Save Me in the End by Rea Winters

Author:Rea Winters
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2020-04-02T04:00:00+00:00

11.

Thursday – Week Four

Perry had only been out of the hospital for twenty-four hours before jumping back on her work horse, dragging Rosie along with her to make nice with the spouses of the influential blue bloods whose approval she sought. Though she was supposed to meet with Xara, Rosie decided it was wiser to avoid suspicion and went along with Perry’s plans in quiet compliance.

As an exclusive elevator took them up to the fiftieth floor of the skyscraper, Perry used the shiny gold metal of the door to check the makeup job her assistant performed on her half-healed bruises.

Beside her, she noticed Rosie smiling a bit to herself, like she found something amusing, but didn’t want to laugh. Thinking it was about her, Perry became annoyed.

“Something funny?”

Her passively threatening tone snapped Rosie out of it.

“No. I was just thinking about the pier. I...I saw something on TV about it. You know, my mother once—"

“Don’t start, Rose,” Perry warned with a bored sigh. “What have I told you?”

“I’m not a little girl.” Rosie bit her tongue against the sting in her chest as tears threatened to break past her mascaraed lashes and returned to staring at the center of nothing ahead. Her posture poised as she wiped her hands down her dress, a white hip hugging A-line number with black flowers embroidered up the sides. She tried not to fiddle too much with her pearl accessories or the straightened hair set in a perfect swoop over her left shoulder, as if being still would grant her invisibility.

Adjusting the knot of her tie, Perry continued to fuss. “My ribs are killing me, those stupid painkillers aren’t worth shit. I feel bad enough as it is having to go in there with my arm in a sling and three layers of goop on my face. I don’t need you talking like an eight-year-old about your dead mommy. People will get the wrong idea. Did you read those articles I gave you about Mrs. Windthorn’s charities?”

Rosie nodded.

“Good. Talk about those. Show them you’re a grown-up who pays attention. Don’t embarrass me. All right?”

The elevator stopped and a sharp ding welcomed them onto the floor of an upscale restaurant. They were escorted by a host through the levels of blue walls, dark wood floors, and white cloth tables adorned with gaudy floral center pieces until they reached the back of the restaurant. The floor-to-ceiling windows offered a wide view of the bustling rainy city below.

“Roselyn, darling!” A graceful older woman, leader of the silk and diamond-clad spouses, stood from a table on the indoor balcony and approached Rosie with open arms. She clasped the girl's hands and pulled her in for a kiss on each cheek. “Oh, look at you," she fawned in an affectionate whine. "You look every bit your mother. Come, sit, sit. Ms. Pryce, we have it from here, thank you.”

"Ladies," Perry greeted. She laid a hand over her heart and bowed her head, laying on a charming smile before excusing herself to the business table a few feet away.

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