Unseen Echoes

Chapter9 : Choosing my self

It was night, and Rose and Lily were lying on Lily’s bed, talking.

"These are our final exams," Rose said with a heavy sigh. "After this semester, who knows where we will be."

Lily took Rose’s hand. "That is true, but I promise I will stay in touch with you."

Rose looked sad. "Will Jack and I ever meet again?"

Lily stayed quiet for a moment, then said softly, "Rose, sometimes we have one-sided love. We have to move on. We cannot force someone to love us."

Rose felt hurt and sat up. "One-sided? Lily, he kissed me! He protected me from Thomas, taught me how to fish, tied my shoelaces, and sat with me on the bus and at the campus. Was all of that one-sided?"

Lily sighed and explained, "I don't know, Rose. Maybe you were always going to him, and he was just responding to you. Being with someone and loving someone are two different things."

Rose had tears in her eyes. "I am such a fool, aren't I?"

No," Lily hugged her. "You just followed your heart. But for now, try to ignore him for a few days. We have some lectures left. Let’s see if he reacts or tries to talk to you."

"Okay, let's see," Rose decided.

The next morning at the university, Rose, Lily, and Will were walking in when Thomas came running toward them. He looked worried.

"Rose, wait!" Thomas said, panting. "I need to talk to you alone. Please, don't say no."

Rose looked at Lily and Will and said, "You guys go ahead, I will be back in a minute."

Lily and Will walked away. Thomas looked around and stood in front of Rose.

"Rose, I want to apologize. I am very sorry for how I behaved that day. Please, forgive me."

Rose looked at him coldly. "Thomas, no matter what you do or how much you apologize, your behavior was very strange."

Thomas sounded like he was about to cry. "I really lost my mind. I didn't mean to do that. I just didn't want to lose you."

Rose stood firm. "Look, Thomas, I forgive you. But please, stay away from me now. I like someone else, and I am not interested in you. I hope you understand."

Rose didn't look back; she walked away quickly toward her class, thinking about Jack.

When Rose walked into the lecture hall, she felt nervous. She saw Jack sitting in the chair right in front of her. Her heart started beating fast. She really wanted to talk to him, but she remembered what Lily told her. She looked down and sat in the chair behind Jack. She tried to look at her notebook and listen to the lecture, but she could only think about Jack sitting right in front of her.

Suddenly, Nancy walked in. She went straight to Jack and sat in the chair next to him. Rose felt very jealous. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't help watching them. She told herself, 'Rose, be strong. You decided to ignore him. If he really likes you, he should be the one to try to talk to you. I will not do anything.'

Then, Nancy spoke to Jack. "Jack, can you give me a pen? Mine is not working."

Rose watched as Jack took a pen from his bag and gave it to her. When Nancy took the pen, she touched Jack’s hand on purpose. Rose saw everything. Her heart felt like it was breaking, and she felt very angry and sad. She could not sit there for even one more minute. She felt like she could not breathe.

She stood up in the middle of the class. "Excuse me," she said in a quiet, shaky voice.

She walked out of the room very quickly without looking back at Jack. Lily was sitting nearby and saw everything. She knew exactly why Rose ran away, and she felt very sad for her friend.

Rose ran to the library and sat down alone. She felt very sad and did not know what to do. A few minutes later, Lily followed her into the library.

"Rose, why did you come here?" Lily asked.

"I don't know, I just felt uneasy," Rose replied.

"Come on, my friend," Lily said. "Let’s go to the canteen. It is better to talk there."

They both stood up and went to the canteen. Lily ordered two cups of coffee. They sat at a table, and Lily looked at her friend. "Rose, please tell me what is wrong."

Rose looked down. "I am trying to stay away from Jack, but he is moving further away from me. Every time Nancy is near him, it hurts me. What should I do?"

Lily answered calmly, "Rose, what is meant for you will stay with you. You cannot change someone else’s heart if they don't want to change."

Rose asked, "Can’t he see how much I like him?"

Lily touched Rose's face. "Look at your face. You look like you are about to cry."

"No, I am strong," Rose said. "I just need to stay away from him. I understand now that he does not want me. If he loved me, he would try to show it."

Lily offered, "I understand. If you want, I can talk to Jack for you."

"No," Rose said quickly. "Please, don't say anything to him."

Just then, Will walked over. "What’s up, girls? Why are you both sitting here so quietly?"

Lily looked at Rose, who was still sitting with her head down. Will asked, "What happened to my friend? Why is she so sad today?"

"I am not sad," Rose said, trying to smile.

Will tried to make them laugh. "Rose, do you know that when it rains, girls' makeup comes off and their husbands get scared?"

Lily laughed. "Oh, that was such a bad joke!" Even Rose gave a small, weak smile.

Just then, Jack, Harry, and Nancy walked into the canteen. At the same time, the waiter brought coffee for Rose and Lily. Will told the waiter, "Bring me a cup of tea, please. I don't want coffee."

Rose looked up and saw Jack. He was sitting at a table with Nancy and Harry. Her heart sank as she watched them.

Lily saw Rose looking at Jack again. She tapped her arm and said, "Rose, look at me. You are a strong girl. You have so much more to see in life."

Will immediately started laughing and added, "Yes, like marriage, kids, and much more! Hahaha!"

Lily rolled her eyes and said, "Will, you never get serious! You are always thinking about jokes."

After a while, the three of them finished their coffee and stood up to leave. Just then, Thomas came over to them.

"Can I join you guys?" Thomas asked, looking a bit lonely. "I don't have any friends here."

Rose was still feeling jealous because she was watching Jack and Nancy together. She wanted to show Jack that she could be happy with other people too. So, she quickly said, "Of course! You can join us.

After that, the four of them left the canteen together. Rose also stopped going to the library at the time she usually went. Before, she used to walk past Jack every day, but now she stopped doing that. She even changed her seat in the classroom to a place very far away from Jack. Jack was now sitting alone in the canteen, and he noticed that Rose was no longer around.