I married a stranger

Rose’s POV The hardest part about losing someone is not watching them die but it’s waking up the next morning realizing that they are not there anymore. I stared at the ceiling expecting to hear the sound of the blender from lily making her healthy smoothie. For a moment I tried to convince myself that everything had been just a nightmare. Then I remembered how I saw lifeless body, how i kept staring at her expecting her to blink and say it was a joke and we would both laugh it out. I could not even look at my own reflection without seeing her staring back at me. My twin sister is dead. And there is nothing I could do to change that. Her clothes were still hanging in the closet. Her room was left untouched, I could not bring myself to enter. It was exactly how she left it. I decided to get up and dress to go to the studio, as I walked pass Lily’s room, I just can’t help but pause to look at her door. I and Lily shared an apartment, she said living alone was boring. I kept recalling how she literally begged me to live with her, but I had wanted to experience living alone. I guess I finally got what I wanted. I finally got to the studio, I can still remember when I first got it. The studio is a safe space for me and the past few months have been literally living here. I was in the middle of completing a painting when I heard my phone ringing, I wiped my hand and grabbed my phone, it was my mum calling. “hello mum.” “Rose Madeline smith.” She said her voice sounding strict and firm. I always knew I was in big trouble when she calls me by my full name. “ I can not believe you have not come home for a month now and do not give me excuses about how busy you are.” She said in anger and I immediately felt guilty. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “ I know mum I’m really sorry about that but I will make it up to you by coming for dinner this weekend.” I replied. “you better be here this evening or else I’m coming to drag you here if I have to.” I smiled, knowing she would. “ but I’m re..” “I do not want to hear it, you are coming and that is final.” She said cutting me off. I sighed “fine.” I turned and faced my painting “that’s my girl and also your father has something to say to you.” “What is hat.”There was a long pause. “mum?”. Suddenly I felt my body go tense. “Is dad okay.” “of course he is, just come home and hear what he has to say.” Her voice sounded shaky all of a sudden. “okay.” I ended the call but I could not help but feel worried. I sat back down to finish the painting but my mind kept thinking of different scenarios, then I decided to call it quits. I stood, took of the apron and grabbed my things. As I drove home, i can not help but admire the city around me, I watched the familiar streets of Boston pass by my window. The city was busy as usual, but somehow I was found comfort in it. I loved Boston. I finally got to my parents house and stayed in the car for a while, looking at the house always made me remember my childhood. I was always up to mischief with Lily, we would always run around the house, climbs trees that we even made our own tree house with the help of our dad but I’m sure he did most of the work. Suddenly the front door opened and I saw my mum already waving at him , i smiled and got down from the car. When I reached the door she pulled me into a hug. I could not help but hug her tightly and breathe in, she always smelled like vanilla. “I missed you so much.” She said pulling out of the hug to look at me. I could see the tears pooling in her eye. “I missed you too.” I replied trying to smile back at her and I knew I remembered her of Lily. “let’s go inside, you must be tired.” We both entered inside and I could hear my dad footsteps as he was coming down from the stairs. “is that rose?”. I could already hear the excitement in his voice. He came rushing down and pulled me into a hug. “ I get that you guys miss me but we literally met last week at the art gallery event.” “Ohh shut up that is nothing compared to seeing you at home.” He said rolling his eyes, I laughed while still hugging him back. He finally pulled at of the hug. “How are you doing.” He said in a more serious tone while he studies me. His gaze slowly moves over my face. “I’m okay dad, I should be the one asking of your doing mum said you had something to tell me.” I noticed a shift in his eyes, just for a second, then it was gone. He and my mum shared a look before saying “let’s have dinner first”. I followed them into the dining room, but something about the atmosphere felt different. Usually, dinner with my parents was filled with random conversations and them trying to see if I was okay but tonight, the silence felt heavier. I took my usual seat beside my mum while my dad sat across from me. My mum began serving the food, acting as though everything was perfectly normal. I watched them for a moment. “Okay.” I said, breaking the silence. “You two are definitely hiding something.” My mum paused, her hand still hovering over my plate. “We are not hiding anything.” she said too quickly. I raised an eyebrow. “Mum.” She glanced at my dad, and he let out a quiet sigh. “Rose, just eat first.” he said. I leaned back in my chair. “You both are terrible at pretending nothing is wrong.” My dad gave me a small smile, but it did not reach his eyes. “We will tell you after dinner.” I wanted to argue, but I knew there was no point. So I picked up my fork and tried to focus on the eating the food. But I could not. Something was wrong. And whatever it was, I had a feeling it was something I would not like