Copyright © MonMoncheese
All Rights Reserved
45 Published 04.10.2020

•••

JAMES

Something was wrong.

I could feel it just as much as I could tell from the way her voice seemed less chirpy than usual.

The hesitation in her voice not going completely unnoticed by me.

I noticed.

Something had happened to her, but there was no way she would tell me.

Not now, at least.

After a few beats of silence, I bite my lip before uttering my next words.

"I missed you," I say softly.

"Why?"

I frown at her response.

Why?

Something about the way she said it irked me.

She said it in a way like she didn't mean something to me.

As if she didn't think I would miss her.

But she was wrong.

Because I did miss her.

Every day I look forward to hearing her voice.

To her messages.

Her jokes.

To her.

"Baby, what do you mean?" I ask, not understanding her question.

There is no response, the only thing I hear is the knock in the background.

A voice following after it.

"Roseanne, can I enter?"

I raise an eyebrow at the name.

Roseanne?

It's a name.

A name I've never heard before.

"Give me a moment, James." I hear Rose say and I simply hum in response.

"Come in." She yells.

Waiting a second. 

The voice called for Roseanne.

And Rose answered.

Is Roseanne, Rose?

If she is, then Roseanne is her real name.

"Hi," I'm cut off from my thoughts by a voice.

A male one.

"Were you talking on the phone?" I hear him again.

His voice remained distant, but I could still hear it clearly.

"Yeah," She says quietly. "Did you just come from training?" 

Judging by the familiarity in her voice, it was someone she knew very well.

But Rose never talked to any other guys besides me, did she?

"I did, it was hell today." The guy responds.

For a few seconds, I hear nothing.

And I begin to frown at the silence.

I felt...annoyed.

Confused by this feeling, I tug at my hair.

Why weren't they speaking?

"Did you sleep last night?" The guy says and I can't help but sigh quietly. 

"Not really." Rose mumbles. 

The nightmare.

That's why she didn't sleep.

It must have been worse than I thought if she remained unable to sleep. 

"I'll go then," He says. "Get some sleep later, okay? Love you."

Love you?

He loves her?

"Love you too." She says quietly.

They love each other?

Who is this guy?

Whoever he was, I did not fancy him.

My eyes widen when I realize that no one is talking and I check the phone to see if ended the call.

But she didn't

I open my mouth to speak but I Rose beats me first.

"Sorry James, I was talking to Nathan, my brother."

Her brother?

That male voice belonged to her brother?

Knowing that she was talking to her brother seems to give me some type of relief and I can't help but smile in content.

"James?" I hear her voice and I'm taking out of my reverie. "Are you still there?

"I am, baby. I am." I mumble as I lean down on my bed, my eyes coming in contact with the roof. 

Rose. I think to myself before I go rigid.

Her name.

Placing an arm under my head, I proceed to speak. 

"Roseanne. Is that your name?"

There is a gasp as soon as I repeat the name, and I take that as my answer.

"Yeah," She sighs. "I guess it's okay for you to know. I usually go by Rose, but my name is Roseanne." 

Her name is Roseanne.

Rose.

My Rosie.

My lips turn into a smirk at my thoughts and I shake my head at them.

"I've never heard of it before," I tell her.

"Really?" I close my eyes at the sound of her voice.

It was almost back to normal.

She sounded better than she did earlier.

Whatever caused her mood to brighten, I was thankful for it. 

"Mhm, it's my first time hearing it, and I think I love it." I smile.

"Are you okay?" She laughs and I seem to drown in the sound of it.

With a sheepish grin, I answer. "Sorry."

Through my happiness, I seem to have forgotten about her previous mood and I curse at myself for having to do this, but I need to know the reason behind it.

With an angry sigh, I find the courage to speak.

"Rose, earlier I said I missed you." I bite my lip to stop my lips from moving, but there's no use. I have to do this. "And you asked me why, what did you mean by that?" 

I expect her to dismiss my words like she usually does, but I'm wrong.

"James," She mutters quietly. "I'm tired." 

I stand up from the bed in alarm and the unsettling feeling in me seems to appear again.

She's tired?

Everything about her words and the way she said has me concerned.

Pacing around the room, I feel my heart begin to race furiously. 

"Rose, what are you talking about?" I grit through my teeth.

What the fuck did she mean?

Instead of answering my question, she simply continues. 

"I feel empty."

At this point, I feel a headache make its way to my head.

"I want to meet you," My eyes widened at her words and I stop pacing around. "But I'm scared." She continues.

"Scared?" I frown.

"I don't want you to hurt me." Rose whispers and I feel myself calm down at her words.

"Baby, I wouldn't hurt you." I shake my head as I say this.

I couldn't imagine myself hurting her.

Not intentionally.

It was quite the opposite.

I wanted to cherish her.

To make her feel safe.

But most importantly, I wanted to meet her.

"I want to believe you, but I can't." She responds and I sigh in frustration.

How could I make her believe that I care for her?

Unless...

Was it time to let her know?

I look down at the fist that is clenched next to me in anger.

She wants to meet me, but she's scared. 

There was no doubt then.

It was time.

She needed to know.

"Rose," I call out. "I- I love you."

"What?" She breaths out.

"As a friend. I love you to the point where I trust you. And I want you to trust me too. I love you because I truly feel a deep affection for you. I love you because you finally succeeded in winning my love."

"You love me." She mumbles to herself.

"I do." I smile.

"Does this mean I finally succeeded in winning your love?!" She exclaims.

I let out a laugh as I shake my head at her. "I love you because I care about you as a person. I don't love you romantically." 

"Awe," Rose groans and I smile at her cuteness. "And here I thought you loved me romantically." She lets out a dramatic sigh filled with utter disappointment.

At the thought of loving her, I feel the flicker of a flame igniting deep within my chest.

Completely unaware of what that flame meant, I smile in happiness. 

Don't worry, I'm not too far loving you.

○○○

MY DARLINGS!

MORE APOLOGIES FOR NOT UPDATING YESTERDAY.

BUT NATHAN FINALLY KNOWS!!!

And soon, so will James. Depressing.

DUN DUN DUN.

I CANNOT CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT.

I'M LITERALLY LIKE DFKJSJFJKDFHSJDKFH.

ARE YOU READY????

I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!! (that actually reminded me of Spongebob)