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“Rosalie,” she said, exasperated, “I’m fine. You don’t need to swoop in and rescue-”
“It’s not about you!” Rosalie burst into tears. “It’s for me.”
There was a silence down the line.
“Oh,” said Savannah.
Rosalie flew up for the long weekend. She rolled her eyes as the cab pulled up to an impressive set of gates in front of a sweeping driveway leading to what was practically a castle beside a sparkling lake and private forest.
“I love this cute little shack in the woods you’ve found,” she said by way of greeting. Savannah hugged her awkwardly around the baby on her shoulder.
Savannah pulled back first, brushing a strand of red hair behind Rosalie’s ear. “Do you want your mom taken out?” she offered. “I have the resources.”
“Let’s save that for Cole.”
For the next four days they huddled up around the stately fireplace together and went for long walks in the fresh cool air by the lake. Rosalie cuddled Tucker - the best baby she’d ever met - and Savannah cracked her neck and stretched her shoulders as if it was the first time she’d let him go in weeks. They argued about who was more depressed.
“I mean, you’ve got that horrible court battle hanging over your head,” Rosalie pointed out. “I feel stressed for you. Do you have a good lawyer?”
Savannah gave her a flat look.
“I have eight of the best lawyers,” she said. “Cole thinks he’s dealing with an amateur. He’s not used to me standing up for myself but what he doesn’t get is that I’ve survived far worse things than him.”
“Does he… want Tucker?” Rosalie’s hands tightened involuntarily on the tiny warm body nestled against her.
Savannah looked nauseated.
“He asked for a paternity test,” she said.
“That motherf-” Rosalie paused, remembering the infant on her shoulder. “I think,” she said, her voice sweetly sing-song, “that we should have him murdered after all. I’ll bury his body myself.”
“He’s shown no interest at all in his son,” Savannah’s voice was tight. “Long may that last.”
“Full custody?”
“I don’t care about anything else,” Savannah said fiercely. “He can have it all. I’ll go back to waitressing before I let him have my son.”
Rosalie glanced around her at the stunning mansion they were in. “Yeah…” she said. “I think you’ll be okay.”
“Ros,” Savannah addressed her, her gaze firm. “You need to talk to someone, you get that right?”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“Because-”
“That was rhetorical,” Rosalie interjected, standing up to bounce Tucker a little on her shoulder, even though he seemed perfectly content snuffling into her neck. “I’m good. I just needed a little break, and for these stupid pharmaceuticals to kick in.”
Whether it was all the crisp fresh air, seeing her best friend again or her serotonin finally balancing itself out, something shifted that weekend. It was like springtime slowly awakening in her brain.
Rosalie blocked her mom’s calls for six months, had one extremely average one night stand that reminded her that actually, she was over love forever now and Savannah won full custody and the vast majority of the couple’s accumulated wealth.
She still didn’t sing though.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Well,” said Cassidy from the seat next to Kinsey as the tour bus rattled down the highway. “Fuck her.”
“Yeah,” said Kinsey weakly. She didn’t quite have the appetite for that yet. She was pissed, yes, but mostly, she just wanted it all undone. She wanted Rosalie to have taken a deep breath, pushed past her bullshit and chosen her, finally. The fact that she hadn’t, that she was clearly never going to choose her made her feel so desperately sad. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the two of them had been meant for so much more.