The Moon Goddess

The Sleep Over

Chapter 6

My heart felt shallow. Empty. I’m sure you know the feeling. When your motivation levels are too low to do anything but blink. So still you sit, like a statue. Only blinking. 

Yesterday…

“Mother please, why won’t you just tell me what's happening!” I was infuriated. I was tired of being the good guy. I needed to know what the hell was going on and I was determined to find out. It had been 5 days since we arrived and nothing. This was my last chance to get answers.

“I can’t”

“Bullshit! You just won’t”

“ROSALINE DIANA HARROW” Her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched.

“I AM TIRED OF THIS, MOTHER!” My voice broke. “Please, I beg of you. Give me the answers that were promised.”

“You ungrateful little brat. I told Edward not to bring you home that day, but he just HAD to didn’t he. And then, he went and got himself killed.”

“Mother-”

“For what? For YOU? It’s your fault he’s dead. I don’t ever want to see your face again.”

“Mom- I, I don’t understand.”

“I tried to be nice to you. To take care of you. But I can't anymore. You killed my husband and you almost killed me. Now leave.”

“Mom please-”

“STOP CALLING ME THAT-”

Present…

“Rose, Rosie. It’s time to leave.”

I looked up towards my brothers. I hadn’t told them about what my mother said. I was hoping it was just a dream. And that I would wake up, and mom would be home, and this nightmare would be over. But I was not asleep, and this was not a dream.

“We’ve been calling your name, are you okay?”

“Nevermind that. We’re home!” Jake and Andy pushed each other around while they got our bags from the trunk. When had we gotten into a car? When had we gotten off the plane?

“Uh oh. Looks like your boyfriends here.” Jake whispered in my ear when I finally stepped out of the car. Apollo had just pulled up and was practically jumping out of his window.

“Rose! Rose what’s wrong. Talk to me, what’s happening to you?!” what’s he talking about?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I need to rest.” I started walking towards the door, my face was still blank. My body, barely in motion.

“Then I’ll come with you.”

“Hey now,” Andy said, putting a firm hand on Apollo’s chest.

“Can’t you see something is wrong with her!” he was fuming. He was angry, but… I didn’t know why.

“We’ll take care of her,” Jake said stepping in.

“I’m not leaving her alone,” Apollo said in a firm voice. But then he relaxed and his face fell. “I can’t” His voice was breaking. And it was hurting my heart. He was right. We needed to be together.

“Let him come. I don’t want to be alone anyway. And you two have to get back to campus.”

“Rose-”

“Go. It’s fine.” With that, I trudged into the house with Apollo right behind me.

JACOB’S POV

The trunk shut with a loud thud and I watched Apollo follow Rose into the house.

“I didn’t even know something was wrong with her,” Andy said when we got into the car.

“Well, clearly she’s upset. I just didn’t think it was a big deal. I figured she was just sad about leaving mom.”

“About that, when did you notice Rose acting strange?”

“When we got back to the hotel after clubbing. Why?”

“Because now you mention it, I think whatever happened between mom and Rose is why Rose is like this.”

“Yeah okay but like what? Yes, she’s upset but is it so concerning that we have to investigate?”

“Well, Apollo seemed concerned. Extremely concerned.” He retorted.

“Eh, the guys’ a clown.”

“You only feel that way because he’s courting our little sister. He actually seems like a decent guy. Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is, we need to call mom. See what she and Rose talked about. Maybe mom told Rose ‘The truth’ about our dad.”

“Nah, Rose would’ve told us. Right? And plus, the doctors said she was probably just confused, because of the accident and the medication.”

“I don’t know, probably, but maybe not.”

“Okay, we’ll call mom later then.”

APOLLO’S POV

I held Rose tightly in my arms. She had gone straight to her room to lay down, and she hasn’t moved or spoken since she told her brothers I could come in. I didn’t know what was happening but ever since last night I’ve felt this extreme heaviness in her heart, and it hasn’t gone away. It’s improved slightly from us being close though. She probably needed human contact. And I suppose it’s better coming from a mate. If I even am her mate.

“Hey, can I get you anything? Food, water?”

“I appreciate the concern. And I appreciate you being here, but right now, all you can do for me is just stay close.” I nodded and snuggled closer to her. “And please don’t leave.” She whispered.

“Never.” I felt a tear fall on my hand and I got up slightly, only enough to look at her. “Hey, what’s wrong,” I said gently.

“I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve anything good.”

I sat up and pulled her with me. “Rose, where on earth is this coming from?”

She turned from me. “Rose” I gently turned her face towards mine. “What's happening?” I could tell she was ashamed of something, but I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was.

“I’M A BAD PERSON APOLLO. THAT’S WHAT IS HAPPENING.”

“HEY, NO you are not, do you hear me.” She scoffed and got up.

“What do you know?” She shook her head. “What do I know? Nothing. I don’t even know anything about myself, Apollo.”

“What are you talking about?” I stood up and went to her.

“IT’S ALL MY FAULT!”

“WHAT IS ROSE?”

“I KILLED THEM.” Tears were now steadily running down her cheeks. Her arms fell to her side and she flopped back onto the bed. I sat beside her and took her hands.

“Killed who?”

“My dad. And almost my mom. His death and her accident are my fault.”

“No Rose, that’s impossible, you said your dad died when you were a kid. How could you have done anything?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me.”

“Who?”

She hesitated before answering. “My mom.”

“Rose, what exactly happened while you were gone?”

She wiped her tears and told me the whole story. When she was finished talking, I made her a sandwich and got her a glass of water. She said she wasn't hungry but she also hadn’t eaten in two days so I managed to persuade her. Afterward, I let Dom know I wouldn't be home and waited for her to finish showering. I popped some popcorn and turned on Silence Of The Lambs.

She hobbled downstairs and I pulled her onto me.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better. Thanks for making me take care of myself. And for taking care of me. Sorry for being such a mess.”

“Shh, stop.”

“What?”

“I don’t like when people talk bad about my best friend.” She smiled a brilliant smile, and cautiously I moved my lips to hers. She graciously and eagerly accepted my kiss and returned it.

“You wanna go to bed?” I asked, resting my forehead against hers.

She nodded and I scooped her up in my arms and started up the stairs.

“You know I can walk right?” She argued, but she rested her head against my chest anyway. I let out a small laugh.

“Yeah, I know. I just really like carrying you.”

ROSE’S POV

I woke up to find myself safely secure in Apollo’s arms. We had fallen asleep facing each other and now his head is resting on mine. I remembered everything that he had done for me, and knowing that in no way would this repay him, I decided to get up and make breakfast and bring it to him in bed. I slowly made my way out of his arms, doing my best not to wake him, and made my way downstairs. First I checked the home phone as well as my own phone for any messages or voicemails but was left with nothing.

Perfect leaves me more time to cook. While I was trying to think of what to make I thought of what Apollo would like. And realized I didn’t know the answer. We really were complete strangers to each other, and yet here he is, in my bed. I sighed and tapped my fingers onto the counter. Everyone likes bacon and waffles right?

I found the flower, milk, eggs, among other things, whipped them together, and poured the batter into the waffle iron cup by cup until I had a beautiful stack of blueberry waffles, a plate of pan-fried bacon, and two cups of coffee. I didn’t know how he liked his coffee, so I kept it black but brought cream and sugar cubes with me. Just in case. I put the food on a coffee tray and slowly made my way up the stairs, I turned to enter my room and saw Apollo had replaced me with a pillow. I would have been offended, but he was so damn cute. His shirt was all crumpled up, his hair was a mess, and half of his body was exposed from my thick white comforter.

I placed the food on my nightstand and sat next to him on the side of the bed. I gently started kissing first his forehead, making my way down his face, planting small kisses all over him until I came to his nose, I placed a gentle kiss on his nose and watched his eyes slowly open. I didn’t kiss his lips, because consent is a real thing, folks. He smiled as soon as he opened his eyes.

“I could get used to waking up like this.” He said in the best raspy morning voice ever.

“Yeah? well, it gets better.” I got up from the bed giving him space to stretch and reposition as I brought a tray of food into his view.

“Oh, Rose. You shouldn’t have, really. I could have made you breakfast.”

“Stop. It was the least I could do after you took care of me yesterday.” He smiled. “And plus-” I said going around to my side of the bed. “-this isn’t all for you.” He let out a low laugh as he brought his face to mine and gently but passionately laid his lips on mine.

He looked me straight in the eyes and said. “I swear, every time I kiss you, it feels like the first time.” My heart melted, I had no other response than kissing him back.

“Why don’t we eat?” I said, pulling away gently.

“Perfect.”

Then suddenly there was a knock at the door. My eyes snapped to my door and his snapped towards me.

“Who could be here at this hour? And why are they inside the house.” His face went pale. “Oh no, do you think it’s your brothers? They’ll kill me if they find me here.

“No, you dork. Calm down. It came from the front door. It’s probably just the mail. I’ll go check while you eat your waffles.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

“To answer the door? I’ll be fine. And if it makes you feel better, I’ll bring my knives.”

“Your knives?”

“I like to throw knives. It’s kind of a hobby.”

“I have a very strong feeling that getting to know you is going to be very interesting.”

“I think you may be right about that. Now I got to go check before they start ringing the doorbell.”

“Alright go on.”

I grabbed one of my knives as promised and hopped down the stairs. I held the knife behind my back and opened the door. Just as I thought, it was the mailman. Why hadn’t he left it in the mailbox? And why did he have such a strange vibe?

“Hi, can I help you?”

“Yes, I have a letter for Rosaline Diana Harrow.”

“Um, yes, that’s me.”

“I was ordered to give you this in person.”

“Ordered?” He held out his hands, laying on top of them was a single envelope.

“The rest of your mail is in the box, miss.”

“Okay, thank you” He turned to leave. “Wait, sir! Who asked you to deliver this? There’s no stamp. Or address.

“I’m afraid I’ve been asked not to share that information with you.”

“Okay well, thank you anyway.” I watched him leave in a robotic type fashion before closing the door and looking again at the letter.

“Hey, Rose! Is everything okay down there?” Apollo shouted from the top of the staircase.

I shook off the strange encounter with the mailman and called back. “Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine, I’m coming up now.” I hopped up the stairs and into my room. I stopped suddenly in my doorway when I found a very shirtless Apollo sitting in my bed sipping on coffee and checking his phone.

“Oh um. Hi.”

He looked up at me confused and then down at himself. “Oh hey. Sorry, it was warm in here. I can put it back on if you’d like.”

“Oh no, no it’s fine. I’ll go open the window.” I threw the unopened letter on to my dresser and took a deep breath before going to open the window.

“Hey, do you have a computer I can check my emails on? I promise I wouldn't ask if it wasn’t important. I mean trust me, the last thing I want to be doing right now is working.”

“No, Don’t worry about it. Yes, my laptop is right over here. I’ll grab it for you.”

I handed him the laptop before returning to my side of the bed. “Thank you. I really appreciate all of this.”

“Please. It’s the least I can do. You were… incredible, with me last night. No one asked you to take care of me like that. And I really appreciate it-” My phone started ringing, suddenly interrupting me.

“It’s my brother,” I said before putting the phone up to my ear. “Hey, Andy. What’s up?”

“Jake and I just wanted to make sure you were okay, after the trip.” 

“Oh, yeah I’m fine. Good actually. Thanks for checking in. How are you guys?”

“Good, but Rosie, I have something I need to tell you.”

“Okay, what’s up?”

“Jake and I have a school retreat coming up. It’s not mandatory but we’d really like to go.” 

“Okay, well you’re adults you can do whatever you want. Why are you telling me?”

“Because it would be over Thanksgiving.” 

"Oh"

“And since mom is in the hospital we really hate to leave you bu-” 

“No, it’s okay. Please go, have fun. I’ll be fine here.”

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes. Now go. I know you have things you need to be doing.”

“Okay. Thanks Rosie. Love you lots!”

The phone call ended with a beep and I let out a sigh.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I just found out my brothers are going to be gone over thanksgiving.” Thanksgiving. Apollo had invited me over to his place, I said I’d let him know, but we haven’t talked about it since.

“Well, you know you’re always welcome to join me and my family. We’d love to have you. And I don’t like the idea of you just all cooped up here.”

“Well then maybe I will spend the holiday with your family. I actually think that would be really nice.”

He smiled at me and kissed my hand.

“So who was at the door?”

“Oh,” I had completely forgotten about my weird encounter with the mailman. “Just the mailman”

“What’d he want?”

“To deliver a letter. It was quite strange actually.”

“Strange in what way? Isn’t it their job to deliver mail?” He said mockingly.

“Well, yes,” I replied in a teasy tone. “But, when I opened the door, he seemed, I don’t know, almost in a trance.”

“In what way?”

I crossed my legs and sat up. “He told me he had been ‘ordered’ to hand-deliver the letter. And what’s weirder, is that the letter has no stamp, no address, no return address. Nothing.”

“Have you read it yet?”

“No, not yet. I probably should though.” I got up to get it when he caught my hand.

“Be careful. Anything could be in there.” I laughed and grabbed the letter.

“It’s an envelope Apollo, the worst thing that could possibly be in here is a strongly worded letter from my neighbors about keeping the lawn mowed.”

“You’re probably right. But it’s not bad to be cautious.”

“Okay weirdo,” I said sitting back down on the bed and opening the envelope. The first thing that I pulled out were pictures. Pictures of me.

I found 5 pictures of me around town. They ranged from me walking to my car, to getting out of school, to sitting in my bedroom. “What the hell.” Apollo took them and studied them carefully, fuming with anger.

“I want to know who did this.” His fists were clenched and his knuckles were turning white. I agreed with him, this was beyond ridiculous.

“Hold on, there’s a letter.” I carefully took out a folded piece of paper. I looked at Apollo before opening the note and reading it out loud.

“My dearest Rosaline,

You don’t know me, but I know you. I’ve been looking for you for quite some time. Now that I’ve finally found you. I intend to make you see the truth. Before I destroy you.

I would have killed you already, but where's the fun in that? No. I want you to be scared. I want you to know that I’m coming, but not know when, or where. But most of all, I want you to know the truth before I end you. Call me theatrical, but I want a dramatic end. A game of cat and mouse if you will, I want you to suffer, the way I’ve suffered.

It’s time you paid for your sins. Meet me next Wednesday, at 10 pm. In town to complete the first stage of my plan. You’ll learn everything you wanted to know about your past. And don’t worry about finding me. I’ll find you. See you there.

With love, your secret admirer

P.S. I’m looking forward to playing this game with you Ms. Harrow.” 

“I’ll kill them.” steam was practically coming out of Apollo’s ears.

“It’s probably just a prank. I heard some kids at school like to do this when there’s a new student. Hazing.”

“I know what you are referring to and this is not it. Even if it was, they went too far.” His muscles started twitching and I could see a vein on his forehead ready to pop.

I placed my hand on his arm. “Look, Apollo, obviously I’m not stupid enough to go and meet them. So please. Calm down okay?”

He looked me in my eyes, and his tense face relaxed. He pulled me into his solid chest and whispered in my ear.

“I can’t calm down. Not if it means you’ll get hurt.”

“Apollo-”

“No. You don’t understand.” he sighed. “Rose. I have to tell you something. Something about myself.”