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    "What has your undivided attention like that?" Maisie snaps me out of my thoughts. Since we both have a gap, we''re having lunch together. It''s been ten days since we started to casually date. I really like spending my time with Maisie. She knows how to put me in a good mood and distract me from everything I''m trying to stop thinking about. But when I''m alone at night, Rosie is the one who upies my mind and hear.


    "Nothing important. I saw an article about a novel Rosic likes that is about to be turned into a movie," I answer her truthfully. Maisie and I are always honest with each other, so even if it''s something about Rosie, I always tell her if she asks. "Do you think she''s going to be excited about that?" she wonders!


    "Excited, but she''s surely going to overthink the whole process. She prefers when books get turned into tv shows, not movies," I reply, setting my phone down.


    "Why?


    "Because TV shows have more time than movies and she doesn''t like it when directors omit parts of the story," I tell her. "Enough about Rosie. How''s that paper you''ve been struggling with?" I change the subject.


    "It''s going to be the death of me." She buries her head in her folded arms resting on the table for a second. "But I don''t have much left. I think I will be done with it tomorrow."


    "So if I would like to take you out tonight, would that be convenient with your schedule?" I wonder.


    s as she nods.


    "Yes." She grins a


    "Is there anywhere you''d like to go to?" I ask her.


    "Not really.


    You


    I can surprise me," she says.


    "Do you want to do something before or after having dinner?" I ask her. I don''t know her enough to surprise her with a full n and I don''t want us to do something she won''t enjoy. "Well, I''m in the mood for bungee jumping, but since we can''t do that, we can just have dinner," she says, making me chuckle.


    "Yeah, it''s going to to be hard to go bungee jumping now, but we can n something like thatter," I tell her with a grin. "But we can go ice skating if you want?" I suggest. I''m not sure if this is something she will enjoy or not, but I know how much Rosie enjoys ice skating. "I''m not a fan of falling on my butt." She chuckles, standing up. "I gotta go now, but I will see you tonight." She leans towards me and we share a quick kiss before she leaves the ce. Our kisses are usually short. They''re not intimate or full of longing, We just kiss because couples kiss. Nothing else.


    After a while, I get up too and make my way to my lecture. On my way there, I spot Knox and Sabrina, so I jog over to them.


    "Hey guys," I say.


    "Hey!Long time no see," Sabrina greets me.


    "I know, but I have seen you at ourst game," I tell her.


    "Yeah, somebody here wanted me to attend." She smiles, leaning on Knox who kisses her temple. I love their rtionship and how chill they are together.


    UThis is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "You bring me luck," he tells her, and I instantly remember when I used to call Rosie my lucky charm.


    "I gotta go now, but I will see you tonight!" Sabrina waves us goodbye, then looks at her boyfriend when she mentions their n for the night.


    I will pick you guys up at seven!" Knox tells her and she nods before rushing to wherever she needs to be.


    "You guys are going out t tonight?" ''I casually ask. To be honest, I''m curious. I want to know who they''re going out with, because usually, I''m the one who tags along with them.


    "Yeah, we''re going out with Rosie tonight. Sabrina doesn''t want to leave her alone." Worry instantly fills me when Knox says that.


    "Is Rosie okay?" I ask, hoping the answer is yes.


    "She broke up with Everest. While she''s not exactly heartbroken, we don''t know if she''s just good at hiding her feelings or she''s genuinely okay. We just want to make sure that she''s fine." It takes me a moment to process what I have just heard. She broke up with Everest. She is no longer dating anybody. But I am. I''m dating Maisie and I respect her. "Why did they break up?" I find myself f asking.


    "She heard him talking about her


    in a a terrible way. Turns out he was only with her because he wanted to benefit from her family, Knox fills me in, and I curse under my breath. who was trying to use her. I don''t want her Not again. It took her a lot of time when she was young to get over the friend go through that again. Do her parents know? Is there anything I can do to make it better for her? There are a lot of questions in my head, and I don''t know what to do. Should I stay away, considering that I now have a girlfriend?


    "I need to check on on her. Wh When did did they break up?" I ask Knox. The fact that I''m learning Rosie''s news from Knox doesn''t sit


    met Knox through me. well with me. This shouldn''t be the case. Rosie was my friend first. Sh


    I do is nod.


    "Three days ago," he replies and all I do is


    "I gotta go now, but I will see youter," I tell my friend before walking away. I need to call Rosie. I know her better than them, and I''m a hundred percent sure that she''s not doing as well as she''s making them believe.


    I look at my phone and curse under my breath. I only have ten minutes to get to ss. I rush there with only one thought: Rosie. I want to see her and spend some time with her. I''m not sure what I''m supposed to do, but all I know is that I want to be there for her. Once the professor announces that the lecture is over, I practically dash out of the ssroom and take my phone out of my pocket. I call her and to my surprise, she doesn''t pick up. Rosie always picks up. The only time she didn''t pick up was when she had the ident. Just thinking about that makes me want to search for her everywhere.


    I try calling her again, but she doesn''t pick up. I don''t even know her schedule, so I''m not sure if she is home or at the


    campus.


    I still can''t believe that she chose to tell Knox and Sabrina but didn''t tell me. Does she want me out of her life? Have I been that bad to her? My mind refuses toprehend the reasons behind her actions. There must be something I''m not aware


    of.


    01.


    I make my way home and before going to my apartment, I head towards hers. I just want to see her with my own eyes to make sure that she''s okay. I ring the doorbell and impatiently wait for her to open the door for me.


    Just when I''m about to give up, she opens it for me and to say I''m relieved would be an understatement. I find myself


    wrapping my arms around her body and kissing the top of her head like I''m used to.


    3


    "Is everything okay?" she asks when we pull away. She looks like she has been asleep. Didn''t she have lectures today?


    "I was worried about you," I say, looking at her face. "I called, but you didn''t pick up."


    "Sorry, I was napping," she tells me. "Did you want something?"


    "I wanted to check on you. I heard that you broke up with Everest. Knox told me about what he did," I reply and watch as she takes a heavy breath.


    guess you were right." A sad small smile appears on her lips. "He was bad after all.


    "I''m not here to tell you I told you so, Rosie. I just want to make sure you''re okay," I tell her. I would never be happy that Everest turned out to be an awful person. He caused her pain, and her pain could never bring me joy. If anything, it''s a source of misery for me. "Why didn''t you tell me?" I ask even though I have a feeling I''m not supposed to do so. It didn''t cross my mind." She sounds unsure and I wonder if we have reached the end of our friendship. "I know that you''re now dating Maisie, so it doesn''t feel right to annoy you with my love life."


    Is that why? Is it because of Maisie?


    want to tell her that whatever Maisie and I have doesn''tpare with what we once had, but the look on her face tells me that she''s not ready for such a conversation.


    I can still be your friend while dating Maisie," I remind her.


    "I know." She smiles at me. "Thank you for being here for me, Ss. You truly are the best and I''m lucky to have life."


    you


    in my


    "Promise to call me if you ever need anything, Rosie," I tell her. I need to make sure that she knows how much she means to


    me.


    "You surely like to take care of me." She offers me a bigger smile that I know isn''t real. "Thank you, Ss. I owe you a lot." She wraps her arms around me, and I do the same.


    "You owe me nothing, cupcake," I say, and I swear, I feel her body shaking in my embrace for a second.


    "I will see youter," she says, pulling away from me.


    "Maybe we can go out sometime," I suggest, and she nods, but I think she doesn''t want to go out with me anymore. "See youter, Rosie." I smile at her onest time before walking away from her front door. It dawns on me when she closes the door behind me that this time, she didn''t invite me in. Not only that, but she didn''t


    promise to call if she needed me. I hate to think that maybe this is the end of our friendship, but I guess everythinges to an end even if it''s against our will.