A Withered Rose

While everyone was learning to move on, Rose was hurting, each night she tried and failed to sleep, even if she'd fallen asleep, the terrifying sight of her brother's body would wake her up.

One morning she crushed her ego, just to talk to Jayden. After he left school she caught up to him.

"Can you at least be a friend to me?" She directly said that, no his, no hellos.

"Um... Hi! Is everything alright?" Jayden wanted to know why she was talking to him, especially after watching those pictures.

He thought he should hear her out so she took him to the park.

"I want to show you something but you have to promise me that you will keep it to yourself!" She sat on the bench beside Jayden.

As soon as he nodded she took out the envelope from her bag, Jayden's heart thudded so hard he was scared of losing control over his other self.

"This is what I received the other night! This is Felix! My brother!" Rose showed him the pictures, she sniffed and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye with her sleeve.

"I want you to help me find him! Please? I can't trust anyone else" She begged, pointing her finger at the wolf.

Jayden was shaking, he felt as if he just lost the force to move his tongue.

She kept looking at him waiting for answers but even his lips were shaking, she kept her hand on his shoulder, he jerked back and dropped those photos.

"I am sorry... I…" He stammered "I am sorry about Felix" He quickly picked up the photographs from the ground.

"I can't even imagine your pain… I am just so sorry about this!" He hugged her and she started crying.

He held her tightly, he was screaming inside. He wanted to kill himself for what he did, he had no courage to even apologize to her.

She looked into his eyes and even his own eyes were flooded with tears, it wasn't suspicious for her, a dead body like that could make anyone cry.

He wiped her tears gently, and she kept looking at him in his eyes "I wish I could take away your pain… I wish I could undo whatever bad happened to you! I swear I do" He whispered, his voice was shaking.

"Please help me find him…" She begged again.

"Listen… Rose! This isn't worth it! If anything similar ever happened again I will throw this beast at your feet by myself and you can tear it apart! I promise but let it go for now… please I beg you… You are a gentle and pure soul, just like an Angel… don't let yourself drown in the darkness." He begged her.

It was not about being afraid of dying, it was just that he didn't want her to get caught in this messed-up world.

She held his hands and kept crying for a few minutes, with all that flood of emotions boiling inside, where she felt better was the nearest place to him, she got lost in his eyes and his warm breath soothed her soul.

When she got closer to him he slowly pulled himself back, even though he wanted to hold her and kiss her since that night when they danced under the moon, he wanted to tell her how he feel about her but the guilt was consuming him.

As soon as he pulled himself back she wiped her tears and stood up "I should go" She whispered "Thank you for hearing me out" She smiled and left the park.

While recalling everything she walked with a fast pace and big steps, it was the front of her home where she stopped, The Hawkbone was at the bench smiling calmly.

"She sat beside him. I am ready to face consequences" She mumbled.

He walked close to her and showed her a small flask, which was hardly an inch longer and as thin as an average little finger, it was hidden between his finger and thumb so she could hardly see what was in that flask.

When she tried to get it he pulled his hand back "I wouldn't recommend it!" He whispered.

She thought for a second and snatched the flask from his hand.

At night when she was done saying goodnight to her grandmother, after waiting for an hour she left a note on her desk and sneaked out through her window, she stared at the flask inside her hand.

She had tears in her eyes, she recalled all the memories of Felix and started running toward the lake, as she reached the lake she placed her palms on her knees and gasped for air.

She got on the dock and placed the flask on the side, she quickly cupped her hands and carried water in it, she drank twice and broke down into tears.

She was sobbing burying her face in between her arms and knees, she finally gathered some courage and grabbed that flask, she was breathing heavily, then she opened the flask and poured it all in her mouth, right after a few seconds she lost control over her body and she fell in the lake, after a couple of minutes her body started floating over the water.

In the morning when it was time past the alarm clock, Rose's Grandmother knocked on Rose's door, she knocked and knocked but there was no response.

Until she turned the knob and it opened easily, She was shaking when she saw a note on her table and her window left open, she read the note "Grandma, Dad, Mom! I am sorry but I can't take it anymore, every little detail is reminding me of Felix, I need to see him, I need to be with him, and to make it happen, I must end it all, you will find me by the lake! I am sorry, your child, Rose!"

Her grandma screamed after reading that note, and with the help of her neighbors, she rushed to the lake.

When they reached there was a small flask on the dock with the word "Poison" written on its label, on a nail on the dock, she found a piece of her frock which must have been ripped apart when she fell in the lake, so she had no choice but to get the police.

After spending hours they found her dead body, she had already turned pale.

They took her to the hospital for the rest of the inquiries, her family was devastated and the news reached Jayden and his mother, he was just sitting by her feet and sobbing with his head resting on his mother's lap "This is all my fault, Mom!" He whispered to her.

This news shocked the entire Deep Lake Society and School.

After inquiry and investigation, they allowed her parents to take her body and bury her.