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The Complex Art of Rosie 18
Beauty of a SnowflakeRosie spent the following few days after Thanksgiving packing. Her and Tamara were heading on a road trip a few hours away, back home to see their family for the Christmas holidays. After New Years, when they had gotten back to the campus, it wasn't long before Rosie ran into Anthony.She stopped at the library to pick up a book. On her walk back home, she had run right into someone's chest."Woah," Anthony held onto her shoulders, stabilizing her. "Apologies." He bent down to pick up her book that had fallen. He glanced down at the cover. "Harry Potter, huh?"Rosie's cheeks warmed up as she took the book back. "For old times sake."Anthony's eyes lit up as he looked down at her, a warm and easy smile resting on his face. "Personally, my preference lies with the Half Blood Prince."Rosie's eyebrows raised in surprise. "You... like Harry Potter?""Who doesn't?" He chuckled, tilting his head. "Although I will sheepishly admit that I have only watched the movies and
The Complex Art of Rosie 19
Unforeseen CompanyLater in the week, the weather had started to get worse and worse. It was snowing heavily all the time, the wind being so cool it felt like it was pricking at your skin. Rosie had started taking her car to work, it being too difficult to walk in the inches and inches of snow that was piling up.Lately, the library had been more vacant than usual. With the weather this terrible, classes were starting to get cancelled. With it being hard enough to manage the cold and the swirling snow, the library hardly got half a dozen visitors in a day.Rosie slipped off her sweater, grateful for the bubbling heat inside the library building. She leaned back, sitting behind the clerk desk as she read a book to pass time.It was nearing the end of her shift at night when the lights started to flicker. She glanced up, waiting for the flickering to stop.After a few minutes, they did stop.She sighed in relief and turned her gaze back to the book she was reading. But it wasn't before
The Complex Art of Rosie 20
A Winter StormTamara raced into the emergency room that was completely packed. With the weather being this bad and the conditions of the roads, it was no surprise that the hospital was filling with patients by the second.Anthony followed behind Tamara as she ran over to the reception desk.Anthony was at their apartment when the power went out so he had stayed there. All night, Tamara was panicking while Anthony also remained silently concerned. She had been texting and calling Rosie all night but had never gotten a response since Rosie didn't have any cell reception so she didn't receive a single message.A few hours later, Tamara had gotten a phone call from first responders. She was Rosie's emergency contact.Her and Anthony raced to the hospital, taking longer than usual because of the terrible road conditions."Ma'am, I need you to wait in the waiting room. She hasn't woken up yet. They're running some tests so it may take some time."Tamara gaped at the nurse with wide eyes. "
The Complex Art of Rosie 21
The Peacefulness of NumbnessRosie couldn't stop thinking about Anthony. She didn't know if it was her concussion or her mind unravelling from thinking about Anthony nonstop that was causing her head to hurt.She spent the next two weeks mostly in bed. She was sore and achy all the time, her head constantly hurting. She couldn't even read a book or sketch without her head starting to hurt after half an hour.Anthony had stopped by briefly to check in on her a few times. Even Aatalo and Ryder stopped by to see how she was doing.She knew it was impossible to avoid Anthony, nor would it be fair to him. This time he was the one who seemed to be distant.Anthony was struggling with his own increasing feelings towards Rosie. He wasn't naive, he knew he was falling for her hard. He felt lost on what to do because every time he thought they were making progress, she would start to pull away. At this point he was afraid of just losing her as friend. He thought the more he tried, the more it w
The Complex Art of Rosie 22
Nothing to SayFor the next few weeks, Rosie hardly heard from or saw Anthony.She walked into her apartment after work one night, Anthony sitting on the couch watching the tv with his and Tamara's textbooks and course work sprawled across the coffee table in front of him.Rosie halted in her tracks. Her heart started racing, her mind going blank, while her body felt frozen. This was the first time she was seeing Anthony in a few days. They hadn't talked properly since the day she had gotten home from the hospital. That was Anthony's made it pretty obvious that he had feelings for her.Anthony looked up when he saw her walk in. He cleared his throat, sitting up straighter. "Tamara just went around the block to pick up some pizza."Rosie nodded her head slowly, walking to the living room.An uncomfortable silence lingered in the air above them.Rosie didn't quite understand why things felt so tense. It was as if Anthony had flipped a switch and turned himself back into a stranger - and
The Complex Art of Rosie 23
Unforeseen ComfortRosie inhaled deeply, holding the crumbled page above the water, ready to throw it in the lake and get back to her usual lonesome routine."So much for saving the turtles."Rosie snapped around to see the last person she was expecting to run into right now.She blinked. For a moment she thought she was hallucinating."Blaze?"Blaze's usual smug grin rested on his face as he walked towards her, his hands shoved into his jacket's pockets. "You could just throw the paper in a garbage bin instead of polluting the lake, you know?"Rosie slowly retreated her hand back, staring at him in bewilderment. She didn't know if she was more confused by his concern for pollution or the fact that he was here to begin with. "What... are you doing here?"Blaze stopped beside her, turning to stare out at the lake as he leaned against the wooden banister. "Catching lake polluters, obviously."Rosie took a step back, continuing to gape at him in confusion. Blaze was at complete ease, bli
The Complex Art of Rosie 24
A Needed PushThe next few days were hard for Rosie. Although it was unspoken, Rosie just knew that whatever bond she had been growing with Anthony, it was over.She noticed Tamara had been going over to her friend's houses a lot more, almost like it was an excuse for Anthony not having to come to their apartment. She had hardly seen him and the very few times he was at their apartment with Tamara, he avoided her gaze and didn't speak to her, with nothing more than a head nod to acknowledge her.Of course, Rosie didn't have the backbone to say anything to him even if she really wanted to. When all she wanted to do was muster the bravery to say anything to him, she stopped herself, telling herself this was happening for a reason and it was better off.She couldn't get him out of her mind. She couldn't help but feel hurt and disappointed that like she had assumed, he stopped bothering with her.It hurt that it was coming from him. It hurt more than it would if it were anyone else.She s
The Complex Art of Rosie 25
CritiquedRosie dragged her feet into Tamara's car, already filled with dread. She had been dreading this day all week.Tamara could easily tell how unhappy Rosie was to go to Aatalo's. She didn't know it was because of Anthony, she assumed it was just Rosie being her usual self and not loving such social events. Because she could sense Rosie's mood, she hid her own happiness about Rosie coming.For the first time, Rosie wasn't thinking about all the people she'd have to interact with and be awkward around as they drove to Aatalo's. The only thing on her mind was Anthony and if he would speak to her tonight. She already knew he wouldn't so she didn't bother getting her hopes up.Aatalo's loft represented his personality perfectly. It was open concept and industrial; an unplastered brick wall, a steel staircase, concrete floor, a black ceiling. It was modern and raw with the structure exposed. The loft was furnished with sleek dark grey and black furniture, classy and clean. The few po
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