Rose conspicuously picks me, Marnie, and David up that afternoon, about an hour later. We pile into her car before she drops Marnie off at home and then brings us back to her place. She says that she is actually going back to Marnie's because she is going to volunteer with her at the animal shelter that afternoon until her parents get back from work. She gives us her house key and waves goodbye to us.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she says clandestinely to me, ending on a giggle, as she departs down the street.
David goes to his bedroom to lie down. I perch on the living room couch and try to get into an ABC Afterschool Special. I can't even focus on the plot—I think it has something to do with the negative impacts of drugs and teenage pregnancy or something. I find myself constantly looking towards David's bedroom door, and I hesitated for several minutes before getting to my feet.

I cross the room and down to the end of the hall, where his bedroom is located, and find myself hesitating outside it. What the hell are you waiting for?! I demand to myself. I mean, for god's sake, you're in love with the guy! I place my hand upon the door handle and step inside. I see him then, lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling. He picks up his head as I walk in, and I hesitate on the threshold, before forcing myself to speak.

"I just wanted to apologize to you for what happened at lunch today," I say quickly. "I had no right to do what I did, and, well, I'm sorry."
David stands up and comes towards me. It is always a shock to see his six foot two frame, and I find myself stepping back slightly. I knock into the edge of the door by mistake, and he takes this opportunity. He leans down and kisses me, and then I am clinging to him.
I cannot bring myself to let go of him. I love him, I love him, I love him. Then he is picking me up and taking me towards the bed. He kicks the door shut behind him, all the while holding onto me tenderly. He puts me down in the center of the bed, and I reach over to the small clock radio. I am hinging this all happening again to see if the random radio station that the radio is tuned to is playing Africa by Toto again.
My hand slaps the radio in an absentminded sort of fashion. "It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you, there's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do. I bless the rains down in Africa, gonna take some time to do the things we never had..."
"This song again?" asks David, his lips against mine, his chuckle sending hot flames of fire down my throat. "I can't believe it."
"I can," I whisper, pulling him towards me. "I can believe it." I don't let him go and allow him to do whatever he wants to me. Of course, I want it, too, but I remain silent, except for the sharp breaths that naturally come through my lips, which are the direct reaction of what he is doing to me.
"Rose, I l—"
"No," I whisper. "Just do this now. No obligation whatsoever, David. We'll probably forget about this in the morning."
He crawls back towards my face. "Never," David whispers back, and kisses me again.

. . .

We barely say anything over the ordered pizza that evening. I don't know if David's and my appearance—both fresh from separate showers—raises eyebrows or not, but I don't care; I am beyond caring. I remain silent all through the meal, only nodding to show that I am keeping up with the slight conversation at hand. I excuse myself to go to bed afterwards, and Rose soon comes to join me. It is soon clear that she has no intention of going to bed. It is clear she came to talk.
"Okay, what happened?" she demands.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Rose—"
"No!"
"Rose, are you on the pill?"
I blink and turn to look at her. "No..."
"And what about a condom?" she asks. "Did David use one?"
I shake my head. It was a fantasy come to life, so of course we weren't thinking about anything like that... "No."
She puts her head into her hands. "Rose, Rose, Rose..."
"There's no saying that I'll get pregnant or an STD. And I'm from 2013, so the dad's not automatically expected to stay around."
"You're talking like you're already pregnant."
"Right," I say sarcastically, throwing myself back onto the pillows. "That would make me either three days or three hours pregnant."
"Do you think you are?"
"No. I couldn't be."
"Rose..."
"Look at my mother!" I say at last. "She was barely able to get pregnant with me, Rose! I'm probably like her..."
"Don't be so sure."
"Oh, come on. I learned it in health class."
Rose's mouth became a thin line. "Where you learned how to use a condom and where you learned that you should be on the pill?"
I glare at her. "I really hate you right now."
"And as your second cousin, I can tell you to respect me."
"Yeah, my second cousin who's in jail for murder!" I scream at her, my voice shaking, before I can stop myself. "You don't know anything! You obviously thought you were so above the law that you basically thought, 'Screw my family, screw their family, and screw everyone's fucking family'! And then you did what you did! You're a killer, Rose, a killer! Pardon me if I don't want to take advice from someone like you," I spit in her direction before turning to face the fall.
Rose goes white as I turn away, and she stands up and leaves the room.

"No... Rose, wait." Thedoor slams behind her then, causing me to react to the sound, and I let out acry of fear at what could happen. I open the door but by the time I manage toget out into the hallway, she is already gone. "Rose!" I scream, dashingtowards the front door, but see nothing. "Rose!" I scream out into the darkness,fear in my throat. "Dammit," I whisper, leaning against the door frame. "Whathave I done...?"

. . .

I remembered the conversation—the only one—thatmy mother and I had about Rose. I'd found the only photograph of her, standingand laughing with both my parents. They were in Rose's quintessential livingroom, and Rose had the bunny ears behind both their heads. I held the photo asmy mother was cleaning the master bedroom, and showed it to her.
"Mommy, who is that?" I asked.
"Someone from Daddy's and my past," she replied.
"Why does she look like me?" I asked.
She shrugged. "Coincidence," she replied.
"Why haven't we met her?"
My mother hesitated. "She did a bad thing. Shehurt someone, and so she went somewhere because she broke the law."
"Hurt someone?" I asked.
"She...made them not be alive anymore."
"Kill?" I whispered.
She nodded. "Yes."
"When will she come out of the place?"
"Never."
"Why?"
"Because, she needs to get a shot before shecomes out."