"Seth tell me why I'm in here with you? This seems kinda gay" Spencer said as he watched Seth sit behind his desk and load up his computer,
"I just wanted you in here with me"
"Sounding a little more gay"
"Yeah that did sound gay I apologise"
"So what are you doing?"
"I'm gonna try and track down Rose's parents"
"What? Why?"
"Because I've got a few things to say to them"
"But... Seth come on, don't you think that's a little extreme?"
"Have you not seen the scars on Rose's back?"
"Well yeah I've caught a glimpse of them before, why?"
"Spencer its horrifying to see such deep scars like that on someone's back!"
"Yes it is awful but I don't think Rose will be happy to find out you're doing this"
"She's not going to find out"
"What?"
"I'm not telling her I'm doing this and neither are you"
"Seth this is just crazy! You do realise that if she finds out she'll be angry with you?"
"I'm aware of what she'll do Spencer, but it's killing me! I can't sit around knowing those bastards are still out there living their lives not realising what they've done to their daughter. She's scarred both mentally and physically and I want them to know what they've done"
"How are you even going to track them down?"
"I've got some contacts and one of them gave me this website" Seth loaded up the programme on his screen and Spencer looked at it and was quite surprised, "Jeez Seth that's one of the top programmes the FBI use, how the hell did you get hold of that?"
"Like I said, I have my ways" Seth said as he waited for the programme to finish loading, but then he thought about it and cursed, "Ahh crap"
"What?"
"Rose hasn't told me their names so I can't find them"
"Well surely that programme has photos on it so maybe they have records? You never know"
"That's true; if I type Daniels in then it might come up with them"
"Go for it then" Spencer said as he pulled up a chair beside Seth to see what the programme would find. Seth typed in the information he had and then after a couple of minutes, there were soon results on his screen.
"Okay here we go" Seth said as he skimmed through the results until he clicked on a name, "Marcus Daniels... this might be it" the picture came up of a rough looking man with dark features and a menacing look in his eyes.
"Yikes I hope that's not him" Spencer said as he stared at the picture, "What's his current location?"
"Hawaii" is all Seth said shocked, this was obviously Rose's dad as he had similar features and his hometown was Hawaii, exactly where Rose said he was living now.
"That guy has a family?" Spencer said shocked as he read through the details, "And he was in jail for assault... yeah this guy sounds bad"
"This has got to be her dad"
"I'd have to agree with you on that, he looks like a shady and dodgy character and if you say he fits the bill then it's gotta be him"
"I hate him already" Seth said frowning, "And I don't hate people but this guy..." Seth trailed off and leant back in his chair and rubbed at his eyes, this guy had a lot to say for himself. Abandoning Rose when she was a baby and saying it was her fault, how could a parent say that to a child?
"So what are you gonna do now?" Spencer asked as he noticed Seth staring daggers at the picture on the screen.
"Have him followed so I can gather information on his whereabouts"
"But if he's in Hawaii won't that be difficult?"
"With the money and power I have, it won't be difficult at all" Spencer just stared wide eyed at Seth, where had this attitude come from? This was a new side of Seth and it scared him!
"What about her mom? Rose mentioned something about her being dead?"
"Nah I reckon she's still alive, but her whereabouts are a mystery"
"Try and find her on that database then" Spencer replied as he watched Seth bookmark that page for Rose's dad and then he opened a new search to look for her mom. Just like her dad, he typed in the little information he had and soon he had results but not as many this time. He opened all of the records and soon found himself surprised as he'd managed to find who he was looking for.
"Maggie Daniels" Seth muttered as he studied the picture of the woman, yep it was definitely her, she looked exactly like Rose, from the stunning blue eyes and the little button nose to the exact same high cheek bones. It was her alright.
"You reckon this is the one?" Spencer asked as he too studied the picture and saw the spitting image of Rose,
"Yep that's definitely her"
"Where's her location then?" Seth read the information but was completely at a loss when he saw 'Deceased' underneath the information.
"Oh my god" is all he said.
"What?" Spencer asked curiously.
"She's dead"
"What?"
"She's dead, it says right there that she's deceased"
"So Rose was right?"
"Rose only said she'd probably drunk herself to death but she never actually said she was actually dead"
"Oh... do you know how she died?"
"Drug and alcohol overdose"
"Man that's bad"
"It just proves that Rose was right about her, she didn't and couldn't change"
"Does it say where she's buried?"
"Erm... here"
"What?"
"She's buried here in LA"
"Man that's shocking, she was living here this whole time without Rose knowing?"
"Looks that way"
"That's pretty awful" Spencer said quite shocked at the news he'd just heard, "Now's the awkward part, how are you gonna let Rose know?"
Seth sighed and said "I haven't got a clue man; I wasn't expecting to find this out"
"Well you did say you wanted to check up on them and you did, at least now you know what's happened and where her dad is"
"I wonder if he's even aware that she's dead" Seth said thoughtfully as he clicked back onto Marcus's page showing the menacing photo again, "He's got the right to know about it"
"I wouldn't get too involved Seth because it could lead to all kinds of trouble, what if he wants to see Rose? She'd be mortified if her dad wanted to see her"
"That's true, but I just want to help her so badly"
"You have helped her Seth, you've helped her move on from that pain and suffering and she's happy"
"But she's got to find out about her mom"
"So what are gonna do?"
"I'm not sure, admitting the truth would probably be easier but I couldn't bear the thought of losing her over this"
"You won't lose her, yes she might be angry but if you explain yourself then she'll understand" Seth just sighed and ran a hand through his hair, what was he going to do now? Rose was in such a happy mood and he couldn't bear to ruin it, but she needed to know the truth about her mom.
"Should I go and get her?" Spencer asked softly making Seth look at him,
"It's gotta be now?"
"It's gotta be now" Spencer repeated making Seth sigh and say "Okay, let's do it"
"Wow... they seem like such bitches" Alex mumbled to Rose making her giggle at she was doodling on her notepad. It had been a pretty slow afternoon in the studios; Seth had gone missing so nobody could record voices until he was back. So now everybody was waiting around and just making light conversation. But the main topic for Alex and Rose was the bunch of girls that were touring the studios, Artie was showing them around and Rose couldn't help but smile as she remembered the tour that she went on. Artie had shown her around every room and made polite conversation so it was never awkward. The only downside to that was that it brought back awful memories of Harriet and how embarrassing she was when they had the tour. But then Rose had to smile, she was the one that got a job and a boyfriend while Harriet remained a no good whore.
"They're making so many bad impressions, how can Artie stand to laugh at them?" Alex mumbled making Rose giggle again as she looked at the group of girls. They were all dressed in miniskirts and caked in make-up... oh yeah... Seth was definitely going to fall for that look...
"They do look ridiculous I'll admit that" Rose said as she stared at the gang but she noticed one of the girls kept staring at her, she was dressed mostly in black and was quite round and chubby but looked proud. But she kept chancing glances at Rose which was making her feel quite uneasy, "Some people are weird"
"Why?" Alex asked as she noticed Rose looking at the gang,
"One of the girls keeps looking over at us"
"That's nothing to worry about; don't you know we're in a zoo? They'll be feeding us peanuts soon and asking us to do tricks" Rose laughed at that making Alex smile, "I'm not doing Lois impressions all afternoon, Seth better drag his ass over here soon, he's been hiding for a long time now"
"I can go and find him if you want? I'm bored of being stared at"
"Do whatever you like honey I'm not going anywhere, so I'll be here when you get back" Alex replied with a bright smile making Rose smile and then hug her lightly, "I'll be back in a minute"
"Take your time" Alex replied as Rose got up from the couch to head towards Seth's office to see if he was in there. The last she saw of him was when he went in his office so maybe he was still there? There was only one way to find out so she headed towards the offices smiling and greeting everybody she saw along the way. But she got stopped when she heard Artie say "Now if you want to meet somebody interesting then you have to speak to the lovely Rose Daniels" Rose spun round in her tracks and looked at Artie with a bright smile, then she looked at the gang of girls, some were smiling and genuinely happy to meet her, others just kept looking around the room hoping to meet Seth.
"Hi guys what's up?" Rose asked politely and smiled when some of the girls smiled and greeted her in return, "I'm just about to head somewhere but I promise I'll return and talk to you"
"No worries Rose take your time" Artie said and smiled as Rose smiled back and then headed down the corridor to find Seth.
But she kept bumping into people and now it was Spencer's turn to surprise her, "Rose, there you are"
"What's up Spence?"
"Seth needs to talk to you"
"Okay..." Rose replied a little confused but she knew Spencer was being serious so she said, "Point me in the right direction and I'll find him"
"He's in his office"
"I'll go find him then" then she headed down the corridor with Spencer following behind,
"Are you okay?" Rose asked when she noticed he looked white as a sheet and very worried, "I'm fine Rose don't worry"
"You sure? You're not looking so good"
"How'd you mean?"
"You look like you've seen a ghost; you're as pale as a sheet"
"Honestly I'm alright, just not feeling too great at the moment"
"Okay then, why don't you take something if it's that bad?"
"I'll get a drink and it'll probably help calm me down"
"Okay" Rose said softly as she looked at Spencer again, what was he hiding? She'd never seen him like this before, a lot of people were acting suspicious lately and it was very confusing.
Rose stood outside Seth's office and lightly knocked on the door in a specific pattern, a thing she always did to let him know it was her. Seth opened the door a little while later and smiled when he saw her, "You okay babe?"
"I'm fine" Rose said as she walked into the office when Seth stepped aside to let her in, "The question is, are you okay? Because Spencer came looking for me looking as white as a sheet. Has something happened?" Seth stared blankly at Rose unable to put a sentence together, how was he going to explain himself? She'd hate him forever!
"Seth?" Rose asked as she raised her eyebrows and stared at him, "You gonna answer me?"
"I think it's best you sit down for this" Seth said gently as he looked deep into Rose's eyes and knew she was truly and honestly confused now, but she did as he said and was soon sitting patiently on the couch near his desk. "Now just remember Rose that I love you so much and only want what's best for you and I was trying to do the right thing" Seth said making Rose stare at him blankly,
"Okay Seth you're scaring me, what's wrong?"
"I erm... did a little research today"
"And?"
"It was on your parents"
"Oh" Rose said shocked and then stared at him blankly again, "And..."
"I found out a few things"
"Like?"
"Your dad is still living in Hawaii"
"I kinda figured that... and mama?"
"She's..." Seth trailed off then and looked at Rose, she was just too precious to hurt and he couldn't face it... but it needed to be done.
"Seth you're really scaring me now, what have you found out?"
"Your mom, she's... deceased"
"What?"
"Rose I'm so sorry"
"She's dead?"
"Yes"
"You're telling me that my mom is dead?"
"Yes sweetie I'm sorry"
"But... when? How?"
"She died a little over a month ago from a drug and alcohol overdose"
"Sounds just like mama" Rose said quietly and then ran a hand through her hair, "How did you even find out about this?"
"I was doing a little research on them"
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to find them"
"Why?"
"So I could see what they looked like so if I ever saw them I'd give them a piece of my fucking mind! Look what they've done to you Rose! I was thinking of you and thought this was the right thing!"
"By researching my parents? Seth that sounds so creepy and weird!"
"I know it does and I'm sorry but I just can't sit back and let them get away with what they did"
"Well you've already got one parent crossed off the list!" Rose replied and then covered her face with her hands; she couldn't believe this was happening.
Her mom was dead? She was actually dead?
"Rose I'm so sorry I really am" Seth said as he knelt in front of Rose and tried to pry her hands away from her face, he eventually got her to lower them and she just looked blank, "Honey I just thought I was doing what was best for you, you always mention them and I thought maybe if I found out some information on their whereabouts we could go and see them" Rose just stared at Seth then about to say some horrible things, but when she saw the sadness and sorrow in his eyes all of her anger melted away. He was only trying to help and it was a sweet thing to do, she couldn't stay mad at him, he hadn't done anything wrong.
"Honey I'm sorry" Seth said again softly as he ran his hand gently through her hair making her look at him once more,
"I know you are and I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have shouted at you"
"It's okay to be angry Rose, feel whatever your feeling and let it out and I'll be here to support you" Rose just leant forward and rested her head on Seth's shoulder, she felt incredibly numb and couldn't move her arms to wrap them around him. She still couldn't quite believe her mom no longer walked this earth, she was really gone.
"My mama is gone" Rose said blankly as she stared at the wall in front of her, Seth gently leant her back so she was looking directly at him now,
"Yes" is all Seth said and then stroked her face lightly,
"She's really gone"
"I'm sorry Rose"
"Is she buried here?"
"Yes"
"Where?"
"Not far from here"
"She was living here all this time?"
"Yes"
"And she didn't even want to talk to me?" Seth couldn't find an answer to that question so he just pulled her into another gentle hug. This time Rose moved her arms and snuggled closer to Seth until she couldn't get any closer. She needed him now, he was her only real best friend and her everything, she needed him now more than anything.
"Don't ever leave me" Rose whispered as she held tighter to him, "Babe I'm not going anywhere, I'm yours forever" Seth murmured back and then wrapped his arms around her tighter, she was his everything and he couldn't even think about losing her. And he knew that she needed him now more than anything so he had to be supportive and loving.
"I love you" Rose said softly as she untangled herself from Seth to stare into his eyes, he was hurting just as much as she was, she could definitely see that. "I love you too, more than anything and I promise I'll support you through this"
"I know" Rose whispered back as she pressed her forehead against his softly, it was nice to sit in the quiet and think without it being awkward. Seth sat with her quietly and watched her as she stared blankly at the floor, so he decided to kiss her lightly on the lips to bring her back to earth. Rose jumped slightly at the sudden contact but she gave him a small smile and then kissed him back in return.
"I'm free now honey, want to grab a late bite? Take your mind off a few things?" Rose nodded a little and then Seth helped her to her feet as she still looked unsteady and very pale,
"Spencer knew about it?" Rose asked quietly as she stared at Seth,
"Yes honey he was in here when I found out"
"That explains why he looked like this too"
"You're probably right; he did look a bit shaken"
"I wonder why I wasn't told about her death" Rose said curiously making Seth look at her completely unsure of what to say, "I can't think of what to say babe without hurting you, I can't answer these things"
"I'm not expecting you too, I'm sorry" Rose said gently and then pulled him into another hug, "I'm just so shocked and confused, I wouldn't know who to turn to for answers" Seth did have a light bulb go off in his head when she said that,
"There is a way"
"How?"
"Well, I was going to hire private investigators to look into your dad's life to see where he was, maybe I could gather information on your mom and see what happened" Rose looked stunned at that, he could really do that? He'd definitely got contacts in very high places!
"You could really do that?"
"With a bit of money and some talking I could get the job done within a week"
"A week? That quick?"
"Money and people in high places, it wouldn't take much for them to do what I wanted them to do"
"You seem to be full of surprises lately" Rose said as she stared up at him, "And you're proving to be a very powerful man"
"But I'm genuine and level headed"
"I can't argue with that" Rose replied with a small smile, but the growling in her stomach brought them back to reality. "Let's get you some food" Seth said softly as he walked over to his chair to get his jacket and his wallet from out of the desk draw. Then he opened the door for Rose and they walked out of the office hand in hand to head out to grab some lunch.
"They're still here?" Rose asked Alex as she was Seth got back to the studios, the girls had been there since half 1 and it was now close to 4pm. "It's a long tour and they haven't met Seth yet, until they meet him they're not going anywhere" Alec replied making Rose look at him,
"Die-hard fans or obsessed?"
"Obsessed" both Alex and Alec said together making Rose smirk at them both,
"Rough day talking to them?"
"They've driven us mad asking for autographs and pictures and asking us to do the voices and blah blah blah" Alex said and then shook her head, "They'll be gone soon after Seth has finished up with them" Rose looked over at Seth who was engaging in conversation with the group of girls, they were drooling over him! It was quite gross but Rose noticed that same girl catching glimpses at Rose again.
Who was she? And why did she keep staring at her? Fans these days were nuts!
"Rose you seem dazed" Alec said as he studied Rose standing there looking lost and confused about something,
"I'm alright, still hungry though"
"Have you got hollow legs? Surely you've just eaten plenty with Seth?" Alex asked and smiled when Rose smiled and said "It did fill me up but now I'm hungry again"
"Go get some candy then, you eat enough of the stuff" Rose smiled at that and then slowly walked down the corridor to head to the small canteen to get some candy, it had every kind of candy you could think of, from American candy to English chocolate and sweets. But Rose couldn't help but grin when she saw that they had more gummy bears, she loved gummy bears! And fizzy cola bottles! Oh man she was happy about that! But the pain in her chest about her mom came whizzing back and she soon stared blankly at the wall.
"Rose?" came a small voice making her look up to see Karl staring at her, "You alright?"
"I'm fine Karl just sort of zoned out there for a moment" Rose plastered a smile on her face and soon Karl fell for it and smiled back at her. "I see you've got your usual" he said as he nodded towards her hands which were full of bags of gummy bears and cola bottles,
"You haven't had any for ages!" Rose exclaimed happily making Karl laugh and say "Well they're hard to order all the time, especially when you keep eating them so quickly"
Rose just grinned at that and said "You love me really"
"I can't argue with that" Karl said making Rose beam at him, "I've gotta head somewhere but I'm sure I'll catch you later?"
"Absolutely, I'm sure you'll be back for more sweets in a bit"
"I'm not that bad!" Rose replied through laughter as she glanced down at the counter to see what other candy bars she could eat. But she jumped out of her skin when she heard a voice beside her, "It's Rose isn't it?" Rose looked up and saw that it was the girl who kept staring at her.
"Yes it is, and you are?" Rose replied politely making the girl look at her,
"Melissa"
"Well it's nice to meet you Melissa, are you enjoying the tour?"
"Oh yes its wonderful" Rose stared at Melissa and thought she was being quite rude with her tone of voice but she decided to try and strike up a decent conversation, "I bet you're happy to meet Seth"
"I've been trying to meet him for years, he's my inspiration and I love him" Melissa replied as she stuck her nose up in the air trying to make Rose feel intimidated, Rose however just raised her eyebrows and then shook her head and said "He's the reason I got into animation, I've followed his career for ages"
"I'm his biggest fan" Melissa said as she flicked her hair back making Rose smirk slightly, "I really don't see why he chose you as his girlfriend"
"Excuse me?"
"He could have so many other women on his arm yet he chose you" Rose had to bite her tongue from saying something venomous and hateful, instead she remained silent and just stared at Melissa like she was nuts, "He'd be better suited with me to be honest"
"Oh really?" Rose asked as she watched Melissa flick her black greasy hair again, she really wasn't attractive at all and she really needed to sort her clothes out.
"Yes I think we're perfectly suited, especially when I can do great impressions" Melissa said trying to do a very bad impression of Herbert, all Rose did was laugh and shake her head, "Yeah you think it's funny now but one day he'll find somebody so much better and leave you with nothing" Rose was really getting fed up of this girl, but she couldn't say anything back because she'd get in trouble if the girl complained.
So instead of standing there wondering what it would be like to rip Melissa's hair out, she walked off with her head held high without any doubts. Seth wouldn't leave her, they'd discussed this not too long ago in the office, and they wouldn't let some psycho fans get in the way of their relationship.
"Seth, what's wrong with Rose?" Alex asked as she noticed Rose looking blank as she was choosing what candy to get, when Seth didn't answer straight away Alex looked up at him to see he was biting his lip and looking worried.
"What's wrong? Gotta poop?"
"I had to tell Rose something bad" Seth replied slowly,
"What that you have aids?"
"Alex this isn't really a joking time"
"Oh, you're being serious?"
"Yes"
"Well... what's happened?"
"Rose's mom has... passed away"
"What?"
"I found out she passed away and had to tell Rose"
"Oh... shit that's just awful!" Alex said as she stared at Rose who was trying to smile and act happy as she spoke to Karl, but now Alex knew she must be dying inside finding that news out. "Do you know how she died?"
"Drug and alcohol overdose"
"That's a terrible thing to hear"
"I'm not really sure how or if I can comfort Rose to be honest, I'm not sure whether she thinks this is a good thing or a bad thing after everything that has happened to her"
"That's true, this is an awkward situation to be in but it's better to be there for her and just roll with the punches with whatever mood she's feeling. If she's sad then look after her and if she's angry then just accept it, don't get angry as well otherwise you'll say things you'll never be able to take back" Seth nodded at that and processed the advice Alex had given him, it was the right thing to do because it was an awkward situation to be in. Rose was jumbled up inside and Seth didn't know what to say or do in case he upset her or said something hurtful.
"Everything will be okay Seth" Alex said reassuringly as she lightly rubbed his arm, "She needs you now more than anything" Seth smiled a little but noticed one of the girls was talking to Rose who didn't look impressed with the conversation. He'd spoken to the girls and some of them were nice but the rest were awful, doing really bad impressions and just looking silly. Especially the one girl that was talking to Rose, she was just trying way too hard to do impressions that weren't funny. He couldn't understand why people were like that these days, why be so crazy and obsessive? It didn't look good at all!
"I'm really not liking this" Seth said as he watched Rose who was looking frustrated and annoyed, "What do you think she's saying?"
"I'm not sure Seth I can't read lips from this far distance, but it doesn't look good"
"Well we've got time to find out" Seth said as Rose was heading towards them looking completely bewildered and shaken.
"Rose are you okay?"
"I'm sick of people asking me that question, I'm fine" Rose said quite frustrated making Alex and Seth stare at her wide eyed, but then Rose put a hand to her mouth and tried to stop the tears forming. She felt like a complete mess and didn't know what to do.
"Come on babe I'm taking you home" Seth said gently as he noticed now wasn't a good time to ask her what that girl had said to her.
"But-"
"No buts, you're coming with me" Rose looked down at her shoes and then slowly nodded in agreement. Alex walked forward and pulled Rose into a tight hug, "I'm so sorry honey I really am" Rose didn't respond instead she just hugged Alex and remained quiet in case she said something bad. "You go home with Seth and get some rest and sort your head out" Alex instructed making Rose look at her and then nod slowly, she looked so lost it was ridiculously cute in a way.
"You ready babe?" Seth asked softly as he extended his hand for Rose to take, she took it and smiled a little when Seth squeezed it and then led her towards the elevators, "Call me later Seth" Alex called and Seth nodded and then continued to lead Rose towards the exits so they could go home and relax.
It had definitely been an eventful day for everybody, but Seth's day wasn't over yet, he still had a lot of business to sort out!