Rosaline

It had been a five months since I had last heard anything about those men, I guess it was all due to the changes I had made.

That day had made me realise just exactly the amount of danger that I was in and also just how much I valued my life and still wanted to be alive.

After that day, I went to the salon, dyed my hair blonde, straightened it from the usual frizzy curls it was always in.

I put on blue contacts, hit the gym and lost some weight. I did not stop there, I changed my wardrobe, from the usual hoodies and sweats I wore to short skirts, crop tops, I basically just got anything that I was the exact opposite of who I was.

That was not the only change I made.

I packed the little things and with all the money that I had taken from my parent’s safe that could last me for a free month's if I was cautious with my spending, I moved across the world.

Leaving the only place I knew as home, Sydney was one of the hardest things ever .

I chose the busiest city in the world, somewhere that it would be hard to find me in the midst of so many people, New York.

Till my parents died I had never understood why they deposited a very huge sum of money every month into a secret account and granted me access to it. They just always claimed it was for any emergency that might pop up

Now I understood, they knew something like this could happen, a part of me hated them for not taken better precaution to prevent this for happening, but the sensible part of me knew there was nothing they could have done

Living in New York was very different from Sydney, it was noisier, busier and people weren't as friendly.

Despite the ruins my life was in, my parents had put measures to ensure my safety after their demise, with the documents I had swiped from the safe in a hurry, I found out that I was enrolled in Hamilton College, one of the best liberal arts schools.

They were always after my happiness even at the end and I missed them so much every day.

Unfortunately, they had not really thought so far about my accomodation situation as they enrolled me in the school dorms.

The old Rosaline would have been pleased but the new Rosaline could not afford to stay there, after all she was the most pretty and popular girl in school.

When I started school I did it everything in my power to make my place in the school.

The more I belonged, the more people would not think that anything is odd about me

It was really hard to be the new kid at school , even more worse, being the new kid who wanted to take the position of the most popular girl in school

But I was a determined person, once I had set my mind on something, I always saw through it

Two years flew by in a blur two years of peace, of laying low, of fitting in. No threats, no close calls. I’d settled into school life like I was meant to be there.

In just two years, I had it all or at least, that’s what it looked like.

I joined the cheer team, even though I didn’t really care for it. But if I wanted to get what I wanted, I had to become cheer captain. That was just the game.

But my heart? It belonged to the dance team. That was what I truly worked for. It wasn’t just any dance team, it was the most prestigious in the country. And I loved to dance. I had dreams, big ones. I saw myself performing in Europe, becoming a professional dancer, living a life on stage.

I pushed myself day and night, polishing choreography, perfecting every move. I worked my body to the edge because I knew I was this close to being the best. And I wanted it more than anything.

My first real friend was Candace. She was on both the dance and cheer teams too. Even when I tried to keep my walls up, she stayed. She cared, and for the first time, it felt good to let someone in. She was also insanely popular, especially with the hockey crowd which didn’t hurt.

Eventually, I started dating Brett, the hockey team captain. I wasn’t sure if I loved him, but he fit the image of the perfect life I thought I needed.

And somewhere along the way, I lost track of why I was doing all this. Was I trying to change, to stay hidden? Or was I just lonely—so desperate for connection that I wanted the whole world to revolve around me?

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Staring at my reflection on my mirror, I picked my clutch and headed out, the Uber I had ordered already waiting outside

I got into the car, scrolling through my Instagram feed

My likes were increasing steadily and my followers too

Everything was going well apart from the fact that money was reducing and I had to find a way to earn more

I was not one to meet random men online and go out with them

But urgent times called for extra urgent measures and here I was

As I stepped in the hotel and took a seat, I got a notification

“Asshole”

I muttered under my breath

The man just cancelled, I grabbed my purse ready to go back home when I sighted the most jaw dropping man in my life

He was hunched over at the bar drinking something that looked like bourbon

The wise thing was for me to go home and change out of all this

But everything in me wanted to go and meet him and wipe that anxious look from his face

There was just something about him and I was determined to find out what it is

Grabbing my purse, I headed for the bar

I might as well make good use of this night, I thought with a smile