The rest of the trip back to the city was quiet. I decided to shut up so Lily would get back on the road and drive. I didn't need for her to continue to tell me that she forgave me — the nerve!

She apologized for slapping me, saying that she was overwhelmed by everything that was happening. I nearly choked on my own saliva when she told me that she was overwhelmed.

What a self-centered bitch!

I knew I could be self-centered sometimes — and I felt bad about it now — but this took the cake. I was the one who had gone to hell and back, not her!

Only, I wasn't sure that this was not hell… I actually missed that tiny little box that the Cullens called "the cabin." I missed the pine smell and the sound of, well… people. There had never been a quiet moment living with the Cullens. Now I was sitting in my new room, trimmed with all the luxuries Lily had always promised me as a child, but it was too big and too empty without Alice and Bella getting in my way. It was ironic that I felt this way. I would not admit it to them if they were here, but I missed them.

I felt more alone now than ever before.

Lily had already left me to get settled while she went out to pick up something for dinner. It was nice to know some things didn't change — she never could cook a decent meal. I thought about leaving the house to piss her off, but I didn't have any money and needed to eat. I had become accustomed to three square meals a day with fresh, prepared snacks in between. Esme had always insisted we eat if we were hungry… Lily hadn't even packed us food for the road trip! I had skipped breakfast so it had been a whole day since I last ate, and my insides ached to be nourished.

I didn't snoop around too much — the house was so bland and neat compared to the Cullens' cluttered cabin. I just sat in my room and fiddled with my cell phone, knowing that I could not call Emmett until tomorrow evening because they would not arrive in Ithaca until then. I had the cabin number too, but it was too long distance and it felt too soon to be calling them anyway. I didn't want to bother them. I had done such a thorough job of pushing them away that I wanted to keep them away.

Emmett was in on it, but promised to not interfere with how I wanted the part with his family. He had insisted, and I foolishly agreed, we should continue our 'friendship' long distance. He was sure we would be together again, and I wanted to believe him. Even if Lily was determined to keep me, she could not hold onto me forever — in three years I would be eighteen. Until then, Emmett and I had an understanding that he would not let his family know how miserable I was, and in return, I would be completely honest with him. That seemed fair.

I had to admit that the new house in Rochester was gorgeous. It was located in a nice, high-end neighborhood, and there was a black iron gate around the property, keeping others out. Or to keep me in perhaps — I couldn't be too sure of my mother's intentions. I was nervous about there being security cameras in the house. I had seen one or two outside already.

Lily was hard to read. It wasn't like she was doing anything outwardly terrible to me... She was being Lily.

I could not very well complain to others about my wonderful new bedroom with the canopy bed and the flat screen and all the furnishings that matched. I had it all according to an outsider's perspective. I was a spoiled rich kid now, and it was hard to think someone so beautiful and well-off could have any serious problems.

My phone shook in my hand and I yelped and dropped it on the bed. It bounced and fell to the floor and continued to vibrate around on the brand new, plush carpet. I scrambled to the floor to retrieve it and saw Emmett's name flashing on the display. He had taught me how to use the phone, but it was still new to me.

I hesitantly pressed the little green telephone button and put the cell to my ear. I could hear a lot of noise from the other end — plinking and ringing and a lot of voices in the distance.

"Em?"

"Rose! Are you okay?" he asked me, sounding just about as desperate as I was to hear his voice. "Are you in Rochester yet? How was the drive? Was she okay to you? Did she treat you properly?"

"I'm fine," I told him. "I— She's the same, Em. She's gone to get dinner now and I'm just sitting here, waiting for her to come back. I am so glad you called!"

"Me too! I wasn't sure I should call so soon, but I couldn't wait! I'm glad you're safe. I can't stop thinking about you, babe."

"I can't stop thinking about you either," I admitted freely. I could hardly hear him over all the background noise, though. "Where are you?"

"At the arcade," he replied, practically yelling into the phone so I could hear him. "I agreed to drive us kids to town for some… fun. I think we would all rather be home, with mom and dad right now, but mom looked ready to crack so…"

"You are alone? Who's with you right now?" I asked him, worried that someone might be eavesdropping.

"It's just me. Bella and Edward are playing air hockey and Alice and Jasper are having some kind of dance off on Dance Revolution."

"Oh. Okay…"

"But you are fine then? Really? I was so worried about you. You have no idea how crazy I've been! You remember that if she lays a finger on you-"

"Everything is fine, Em. She is just how I remember her, but the house is great... She is treating me like royalty for some reason — maybe all the guilt. You should see this bedroom!" It was all I could say. I would not tell him that she slapped me. It would only upset him and enrage him. And I was not lying — not technically. Telling him my room was well set up with a full theater was something he could at least feel happy about.

"Good for you, babe! You enjoy it. That bitch owes you lifetimes of guilt gifts for what she did. Milk it and don't you forget who she really is!"

"I won't," I peeped. I felt sad all of sudden. Knowing he was so far away and we could not talk on the phone indefinitely made my stomach sink and my head spin.

"What are you guys going to do tonight?" I asked. I was eager to know about them all for some reason.

"Uh... Well, this is not as fun as it should be, but we need to kill some more time before we head back. Mom and Dad are packing up and need some alone time, I think. We'll play a few more games here and then we will pick up some ice cream for mom before we go home. You know — that cherry chocolate kind she likes so much. It might… Well, maybe she will appreciate the thought."

He was so sweet.

"I think she will love you for it," I answered.

The phone cut out and then back in and I realized he must have been on a pay phone because I heard him swear under his breath something about change.

"I have to go, Rose. Uh…" he told me quickly. "…I miss you so much."

"I miss you too," my voice managed to squeak out the words as my emotions got the best of me and tears began to fall.

"Hang in there, Rose. I will call you as soon as I am home, I promise."

I wished I could stop crying to answer, but it was impossible. I didn't want him to go.

"Bye for now, Rose," he told me urgently. "I love you."

I wanted to say it back. It was not for lack of trying. The words were just stuck somewhere between my head and my mouth.

Before I could even offer a gurgle of response, the phone cut out on his end and I collapsed into a heap on the floor.

Through my wild, broken sobs I managed to say, "I love you. I love you! I love you," back into dead receiver.

It was too late, he was already gone.


I only got one of my bags unpacked. It was hard to imagine that I would have to live here as it was — unpacking made it seem much too real to me and it was taking me a long time to go through each item in my bag. I had not fully recovered from my chat with Emmett yet and I didn't want to start crying again. Everything seemed to remind me of him. The shirt I wore when we first kissed, the bikini he liked, and the flavored lip gloss her pretended to hate, but secretly he enjoyed the taste of. I couldn't find my favorite jean shorts, though…

Lily returned back at the house fifteen minutes after the devastatingly depressing phone call. Too bad it was not enough time to cover up from my emotional outburst. My face was still uncharacteristically blotchy.

"You've been crying," Lily pointed out over the large dining room table that we sat across each other at. I stuffed my mouth with a big leaf of lettuce and gave her a scornful gaze.

She had brought back salads instead of any real food. I never used to question her doing this before, but I guess at age eleven I was not thinking about how absurd it was that a grown woman couldn't make a simple salad on her own. All it was is a bunch of veggies and some dressing, but she had paid twelve dollars each for restaurant take-out. And these salads tasted terrible! However, I was so hungry that I was determined to eat the whole thing.

"You know how I feel about tears, Rosalie," she sighed as if I had truly disappointed her. "It is a useless dramatic."

There was no good response to that. Of course I knew that she didn't like it, but I was not quite as strong as I used to be. I cared about more than just myself now. The Cullens had made me mushy — they let me cry whenever I wanted and never made me feel badly for it.

"Crying won't fix any of your problems, Rose. You have picked up some bad habits, it seems."

I didn't say anything. In a way, I knew she was right, but I didn't want to think about how hopeless my situation was.

"When you were a little girl you wouldn't cry for any reason," Lily continued.

"Things change," I croaked, my voice horribly pitched as it adjusted to making sound. "I've changed."

"Mm!" she laughed, delicately wiping her mouth with a napkin. Her face smiled, but it was not to comfort me. "I can see that! For one thing, you are even more beautiful than you were as a child — I always knew you would make a lovely teen. And I was right... You are absolutely stunning to look at."

Her smile faded and she put her fork down. "Unfortunately, you've let yourself go and you've lost confidence, Rose. I have no doubt that those hicks tried to tell you that it is what is on the inside that counts and so on… But we both know that is a load of crap! You want to survive in this world? You've got to use your assets. It's as simple as that!"

"Please stop talking," I mumbled at the table. I meant to only mouth the words, but she heard me.

"Your hair is not styled, your eye makeup is smudged, your lips are pale, and you've been in the sun too much. That is not the girl I raised. What is going on with you?"

I looked at her dully, my eyes tired and burning, but I was able to hold my tears.

"Oh, come on, Rose," she sang. "No one likes a sulk. I don't want to see any more red eyes or blotchy complexion from you. Hale women do not cry. You got that?"

I glared at her again, chewing my spinach thoroughly. Esme had somehow made spinach taste amazing, but this was dry and leafy tasting…

"Look," she offered, "I don't want to harp on you, but you have to get over this, Rose. I am not the enemy here. Cheer up, for Christ's sake!"

I felt all my favorite words form on my tongue, but I decided not to use them. She had the potential to make my life hell if she wanted to. I gave her what was more of a confused look and then shoved more food in my mouth.

"We can go shopping tomorrow for some new school clothes," she told me, changing the topic. "Won't that be fun?"

"I have clothes," I told her bitterly.

"No. You have shorts and tank tops. You need a proper wardrobe. Really, Rose. We can afford it. Anything your heart desires… it is all yours!" She beamed at me excitedly. I knew that it had always been her dream to be wealthy.

I was too hurt and confused to think about how she had managed to become so rich so fast, but it was not important in the moment. I just wanted her to shut up. "Fine," I agreed. And I would take her up on it. I would pick out the most expensive of everything if she was willing to pay for it!

"Lovely," she preened. "Oh, and I have a wonderful surprise for you!" I didn't bite, but she continued to tell me about it anyway. "Tomorrow morning I have made you an appointment for some headshots to be taken. Ford Models is looking for young girls for the fall and winter season and I told a friend of mine about you and they insisted they could get you an interview with a rep."

"You what?" I choked on some lettuce. I coughed forcefully a few times, trying to relieve my discomfort. I had no seen that one coming — though, I should have. Lily liked any attention she could get.

"You've always wanted to model, baby. Isn't that exciting?" Lily questioned me. My coughing fit and disgust were clearly not the response she had been hoping for. "This is your big chance. I thought you'd be happy."

"You've always wanted me to model," I corrected her. "And what? Now, because you are too old to whore it up first class, you expect me to come home and be your perfect, model daughter? Life doesn't work that way!"

"You are way out of line," she warned me. "This is a fresh start for us. This will be a good thing, you'll see. You will be a star, Rose." The gleam in her eye was not for me.

"We can't pretend that the past didn't happen," I shouted. "We can't magically become a normal family just because you decided that you wanted a do over!"

"Watch your tone, Rose. I'm doing this all for you — to give you all the opportunities that I never had. You should be grateful for this chance."

"That's real sick! You are so shallow. You have no idea how wrong this is… That is how shallow you are!" I yelled at her. "You only want me now, because of what I can do for you. This will get you loads of attention, won't it? You couldn't have a daughter out there who was more successful than you, that is why you wanted me back. So you could have a piece of any of my future success. That is so sick!"

"Are you done?" she asked passive-aggressively. She was calm, yet fury burned behind her glaring eyes. "You are going to do as I tell you, Rose. You had better get that into your head or I can make your life a living hell. That cell phone of yours is a privilege, one I will let you keep, but only if you keep up your end of things. Do you understand me?"

It was rhetorical. She was threatening me.

"I am not fooled. I saw how that big, dark haired boy looked at you this morning. You seem to be under the impression that counts for something, and I won't come between you two unless if becomes a problem, but you had better be on your best behavior, Rose. This is serious business. If you want to make it big, then you will do as I say. I'm your mother — I know what is best for you."

I clenched my jaw tighter. She seemed to take pleasure in her power over me.

"I'm not asking you to doing anything crazy — it's some modeling, Rose," she said pleasantly. "I expect you to get up tomorrow with a better attitude."

I sank back in my chair, giving up. I hated to do as she wanted, but I knew that an opportunity to get a contract with Ford Models was a big one. It would be good for me if I ever wanted to transition into acting or singing — it was a way to be noticed. "Fuck!" I swore out loud in frustration. "How did you get me an interview with Ford, anyway?"

"Mr. Peck called me about a month ago, asking about you so I-"

"Donald Peck?" I interrupted her.

Lily smiled at me impatiently. She didn't like it when others spoke over her. But I had to sort this out!

"You talked to Pecker?" I asked her again. "I saw him. He was in Blue Mountain a few weeks ago and…" I stopped to think about it. Lily wiped her mouth with her napkin and watched me haughtily.

It was starting to make more sense. It had not been a coincidence that I ran into him up there. He had been looking for me — a spy from my mother. "You sent him to see me?" I accused. "To spy on me and check me out?"

"Don't be so dramatic, Rosalie. It was not like that at all. He called me up a month ago and asked about you. I mentioned you were staying up North for the summer. The stupid fool would not let it go for some reason — he seems to think you have a lot of potential to make a name for yourself. He remembered you wanted to be an actress or singer — or whatever — and was eager to know how you were doing with that goal. I couldn't tell him what you did and that you were no longer living with me so-"

"What I did?"

"Don't start that again, Rose," she told me firmly. "We are not placing blame here."

I scowled at her. "What are we doing here then?"

My mother picked up her fork and stabbed a cucumber with it. "I'm giving you the life that you deserve, Rosebud. You should be thanking me."

"You mean you and Pecker are in on this together? Is that why he was so interested in me? He wants me as a client? I should have known…"

"Nothing has been decided as of yet, Rose. Don't get ahead of yourself."

"You sent someone to spy on me. Sorry if that creeps me out a little!"

"It was not spying. He mentioned he was heading up North for a trip and it was around the time that I was filing paperwork with the lawyer. I let him know that you were staying up there with friends for the summer, and he took it upon himself to look you up while he was up there. Believe me, I didn't want him to know you were living with those strangers. It was embarrassing."

"You are so fucking shallow!" I told her. "They're good people!"

"That is not the point, Rose."

"Donald said he had not seen you in years!" I recalled what he had said that day to me in the parking lot. It was all so shady, but with Lily, it had always been that way.

"He lied." She shrugged. "It is business, Rose, nothing else. He called me, after he ran into you, to tell me that your 'father' had been quite protective of you," she said with an eyebrow raised. "I had a hard time explaining that one to him!"

I wanted to get up and slap the smugness of her face. It was like she was insulting Carlisle and for some reason that sparked something fierce inside me.

"Pecker was being a pervert. Carlisle was only trying to protect me!"

Lily disregarded the emotion and fight behind my comment as she continued. "Pecker was a bit upset about that, but I managed to appease him with a deal. He has agreed to help you with your career, and he made a few calls to some big names here in New York for me."

"So, that's it then?" I asked. "I have to do this?"

She smiled and nodded. "It is quite exciting, Rose. It is going to be a good thing for us, I can feel it!"

She was way too happy about this. Could she not see how selfish she was being? It was not about me. It was about her!

"Whatever."

I was finished with my salad. I had eaten everything but the onions.

"If you are done eating, then you should go to bed," Lily suggested. "I want you well rested for the shoot tomorrow. I told the photographer we wanted beauty shots, just your face, and then some head and shoulders as well. I put some cream on the counter in your bathroom. Remember to put some on before you go to bed, please. It will help with the puffiness."

I got up, leaving my plate on the table for her to clean up, and left the room before I lost it. I was glad she was insisting I go to bed. I could only think of one other place I would rather be, but sleep would have to be the next best thing.


I found the cream she had told me about and washed my face before applying some all over, but especially under my eyes. She was a bitch, but she had been right — I had let myself go. I looked like crap!

I sighed when I saw myself in the big, bathroom mirror. I was not quite sure who I was anymore. I used to want to be this Rose — the one with all the nice things, a big fancy house, adoration from others over my good looks…

But now I was yearning for something a lot less glamorous and far more confusing...

Love.

This summer had been about love. I had never known what real love was until now. It had taken me two months to finally realize it, but I truly loved the Cullens. I loved them all — not just Emmett.

It was a bittersweet epiphany.

Mechanically, I brushed my teeth and then slipped out of my clothing. Then, I went to find pajamas, which of course were not unpacked yet, so I was forced to open up the second duffle bag. I tried not to look at the items and think too much about what I had been doing the last time I had used them — that would only make me cry again.

I ruffled through the top few items in the bag and pulled out some shorts and a top. As I tugged them out though, something distinctively orange and fluffy same out with the pajamas. It fell right into my lap.

I sat there, stunned, starting at the orange fleecy material for the longest time. In slow motion I picked up it and hugged it tightly. My eyes closed and a shaky breath escaped from my lungs. It was Alice's stupid, orange dog that she never slept without.

My heart ached for her — she would have to sleep without it tonight — but I was grateful to have something to hold onto. I didn't bother putting on my pajamas. I feared letting go of this safe feeling.

Instead, I slipped into bed in only my under garments and the dog still in my grasp. I held the stuffed toy snuggly to my chest, keeping my eyes shut firmly.

I would have to dream myself away from this place.

To Be Continued…


Who do you think won that battle? What do you make of Lily's intentions for Rosalie?

Coming up Next- Find out how the Cullen family is doing a month after Rosalie's departure. Carlisle takes the time to have a heart to heart with Emmett about Rosalie.

Thank you for Reading!

Next chapter will be posted on Monday, Oct 4th.