Rosie's Thorns 🥀|18+|🥀

35 | Truths

《¤Rosie¤》

We stopped every three to four hours for bathroom breaks, food, or gas. At some point Dominic fell asleep and neither I nor Hana wanted to disturb him. We didn't know who he'd wake as, but with all of the stress lately it wasn't surprising for him to be shifting back and forth.

At some point I took up position in the passenger seat. By the time we were halfway through the journey it was visible it was taking a toll on Hana. After refusing for an hour, I was able to make her put the coordinates in the old GPS system on the dash and take over driving the remainder of the time. She climbed to the back bench seat and laid down out of sight.

Silence enveloped the van. Occasionally someone coughed or mumbled in their sleep, but it was far and few between. As much as I didn't want to dive into my thoughts, driving in complete silence wasn't my best friend. I nibbled on my thumbnail as my head ran round and round everything that had happened- I glance at the digital clock, over six hours ago. It was already a bit past midnight.

My family wasn't my family. My mother had stolen me. Fucking kidnapped me, actually. Then there's Dominic...

I glance in the rear view mirror. His arm was thrown over his face as he murmured softly in his sleep. This was a lot for him. He just found out the people he swore to protect were killed unknowingly by his own hand. I couldn't even begin to understand how that would feel.

Then there was Chuck. Who the hell invited Chuck? With everything happening, I didn't have the chance to even consider how wrong it was. That kind of conversation should have been dealt with in private. As much as it hurts Chuck, they shouldn't have had him present. Hell, he shouldn't have even found out. Dr. Ackermans, I could see him being invited as a buffer or perhaps to help us regulate our emotions healthily.

I doubt any of this went as planned. Not only was Dominic blindsided right before we showed up, but he had to stand there as his diagnosis was made public. Had he even consented to it? Or was he dragged into this merely minutes before Chuck and I showed up?

That makes it even worse.

It makes me question Dr. Ackermans actions. There wasn't a way he was unbiased during this intervention of sorts. His son was involved. Of course he'd break protocol. But why would Hana invite Chuck? Unless Dr. Ackermans suggested it. She did trust him, after all. If he told her it was better to gather us all together, then maybe she had followed blindly.

My head ached as I released my thumbnail and kneaded my temples. Streetlights blurred by as we traveled down the interstate. We still had a little under six hours left to our journey. I glanced down at the gas meter and sighed. We should be good for a bit yet.

"How long was I out?" A voice croaked.

I almost jumped out of my skin. My head snapped to the side as Dominic rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palms.

"A few hours."

"That's it?" He sounded confused as he leaned over the center console. "But we left six hours ago."

"Dom?" I sigh in relief. I knew Mío wouldn't hurt me, but I was relieved to have my Dom back.

"Yeah?" He hummed as he reclined back the passenger seat just as Mío had to climb back with me.