(Still Rosie's flashback)

Chapter 5:

The screen goes black and some of the tightness in my chest dissolves. That was information overload for my emotions.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I ask through my tears. I sound as weak as I feel.

"I told you why Rosaline. It is because you are a liar. You lied about Caroline. Kyle didn't kill her, he couldn't have." Rick says. I ignore the statement.

"Why did you bring me here?" It seems strange he would take me so close to them.

"Excellent question. For one, I have a job to do here that involves five arrogant teenagers." He says and my jaw clenches in anger. He can't talk about them like that. "And two, if they look for your body...which they probably won't...they'd be far more likely to do it in the States than here."

He begins to walk out of the room with his laptop.

"Kyle killed her." I say under my breath. Apparently it wasn't quiet enough.

"What did you say?" Rick says and turns around.

Sudden rage boils under my skin, especially after the comment about my boys.

"I said," I rise to my feet to face him, "Kyle killed her. He was a filthy murderer and he deserved what he got!" I scream.

"Stop lying! Stop it!" He screams back, his face flushed with fury. He puts the laptop on the floor and charges over to me. He pins me against the concrete with one arm.

"He is rotting in hell as we speak." I say with my fists clenched.

"I'll give you one more chance to take if back." He breaths into my face.

"Kyle was scum. Just like you." I say and spit in his face. That was ballsy, too ballsy.

I see a look of hatred and anger as he pulls me forward then slams me hard against the concrete. The impact reverberates through my skull and I cry out in pain.

The edges of my vision go black as I stumble forward. He doesn't let me get far. Rick lifts me and then throws me to the hard floor. My head smashes the floor again but my arm got most of the blow. Pain shoots through me. I look up at him through spotted vision and see him wind up then kick me hard in the stomach.

I scream again. It's a bloodcurdling noise that can only be described as agony. I clutch my stomach in the fetal position and clench every muscle in my body. The pain is intense everywhere. He bends down and lifts my limp head to look at him.

"I hope you learned something." He says then backhands me across the cheek.

He leaves me there on the ground. My eyes close and the last thing I can remember is the taste of blood in my mouth.

I wake up to the worst headache I've ever had. I can hear my heartbeat throbbing in my ears. My eyes squint open and everything hurts to look at. Any amount of light is too much.

I shut them again and my hands shakily graze my stomach. I peek down at it with one eye and see that a purple bruise covers almost half of it. My hand gently caresses my cheek where I can feel a lump from Ricks hand. The taste of iron is still settled in my mouth. I reach up to my head only to find a lump bigger than the one on my cheek. I must have a concussion.

I vaguely know that I shouldn't move around to much with one and I should rest a lot. I try to move but my neck is stiff from my position on the ground. With sheer willpower I stand up, making sure to do it slowly, and take my clothes off. I run cold water from the shower over me to try and reduce the swelling and the pain. I stand there for a long time.

I decide I need fluids so I force down two cups of water. I'm nothing if not intelligent in these situations.

I get dressed twice as slowly as I undressed. Movement hurts, but I push through the agonizing motions. I lay down on the mattress and shut my eyes. I try not to think about the pain. I try not to think about anything, actually.

Rick walks into the room again, well...stumbles. I can tell he's drunk already.

"Hello princess. Did you reconsider?" He slurs and taps me in the stomach. I wince.

"No, did you?" I say through gritted teeth.

He smiles a menacing and crooked smile.

"Ha, you're a stubborn one. When will you learn?" He says and then his face goes back to an angry stare.

He then lurches at me and hovers over me. His hands grip my upper arms so tightly it hurts. He digs his fingernails into my arms and squeezes so hard a bruise will soon form. I grunt in pain as I try to wriggle free.

"Say it and I'll stop." He says. He wants me to admit I'm lying. No way. He's taken everything from me. I won't give him this too.

"No." I simply say. He brings his hand off my arm and into his back pocket. My eyes widen when I see the small pocket knife.

He pulls my shirt up to expose my stomach and I panic. Not again. His callused finger traces the faint scar left there by Kyle. A straight line down the length of my bare torso. He takes the knife and slowly drags it down the same line.

I scream in pain. I have to bite my hand so I stop screaming. He stands up so he is towering over me. He kicks me again in the upper leg. That was just to humor him I'm pretty sure. I stifle another shout of pain, I don't want to satisfy him further.

He turns and walks out the door, locking it behind him. I scream once he's gone and sob into my pillow. The adrenaline I just felt wears off and now my head feels so much worse. I use the cotton of my shirt to absorb the blood. I guess it doesn't matter if they get stained. It's not like I'm going anywhere.

I don't move a muscle for the rest of the day. Not even to write in my journal.

The next morning I only move to get a drink of water and shovel more bread and butter down my throat.

He comes down again in the evening. I'm immediately petrified. I don't know how much more of this I can take...and I don't know how much longer I'm going to want to try to.

He looks tired today, even more so than usual. His eyes have bags under them and they are bloodshot.

"I bet you'll never guess where I was yesterday." He comments.

I don't reply.

"Your funeral." He says and then laughs. My heart sinks further, which I didn't think was possible.

He places the black laptop in front of me yet again. Dread fills me as the file loads.

I see an image of a cemetery. They have rows of black chairs set up with large white bows all facing a black podium. There is an enormous arrangement of pink and white flowers in the background. A giant canvas photo of me sits beside the podium. It's a picture from my graduation party last spring. I had the most beautiful short pink dress and my hair was blowing in the spring breeze. I look like I'm glowing, especially because I remember I couldn't stop smiling that day.

I notice the angle of this video is lower. He must have taped it himself. Of course he had to attend, he's the boys security guard. He was probably just standing in the back recording this without being noticed.

I see the minister of my old Church at the left of the podium. I was never super religious, but I got baptized and confirmed and we always went to Church on Easter.

My mother, dressed in a tight black dress with a sturdy half sleeve blazer steps up to the podium. She has a small black veil on as well.

"Thank you all so much for being here. I know it would mean the world to my little girl. You all meant everything to her. I know she would be so proud of us. So, so, proud to see how we have all come together during this difficult time." She takes a deep breath and looks up at the sky, "Rosie, darling, I love you so much. I know I didn't tell you that enough and I regret that. I'm so proud of your life. It was far too short and gone far too soon, but you did so much more for people in that short time than I think you realize. I know that missing you won't bring you back...nothing will. I'm just so happy I had the pleasure of being your mother. I love you baby girl."

Tears leave my eyes at the same time they leave the eyes of my mother. That was beautiful and it was all for me. All of it.

"I love you mom." I whisper so Rick can't hear me.

"I invite anyone to come say words about Rosaline. Please, I know she'd want you to." My mother sniffles.

My father rises from his chair, which surprises me, and kisses my mothers cheek. He turns to the crowd all dressed in black. It is just now striking me how handsome my daddy is.

"Rosaline was always a giver. She was one of the most selfless people I knew. She never complained and she always wanted what was best for everyone else above herself. And she was beautiful. Too beautiful for this life. I know she often made it seem like she was carefree, but I think her problem was caring too much. Her heart was too big for this earth. Now God can put it to better use. My little butterfly has flown off to heaven. I'll miss you, butterfly." He says eloquently and with passion. My heart wrenches at the nickname. I am his butterfly.

My dad sits back down and lowers his head. This torture is worse than the physical pain. So much worse.

The boys and Ashland all stand up next. My breath gets stuck in my throat from nervousness and anticipation. I don't have a reason to be nervous, I guess I just am.

They all stand in a line behind the podium and Zayn steps up first.

"Remember the time when I dragged you to come walk with me even though you said it would start to rain, and it did? I thought you'd say, "I told you so". But you didn't."

Louis steps up next.

"And remember the time I accidentally split tea all over your ballet slippers? I thought you'd scream at me. But you didn't."

Liam slowly walks to the podium.

"Do you remember when I knocked your laptop off the table and the screen cracked? I thought you'd kill me. But you didn't."

Harry goes up next.

"Do you remember the time I spilled water on you to wake you up at the beach? I thought you would leave us. But you didn't."

Niall walks cautiously to the podium and takes a shaky breath.

"And remember when I told you to wear a nice dress but then I ended up ruining it with a squirt gun? I thought you'd drop me. But you didn't."

I wipe away stray tears as Ashland walks up to the stand.

"Yes, there were lots of things you didn't do. But you put up with all of us and you loved us with all you had. There were so many things that we all wanted to make up to you when you came back home." She pauses and takes a deep breath, "But you didn't."

My heart shatters at her tone. She sounds hollow and empty. I never imagined in a million years they would still care about me. But I guess I was wrong. I'm so overjoyed that they all care, but I don't want them hurting at the same time.

They walk back to their seats. Liam has his arm slung around Zayn's shoulder. Harry and Ashland keep their hands firmly intertwined. Louis rubs Niall's shoulder in a comforting manner. I smile at them all. They will be okay because they have each other.

Brooklyn stands up in her flowing black dress and gives Ash a small hug.

She gives a small sad smile to the crowd and speaks.

"I was going through my beautiful sisters things and I came across a record player. I saw one vinyl that had the song Chasing Cars. I remember her loving it. I think Navy knows this better than anyone. He said she had it playing constantly at her apartment." She gestures to a boy in the third row and I now see the back of Navy and Rebecca. They came. I miss them both so much.

"So I thought I'd sing it for you all, in her memory." My sister begins to sing in a voice like an angel. Her voice carries through the once dead cemetery making it seem to come to life. I cry harder than I was before. About halfway through, I hear Harry join in. One by one, the boys start to sing. Then more people, then everyone. They are all singing for me. I hear them loud and clear. I love when people come together like this.

The voices fade out and Brook really smiles for the first time.

"I bet that made her the happiest of all." She clears her throat, "A light has gone out recently, without so much as a flicker. And all we have left, is the precious memory of how brightly it burned...and the warmth it gave us."

She lets that soak into people's minds before speaking again. I'm shocked at how much thought she put into all of this.

"I thought about the empty casket to my right," She points at my black casket, "and I thought to myself, well that can't be right. Rosaline was anything but empty. She was full of life, full of beauty, and full of love. She was elegant to a point. She was graceful beyond compare. She was alive. Rosaline Grace Callahan was not empty. So her casket shouldn't be either."

Oh Brooklyn, sweet and wonderful Brooklyn. She cares for me so much it hurts me.

"I thought about something that represents these things. Beauty, grace, elegance, love, and life. And I figured out the answer was in her very name. A rose." She pulls out a light pink rose from an enormous basket.

"Since each of us make up a part of her, I'd ask each of you to place a rose in her casket. Filling it with her in spirit if not in body."

Brook walks over to the casket and places the flower inside. Everyone shuffles down the aisles and forms a long line. They all place a flower in my casket. I'm happy it won't be empty. Brook is perfect for thinking of this. She's perfect in general.

People return to their seats and the minister steps up to the podium.

"We now commit her body to the ground;

earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust:

in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life..."

He says this poem that is said at many Christian ceremonies and I see my casket get lowered into the ground. I shiver as I watch.

Even though Rick meant this as a ploy to make me feel rotten for the pain of my family, I somehow don't. Of course I'll cry because they are hurting, I am doing that right now. But I also feel a certain power from the love I never knew was cast in my direction. Seeing this gives me something to be happy about. I am loved. Eternally loved.

That's an incredible feeling.

The screen goes black as they begin to cover the hole with dirt.

"I hope that hurt more than my fist did." He comments.

"It hurt a lot. But it also healed some wounds you can't hurt with a fist." I reply.

He huffs and then leaves me alone again.

I turn on the radio for the first time. I'm absolutely shocked to hear Brooklyn's voice playing. I smile to myself. She finally made it big.

"I'm so proud of you Brook." I whisper to no one at all.