Rosie was looking out the window at the house next door. It had been about a week since she had found herself in the basement of that place. She was in the library reading. That's where she had been spending most of her days. She had friends come and visit her most days, but they only stayed for a couple hours each time. They were all busy enjoying their last few weeks of summer. Rosie had been invited to do things but a lot of the things she really couldn't do on crutches and honestly she felt like she would slow people down for the few things she could do.
There was a knock on the house door and Ms. Jarvis went and opened it. Dave had taken a couple days off work, but he had to go back, and he didn't want to leave her alone with her injuries he knew it was hard for her to get around on her own. And also, she had been though a lot and knew that mental being alone couldn't help that situation.
Cass came into the library a few minutes later. "You have locked yourself in this house and I'm here to change that. Go get dressed. I'm taking you to lunch." She said
Rosie raised an eyebrow.
"I've already cleared it with your dad." Cass said
"You talking to my dad now huh?" Rosie asked
"Yup. Now come on. No wasting anymore of your summer." Cass said with a smile
Rosie sighed. She was still in her pajamas. She got up and went upstairs and got changed and brushed her hair throwing it up in a messy bun before applying a bit of makeup before grabbing her bag and heading back downstairs.
"Love that bag!" Cass said. It was a mini backpack it was purple and had a bunch of slices of watermelon pictures on it.
"Thanks." Rosie said
They headed out to Cass's car. Rosie crutching. She was getting quicker with them but still was going slower than normal.
Cass opened the door for her, and Rosie got in before Cass went around and got into the driver's seat and headed towards the restaurant. "How's the pain today?"
"About the same as its been since day one. Still taking the pain killers every six hours." Rosie said
"Yeah. When my dad broke his ribs he was in pain for several weeks." Cass said.
"Yeah. Four to Eight weeks till they will be fully healed. Ankle is doing better though. Probably only a day or two more on crutches." Rosie said
"That's great. You'll be able to move around easier." Cass said
Rosie nodded. "I have an appointment with the doctor in two days so I'm hoping that will be my last day on them. And I hope that the ankle will be fully healed by my pool party."
"I'm so looking forward to it!" Cass said. "if you need any help with prepping for it. I can help." Cass said
Rosie smiled. "I will keep that in mind. Thanks. I have already a lot of plans in mind." Rosie said
"Ooh. Want to share?" Cass said
They talked about the party till they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. They both went inside and were given a table right away.
"So. You ready to tell me who it is you are crushing on?" Cass asked from behind the menu.
Rosie chuckled and put her own menu down. "Sure."
Cass put her menu down quickly and looked at her expectantly.
"He already knows. He actually already knew. You all guessed it. Its Nolan." Rosie said
"Eek. I knew it!" Cass said excitedly. "You two dating?"
"Not yet." Rosie said looking at the menu
"Yet?" Cass asked
"He needs time to fully get over the dick head he dated. I want to make sure that he is fully ready to move on, so I don't become a rebound or something." Rosie told her
Cass smiled. "You two have talked about this?
"Yes." Rosie said.
The waitress came over and took their orders.
Rosie got a burger with fries and a shake and Cass got a grilled cheese with tomato soup and a milk shake as well.
The waitress took the menus and went off.
"Any idea how long it will be before you are dating?" Cass asked
Rosie shrugged. "Soon hopefully but not exactly sure on a date or anything."
Cass nodded.
"What about you? Anyone you getting close to?" Rosie asked
"No. Honestly I think I'm happier single." Cass said
"Nothing wrong with that." Rosie said.
"Yeah. I'm still trying to figure out what I truly want so I think I should just stay single." Cass said
Rosie nodded. "That's a really responsible way to go about it."
Their food was brought out shortly after and they started to eat.
When they were done eating Rosie paid for both of them. "You drove. I'll pay."
"But it was my idea." Cass said
"Don't care." Rosie said with a smile.
Cass chuckled. "You certainly have changed in the past year."
Rosie chuckled.
"I mean it. That day at the park with the fireworks. You were this shy girl who I basically had to convince to come hang and watch the fireworks with us. Now you are planning to host a massive pool party and setting off fireworks yourself. And taking control of your own love life and not letting anyone walk all over you." Cass said
Rosie shrugged. "But the last year has also been a combination of the best and hardest year of my life."
"I believe that. Clearly someone in your life has changed drastically. I just don't know where you came from and what brought you here." Cass said
"I know. It's a really long story. But I'll give you short story. My dad is my biological father. My birth caused the death of my biological mother. When I was two I was kidnapped and was being raised by the people who arranged for my kidnapping. I was found last June when I got into some legal trouble with my two best friends and my fingerprints taken and obviously I had to go back with my real dad. The people who were raising abused me. I had to pretend to believe what they believed and hide who I really was. When I was saved from that environment and was able to come out and told those two best friends. They basically decided that I was disgusting, and they cut me off. That girl who was on our bus who I tried to invite to sit with us is the cousin of one of those 'friends' and she worked with her cousin to steal my phone from my locker and made it look like I sent texts to both of those 'friends' to make me look like a bad person so when we went to court their mothers could make it look like my dad was not a good dad to try and get custody of me because in their minds the reason I was no longer following the teachings and religion that I was raised with was because my dad was not letting me and putting thought in my mind that weren't who I actually am." Rosie said
Cass's jaw slowly dropped as Rosie told her, her story. She gasped at certain points. "No fucking wonder you were a shy scared girl…"
Rosie nodded and chuckled. "But my dad and of course you and the others helped me open up and be myself."
"The people who took you? In prison?" Cass asked
"Yup. The couple and their lawyer who is the one who actually abducted me all in prison. The one former friend and her cousin got community service for what they did. The other friend. Wasn't actually involved in the texting things but she still isn't ready to come to terms with me being who I am." Rosie said
"How long were you all friends?" Cass asked
"Me and Lexi. She's the one who wasn't involved. Basically, since I was two. Paige came in when we were about six. We were completely inseparable. I don't think a day went by where we didn't at least talk. We went to the same school. We were all in the same religion. Going to the 'church' two to three times a week. Every weekend there was a sleepover at someone's house." Rosie said. "They were basically my sisters. I lost everything and everyone I knew in less than two months."
Cass shook her head. "I'm so sorry."
"Thanks. I'm honestly happier now. But I'm still holding out hope that Lexi will come around. Start to see what I have been seeing for years. The religion is very toxic and as time goes on I am seeing very cult like. I know Paige will never and honestly I don't care as much to give her a second chance. But when Lexi contacts me in the future with an apology and wanting help to get out I will be there." Rosie said
Cass smiled. "You're such a kind loving person. This is part of the reason why the list of people who like you is so long. They can see you are so kind-hearted and want you as their person."
Rosie smiled and blushed.
"And the fact that you are drop dead gorgeous certainly doesn't hurt." Cass said
Rosie blushed deeper and looked down.
"Okay. I'll stop." Cass said, "Do you want to do something else?"
"Bookstore? My TBR shelf has dropped exponentially this summer. Even more the last week. I have just one book left to read." Rosie said
"Yes!" Cass said. "I need to pick up a gift for my cousin for her birthday. And she's a big reader too. I could honestly use help figure out what to get her anyways. I think you will be perfect."
"Gladly." Rosie said the two of them went to the bookstore.
Rosie picked out a few books that she knew she wanted to read and helped Cass pick out a couple books for her cousin. They went to the cash and started to pay.
"How many books do you have?" Cass asked
"I don't know." Rosie said with a chuckle.
"If you have a thousand books you are considered a library." The cashier told her
Rosie chuckled. "Well between my books and my dads I'm sure we have over a thousand."
"Is that where you get your love of reading from?" Cass asked
"I don't know. Maybe, I can always remember loving reading." Rosie said
"Often if parents read to their kids from a young age it instils the love of reading." The cashier said
"I don't remember if my dad read to me. I um. Didn't live with him from age two to thirteen. And the people I did live with read to me from the bible but that's about it." Rosie said
The cashier nodded.
"Well. I am going to come over and help you count your books." Cass said changing the subject
Rosie chuckled. "Okay."
They finished checking out and Cass grabbed both their bags. "You have enough issues walking. I can carry the bag."
Rosie didn't argue they headed out to Cass's car and started for Rosie's place. When they got there they both went inside. No one else was there. Ms. Jarvis had been told she could go when Dave knew Rosie was out. Rosie texted her dad and let him know she was home knowing he would appreciate knowing that she was home, and Cass was there.
The two girls went up to Rosie's room.
Cass set the bag of books on Rosie's bed and Rosie sat taking the new books out. "Do you always buy your own books?" Cass asked
"About half and half. Half I buy half are bought for me. Either gifts or if my dad takes me to the bookstore he buys them. He has told me I can always use the credit card he gave me to buy books, but I make my own money and I will not spend his unless he is with me and literally cant stop me." Rosie said with a chuckle.
Cass chuckled "Your dad trusts you with a credit card. Damn."
"Yeah. Its got a low limit." Rosie said "But he wants me to have it for emergencies. With him working out of state a lot. There is always someone with me overnight. But he wants to make sure I'm always covered if he is out of state for several days." Rosie said
"That makes sense." Cass said
"I'm pretty sure he has some thing on it that he gets a notification to either email or text every time it gets used. I've had to use it twice and he knew about it the same day." Rosie said. "I'm sure that's because of the stunt I pulled the first week I was living here."
Cass tilted and smirked. "What did you do?"
Rosie chuckled. "I had a credit card that the people I thought were my parents had given me to use for a school trip and I had never given it back. Just forgot. And I wanted to go back to California to get some sort of closure with them when I was here. So. I used it with my id's with my old name and bought a plane ticket back to California."
Cass put a hand over her mouth and stifled a laugh.
"Yeah. He was not happy. He took the credit card and the ID's and cut them up and threw them out. It was a few month later he gave me the credit card that I have now with explicit warnings that if I pulled something like that again he would take it away and I would never get another one." Rosie said
"Yeah. I bet." Cass said
"I was so messed up. It was stupid but I got the closure. Anyways." Rosie said. Putting the new books on an almost empty shelf of her bedside table.
Cass went over to the bookshelves in the room and started to count.
"I don't have a thousand books. I'm positive." Rosie said
"Well. Still curious." Cass said
"Alright. Knock yourself out." Rosie said. She unwrapped her ankle and rubbed at it.
Cass noticed. "Its hurting?"
"Yeah. And my ribs too." Rosie said
"You due for some more pain killers?" Cass asked
Rosie looked at the time. "No. Couple more hours. I have been moving more today."
"Is that bad?" Cass asked
"No. I didn't try to run a marathon. I'm allowed to move around some. I think the fact that I have to use crutches doesn't help the ribs though. Which is why I'm looking forward to having to use them anymore." Rosie said
"What can help?" Cass asked
"Ice. And rest at this point." Rosie said
"I'll go get you ice." Cass said stopping her count and going downstairs to the kitchen and the freezer and finding an ice pack. Dave came into the house and heard noise in the kitchen and went in seeing Cass.
"Hello." He said with a smile
Cass looked up and smiled. "Hello. Just getting Rose an ice pack."
Dave nodded. "You don't need to explain. You are welcome to anything in the fridge or cupboards." He said, "She in a lot of pain?"
"Yes. And she isn't due for anymore painkillers for a couple hours." Cass said
"Okay." Dave said
Cass went bringing her the ice pack and handing it Rosie who put it on her side where the pain hurt the most and closed her eyes.
"Your dad is home." Cass said
Rosie nodded.
A few minutes later Dave came to the room and saw her laying on her bed with the ice pack. "Pain on a scale." He said
Rosie didn't open her eyes. "Seven." She said. "I moved more today that I have been since they broke. So. it makes sense."
Dave nodded. "Ribs anymore swollen than normal?"
"Probably." Rosie said
"Well. Just rest." He said. "What did you girls end up doing?"
"Lunch and the bookstore." Rosie said
Dave chuckled. "How many new books?"
"Four." Rosie said with a smirk.
"Not bad." He said
"Did you know that if there are a thousands books in one place it can be considered a legit library." Rosie said
Dave laughed. "I did not."
"There much be at least a thousand downstairs alone." Rosie said
"Probably." Dave said
"There are four hundred just in here." Cass said
"Yeah. The cashier at the bookstore told us about the thousand book thing and Cass felt the need to count my book." Rosie said with a smile.
Dave smiled and looked at her shelves. "Your second shelf unit is already getting full." He said
"Because my first one was overflowed already when I got the second one." Rosie said
"Not a bad thing. Just an observation. We can get you another one soon. Probably the last one you will be able to fit in here though." He said
Rosie chuckled. "Are you saying I need to slow down on the book buying?"
Dave shook his head and smiled "You are always allowed to buy as many books as you want. "We will figure out how to store them if the need arise."
Cass looked at her phone. "Crap. I'm going to be late for getting home."
"Thank you for taking me out. I had a lot of fun." Rosie said
"It was fun for me too. And thank you for helping me pick books for my cousin." She said before saying bye to both of them and heading out.
"Don't speed just because you don't want to be late." Dave told her.
Cass smiled. "I wont." She said
Dave looked at Rosie. "How's the ankle." He said noticing it was elevated and unwrapped.
"A little sore too. But can only ice one thing at a time." She said
"Fair enough. Have you been taking a painkiller every six hours since the beginning?" He asked
"When I'm awake yeah. But I do tend to sleep over six hours." She said
"How bad is the pain on average?" He asked
"When I wake up in the morning its usually a seven. When the meds are working more like a two or three. And the meds usually work right up to the six-hour mark. But I also haven't been doing much till today." She said
"Longest you have gone while awake without medication is the six hours?" He asked
"Yes." She said. "I only take one at the six-hour mark. And yes. I always need it. Honestly I could use it right now, but I will wait the two more hours. I just wont be moving till than." She said
Dave nodded.
"Why are you so concerned about the medication?" She asked
He took a breath "Your mother. Didn't talk much about her biological family. The only thing I knew was her father and grandfather were both addicts. And there can be a genetic predisposition." He said
Rosie opened her eyes. "Was my mother?"
"No." Dave said.
Rosie nodded. "The people I was living with. They drilled into me not to do drugs. I guess she had a similar issue with her family. I didn't ever know them, but I guess there was some addiction in that line as well." She said
Dave nodded.
"What was her last name?" Rosie asked her eyes closing
"Nowak." He said
Rosie's eyes shot open, and she shot up to sitting before whimpering. "WHAT?" she said
"Okay. Don't move so fast. What's wrong?" Dave asked sitting next to her.
"T-that was her birth last name…" Rosie said
"Who's?" Dave asked
"Beatrice's…" Rosie said
"What?" Dave asked. He was starting to put together things in his head. "That's not what was said in court." Dave said
"Its cause she legally changed her name. But I saw her birth certificate at one point. I asked her about it. She lost her shit on me." Rosie said. "When he came home I heard them arguing. He came and spoke to me, and it was the one time he apologized for how she reacted and told me she had a lot of trauma associated with her birth last name and never to bring it up again…" Rosie said
"Your mother. Did have a sister… She never talked about her. But I knew she existed." Dave said
"D-do you think?" Rosie asked
"Maybe." Dave said
Rosie tried to stifle her tears with a laugh, but she just broke down. Dave wrapped her in a hug and held her close as she sobbed into him.
Dave shook his head. A lot of things that he had questions about started to make sense. How did this couple know about a girl on the other side of the country? Who had the same name. Who looked enough like their daughter that could pass as their daughter. If Bianca had talked to her sister. Even just once about being pregnant at the same time. If they had talked about baby names. Although he didn't know why her sister would use the same name that he and Bianca had intended to use.
Rosie sobbed herself to sleep in Dave's arms. Dave laid the girl down on her bed and covered her before going downstairs and calling his lawyer
"Well. I think I have some answers that we wanted answered in court, but they wouldn't answer." Dave said when he answered.
"Oh?" Mr. Bell said
"Beatrice's maiden last name. Is not her birth last name." Dave said
"How did that not come up on court? Rosie knew? Why didn't she say anything?" The bell asked
"Because Rosie found out when she found her birth certificate. And asked. Apparently Beatrice didn't take it well and lost it on Rosie. And was told by Darrel to never bring it up again because she had a lot of trauma with that name." Dave said. "I think she was scared not to. And maybe forgot."
"Okay. Well what questions does this answer?" Mr. Bell asked
"Her maiden last name was Nowak. That is Rosie's mothers last name. It could explain how they knew there was a girl on the other side of the country. Who could pass as their daughter. Bianca didn't talk about her family and as far as I knew never talked to any of them, but she did have a sister. If they talked just once when they were both pregnant. Maybe they decided to give their babies the same first name for some reason." Dave said
"Wow." Mr. Bell said. "Yup. That would explain a lot."
Dave let out a breath
"Do you want me to do something about this? Maybe find a way to use this to get them more time. They lied about her name. Her birth last name should have been given." Mr. Bell said
"I honestly don't know. Maybe we can leave that up to Rosie. She's currently asleep in a lot of pain because of the broken ribs." He said
"Girl cant catch a break can she?" Mr. Bell asked.
"No. She really doesn't get a break." Dave said
"I'll look into all this." Mr. Bell said
"Thanks." Dave said. "I think Rosie realized. She was being raised and abused by her biological aunt." Dave said
"It crossed my mind too. By DNA does not stop being from abusing." Mr. Bell said
"I know. It bugs me that we don't know where this other little girl disappeared to. She was just an innocent child in all this too." Dave said
"That is being looked into too." Mr. Bell said
"I know." Dave said
"And I think our minds all go to she was being abused too and they took it to far and they killed her. And buried her somewhere. The question is where." Mr. Bell said
"Yup." Dave said
"And it might be she is one of those people who will never be found." Mr. Bell said
"I know. And if she really was Bianca's niece, it almost makes me sadder. She was my daughter's cousin." Dave said
"Yeah. It really is just not right." Mr. Bell said
They talked a few more minutes before they hung up. Dave went and checked on his daughter who was still asleep.
He went to the living room and turned on the news. Rosie came down an hour or so later.
"How come you didn't know they my mother's sister had baby around the same time?" Rosie asked
"I didn't even know her sister's name." Dave said looking up
"You were an FBI agent. You didn't use the resources to your advantage?" She asked
"We aren't supposed to do that. Its not allowed." He said
"But you knew I had biological family on that side. You didn't think I had the right to know them? I had a cousin. And we don't even know what happened to know." Rosie said "What if she is out there somewhere?" Rosie asked
"The lawyer is looking into it. With the new information. He has connections to law enforcement in California." Dave said
"But they aren't you. They aren't some of the best FBI agents in the world." Rosie said
"Rosie. This wouldn't be an FBI case." Dave said
"My case was. I was taken across state lines. That is connected to whatever happened to their daughter." Rosie said
"Yes. But whatever happened to their daughter likely happened in California." Dave said. "And until we know different there is nothing the FBI can do." Dave said
"Than how was my case of abduction last week an FBI case. It didn't cross stateliness." Rosie said
"The local law enforcement allowed our involvement." He said.
"Well cant you ask the California police to be involved?" Rosie asked
"Rosie. This has been being investigated since things came out. All the leads have been followed. There is nothing we can do that they haven't already done." Dave said
"Please." Rosie asked her dad
"Rosie. I have Captain Franklin keeping me up to date on the investigation." Dave said
"What is she is still alive, and her DNA is in one of those DNA things?" Rosie asked
"We can mail out for a kit. And get your DNA in their system." Dave said
"Okay." She said turning and started to walk away mumbling something under her breath.
"Hey!" Dave said sternly. "Come back here. Now." He said
Rosie ignored him and continued to crutch away and headed towards the elevator.
Dave got up and went after her. Catching up quickly as she was moving slow. "My office now." He said
Rosie sighed and went and sat in his office. Dave went and sat in his chair in front of her. "I understand. You got hit with some information you didn't know. I understand you are angry and hurting. Both because of this new information and the ribs and ankle. But I am not the villain in this situation. I have done everything I can to help the police out there. So has Aaron. Even before I knew about this information. I wanted that little girl found too. I still do. But there is nothing that can be done without someone coming forward or more information being found." Dave said
Rosie sighed.
"Now. Care to repeat what you said when you were walking away?" Dave asked
"No." Rosie said
"I will let the police know this new information. Maybe that will lead to something." Dave said
Rosie nodded.
"And we can do any of those DNA things. If you want to." Dave said
"I want to." Rosie said
"And maybe. Something will come from that. If not right now. Maybe in the future." He said
Rosie nodded again.
"And I know its easier to take your frustrations out on me. But I am not the villain here. And that's not fair." He said
Rosie looked down and nodded. "Sorry."
Dave gave her a hug.
Rosie hugged him abit
"How's the pain?" Dave asked
"Better." She said
"You take your pain killers?" He asked
"No. The rest and ice helped a lot." She said "It's at a four right now. I'm not going to take any unless it gets back up." Rosie said
Dave nodded. "Are you hungry?" he asked.
"Not really." Rosie said
"Alright." Dave said "I'm going to make a quick dinner for when you are." He said
Rosie nodded. "I kinda feel like lying down again."
"Go ahead." He said.
Rosie went up to her room and feel back asleep not waking up till the next morning.