Chapter 2

(Notes: Rosalie: Main Character; Kendra: House Manager; Josie: Library Receptionist; Janet: HR Recruit; Naomi: Kendra's Lawyer. Kyle: Naomi's Former Husband)

Come morning, the house is busy. The women rustle as they prepare to split off and tend to their various duties. Rosalie wipes her eyes and tosses with frustration. Folding a pillow to cover her ears as she turns to the side. As Rosalie just begins to settle back into sleep, there's a knock on the door.

"Rosie? It's Kendra! Coming in."

A woman announces herself before opening the door. Rosalie grunts, pressing the pillow against her ear with more force than before, keeping her back turned.

"Rosalie, it's Monday. Rent is due in 5 days. Any luck finding a gig yet?"

Rosalie keeps her back turned, doing her best to evade the question as she glares off into the distance.

"I'm not trying to be the bad guy here Rosie. But let me know if you'll be able to make rent by the end of the week."

Rosalie's body grows limp and unresponsive.

"I might have a few missions you can do if you can't make up the money by then."

Rosalie keeps her back turned, remaining unresponsive. Kendra lets out a sigh and studies Rosalie with vague concern before retreating back out to tend to the others. Once the door closes, Rosalie immediately turns around and gazes at the door. Now, unable to sleep. She listens to the woman murmur and rustle in the background until the house grows completely silent. Once there are no longer signs of life, she pulls herself out of bed and works her way towards the bathroom.

The bathroom is messy. Spoiled laundry and dirty wipes are tossed throughout the space. Rosalie picks up after the mess before working her way to the mirror. Her hair slightly messy as she runs the sink to grab some water to smooth out the roots. She then reaches for a towelette as she proceeds to wash her face and brush her teeth. Upon finishing, she gazes at herself momentarily. Her almond brown eyes relay strength and fragility simultaneously. Her full lips soften her hardened gaze. A few beauty marks sprinkle throughout her face.

She looks at herself defensively, disconnected from the mirrored image. Before turning the shower faucet and stripping her clothes off. She sits on the toilet to pee as she allows the shower to get warm. Her knees buckle as she puts her hand to the bottom of her chin contemplatively. Steam fills the bathroom as Rosalie thrusts herself beneath the warm waterfall coming from her shower head. Tension is suddenly less than before as she loses herself in the moment.

Once Rosalie begins to lather herself, the door bell manages to ring.

"Really?" She grunts, as she opens one eyes through the facial mask she's managed to slather on.

She rushes out the shower, leaving it running as she throws on the towel and rushed to answer the door.

"Yes?" She utters attitudinal before she could fully open the door. To her surprise, the man from the alley stands before her. She glances at him embarrassed. She does her best to cover her chest with her hands while looking behind her anxiously for an escape route. The man arches his eyebrow in amusement before holding up a chain with an amulet in the center.

"This yours?"

Rosalie touches her neck frantically only to notice that her chain was not there. She grabs it from his hands impulsively before retreating into an unapologetic stance.

"Where did you find this.. I mean, how did you know it was mine? And even find me?"

The man places a finger back to his lips, making direct eye contact with Rosalie again. She stares at him, slightly confused. He smirks before working his way off his porch. He walks until out of sight. Rosalie looks around for a vehicle but finds none. Confused as to how the man even made his way to the home.

After closing the door behind her, Rosalie glances at the amulet protectively before leaning against the door and holding it closely to her chest. After a moment of contemplation, she works her way back to the shower and rinses off the rest of her face mask. As she just begins to finish up, her phone receives a ping.

Rosalie quickly dries herself off as she makes her way to her phone. A notification from a writing app can be seen. The notification reads: "Someone has left a review! Keep up the good work."

Rosalie clicks on the notification to examine the feedback. A comment from "ItsAGhost27" reads" "Well, that caught me off guard. Really like your use of repetition. I could really envision myself within the setting you've described! Just a bit long for my taste."

Rosalie's eyebrows furrow, not entirely pleased by the review. She looks into the mirror once more as she experiences a vague flashback. A little girl can be seen writing fervently as an older woman creeps up behind her.

"What have you come up with this time Rosie? Perhaps a story that will heal the world?"

The woman smiles warmly at the child before rubbing her cheek against her affectionately. The flash back ends abruptly as Rosalie is left with nothing but her self reflection. She stares at herself for a moment more before working her way back into her room. As she walks through the hallway, she bumps into an unexpected straggled. A woman dancing to music from her headphones and licking a spoon full of oatmeal manages to bump into Rosalie.

The woman screams due to being startled before pulling off her headphones and greeting Rosalie.

"Oh! It's just you Rosie!"

"What are you doing home Margaret? No work today. Nah! I'm having a manic episode and decided to finish my canvas instead." Margaret smirks at Rosalie. Rosalie looks back with compassion.

"Hey, how are the meds working for you by the way? I'm considering changing doses." Rosalie looks off to the side guiltily. The woman scans Rosalie's face for signs of clarity.

"No way, you're not taking them?" The woman scolds.

"I'll catch you later Marg. Gotta run."

"Wait, Rosie!"

Rosalie rushes to her room and slams her room door shut as she throws her soiled clothes into a laundry basket and sits before a vanity mirror. Margaret stays in the hallway for a moment. She considers knocking on Rosalie's door to inquire further. But instead shrugs it off. Throwing her headphones back on and working her way back into her room to finish her oatmeal.

Rosalie begins to moisturize her face, playing music aloud from her phone as she gets into a zone that allows her to get ready with ease. She throws on a pair of trousers and a crop top before rushing out the door. As she makes her way to the front door, she slides on her running shoes before running out the house. As she makes her way on to the sidewalk, a young man can be seen exiting his house simultaneously. As he works his way to his car, he takes notice of Rosalie. As Rosalie prepares to slide her headphones in, the man begins to wave. Rosalie waves back before continuing along her path.

She works her way to the local library where she greets the head receptionist. "Hey Josie! How's rush hour treating you?"

The receptionist continues to type while greeting Rosalie unofficially. "Well, I can tell you every study in the room in the building is occupied. But I did manage to save you one of course."

"You're sincerely the best!" Rosalie exclaims as she leans closer to the counter and waits for the coordinates. The receptionist prints out the room number and slyly hands it to Rosalie with honor. Rosalie clasps her hands with gratitude, whispering and exaggerated "I owe you." Before making her way towards to room. She climbs a few flight of stairs, passing by the children's section where she glances at a small boy playing with a toy dinosaur. He yells "Roar!" As his mom quickly hushes him. The mother catches glances with Rosalie and locks eyes. Rosalie flashes a friendly eye smile before continuing up to the third floor, where the practice room was located.

As Rosalie makes her way to the room, she finds a young man sleeping at a table inside of the room. Rosalie looks at her phone to see if she might be early only to realize that she's 20 minutes after the booking start time. She inches her face closer to the window only to find the man's belonging's spread throughout the floor.

"Oh great." Rosalie scolds. She attempts to knock on the glass gently, but the man remains fast asleep. She attempts to knock harder, to no avail. After tacking a jab at the handle, the door has surprisingly managed to open itself. Rosalie enters the room and continues to try to grab the man's attention.

"Excuse me? Sir?"

The man remains unresponsive. Rosalie inches closer and gently places a hand on the man's shoulder in attempt to wake him. Upon contact, the man jolts up and begins to look around frantically. He begins to foam at the mouth as he begins to scream. Rosalie jumps back against the wall defensively. She studies the man in complete shock, too afraid to move. The man continues to yell inaudibly, causing further fear within Rosalie.

"I--I'm sorry!" She jolts. The man suddenly calms down, squinting at Rosalie this time. Rosalie makes eye contact with the man, uncertain of what to expect. He maintains the eye contact through a momentary silence before diverting his attention towards picking up his belongings. The man quickly grabs his things and exits the room in a sloppy fashion. Rosalie studies the man in fear and waits until he's no longer in sight before closing the door. Upon shutting the door, she notices that the man has left behind an item. She picks it up and hurries to rush after the man, only to find that he is no longer in sight. She returns to the study room, further examining the object. A medallion that reads: "Good Girl" with an outline of a naked woman. Rosalie's face grows flush as she places the medallion at the end of the table and proceeds to open her laptop.

As the laptop finishes warming up, Rosalia opens a job search engine and proceeds to job hunt. She scrolls for a while before anything can truly catch her interest. Just before she is about to exit the site, an ad at the bottom of the screen manages to catch her attention. It reads: Hiring Immediately! Evening gig, looking for someone with a flexible shift to do per diem shift work in a small residential facility downtown."

Rosalie reads over the details of the ad before rushing to apply. Upon clicking on the ad, she notices that the ad was only posted an hour ago. She takes her time filling out the complication, concluding with her email address and phone number. After applying, Rosalie is suddenly filled with a renewed sense of energy and decides to apply for a few more positions. She spends a few hours in the study room doing so, up until her time runs out. By the end of the session, Rosalie closes out her tabs and packs her laptop up. She walks back down to the front desk to thank Josie for her stealth and offer a warm goodbye.

As she walks into a revolving door, she receives an expected phone call from an unfamiliar source. She picks up skeptically.

"Hello?"

"Hi, yes! May I speak to Rosalie please?"

"This is she?"

"Great! My name is Janet from HR. I'm calling in regard to the per diem position you applied to on our job site."

"Oh!" Rosalie immediately perks up. She suddenly clears her voice and does her best to sound more professional.

"It's great to hear from you Janet!"

"Yeah, glad I was able to reach you! So I was very impressed by your work experience and was wondering if you've ever worked within a residential facility before?"

Rosalie pauses as her stare grows sullen. She begins to experience a flashback again. In the vision, a young lady rests in a medical bed. She looks frail, but does her best to flash a small. Another girl can be seen holding on to her hand. The two exchange warm glances as the healthier girl fights back tears.

"Hello?" Janet's voice brings Rosalie back down to earth.

"Uh, yes. Well, I have spent a lot of time in these kinds of facilities. So i'm familiar with how they operate."

"Great! Do you think you can come in on Wednesday?"

Rosalie's eyes light up. "Uh, yeah! Is there a dress code?"

"Black slacks, black shirt, black shoes." Janet mentions succinctly, as if this were a commonly asked question.

"Perfect, looking forward to it Janet!"

"See you Wednesday Rosalie."

Rosalie hangs up the phone, and begins to twirl around with gentle glee. Forgetting the world around her for a moment. She almost knocks a couple over in the process. The boyfriend, protective of his partner, happens to make a fuss.

"Hey, watch where you're swinging those massive arms lady!"

Rosalie, embarrassed, collects herself and works her way back home. As she makes her way inside, she notices an unfamiliar car parked in the drive way. She does her best to study the license plate but doesn't recognize the vehicle. As she makes her way inside, she finds Kendra inside talking to a lively but decisive woman in a fashionable suit. As she walks to through the door, the two immediately welcome her.

"Hey Rosie." Kendra greets.

"Ou, Rosie is it? What a charming name! The spunky short haired woman inquires.

Rosalie looks at the woman uncertain of how to respond.

"Oh, how rude of me. I should introduce myself. Naomi, Kendra's lawyer."

"Lawyer?" Rosalie attempts to clarify.

Naomi looks over to Kendra, being careful not to overstep. Kendra grabs her head in frustration before letting out an involuntary sob.

"Kyle wants a Divorce." She manages to utter.

"Oh honey, you have to let it out now." Naomi reassures Kendra before rushing to pat her in the back.

Rosalie looks at Kendra with an uncomfortable empathy, not sure of how to comfort her.

"I--I'm sorry to hear that Kendra. He really will be missing out without you."

Kendra stops crying momentarily and looks up at Rosalie. She purses her lips in tilts her head in agreement. "He's always had a delayed response rate to everything anyway."

Kendra attempts to wipe her tears and recollect herself as Naomi smirks at her with encouragement.

"You're home early today. Everything okay?"

Rosalie pauses, uncertain of weather she should share her good news with Kendra going through despair.

"Uh, I found a way to make some money? So hopefully that softens your load."

"That's great sweetheart. Things always seem to work out for you."

Kendra reassures, before realizing the impact of her words and returning to her sullen state. She begins to sob uncontrollably, sinking her face into her hand. Naomi offers a bear hug while turning around to relieve Rosalie of emotional support duty.

"Nice to meet you." Naomi whispers while arching her eyebrows in disbelief. Rosalie returns the glance of disbelief before thanking Naomi and tip toeing away. She slides in, only to find her roommate in bed sick.

"Ah yuck, the suds!" Rosalie teases as she works her way to her bed.

"Shut up Rosie! You should be lucky that you can breath with two nostrils. Okay!"

Rosalie smirks as she tosses herself back into bed. She pulls the comforter over herself, turning into a bed burrito before doom scrolling on her phone. Her roommate returns back to sleep, as the room occupies a comfortable silence. Rosalie scrolls across several videos before falling into a restful nap.