Chapter 2
Rosalie
Iwas just being paranoid, that was the only explanation.
Of course I would feel uneasy walking home alone at night.
Who wouldn’t? I was only five feet and two inches tall, and quite slim compared to most girls my age.
In today’s world, that made me an easy target.
It was rule number one of being a college girl.
Don’t walk home alone at night. Yet that’s exactly what I was doing.
I just finished studying at my friend Margot’s house after several hours of ballet class, and my home was only four blocks over from hers, which was pretty convenient in my opinion.
Luckily, neither of us lived all that far from school or the dance studio I attended either.
It was all within walking distance more or less.
Sometimes I missed living with my parents.
My parents in general really. My dad got mixed up with people he shouldn’t have and bam!
Twelve years old and I lost not just both of them, but everything.
I ended up growing up with my grandma, and ballet became my escape because of it.
Now that I was older, and my gran was gone, it was just me and this tiny little town my gran raised me in.
Even though this was home, I felt a little lost without any guidance from Gran despite her passing over a year ago.
A soft sigh left my lips. I checked my phone to see I had no new calls or texts either. “Typical,” I muttered to myself, shoving my phone into the pocket of my hoodie. I was alert walking home, drifting my gaze to my surroundings. A sense of unease washed over me.
The sound of a bottle rolling across the sidewalk startled me. I stopped, slowly turning around and looking at it. I gulped.
Why do I feel like somebody's watching me?
Part of me wanted to call out and ask who was there, but the other part of me knew better. It was a small town and there were reasons it wasn’t advised to go out at night. Coyotes, bears, cougars, that sort of thing. I picked up my pace, running the rest of the way home.
The moment I made it back, I locked the door behind me for good measure.
What a dreary day. It was already raining when I woke up. Luckily, my friend Sadie offered to let me carpool with her to work, since she worked at the boutique across the street from the cafe I worked at.
“You are a godsend,” I greeted her, getting into the front passenger seat.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. What would you ever do without me?” she quipped lightly.
“Certainly not ever get to work on time.” I giggled.
She rolled her eyes. Sadie shifted gears and began to drive.
Neither of us were morning people by choice, but unfortunately this tiny little town of ours didn’t know the concept of sleeping in.
Sadie and I spent the first half of the drive jamming out to some music and mentally preparing for the day, but then our music session was interrupted by the morning news.
My brow furrowed, listening to the news channel speak of a body found last night in the parking lot behind the cafe I happened to work at.
That’s strange…
Sadie and I glanced at one another.
I leaned forward, changing the channel to something else. Neither one of us said a word until we entered the cafe.
Lifting my hands, I slid my strawberry blonde curls back into a ponytail. “Yeah, I can’t believe I’ve been ghosted by three guys now. Three Sadie, three. It’s like I’m an ogre or something.” I paused, lifting my eyes to Silas with a smile. “Good morning, Silas.”
“Good morning, Rosalie,” he held out an iced coffee for me.
I smiled, knowing exactly what it was without asking.
He knows me so well… How sweet.
“Oh, come on, you’re going to have to sift through the bad apples to find the right guy, Rosalie,” Sadie replied, eyeing Silas and me. I knew it’s because he made me coffee. She gave me ‘the look’. One in which I tried to subtly return.
I rolled my eyes, making her usual. I handed it off to her and watched her make her way to the boutique across the street where she worked. She really was something.
Silas stood slightly behind me. I took a sip of my iced caramel macchiato with extra caramel syrup just the way I liked it. He hesitated before leaning in closer. “I don’t think you’re an ogre, by the way. Those guys aren’t good for you anyways,”
And what did he mean by that?
My face flushed pink. He was sweet; I would give him that.
Silas was a bit odd, but he was hot. I assumed his quirks came with the tragedy of his childhood.
I remembered his parents’ accident being broadcasted on TV.
We were only about seven or eight when it happened, but they died in a horrible car accident.
It wasn’t until after their deaths that it came out that he had been abused by them, and then he was sent to live with his uncle in this shit town neither of us wanted to be in.
It was something I could relate to, having dead parents and the childhood trauma that came from it.
He however came from money that I never had.
Rumors were that he was rich, and he worked here because he wanted to earn his own money instead of relying on the money that came from his dead parents. Despite working with him literally all the time, I didn't ask. I thought it would be insensitive too even after all this time.
My eyes lingered on him, taking in his frame.
He was much taller than me. At least a foot or so.
Dark curls, dark eyes, a sharp jawline, and soft freckles.
Tattoos covered his left arm and up his neck, and not to mention the snake bite piercings he had on either side of his bottom lip.
I tilted my head slightly, surprised girls didn’t flock to him merely for his good looks.
Does he realize how hot he is? Or is he just incredibly humble?
“Well, I appreciate that,” I glanced briefly in his direction, our eyes met. I turned away, flustered that he was unexpectedly staring at me already.
Clearing my throat, I lifted my eyes to the customer who approached the counter. “Hi, I’m Rosalie. What can I get you?” I asked, proceeding to take their order.