BooksBarbecue
Back Nobody in Particular
Chapters (61)
  1. Copyright Notice
  2. Dedication
  3. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  4. ONE DANNI
  5. TWO ROSE
  6. THREE DANNI
  7. FOUR DANNI
  8. FIVE ROSE
  9. SIX ROSE
  10. SEVEN DANNI
  11. EIGHT ROSE
  12. NINE DANNI
  13. TEN ROSE
  14. ELEVEN ROSE
  15. TWELVE ROSE
  16. THIRTEEN ROSE
  17. FOURTEEN DANNI
  18. FIFTEEN DANNI
  19. SIXTEEN ROSE
  20. SEVENTEEN DANNI
  21. EIGHTEEN ROSE
  22. NINETEEN ROSE
  23. TWENTY DANNI
  24. TWENTY-ONE DANNI
  25. TWENTY-TWO DANNI
  26. TWENTY-THREE ROSE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR ROSE
  28. TWENTY-FIVE DANNI
  29. TWENTY-SIX ROSE
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN DANNI
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT ROSE
  32. TWENTY-NINE ROSE
  33. THIRTY DANNI
  34. THIRTY-ONE DANNI
  35. THIRTY-TWO ROSE
  36. THIRTY-THREE DANNI
  37. THIRTY-FOUR ROSE
  38. THIRTY-FIVE ROSE
  39. THIRTY-SIX DANNI
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN ROSE
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT DANNI
  42. THIRTY-NINE ROSE
  43. FORTY DANNI
  44. FORTY-ONE ROSE
  45. FORTY-TWO DANNI
  46. FORTY-THREE ROSE
  47. FORTY-FOUR DANNI
  48. FORTY-FIVE ROSE
  49. FORTY-SIX ROSE
  50. FORTY-SEVEN DANNI
  51. FORTY-EIGHT ROSE
  52. FORTY-NINE ROSE
  53. FIFTY ROSE
  54. FIFTY-ONE ROSE
  55. FIFTY-TWO DANNI
  56. EPILOGUE ROSE
  57. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  58. Also by Sophie Gonzales
  59. Praise Page
  60. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  61. Newsletter Sign-up

She’s studying me, her eyes flickering around my face as though she’s seen something quite alarming there. “Are you sure? You don’t seem okay.”

I think—it’s entirely possible—that she’s finally seen it. Whatever it was Molly saw. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, I suppose. With any luck, it’ll help her move on from me fast. I don’t want this to be hard for her. I don’t want her to hurt.

“I’m okay,” I insist, smiling, but from her reaction that only serves to disturb her more. “Let me know if you need anything, won’t you?”

“Sure,” she says uncertainly, and I give her a brisk nod.

“Have a good night,” I say as warmly as I can manage. With a straight back, I leave, and make my way back to my own room.

With every heavy step, I shove a silent scream out of my body and into the ground.

And I message Alfie as I walk. Your fake-dating idea. I say we do it.

TWENTY-FIVE DANNI

After Rose and I break up, life goes on as normal without me. Eventually, I join it.

The first week or so I totally withdraw, even from Molly. It’s too hard for me to pretend to smile, and it feels like if I try, I might cry instead, and I can’t think of anything more humiliating than bursting into tears in the middle of math.

So, instead, I become really, really busy. At least, that’s what I tell Molly. As far as she knows, I have an urgent deadline for every single class she doesn’t share with me. We go to class together, we barely talk, I do my best not to look at Rose—because that feels dangerous, too—and then I rush to the ballroom to get on with piano practice. Then, once I’ve played for so long my fingertips are aching and my mind is sufficiently numbed into sludge, I sneak back to my room to lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling. Or browse stupid videos online. Or, if I’m feeling especially masochistic, search the internet for any references to me and Rose being in a relationship.

The only ones I find are the ones William sent through to Rose, but I read them over and over again. It’s weirdly comforting, to think someone else out there believes Rose and I had something special. Because now, it feels like it never happened at all. Something something if a tree falls alone in the woods.