Chapter 50 Rosalie
FIFTY
ROSALIE
“Do you want me to braid your hair?” Jamie asked as we sat on my bed.
“If you want,” I murmured, absentmindedly petting Cotton, who purred beneath my hand.
She moved behind me and set to work. I’d forced myself to shower earlier after Cole came in, asking me why I wasn’t in classes. I’d scoffed at him and said I wasn’t going.
He was, though.
Even Fox’s death wouldn’t stop him from getting things done. I both admired and hated that.
I was sure Ethan wasn’t returning to classes this semester, but then Cole told me he was taking a few online and that I could too.
I said no.
He’d stared me down before letting out a sigh and leaving me. I knew he wanted me to push on and keep going, but I wasn’t at the same stage in my healing journey as he was.
And honestly, I didn’t care. I just wanted Fox. It was tearing me apart inside. The pain came in waves, especially at night when I was more alone. I’d cried so much that I wasn’t even sure how I had more tears.
“There,” Jamie said, finishing my braid.
“Thanks,” I answered as I stared at the wall.
She shifted so she was sitting next to me again. “Rosalie?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you going to talk to Fox’s lawyer?”
He’d reached out to me. I kept putting it off because it felt too final. Once it was completed, it felt like everything was real. Sure, we’d buried him, but this was the last piece of business left to do.
The guys didn’t know Fox had left me everything. But why would they? Cole was the only one who came to see me. Ethan kept his distance and wouldn’t even look at me. Enzo couldn’t even bother to hug me.
I stared down at the engagement ring I wore. I didn’t even know if we were still engaged, yet I couldn’t bring myself to take the ring off.
“I don’t know,” I murmured. “It’s…”
“Too final,” she finished gently.
I nodded, my throat tight.
“Rosalie, Fox set this up for you. He’d want this. And… can I be honest?”
I nodded, not bothering to look away from the wall.
“Things are cold here, babe. I-I don’t know what’s going on with the guys, but they’re not the same. I know everyone is grieving, but you’re not being treated the way you should be. I’m worried.”
I looked over at her finally. “What do you mean?”
She licked her lips. “I-I heard Enzo on the phone last night. He was talking to someone. Asking if they’d meet up with him.”
“Probably business—”
“Rosalie.” She took my hand and held it tightly. “It was a girl.”
My heart jolted at her words. I blinked rapidly.
“H-How do you know it was?”
“He had her on speaker in his office. The door wasn’t closed all the way. I-I shouldn’t have been listening, but I-I…”
My bottom lip wobbled. Enzo had definitely been withdrawing. He hadn’t kissed me. Hugged me. Said he loved me in weeks. I hadn’t had sex since the party.
“Did-Did he say her name?”
“No,” she said. “The girl sounded excited to meet with him, though. She-She said she knew he’d come around.”
I wiped quickly at my eyes.
“I didn’t want to tell you, but you deserve to know something is going on. I wasn’t sure if I should tell you since maybe it was nothing,” she continued helplessly. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I managed to say.
“Please, Rosalie. Call the attorney. Get things sorted in case you have to leave. You’ll need the money to set yourself up. I think Fox knew it all along. Trust in him, OK?”
I nodded, my throat still tight. She reached out, grabbed the letter from my nightstand, and handed me my phone.
“I’ll leave if you want me to,” she said.
“Stay,” I whispered, taking the items from her. “I-I need you to stay.”
She nodded as I breathed out. It took me a moment to gather myself. Was Enzo cheating on me? That wasn’t like him at all. Maybe it was just some business thing. He was always talking to new people.
Deep down, I knew something wasn’t right. It hadn’t been right in weeks.
With shaky hands, I called the lawyer.
“Dennis Welton, attorney at law,” a man answered.
I cleared my throat. “Um, hello. T-This is Rosalie Bishop—”
“Miss Bishop, I was just going to call you. I have your late fiancé’s will here. We need to go over it.”
“Yes,” I said. “What do you need from me?”
“I need to read off to you what he’s left you, and then I need a signature. That’s it. What does your availability look like?”
“Open.”
“Perfect. Tomorrow at… four PM work for you?”
“Yes.”
“My address is on your letter. Just come in and let Meredith know you’re here for the Evans’s will.
If anything changes, please call me.” He paused before speaking again, his voice going from professional to gentle.
“Fox was an extraordinary man, Rosalie. I’m deeply sorry for your loss.
Let’s get this sorted, OK? This was important to him. ”
“OK,” I choked out. “I’ll be there.”
“See you soon.”
“Bye.” I disconnected the call and looked to Jamie.
“Do you need a ride?” she asked. “I’ll drive.”
I shook my head. “No. I-I want to go alone.”
“What about the guys?”
I scoffed. “What about them? They probably won’t even notice I’m gone. And Enzo…” I swallowed. “It doesn’t matter. I have to do this. For Foxy.”
“And you,” Jamie said, squeezing my hand.
“For me,” I whispered.
I put on a pink sundress and stared at myself in the mirror. I looked like hell. I barely slept, and whenever I did, it was filled with heartbreaking dreams of losing Fox.
I had to do this. In true boyfriend fashion, Enzo hadn’t come to see me again.
I stopped wandering in to see him, too. Cole came in while I was sleeping and kissed me goodnight, just as he did every night.
I didn’t open my eyes to talk to him. I wanted to ask him so much about who Enzo was meeting up with, but I held back. Maybe I was too scared to know.
I exhaled and put on my makeup, forcing myself to complete it even though I wasn’t into it. When I was done, I almost looked like my old self.
The sadness in my eyes told a different story.
After dropping my lip gloss back into my makeup bag, I stood and slid my feet into a pair of wedge heels Fox used to love.
Forcing my tears away, I grabbed my purse and went downstairs to find the house quiet.
Jamie and Colten were around somewhere. I assumed Colten was with Ethan since I’d heard him moving around earlier.
Jamie was likely napping. She knew I was leaving, so it wasn’t like I hadn’t told anyone.
I didn’t give a shit, though.
I went to my car and got in. It took me a moment to gather myself before I started the engine and left the property. A breath of relief rushed out of me when no one pulled out behind me. I assumed that since they weren’t expecting me to go, no one was prepared.
Or maybe Enzo really didn’t care anymore and told them to let me go.
That thought hurt, but like everything else, I shoved it aside.
I went to the law office of Dennis Welton, parking in a nearby garage across the street before heading inside.
After a short elevator ride, I found his office and stepped into it to find a middle-age woman behind a desk.
“May I help you?”
“Um, I’m Rosalie Bishop. I’m here for—”
“Evans. Yes. Have a seat.”
I did as instructed and tried to steady my breathing as I waited. A few minutes later, a handsome man stepped out from behind a door.
“Rosalie?” he called out.
I stood as he gestured me inside, closing the door behind us.
“Have a seat.” He nodded to one of the leather chairs across from his desk. I took the chair and stared nervously at him as he pulled a folder toward him.
“There’s not much here. Fox was young,” he started. “Hadn’t really accumulated a lot, but what he did have was for you.”
I watched him open the folder.
“Fox is leaving behind approximately two million, three hundred ten thousand, four hundred eighty-seven dollars and thirty-six cents. That money will be transferred into your account today after signing.”
I blinked rapidly at him.
“I’m sorry. What?”
He smiled at me. “Fox said you wouldn’t believe it.
It’s just over two million three. The money was acquired through a trust fund that was established for him and then released when he turned eighteen, along with funds from his mother’s life insurance policy after her passing.
In addition, money from his work was also deposited into his account. ”
“H-He left it all to me? What about his dad? What about Kurt?”
“Everything was left to you, Rosalie. He left his father a letter. That’s all. He’s yet to collect it, but has contacted me to say he’s working and will be in soon to get it.”
I swallowed and nodded.
“In addition to that, he’s also left everything he ever owned to you.
His will explicitly states that your favorite t-shirt, his trophies, his clothes, his Xbox, his books, and anything he ever wrote is now yours.
He asks that you publish his works under the name Evans Zabblecraft.
He has also left you his Jeep. He says you’ll have the keys to it. Correct?”
I nodded wordlessly.
“I’m going to read it all out to you so you have it in lawyer terms, OK?”
I nodded again. He read the entire document before looking at me.
“Do you understand and accept these terms?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
He pushed a piece of paper at me and handed me a pen.
“Sign on the line.”
I did so and placed the pen on the table.
“Now that we have that sorted, he wanted you to reach out to Anson Beyers for the remainder of his things. He said this man is in possession of them and has them for you. Do you know who this is?”
“Yes.”
“Perfect.” He stared at me for a moment. “Rosalie, I deal with a lot of these things, but I want you to know, Fox loved you dearly. He wanted me to remind you to keep your promise to him. I don’t know what that is, but he said it was important that I tell you.”
I sniffled and wiped at my eyes.
Go to Anson if anything ever happens to me.
“Thank you.” I stood, and he followed. He walked with me to the door and stopped me.