WHAT IF?
Chapter Fifteen
After a few months passed, Rose
went to New York for her tour. Rose loved being in New York. It was like a new
home for her.
In the next few days, she started
rehearsing, because she was going to introduce Philly L.R.P--Lisa, Rachel, and
Piper. Rachel was nervous about this. She’d never been onstage before
performing. As the days passed by, the paparazzi began to build up, curious
about Rose’s engagement to Jack. They took pictures of her rehearsing. Rose
didn’t care about the paparazzi, but her bodyguards did. Jack was still in LA,
selling his paintings. He told Rose that he’d be there in a few days.
*****
The rumors about Rose getting
engaged are false, as she puts it, though with all of the smiles and the love
she’s getting from her new beau, she shows her true happiness.
"I’m really happy. I
never knew I’d meet a guy like him, who has a lot of respect for people, and
who’s...really caring and loving to the people around him. That’s what I love
about him."
But she’s not the only one in
the news. Her older brother, Garret, is caught in a paternity case involving a
nineteen-year-old woman. Garret denied any relations with the young woman.
*****
Rose drank her bottle of water as
she got ready to perform with Rachel, Piper, and Lisa. She grabbed the guitar,
then started playing.
"1, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2,"
Rachel said, starting to play her guitar. She started singing.
Ruth looked at Rose and how she
was playing the guitar, and how she was feeling the music. On the other side,
Clifford stared at Rose. He wanted to go up stage and just kiss her, but he
couldn’t. She had somebody that she loved and that she cared for. Rose looked
up and looked at her mother and Clifford. She grinned at them, then continued
playing. She looked back up at Clifford. She knew why he was looking at her
that way. She started moving around. She stopped.
"Break! My finger is
hurting." Rose got down from the stage and stared to drink her water.
Piper walked up and sat next to
her. "Clifford is in love with you, isn’t he?"
Rose looked at her. "Okay.
How do you do that? You noticed that, too, did you?"
Piper nodded. "Rose, I’m
twenty-one. I’m not blind. He really, really loves you."
Rose covered her ears. "Ah…I
don’t want to hear it, Piper." She uncovered them.
"Listen, Rose. When he found
out about you and Jack getting engaged…" Piper whispered. "He was
pretty upset. And what I mean by upset is..."
"Yeah, I know. But he needs
to get the idea that I don’t see him that way. He’s more like a friend to
me."
"Really?" Piper looked
at her, crossing her arms. Rose was quiet. She looked down. "And then
there was silence," Piper said, raising her arms in the air. "Talk to
him."
Rose looked at her.
"What?"
"Talk to him before it’s too
late, Rosie. Trust me." Piper got up and left.
Rose leaned on her knees, then
looked around. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, then got up.
*****
Jack was at the airport with
Fabrizio, Tommy, and Mike, getting ready to leave for New York. Jack thought
about Rose. He missed her, but he knew that she was doing her job. Fabrizio
looked at Jack.
"Hey. What’s wrong?"
Jack looked at him.
"Nothing."
"Hey, does Rose have any
fine friends that she could hook me up with?"
"Uh…well, yeah, but one of
them is...never mind."
"One of them is..."
"Lesbian. She’s gay."
Fabrizio looked at Jack.
"You’re joking, right?"
Jack chuckled, then laughed. "You better be joking man, for real."
*****
Rose’s cell phone rang in the
hotel room that she shared with Piper, Lisa, Tara, and Rachel. She picked it
up, then answered. "Hello?"
"Hey, it’s me."
"Hey, where are you? I miss
you."
"Hey, I miss you, too. I’m
on my way, but I’m not alone."
"What? Jack, who else did
you bring?"
"Tommy, Mike, and
Fabrizio."
Rose sighed. "Fabrizio,
Tommy, and Mike. Do they know that I have a gay friend and that I can’t hook
them up?"
"I know, but they don’t
believe me."
"Okay. They will have a big
surprise. But, hey, at least you and me will be alone tonight, with nobody
around to bother us..."
"Yes, and make sure your
mother won’t be around."
"I will."
"Rose, come on," Rachel
said in the background.
"Hey, call me when you
arrive. All right?"
"All right. Bye."
"Bye."
They both hung up. Rose got up,
grabbed her jacket, and left with Rachel and the others as Jack grabbed a cab
and was on his way to the hotel.