#gen3.1

[stephanine-sims]

Standing there in the middle of the room, the time seemed to go extremely slow  while Rowan waited for a reply. There wasn’t going to ever be a reply though, as Neil didn’t know what to say anymore. He knew that it was possible Rowan was speaking the truth... but it hurt. It goddamn hurt that Tyler would deceive him like that.. His own brother? His own flesh and blood..? He desperately wanted to believe Rowan’s story but the thought of his brother being able to do that to him was not something Neil was willing to accept.

Rowan: “So.. that’s it then I guess? It’s..” *sniffs* “over..? Between us..?” Neil: “I...” Rowan: “You.. what?” Neil: “I’m sorry, Ro..”

A sob escaped from Rowan’s lips. He.. he didn’t want to believe her.. He chose to believe his brother over her. Rowan knew that Neil valued his brother a lot, more than he would ever put into words.. But she had hoped that she could convince him of her story, to convince him that what she told him was the truth..

Rowan: “Alright then.. I’ll take that as a yes..” *sniffs* “I.. I’ll go then..” Neil: “Rowan.. Wait..” Rowan: “... What?”

Neil didn’t know why he asked her to stop. There weren’t any words in the world that he could say to make this situation right. He didn’t want to lose Rowan.. She was the one of the only consistent source of happiness in his life.. To lose her? It hurt so, so much.

Neil: “I love you..” Rowan: *sniffs* “Well.. It’s a little late for that, hm?”

[stephanine-sims]

Juliet’s grip on Rowan’s arm got firmer with every word Juliet spoke and she didn’t let go when Rowan tried to wiggle away. A tear streamed down Rowan’s face as Juliet’s grip on her arms started to turn painful. Rowan was sure Juliet didn’t mean to hurt her physically, but they both lost control of their emotions as frustration started to rise on either party.

Rowan: “Let. Go!”

The single tear and those two words was all it took for Juliet to realize what she was doing and let go of Rowan’s arms. Rowan rubbed the sore spots and didn’t say anything more before simply walking past Juliet. There was nothing more to say, honestly. If that really was what Juliet thought had happened, she clearly didn’t know Rowan at all. Rowan would never do that to her friend, neither her boyfriend.

More and more tears started to build up in Rowan’s eyes and slowly they started to overflow and run down her cheeks. Rowan knelt down in a corner as feelings of guilty and betrayal rose high and she burst out in a loud, unstoppable sob.

[stephanine-sims]

Rowan felt Neil’s arms move from her face towards her shoulders and he quickly twirled her around before he pressed his lips to hers. She let herself relax and she pressed her lips back onto his mouth. Neil moved his hands to her arms, the heat from his hands warming her cold skin as he played with the hem of her sleeve.

They kept kissing for a few more seconds before Rowan noticed.. a certain smell. An alcoholic smell mixed with cigarettes. Wait? Did Neil drink any alcohol tonight? No, she didn’t think so.. And the cigarettes? Where had that come from..?

Suddenly, her heart started banging like crazy and everything felt all wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. It wasn’t until she opened her eyes that she realized how wrong it actually was.

[stephanine-sims]

Rowan walked out of Neil’s room and he didn’t stop her. He wanted to.. but there was nothing he could change about it now. He had made his choice, even though he wasn’t sure if it was the right one. He sighed deeply and collapsed on the bed, tears streaming down his face.

Rowan hoped he’d stop her, but he didn’t. She wanted him to run after her and apologize and kiss her, but he didn’t. He didn’t come to the Reagan house the next day, and he didn’t come the next Friday when he’d usually sneak into her house and sleep over. Rowan snuggled up with Molly instead and sobbed.

It was the end. It really was the end.. Neither of them had seen it coming but it was here. It hurt like hell.. It didn’t feel like it would ever move on.. but it eventually would. At some point, they even started to feel normal again. It didn’t hurt anymore, not as bad at least.. And life moved on.

[stephanine-sims]

With her heart beating away in her chest, Rowan walked up to the Darke house. She sighed deeply and shot Neil a quick text, telling him she was in front of the door. He didn’t reply at first, leaving Rowan shaking in her shoes. Eventually he did come to the door though..

Neil: “...” Rowan: “Neil.. Can we talk? Please..?” Neil: “I.. don’t know if there’s any reason to do that Rowan.” Rowan: “Please! I can explain everything! Can I please come in..?” Neil: “...” Rowan: “Please..?” Neil: “Fine..”

[stephanine-sims]

Juliet: “You’re right. It sounds ridiculous and I don’t believe a word of it.” Rowan: “Please, Juliet.. I’m not lying.” Juliet: “Yeah, and why would I believe that? You’ve always wanted all the things I had. And why?! No damn reason, Rowan! I’ve always had less in life than you. My parents are divorced. My previous boyfriend only dated me to make his ex jealous. I have no pets, and instead of a loving sister I have a brother that hates me! For once I found someone I thought liked me and you take him away from me?!” Rowan: “That’s not..” Juliet: “You had Neil, and you two were all happy and shit. But still you want more?! Why can’t you just be happy for me..” *sniffs* Rowan: “...”

[stephanine-sims]

Rowan’s heart felt like it stopped beating the moment she opened her eyes. She wasn’t sure if her eyes were deceiving her.. She wanted her eyes to be deceiving her but she knew that couldn’t be the case. The boy who she thought was Neil turned out to be Tyler..

Rowan: “I.. What..”

Rowan didn’t know what else to say, her mind a complete blur. How.. How had this happened? Why had he just kissed her? And why did he just pretend to be Neil? Why.. Why would he do that?! Tyler had been behaving differently the last few months but she never expected him to do this. Millions of questions raced through Rowan’s mind as she tried to understand what had just happened.

Rowan stepped back as quickly as she could, not willing to spend a second longer close to Tyler. He reached out to her but she took another big step back to avoid being in his arm’s reach. Rowan felt disgusting, the feeling of his lips still lingering on her. Her whole world collapsed when she realized that she had just cheated on Neil.

To make matters even worse, Juliet appeared next to them.

[stephanine-sims]

It was a few more excruciating minutes before it showed that Neil started writing back to her.

Neil: I can’t bring you home. I’m already home Rowan: Why.. :’-( Rowan: Why did you leave without telling me? Neil: You know damn well why Rowan: Neil please.. Rowan: We need to talk Rowan: Now Neil: I really don’t think we do. Rowan: No, we need to talk :’-( Rowan: Please, this is all a misunderstanding Rowan: I’m coming over rn Rowan: Please

Shaking even worse than before, Rowan dragged her own body into the metro and made her way over to Willow Creek to talk to Neil. He had read the messages but hadn’t replied after her last message. She just hoped he was willing to listen to her. Hoped that she could convince him.

This couldn’t be happening right now.. First Juliet, now Neil..? She couldn’t lose them both. Not over this misunderstanding.. It took all she had to not break down in a sob in the middle of the metro but somehow she managed to keep herself decently put together.