Over the course of the next few weeks, Rose never left her despairful state, acting when forced to act, committing whatever Eve forced her to do. Rose had nothing to lose, her life possibly at its lowest it could ever reach. Rose had her exams, the last day of school was imminent, and she was still committing those crimes, never felonies, but enough to land her in big trouble.
Rose held that necklace her father had bought in her hands.
"It's a cruel world, isn't it, Dad?" She muttered to herself, inaudible to others, and kissed the middle, softly. She continued to sit around, wondering how she would meet Eve today. In the last two days, Eve had not imposed any demands on Rose, which she was thankful for, but that also meant something big would be coming for her.
The day passed by quickly, as it usually did recently, with Rose always thinking about Eve. Though she was always being forced to do horrible things, she got the sense that Eve somewhat cared about her, which was slightly nice to think about. Rose didn't remember at what point she hadn't cared about doing what she did, but she no longer felt guilty about whatever she had to do - she barely even remembered what she did and didn't do.
When the day ended, Rose once again made her way to classroom 53, the same thing played again as it always did, Eve would be sitting at the same desk, writing on the same papers. Rose would approach Eve, though increasingly less afraid with each day it happened. They would talk, and Eve would tell her to do whatever she had to do, and Rose would leave home. But today Rose stayed around, wanting to converse with Eve, as she hadn't really spoken to anyone recently.
"So why do you tell me to do these things?" Rose asked
"I think it's fun to see you do them, it was funner at the start though…" Eve confessed. They stayed in silence for a few moments.
"You're kinda weird, you know," Rose said. Eve looked at her for a moment before returning to her papers.
"I don't mind you being weird, though, but I know how others talk about you. You aren't all that bad, other than… You know… forcing me to commit crimes." It sounded dumber as Rose spoke. They sat in silence for a bit longer, Rose watching Eve write - even if she couldn't see what was on the paper.
"Why are you still here?" asked Eve.
"I don't have anything else to do, my work shift starts at 5…" Rose had recently gotten a job to pay rent at a gas station, working almost the whole rest of her day after school.
"So what do you want?"
"I wanna know more about you. You can't just have me do all this stuff and not expect me to want to know more about you." Asked Rose
"My name is Eve Borja, I barely go to school, and I like forcing you to do stuff. That's it."
"Really dry, aren't you?"
"What do you expect?" Lectured Eve. The silence rebounded back into their conversation. Rose wondered how to get through to Eve, how to actually befriend her.
"Just… tell me about yourself. Please?" Rose asked her.
"Maybe another day." Eve kept writing. Rose was a bit irritated, but her hopes weren't down.
"What's on that paper?"
"Something."
"What's something?"
"A thing I do."
Rose sighed, wondering how to create any real conversation with this rock.
"So what was your life like? When you were younger, I mean."
"My mom and dad were terrible." Rose could tell Eve didn't want to say anything more than this.
"So… are you sure you don't wanna talk more?"
"Yes, leave me alone."
"But I wanna learn-" slap.
Rose stood there, perplexed for a few moments. She didn't notice the sting at first, but when she touched her red cheek, the pain set in. Eve had slapped her. Rose had never been hit by anything harder than a softball, so even though the slap was light, it astonished her. She began to tear up, though silently. She had forgotten her place under Eve and realized this could happen if she pushed too hard. Quietly, Rose took back her seat next to Eve, her face in pain. The silence was deafening and never broken until Rose got up to leave for her shift, softly opening the door and leaving without a word.
Once out of the school building, Rose didn't head home to change. She didn't think about anything except for Eve. Her mind was fully occupied by why she still put up with Eve, who had done so many horrible things to her. For every question about Eve, her mind only had a spare 'I don't know' to give.
When she arrived at her job, she was zoning out while people would be waiting for her to scan things, even getting told off at one point. Nobody asked why her cheek was red; they just went on with their days. The hours of her shift passed quickly, with her idling on, thinking about Eve.
Once she was allotted to go home, she didn't bother hurrying; she had no hurry even at midnight. It was only about a twenty-minute walk through the nicely lit streets from the station to her house, and it was quite a calming walk - walking at night had become one of Rose's favorite things to do as her old life faded away. Nothing ever happened to Rose, considering she was a high school girl walking alone at night, which was not something she ever truly cared about. At some point, Rose had begun to want to melt away into the core of the Earth, or maybe float away to the supermassive red storm of Jupiter - though these things never happened.
Once she reached home, she took a bath to relieve some of her troubles, ate the usual scraps of her meals made on the weekends she didn't work, and went to her room to spend some time before bed. Today, the novel she had been obsessing over before her father's death was finally uploaded with a few new chapters, giving her some makeshift consolation for the events she had recently been experiencing. The story had made her smile a true smile while it lasted, but only about fifty pages had been uploaded, giving her a good thirty minutes of freedom from her troubles.
When she approached the end, she turned off her computer, as usual, the worries and stresses landing back on her shoulders to ruin her days. Her only hope for some relief was sleep, and so she got into bed and closed her eyes, hoping tomorrow would be better.
But she couldn't fall asleep. She lay there for hours in those scratchy sheets she had once found perfectly snug every night. At about 2:30 in the morning, she got up from her bed and went outside to her living room to find her dad sitting on the couch, getting ready for work.
"Hey, Dad, I couldn't sleep." Rose sat by her father
"You need to at least try, you know that, right?" Her father looked at her, almost making her feel like he was looking through her.
"Well, I know that, but I did try for a long time!" Rose complained.
"You need to try longer," pausing for a moment to let Rose groan.
"Listen, I'm late for my shift - I need you to get some sleep, ok? If you aren't doing it for yourself, do it for me." Her father got up, kissed her on her smooth forehead, giving her a feeling of warmth, and approached the sleek white front door.
"And remember, sweetheart, I love you." He reassured her before he closed the door behind himself.
Rose woke up from her sleep, baffled for a moment before realizing it was a dream. She checked her clock, 5 in the morning. Once she realized where her feet were, she realized what she had just experienced and cried. She cried until it was time for her to actually wake up. When her alarm rang, she wiped her tears and gritted her teeth. To be weak was one thing, but her dad had reminded her to be strong, and Rose would always do her best not to let him down.
She got up for school, and her usual routine felt easier to do, as if elephants had been taken off her back. She looked at that hair band her dad had made her, before it was a source of sorrow - now it was a source of internal strength, of passionate fire.
Leaving her house felt like she wasn't carrying ten worlds on her arms; her feet didn't feel as if Hades himself were dragging them down anymore. This was truly great indeed, a novel experience after so much turmoil. Walking to school, she greeted all her neighbors, who greeted her back by name.
Once Rose reached school, she greeted everyone - even those who caused her only pure irritation. Her day was truly bright, that is, until she sat down by Abigail in first period, who obviously showed signs that something was wrong.
"What's up?" Rose asked, unsure of what could be troubling Abigail. Abigail shook her head in response, unwavering from her paper. Rose was truly confused, but dismissed it for the time being, as she had work to do.
Rose raised her hand near the end of the period.
"Yes, Rose?" Her teacher asked
"I have to use the restroom," Rose replied.
"Go ahead."
Rose walked to the restrooms, needing to relieve herself. That was until she heard something from the bathroom, quiet, but familiar. It was the sound of someone crying. Rose's head lightly spun in place, wondering what she would do. Should she go and try to ease the person inside? Should she come back later? Should she just walk in and use the bathroom, fixed to her need to pee? As she was wondering what to do, she saw feet coming around the corner and braced herself.
It was Eve.
Rose scarcely had time before she was being pulled by a force, her uniform feeling tight on her back as she was being thrown toward the wall. Eve hung over her crouched form, slightly hiccuping every few moments, her eyes puffy and red.
"Why are you here?" Eve asked. Rose stammered her way to an explanation, almost inaudible throughout her journey of stutters.
"I err… I just needed to use the restroom." Rose curled herself up slightly as Eve crouched in front of her.
"You sure?" Eve put the fingers of her hand to Rose's throat, around the frontal region.
"Yeah, I swear!" Rose was truthful, of course, but she was still working up a slight sweat, unaware of what Eve would do.
After a few moments, Eve simply got up and left, with no words except for a single phrase.
"Make sure nobody knows about this." She said as she closed the restroom door behind her.
Rose didn't even know if she needed to pee anymore; she might as well have already, in the process of being half-thrown into the wall. Rose got up, made sure she wasn't dirty, and walked out. She would do what she needed to do later. For the time being, she was only really thinking about two things. First, why was Eve upset, both crying and being caught? Second, why wasn't Rose herself really upset about the interaction she just had, like there was something deeper?
Rose got back into class, and Abigail still looked troubled, but she'd rather not pester her. The next two periods passed by pretty quickly, with Rose constantly glancing at Abigail while simultaneously doing her work. Rose went to lunch, and as she was looking for somewhere to sit (Abigail wanted to be left alone today), she saw Eve from across the cafeteria and beelined towards her.
"Mind if I sit?" Rose said, murmuring into Eve's ear.
"Sure."
Rose sat down, wondering why Eve would be alone, but then she remembered who Eve was.
"So… whatcha doin'?" Rose asked, Eve, was writing on those papers again - not bothering to get food from the lunch line.
"Stuff."
"When will I know what stuff is?"
"When we're married and have twenty kids." This was the closest Eve got to humor around Rose, making Rose smile a little bit.
"So, can we get started on that journey now?" Rose paused for a second, letting Eve look at her a little weirdly.
"Just kidding, duhhh!" Rose raised her hands slightly, as if being caught by the police.
"There's always a little truth behind every 'just kidding,' you know..." Eve said.
"In your dreams," teased Rose, "You could only wish to have moi!" Rose put her hand on her chest flamboyantly.
"You could only wish that I would ever wish for you." Eve slightly smiled, though shot down quickly. Rose noticed, but dismissed it, unaware of what Eve would do even in public.
They continued to talk; this was the most Eve ever spoke to Rose, and it was nice, for the time being. When lunch ended, both Eve and Rose separated ways; Rose even got to shake Eve's hand before they parted. Rose was almost glowing as she went to her last few classes, very satisfied with the interaction she had just had. A few people commented on the fact that she looked happy, but she just smiled and shook her head; this was something she wanted to keep only to herself.
By the end of the day, Rose was even more excited to see Eve, hoping to have a nice conversation like earlier today. She walked up those steps to room 53 with a bit of hop in her step, and as she turned the corner of the stairs, she saw someone.
Someone was Abigail.
"Hey, Abby, what's up?" Asked Rose.
"Just come with me." Abigail started walking somewhere near where Rose and Eve meet every day, only 2 rooms away, at room 55. Abigail stopped and opened the door, letting Rose enter first. Abigail closed the door behind herself.
"Sit please." Instructed Abigail.
"I don't really want to-"
"Sit, girl," Abigail demanded. Rose complied, something ever so slightly stirring.
"What happened?" Rose was confused as to what Abigail could be so forceful about, since Abigail had been talking to her yesterday with no problems.
Abigail leaned in close, almost to the point that Rose could feel her gravity. Rose slightly reddened, not used to this distancing from anyone other than Eve.
"You've been hanging around that little Hispanic girl, right? I think her name is Eve." Interrogated Abigail.
"Uhm… Yeah, why?" Rose slightly moved back in her chair, trying to show Abigail she was too close, but Abigail just moved toward Rose again.
"You know she's a bad, bad girl, right?"
"I-I don't think she's that bad…"
"Well, you're WRONG." Abigail slammed the desk next to Rose, keeping an unwavering gaze into her eyes at the same time. Rose flinched, almost falling out of her already unstable seating position.
"Listen, that girl has done bad things, and I just can't prove it." Abigail continued.
"B-b-but she isn't bad! She's just misunderstood," Rose took a pause to hiccup. "I-I swear, she's n-n-normal!" Rose stammered, knowing this was somewhat of a lie.
"She's brainwashed you, hasn't she… That just HAS TO BE IT!" Abigail was almost screeching, freaking Rose out.
"I'll fix you, Rose… Don't worry, once I get rid of this girl, we can go back to joking at the lunch table. I'll fix what she's done to you, I'll do it all!" Abigail kept rambling; something in her eyes was off. Abigail's pupils kept rolling around in her sockets, her leg bouncing uncontrollably, and her fingers clawing at her neck. Rose tried to get out of her chair, but Abigail pushed her back in.
"Abby, w-what are you talking abou-" Rose was cut short, and Abigail lunged at her, strangling Rose.
"I'll help fix you, I swear! I will, I will, I will!" Abigail latched herself on top of Rose, the nearby desks being pushed every which way as Rose fought for control against Abigail's anchor of a grasp. Why is she so strong… Rose was getting weaker against Abigail, her throat struggling to open and her arms growing heavy against the overwhelming force Abigail provided.
"Sleep, Rose…" Abigail murmured in her ear.
As Rose began to give in to the drowsiness of her torment, she could only think one thing: I tried, Dad.
The force of Abigail was flung off of Rose's body. Rose inhaled a breath so big her lungs felt like they would pop, as if she were a diver coming back up for air. With Abigail being forced off of Rose's body, Rose was slightly moved herself, though not much. As Rose regained her senses, all she could see was someone kicking over a lumpy form. Rose tried to get up but faltered, still weak from her lack of oxygen. Someone rushed to her side, turning her over. Rose felt light pats on her face, which quickly turned into painful slaps as she regained her senses.
It was Eve.
"Are you awake now, pretty girl? Well, you don't look so pretty right now, you know." Eve gave a slight grin, ridiculing Rose.
"Yeah, I could guess." Rose wiped a tear from her swollen eye, which slightly felt as if it'd burst.
"Come on, let's get you up." Eve dragged Rose up by the hand, assisting Rose in sitting.
Rose looked over to her left, her gaze finding Abigail unconscious on the floor. Rose rubbed her eyes, like a small child who had just undergone a tantrum - except this was worse. Rose curled her knees to her chest and looked up at Eve, wondering what would happen.
"So… what do you wanna do with her?" Eve asked Rose.
"Erm… I don't know…" Rose knew Abigail wouldn't be fine when she woke up, quite the opposite, actually.
"Well, we can't just leave her here… Can we?"
"No, I wouldn't think so." Replied Rose.
"How about you go home, pretty little lady, and I deal with her, ok?"
Rose didn't want to know what Eve would do.
"Uhm… Okay…" Rose didn't move for a moment, and Eve looked at her quizzically.
"Can you uhm… Can you come home with me, please? I don't wanna sleep alone tonight, even if you have to leave late." Rose asked Eve. Eve pondered this for a bit before coming to a decision.
Eve sighed, "Sure."
Rose got up, a bit shakily, gave Eve her address, and opened the door to the classroom. Before leaving, Rose gave a small, rather pitiful, smile to Eve and closed the door behind her, heading off to her home.
Once Rose arrived home, she called in to the gas station she worked at, telling them something had come up and that she wouldn't be there today. In preparation for Eve to arrive, Rose showered a bit longer than usual, cooked a meal just a tad more expensive than her usual, and prepared her room to be presentable. Rose was truly excited as this would be the first time she ever had a friend over, assuming Eve was her friend.
Rose sat in wait for Eve, waiting for her knocks on the door. She sat in her own head thinking about what they would do for so long that when Eve finally came, she almost missed it.
"Hello! Come in, please, come in." Said Rose, while opening the door, waving her hand welcomingly. Eve stepped in without bothering to wipe her shoes off.
"This is your house?" Eve said, looking around.
"Yup, well, it used to look a bit better but…" Rose trailed off.
Eve sat down on the sofa.
"Have you eaten dinner yet?" Rose asked. Eve shook her head. Rose began to serve Eve, but Eve stopped her midway through.
"I don't wanna eat, but thanks."
Rose looked at Eve sternly.
"You need to eat, you didn't eat lunch, and you haven't eaten dinner," Rose said, continuing to serve Eve.
Rose served herself and then carried the plates over to the couch, rather than eat on the dining table. That dining table was reserved for eating with her father.
"Here you go…" Rose handed the plate over to Eve, who took it reluctantly. She waited for Eve to take a bite, beaming at her until she did. Eve looked at her a bit weirdly, but when she took a bite, she sort of flashed a smile, a good sign.
"Yeah, it's alright." Said Eve, looking away. Rose smiled and began to eat.
While they ate, they talked about life, annoying people at school, and plans for the future (which Eve ended up not having). Once they finished, they watched a little bit of television, which would take a slight hit to Rose's monthly bill, but it was fine. While watching TV, Rose glanced over at Eve's shoes, which were left by the doorway. They had a few red splotches that weren't there when they previously met, but she put them out of her mind for the time being. Not because it was unimportant, but because it would do more harm than good.
After they had watched TV for about an hour, Rose showed Eve the way to her room. In the middle of the walk down the hallway, Rose stopped and turned towards Eve.
"What did you do with Abigail?" She said, slowly.
Eve patted her on the shoulder and slightly ruffled her hair.
"She won't bother you anymore." Eve said, a slight glint in her eye. Rose put it off; she knew what had happened, but did not want to think about it. She opened the door to her room and let Eve in.
"Ladies first," Rose said.
"Oh, thank you prince Rose!" Said Eve in a posh accent, curtsying on the way in. They chuckled together as Rose closed the door behind them.
"So this is my room. Uhhh… You don't really need a tour, do you? Everything's kinda visible."
"Nope." Eve threw herself on Rose's bed.
"Have you showered yet?" Rose gave a glare at Eve.
"Uhhhhhhh…"
"Go shower, the bathrooms are next to my room. You can borrow some pajamas…" Rose let Eve borrow her largest pair, unsure if they would fit. Eve was a bit stocky compared to Rose.
Rose bustled around her room, doing her usual things before bed. She checked her email, straightened her hair, etcetera Once Eve got out of the shower, Rose invited her to bed.
"A bit small…" Eve said. The ankles of the pants were about two inches too short, the sleeves of the shirt a bit tight.
"It's only for the night, bring your own clothes next time." Rose reminded.
"Yeah, I guess I probably should."
"Do you have your uniform?" Rose's question was already answered before Eve even spoke. Eve had to ponder whether she had her uniform.
"It's fine, I'll just wear your pink pajamas to school." Said Eve.
"You'll get dress coded, you know."
"It's fine, they don't care that much about students like me." Eve ended the conversation there.
Rose got up to sit in her chair; she had forgotten to check on the web novel. After looking around for a bit, she decided there was nothing to be read. Eve looked over Rose's shoulder at the page and chuckled for a moment. Rose turned around, looking confused.
"What's up?"
"Nothing, nothing..." Eve got into Rose's bed and patted the side next to her, inviting Rose. Rose sat on the side closest to the wall, Eve on the furthest.
"So… What do you do when you get home?" Asked Rose.
"I work on stuff until I sleep." Said Eve.
"Can I still only know what stuff is when we marry?"
"And have twenty kids." Eve finished.
Rose sighed, beginning to cover herself in the sheets of the bed, and Eve followed.
"And you're sureeeee I can't know what something is?"
"I'm sure."
"Awwwh…" Rose gave up.
"Can you turn off the lamp?" Asked Rose. Eve turned it off, plunging them into darkness. All Rose could feel was the warmth of Eve's body, the steady, calm breathing, and the nice smell of Eve. Her heart rate rose just a tad. Rose wondered if she would have a night this great again, she hadn't been this at peace since her dad.
"So, do you just live alone here?" Asked Eve, whispering. The whispers made Rose jump slightly, though she enjoyed it more than being jumpscared.
"Well… uhm…" Rose struggled to find her words, and Eve waited patiently.
"You remember when you first started having me do stuff? When I stole Miss Anderson's lunch?"
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that."
"Well… The day after that, he… Uhm…" She continued to struggle.
"He died of a heart attack." Rose spat out, the thought bringing tears to her eyes. Eve noticed this and pulled Rose toward her, rubbing her back.
"You can let it all out." Eve put Rose's head on her shoulder.
Rose cried, cried for a while. They didn't speak for about ten minutes until she was done. Rose pulled away from Eve, slightly, just enough so that their hands were still connected, just enough so that Eve's arm still lay under Rose's neck.
"Eve, I…" Rose faltered.
Eve was asleep. Rose gave a sad smile and decided it was time she slept now. As Rose drifted off to sleep, all she could think about was Eve's warm, welcoming arms embracing her, her imagination so good she felt it. She heard a murmur, not understanding it as if it weren't even English.
That night, Rose didn't visit her dad. Only Eve occupied her mind…