A/N: Here's another update. I'd estimate that the story is about half over (ish), just so you know. You finally find out what happened to Rose and Tom, and Tom's perspective will be next. I'll update as soon as I can, but I haven't even started writing the next chapter yet, so we'll see when I get around to that. Enjoy, and reviews are much appreciated!
Oh, and another thing. I've recently published a couple other Tom/Rose fics, go check them out! Titles: How I Do Special, and Kismet. Thanks!
~Star
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Rose
My family had given me the best Christmas present ever, I thought at the time. Now I wish I had never gotten that present.
It was a very big box. Filled with packing peanuts and tissue paper that I scooped out as only someone who has been presented with a very large package can. And after all that scooping, I was surprised to find nothing in the box after all.
Indy burst out laughing at my outraged look. "Look again," he said between giggles.
I glared at him, but glanced back into the box. There, taped to the bottom, was an envelope. I peeled it off and opened, overjoyed to find—
"A plane ticket! Oh! Oh, Daddy! Mummy! Oh, oh, Indy, I get to go see Tom! All by myself! In New York! Oh, Mummy! Oh, Daddy! Thank you, thank you!"
Everyone was laughing now, just as delighted as I was.
"You'll be staying in a hotel in New York for three days, Rose. I know its not very close, but you can use a taxi to go see Tom, because I won't have you driving on the wrong side of the road yet," said Daddy. "Just look where that got Saffy and Sarah."
Saffy and Sarah decided that after university they wanted to See The World, so they went off to the continent. Sarah turned out to be very good at driving "very fast and on the wrong side of the road" (as Saffy said) so they were now somewhere in Greece. We think.
Sarah's mum handed me an envelope. "This is our contribution." The envelope had American money in it. "It's leftover from our trip, and I thought you could use it."
"I can! Thank you!" I was still reeling from the news that I would get to go see Tom all by myself.
"Make sure to breathe," Indy said, still laughing.
Mummy made me promise to phone every night and to only go places with Tom or Tom's family and to take lots of pictures (Saffy and Sarah had sent me a new camera) and Bill made me promise to listen to the adults and not do anything dangerous and Indy made me promise to give Tom his present (a family picture and a CD) (mixed by Indy) and Saffy and Sarah rang up and made me promise to say hi to Tom from them and I was nodding and jumping up and down and running around to look for things to pack. Bill looked at Mummy with a look that said Really Was This A Good Idea and Mummy patted his back and said Of Course Of Course Darling Look How Happy You've Made Her but I was too busy to care.
Too busy packing.
Because the plane ticket said Good Any Time, and I wanted to go now.
"Not for another day or two at least, Rosy Pose," said my ever-bewildering but well-meaning father. How could he not understand? I hadn't been to New York since I was eight and I hadn't seen Tom since my wonderfully confusing birthday and I didn't know if he still wanted to kiss me and I had to find out now.
The next two days passed in a blur of packing and preparations and a plane trip (all by myself!) and a taxi ride and then I was at Tom's house.
I knocked on the door, hardly able to contain my anticipation. Tom's father answered, and gestured up the stairs.
"Hey, Rose, Tom's up in his room." He knew how much I wanted to see Tom, right away. As I dashed up the stairs (after taking off my sneakers) he called after me, "He has a friend over!"
I paid no attention. I was wrapped up in my mind, imagining this meeting. "Hello, Permanent Rose!" Tom would say, like he did when he was particularly happy to see me. I would reply with a smile and dash into his arms and he would hug me and spin me around like he always did when I jumped into his arms. And we would laugh and talk and kiss and everything would be perfect… I heard voices, one of them female, but was too involved in my imaginings to care. …And then we'd spend my whole trip together, Tom showing me the city like he couldn't when I was eight, perhaps a romantic evening… I flung open Tom's door and stopped short in surprise.
Tom was not alone. No, he very much had a guest.
And
she
was
kissing
my
Tom.
.
And
he
was
kissing
her
back.
.
I must have said something, but I'm not sure. All I remember is the look on Tom's face, shock and horror and someone else's lipstick smeared all over his mouth—
God, I'm making myself cry. I knew I should have just forgotten about this night. I try to move on, but every time I do I hear Tom's voice calling after me as I dashed down the street and into the subway station, intent on getting lost on the trains. "Wait for me, Permanent Rose! I'll explain! She's nothing to me, nothing, not like you are. Come back, Rose!"
And being blinded by tears, stupid with sadness and betrayal, running away from the one person I thought I'd love forever…
I can't do this. I can't think about this anymore.
I'll do what Indigo does, when he doesn't want to think. When he wants to forget all about Sarah and forget that she left with Saffy, left for years and hasn't come back and has who-knows-how-many boyfriends in who-knows-how-many countries (says horrible Daddy).
I'll listen to loud, loud music.
But not Tom's music.