Chapter 3
517 Words
The house was unusually quiet.
Rose noticed it the moment she woke up.
No arguing.
No voices.
No sound of Rosa raiding her closet.
Suspicious.
She sat up slowly, glancing around her room.
“Too quiet…” she muttered.
After getting dressed—carefully choosing something Rosa definitely wouldn’t touch—she stepped out into the hallway.
“Mom?” she called.
No answer.
She walked downstairs.
Empty.
A note sat on the table.
Went out with Lily. Be back later. Don’t burn the house.
—Mom
Rose stared at it.
“…Wow.”
She dropped into a chair. “So I’m just alone now?”
“Not completely.”
Rose froze.
She turned her head slowly.
Rosa stood in the kitchen doorway, casually sipping juice.
Rose narrowed her eyes. “I thought you left.”
“I did. I came back.”
“Why?”
Rosa shrugged. “Forgot my charger.”
A pause.
Then—
“…And maybe I wanted to annoy you a little more.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “Of course you did.”
Rosa smirked, then grabbed her bag. “Try not to miss me too much.”
“Leave before I change my mind and lock you out.”
“Love you too.”
And just like that—she was gone.
---
Silence returned.
Real silence this time.
Rose leaned back in her chair, exhaling slowly.
It felt… strange.
No noise.
No distractions.
Just her thoughts.
And that was the problem.
---
She stepped outside a while later, deciding she needed air.
The streets were calmer than usual—weekend quiet. A few people passed by, but nothing like the usual weekday rush.
Rose walked without a clear destination.
Her mind drifted.
To school.
To Alex.
To that feeling.
She stopped walking.
“…Why him?”
Out of everyone—
Why did it feel like that with him?
It didn’t make sense.
Nothing about it did.
---
“Hey—watch it!”
Rose barely reacted in time as someone brushed past her.
“Sorry,” she said automatically.
But the moment she looked up—
Something shifted.
Not around her.
Inside her.
The world felt… off.
Like everything had gone slightly out of place.
Her vision blurred for a second.
Then—
A flash.
Not a memory.
Not fully.
But something—
A voice.
A different sky.
A feeling of falling—
Rose gasped and grabbed her head.
“What… was that?”
Her heart started racing.
Too fast.
Too sudden.
She stumbled back slightly, trying to steady herself.
“Get it together…” she whispered.
But the feeling wouldn’t go away.
If anything—
It was getting stronger.
---
Across the street—
A car sped past.
Too fast.
Way too fast.
Rose didn’t notice.
Not at first.
She was still trying to breathe normally, trying to shake off whatever just happened.
Then—
A sharp screech.
People shouting.
“Watch out!”
Rose turned.
Too late.
---
Time slowed.
The world narrowed to one moment.
One second.
One impact.
---
And then—
Everything went dark.
- Writer
