𝐑𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 | 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬

𝟏𝟎 | 𝐃𝐚𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐬

"Rose Molina?" I questioned with an uncomfortable chuckle. "That's a nice name. Pretty common around here too, I bet. Right?"

"Oh, um," Julie paused. "I don't know. I haven't heard of anyone else with that name."

"Oh, right ... " I searched for more questions, or anything really, that could prove that my best friend was still alive somewhere. "Let me guess, her favourite flowers were roses?"

Julie blinked. "No, actually, she loved dahlias."

"Oh," I forced a smile, my eyes beginning to water a little. "That's funny."

I could feel the guys' eyes on me. Three pairs of eyes, filled with sorrow or pity or whatever other way you can look at someone who just found out their best friend was dead. I couldn't bare to look back at them.

I scratched the back of my head nervously. "You know, I forgot I have some, uh," My mind struggled to find an excuse. "Packing! Yes, you kicked us out and now I have to pack. I better go do that."

"But this isn't your stu- " Alex cut Reggie off with a shove. "What Reggie meant to say is thank you so much for offering to help us pack when this isn't even your studio."

I nodded before vanishing, and this time the sinking feeling felt a lot heavier than before. Rose was gone and nothing could compete with that kind of loss.

———

I reappeared on the roof of the studio. I didn't want to go inside incase the guys would walk in. No, I decided to go to the roof and stare at the sky, hoping that somewhere Rose would be staring up at it too. But sadly, something told me she wasn't.

If Rose really had died and had somehow become a ghost like us she would be here, watching over her family. I couldn't believe Rose had a family of her own and I had missed out on all of it.

When we were younger we planned on buying houses next door to each other so we could have family dinners together every Sunday. It was a childish dream, but it was one we might have actually gone through with.

It all started to make sense. Julie looked familiar to me because she looked just like Rose. The Sunset Curve t-shirt I found was the one Reggie gave to her the night we died. It could've been the t-shirt Reggie gave to me that night, I did leave it with her after all. Would she have kept it all this time? Did she miss me as much as I missed her?

My thought process was interrupted by a creak in the roof. I wiped the tears from my cheeks as Luke sat down next to me.

"Hey," He said quietly.

"Hey," I responded.

"Thought I'd find you up here," He said as he crossed his arms over his knees. "Julie's letting us stay."

I appreciated that he didn't bring up the elephant in the room - or the roof, I guess.

"Oh yeah?" I asked, to which Luke nodded. "That's great for you guys."

"What do you mean?" Luke chuckled. "You get to stay too."

I turned to face him, feeling my eyes had gone puffy. "Luke, I don't know if I can."

Without saying anything, he wrapped his arms around me. It was weird how comforting someone I had only known for a day could be. Then again, I guess I had known him for twenty-five years, right? I could feel his concern when I started laughing.

"I can't tell if you're laughing or crying right now," He said.

I pulled away and wiped the tears from my face. "It really feels like I've known you for twenty-five years."

"Well, it has been twenty-five years," He chuckled.

"Shut up," I shoved him playfully. "You know what I mean."

Luke met my eyes as he stopped laughing. "Do you think we'll ever meet up here when our afterlives aren't falling apart? I mean, it's a great view."

"I do hope so," I said genuinely.

"So, you're staying?" Luke smiled cheekily.

"Well, I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"Nope," Luke grinned. "I'm not letting you go anywhere."

"Not even if I do ... this!" I said before swiftly vanishing. Only this time, the sinking feeling felt lighter and I felt a warmth surrounding me.

When I reappeared inside the studio, I felt the warmth had moved to my hand and Luke was beside me. Holding my hand.

"I told you," Luke said, his gaze intruding mine. "I'm not letting you go anywhere."

The world around me went a little blurry as I focused on Luke's dark brown eyes. Unfortunately, I was quickly brought back to reality.

"Ahem," Alex coughed, with a raised eyebrow.

Luke and I broke eye contact as quickly as we broke hand contact. Before I looked away, I noticed a hint of red on his cheeks.

Reggie stood up from the sofa. "Ruth, Alex explained to me what was going on," He came over to hug me. "I'm sorry for your loss."

I hugged him back. "Thanks, Reg."

Alex came over to join the hug. "Rose seemed really nice."

"She was," I said, reaching out for Luke to join the group hug.

"Hey, we're still here," Reggie said optimistically. "Maybe she's still out there."

"Maybe," I said, not believing it, but appreciating the thought.

When we broke apart, Luke sprung to life.

"Hey," He said. "I know what'll cheer you up."