A.N.: Most of the vengeful deaths Rose imagines for Kayla are inspired by Supernatural. Dean is sooooo edible.


Rose Amongst Thorns

Chapter Twenty-One

Consequences


"Anything?" Aimee asked, pulling a cushy, fringed pillow onto her lap so that Rose could collapse on the couch next to her.

"Not a thing," Rose groaned, relaxing onto the cushy plush seat. She needed a sofa like this at the McGowans'. She could easily sleep on it. She sipped her water and snapped her phone shut. She looked at the big, bright blue fish in the aquarium next to her. She looked like Dory from 'Finding Nemo,' with streaks of luminous yellow on her fins and tail. There was another fish, which she recognised as an angelfish from Pogue's home aquarium tank, with the most amazing bright-orange and luminous, almost UV-like blue colouring that shimmered one colour then the next in different lighting. She could sit and watch them for hours—which she just might have to, since Evan had disappeared with her truck without doing the courtesy, after an hour, of bringing it back or even calling to tell her where he was—where her truck was. "Finn is nowhere to be found, either."

"Did he disappear with…Kayla?" Aimee asked carefully. Rose half-snarled and glared at the Dory-fish as she blew bubbles innocently. She remembered a little girl who loved Dory, and her chest cramped, compounded by thoughts that Finn might well have disappeared into the orgy in the woods with Kayla Bird.

"I don't really want to think about that," Rose said honestly, watching the fishes swim around idly, completely at their leisure, while chaos went on around them, peaceful and secluded in their little patch of home. Rose glanced at her friend.

"You're not mad, are you?"

"Why would I be mad?" Aimee asked, propping her cheek on the back of the couch. "It's not your fault Hailey just had her quarter-life crisis. Besides, that girl has spent most of her life torturing me. One night of being a little unhappy is not going to kill her—besides, she's probably already passed out in bed. She won't remember a thing."

"You sound as if you know that for sure."

"I know my sister," Aimee said heavily.

The news of what had happened in the kitchen—or what had not happened but what Hailey Farmer thought had happened between her long-term boyfriend and his new pretty housemate—had spread through the house like wildfire. People had already been muttering about Rosalie Meade, the girl who had moved in with the McGowan boys. Now, the muttering wasn't so quiet, and more and more people were taking an interest in her.

She could deal with the partygoers talking about her; that was just high-school. But she really didn't want to lose her new friends. "Thanks." Aimee squeezed her hand, and Rose offered her the cup of ice-water. She had tried to find Finn to see if she could catch a ride home with him, since Evan was being so discourteous and not bringing her baby back or calling her to tell her it was okay. And that Evan was okay, of course, she wanted to make sure he was okay, too…sure.

All Rose wanted to do now was go home to bed. She had reached the crash point in alcohol consumption where she was just drowsy, and for that reason she had started drinking water, sharing it with Aimee, who needed it a little more than Rose did. But she couldn't go home. She wouldn't hitch a ride with a complete stranger, and she couldn't ask anyone else, because they had later curfews than she did. Evan was gone—with her truck—and Finn had disappeared. Evan wasn't picking up his cell, and she didn't want to call Finn and interrupting something she was having a hard time not imagining deep in the woods—like a Wendigo grabbing Kayla and taking her off to his lair to keep for a few days and then consume painfully while she was still alive…

Aimee had been drinking as much as she had and Pearl and Ria had left to get food with some guys. Rose was stranded. She wished Pogue was here. He'd take one look at Hailey, pick out her deepest fears and neuroses and ruthlessly exploit them, then he'd go on to beat sense into Evan, and then he'd probably kill Finn for dallying with her and Kayla Bird.

"Oh. My. God. You guys!"

Jenna zigzagged into the room from the porch and fell down on her knees in front of the couch. Her hair was a wild mess and her cardigan sweater was misbuttoned. Bobby walked in behind her and leaned back against the wall, eyes at half-mast, looking very at peace. Rose felt that crippling loneliness again and fought hard to make Kayla die a slow and painful death by Bloody Mary in front of her mirror instead of kissing Finn McGowan.

"Jenna? What happened?" Aimee asked.

"Okay, you are never gong to believe who I just saw getting all naked in the woods!" Jenna said. "Hold on. Hold on. I need to be standing for this." She pushed herself up and fell backward into some guys walking behind her. Rose lunged to grab her, but one of the guys stood her up straight before moving on. Sweet guy. Bet he doesn't have a psycho neurotic girlfriend and a brother who's a complete asshat, Rose thought, ashamed of herself for thinking such mean thoughts.

"Who?" Aimee asked.

"Your sister," Jenna said, pointing at Aimee, "and her boyfriend's brother!"

Rose stared. A huge anvil might have dropped on her, she didn't know. There were no chiming keys from a broken grand-piano, but she felt just as stunned and weightless and disoriented as if she had been hit with either of those two things, with little birdies twittering in circles around her head.

Hailey and…and one of Evan's brothers?

There were only two possibilities. Finn or Doug.

"What?" Aimee demanded, looking more sober than she had been all night.

"Which one?" Rose asked weakly, a lump jumping into her throat.

"The 'gangsta' one," Jenna said, laughing uncontrollably as she executed some huge air quotes. "Can you believe that?"

Rose blinked, and fought the urge not to vomit.

"Doug?" Rose managed. "Hailey is out there right now having sex with Doug?"

"Scandal!" Jenna announced, waving her hands.

Rose gaped, shocked. How could Doug do that to Evan—to his brother? How could Hailey do this to Evan? How could Hailey do that with—vomit—Doug!

"This night could not possibly get any more messed up," Aimee gasped.

"Oh," Jenna said, holding her stomach. "Uh-oh." She ran, but they heard her retching just inside the foyer.

"Oh! Nasty!" someone shouted.

"Jenna! Are you oaky?" Aimee asked, and Rose followed her into the foyer. Luckily, Jenna had managed to find a decorative planter to vomit in.

"Oh my god," Jenna said, holding her hand over her mouth. "Oh my god, I'm so embarrassed." She turned on her heel and, shoving right by her boyfriend, stumbled for the nearest bathroom.

"This is… This is…" Rose didn't even know what this was; she and Aimee returned to their couch and sank onto it. Between Jenna's announcement and her regurgitation, Rose was feeling nauseous herself.

"Tell me about it," Aimee said, sounding stunned, looking after Jenna. "She's supposed to be my ride."

"I'm talking about Doug and Hailey," Rose said weakly. She didn't know which situation was worse; that Doug had allowed himself to have sex with Hailey, or that Hailey had actually allowed Doug to have sex with her. Both scenarios were too disgusting to contemplate on insides full of alcohol. "How could they do this?"

"Oh, god. Don't tell me you're going to get sick too," Aimee said, edging away from her.

"No, I'm okay," Rose said, sipping her water. "I mean, aside from the mental image of Doug undressing Hailey."

Aimee paled. "Great. Now I'm going to vomit."

"I didn't tell you about last night at dinner, did I?" Rose grumbled, eyes sliding closed. She was tired. Her brain just couldn't possibly function with all this stuff going on inside it; Hailey taking off, or apparently not, Evan taking off—with her truck—everyone whispering about her, Rose, not being able to call Finn or even the McGowans because she didn't want to wake anyone this late, Evan not answering his phone, Jenna's announcement… Nope. Her brain was going to ping, in the words of Rory Gilmore.

"Aren't you even surprised?" Rose asked, grumbling. She peeked at Aimee.

"About what?"

"About Hailey—and Doug! I mean…Ew! I don't know which is worse; that she had sex with him, or that he had sex with her," Rose said.

"Believe me, you live with my sister for sixteen years and almost nothing surprises you anymore," Aimee sighed.

Bobby cut through the room and stopped in front of them, his hands in his back pockets. "Uh, is either of you sober enough to drive?" he asked. "Jenna's not doing so good."

Rose sighed and glanced at her watch, then hung her head in defeat. It was already quarter-past midnight. The first test of her curfew and she might fail. She made a heartfelt goodbye to Dean and Sam from Supernatural, knowing the first thing to go would be her television privileges if she missed curfew. This night was definitely done, what with the stomach-emptying grossness of discovering Hailey and Doug had fucked. She was more than ready to sink into her bed and just collapse into oblivion for a few hours…until cross-country practice.

Man…I need a new hobby, she sighed. Something that doesn't involve early-morning Saturday training.

"I'm good," she said, shoving herself up, then reaching her hand out to help Aimee, who still looked unsteady on her feet despite the water they'd been draining. "I'm ready to get to bed."


"It's this one, right here," Jenna directed, pointing at a small cape house that was just like all the others on the street. Rose brought the little Focus to a stop and put it in park, not used to an automatic, letting out a sigh. It was twenty to one. She had dropped off Bobby first, who lived the other side of town from everyone, and then Aimee, and now glanced at Jenna, her last passenger.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Sure, I'm sure. It's my house, right?" Jenna smiled charmingly. Then she narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. "They are all exactly the same though, aren't they!"

"It's number twenty-two," Rose said tiredly, glancing at the mailbox.

"Yes!" Jenna said loudly, lifting her arms. "That's it!" Rose slid out of the car; Jenna met her at the driver's door.

"Thank you so much, Rosalie," Jenna slurred, falling against her in a hug. She still smelled vaguely of vomit, though they'd been driving with all the windows wide-open. "What would I do without you?"

"Spend the night sleeping on Christian Todd's couch, that's what," Rose whispered.

"I swear I'm never gonna drink again," Jenna murmured, clutching her stomach again. "Do you have a ride home?" Jenna was wobbling a little bit like she was trying not to fall.

"I'll figure something out," Rose said, looking around at the darkened street, whether it's hitchhiking or running, I'll get home…somehow. "You just go inside. I'll be fine."

"Okay. Well, thanks again. I'll talk to you later," Jenna said; Rose handed her the car-keys, and she watched her walk unsteadily up to the front door; Rose waited for her to get inside, and took a deep breath and sighed, sitting down on the curb. She couldn't postpone it or help it any longer. She pulled her cell-phone out of her purse and scrolled the contact list. Miller, sweet kid, had helped her programme all the McGowans' numbers into her phone, in case of emergencies.

She scrolled down to find Evan's name and hit the call button. When she had dropped off Bobby, she had tried him. Then again at Aimee's house. She had gotten his voicemail each time, and when she heard the little chuckle at the end of his voicemail greeting again, she lost it.

"Pick up your goddamn phone, you ass!" she snapped, and then hung up. She was about ready to murder that boy.

She sighed and, regretting having to resort to it, scrolled down to Finn's name. He was probably at home already, observing the new curfew like a good boy, mentally reviewing his second date with gorgeous dancer Kayla Bird. She just hoped his parents weren't hovering over him, asking questions; she knew John and Regina tended to stay up quite late, taking advantage of the alone-time.

Finn picked up on the fourth ring.

"Hello?"

Rose's stomach disappeared. Her heart flew into her throat, and tears burned in her eyes.

Not Finn.

Kayla.

Kayla, sounding groggy, her voice rich with…with lust. She let out a breathy laugh and murmured something so quiet Rose couldn't hear it.

"You've reached Finn McGowan," Kayla said breathily. "When he's through with me he might call you back."

"Who is it?" she heard Finn asked in the background. Soft laughter from Kayla.

"I'm doing you a favour," Kayla said, not quiet enough for Rose not to hear.

"Kayla, give me the phone! Hello? Rose?"

She hung up, her heart pounding against her ribcage.

Finn was with Kayla. She had heard the kissing-rich voices. The way Kayla had spoken about her.

Her phone vibrated in her hand. Her tears blurred the name glowing on the screen, but she knew who it was. Her eyes burning with the threat of tears, she connected the call and pressed her phone to her ear.

"Rose?" Finn sounded worried. He'd sound high-pitched when she'd finished with him.

"Yes," she said.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Finn asked. "What's happened?"

Tears welled in her eyes, pooling, then spilled over, down her cheeks. "I… Nothing… I was just wondering if you were home already. But I see that you're not, so I'll go."

She hung up, and burst into tears.

She was already screwed. She knew there was no way she could get back to the McGowans' in the dark, before curfew. She knew there was one person she wanted to talk to and that that one person would still be awake at ten to one in the morning.

"Pogue," she whimpered, when he picked up on the first ring.

"What's wrong?" he asked instantly. She stood up, and talking to him on her cell-phone, started walking. She knew how to get back to Bernal Avenue from here, and knew that road would take her right to the McGowans' neighbourhood.

But it was dark, and she was on her own, and no matter how much Pogue encouraged it, she couldn't stay in her cell-phone with him for the whole walk back to stop her getting paranoid that she was being followed or watched. She had no house-keys, knew practically no one in town she could call to ask for a very big favour. Walking home in the dark was very different to driving home in the daylight. She made it to Bernal Avenue just as the clock struck one a.m. She was screwed.

Goodbye, Dean. Goodbye, Sam, she thought miserably. No more Supernatural for a while. She had sworn off social functions for the foreseeable future anyway. She didn't play video games. She could deal with being grounded.

She breached the slope of the first hill of Bernal Avenue, past the baseball diamonds and soccer field. Next came the huge, miles-long stretch of walls and dark-windowed buildings set high on the crest of the overlooking hill, spreading down below the road. The church, a few residential streets. The park, on both sides of the road. Rose kept walking.

A few minutes later, she didn't know how many, but knew she had passed the free-range chickens, Rose's shadow stretched up before her on the sidewalk, created by fierce headlights driving up behind her. She remembered what she had been taught; if someone was trailing her in a car and she was walking alone, she had to walk the opposite direction from that which they were driving, so they couldn't grab her. She glanced over shoulder and recognised Regina's car as it drove nearer, headlights blinding her; the car slowed down as it drew up beside her. The passenger window scrolled down.

"Rose?" Bless him, he had the heart-in-your-mouth concern down. She doubted Ferris Bueller could best him at getting out of school with a fake illness. Finn stared out at her from inside the car, his face illuminated by the dashboard lights. He looked panicked, and tousled. His lips were pouty from kissing.

"What is it, Finn?" she asked throatily, still walking. She was upset, and scared, and weary, and she felt like she was being watched and followed, and the hill was a lot longer and steeper than she realised when driving or running it.

"Get in the car, Rose," Finn said softly. Rose paused, a swell of emotion crashing over her, slumping her shoulders, making tears well in her eyes. "Rose, c'mon." She desperately just wanted to keep walking now to prove a point.

But she knew she couldn't. She opened the passenger door and tucked herself into the seat, closing the door sharply.

"What the hell were you thinking!" Finn shouted, and Rose jumped. She stared at him, the tears that had welled in her eyes dripping down her cheeks. "You were gonna walk all the way home ALONE at one a.m.?"

"Well, it seemed like the only option available," Rose said coldly.

"Bullshit! You could've called Evan," Finn said, eyes flashing.

"What d'you think I've been doing for the past hour and a half, Finn?" Rose said loudly, anger flaring, mixing with the hurt and upset she had been feeling for most of those ninety minutes.

"Well, you could've told me you needed a ride," Finn said furiously, his cheeks flushing angrily.

"Well, you sounded a little preoccupied when I called," Rose snapped back. Finn blushed hotly, and stared at the steering-wheel.

"What happened to your truck?" he asked quietly, some minutes later. "I thought you drove it to the party."

"Evan has my truck."

"Why did Evan drive your truck home?" Finn asked, frowning.

"Because he was going after Hailey and didn't think I'd need my truck back," Rose said throatily. This was dangerous; if he pressed her too much longer, she'd burst into tears again, and she would not cry in front of Finn McGowan.

"How did you get all the way to Bernal, walking?"

"I drove Jenna, Aimee and Bobby home in Jenna's car. I walked from her house when I dropped her off at home," Rose said, holding herself together so she didn't break in front of this slut.

She didn't know who she thought the least of; Evan, for taking her truck and ditching her, Finn, for going on another date with Kayla when he had been kissing her, or Doug, for having sex with Hailey. They were all assholes.

"So you decided to walk all the way home alone in the middle of the night," Finn said, and she realised she had never heard him angry. He definitely was now.

"Well I wasn't going to call your parents and tell them their sons are all selfish assholes and I was stranded in the middle of town on my own at one a.m., was I?" Rose flashed back.

"You could've gotten hurt, Rose!" Finn said, sounding throaty and curiously upset. "You could've been kidnapped or raped or killed."

"And? If I hadn't have called you, you wouldn't even be giving me a thought," Rose said passionately.

"That is not true!"

"Oh, really?" Rose countered, her voice rising with emotion.

"Yes it's not true!" Finn half-shouted. "Because Pogue would still have called me to tell me he was gonna kill me for letting you wander around town alone past midnight." Rose froze. Pogue? The traitor

"Pogue called you?" she breathed, heat pooling in her eyes. She dashed a few tears away with her fingertips.

"Yeah!" Finn said, eyes flashing. "He called me about ten minutes ago, yelling at me for upsetting you, for prioritising another girl before you. He called me after calling my parents to ask what the hell was going on. He was terrified something might happen to you, Rosalie."

"Well, you guys should feel the same way," Rose shouted, tears splashing down her cheeks. "Your parents told you, they said that you were supposed to treat me as if I was a part of your family, but if I was part of your family, you'd never just abandon me at a party where I knew hardly anyone, when I had no ride home." She pushed the heels of her palms into her eyes and forcefully wiped the tears from her cheeks. "If I was part of your family, you wouldn't treat me like this," Rose cried, more tears splashing down her cheeks; she wiped them away roughly and her lip trembled as she curled up in her seat.

"You're right," Finn said quietly. "But if you were my sister, I wouldn't have kissed you, would I?"

"Who's to say who you'd kiss," Rose sniffed, staring out of the window; Finn hadn't moved from the spot she'd climbed into the car; he'd put the hazard lights on and parked.

"What does that mean?" Finn asked softly.

"I heard what she said about me, when she answered your phone," Rose said, her lip trembling again. She just wanted to go home, get into bed, and have a good cry. "Finn, what were you doing with me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Kissing me," Rose said, wiping her eyes. "I thought you said you'd gone off Kayla Bird, so what were you doing, kissing me, and then going on another date with her tonight? Huh? Tell me, what were you doing with me?"

Finn didn't answer. She didn't think he could. He punched the hazard-lights button so they turned off, put the car in drive and drove off up Bernal.

"I didn't know what to do," Finn said quietly, as they neared his neighbourhood, the huge houses set in enormous properties backed by woods and creeks. Rose had her eyes closed, begging herself not to cry any more, to calm down before they got home, because she knew John and Regina would be waiting up for them, very angry that it was half past one in the morning.

They pulled onto his street. "I… Kayla cornered me today at school and I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to hurt her feelings."

Rose ran that over in her mind, as Finn pulled into the McGowan property. The kitchen lights were on.

"Well, that's the important thing," she said gently, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her door. "You didn't hurt her feelings." She slipped out of the car and closed the door quietly.

The front door opened as she reached the porch steps and John and Regina appeared in the doorway, dressed in pyjamas. Their fearful, anxious expressions flickered into something more resembling relief. Rose paused on the doormat, unable to bring herself to look up into their faces; her cheeks stung from crying and her eyes were probably puffy and bloodshot. She felt miserable.

"I know I'm grounded," she croaked weakly. "I'm sorry."

"Why don't you go on up to bed, sweetheart," Regina said softly, running a hand over Rose's hair; Rose nodded miserably and, tears welling again, walked timidly past them to the stairs, climbing up.

She changed into her comfiest, baggiest pyjama bottoms and a soft t-shirt, took off what little of her makeup remained, and climbed into bed. She was fast asleep within a minute.


A.N.: You know how it is when you're really upset, everything just makes you really tired.