~Part 3: Endurance and Love~

Rosemary was still hallucinating. After five months... She was still hallucinating.

I didnt know what the hell was going on. There are no such things as ghosts. So why was she holding onto her parents so tightly? Why did she still think that they're there?

Well, what was there for me to do? I'd just have to keep pushing on with her until they went away.

~

As college progressed on, Rosemary and I were growing closer and closer. And then it hit me, harder than I thought it would.

I fell in love with her.

That realization was the greatest thing I've ever felt in my life. The fact that I knew her well, and wanted to be with her forever. I didn't want anyone to take her away from me. So how could I keep her?

Well an obvious one is by loving her to the fullest. Being there for her always. Supporting her through all her times of distress. There were a lot of things I could do.

But what about something that would definitely make sure she can't leave me? One that would make sure I couldn't leave her either?

Marriage.

I was ready to make our relationship official.

***

After classes, Rosemary greeted me with a kiss, and a tight hug.

"You all right, hun?" I asked her.

"Papa scared me today in class," she mumbled into my chest. "He looked upset and it terrified me. He said nothing. He just had this... Look on his face that is haunting me." I was starting to feel really uneasy. This just seemed to be getting worse.

"All right, well, is he still here?" I asked. She nodded into my chest.

"He's whispering to me," she replied.

"What's he saying?" I asked, having a feeling I wouldn't really want to know.

"That you'll abandon me," she whispered, trembling. My heart clenched at her words, and I pulled her slightly from me, looking at her.

"Do you believe him?" I asked. She looked toward an area behind me, probably where her father was, and tears formed in her eyes.

"I don't know," she finally confessed. "I'm not girlfriend material that people want to be with."

"Yes you are, that's why I... I'm with you," I said, too afraid to admit that I was in love with her. She looked at me, doubt in her eyes, but nodded.

"I swear it," I said, firmly. She nodded again and looked back behind me. I looked too, even though I knew I wasn't going to see anyone.

"Go away, papa," she whispered. "You're supposed to help me." I looked around making sure no one was watching the interaction that was happening. I didn't want people to think she was crazy. She honestly had something that wasn't a danger to others. It was mostly just a danger to herself. She looked around too. She knew that it would look weird if someone saw that she was talking to no one.

She looked into my eyes and said, "He knows for a fact that you'll leave me." That made me pause, and frown. This had to be her subconscious talking. What do I do in my actions that makes her think that I'm going to leave her? I was going to stay super cautious of my actions to make sure she knows that I am never thinking of leaving her.

"Well he's wrong," I replied. "Come on, I'll drive you to your aunt's house."

***

My dorm mate must really love the fact that most of the time I'm at Rosemary's aunt's house, and not there. We never really got along, him and I. I tend to try to stay away from him as much as possible, but during the day, if I don't have class at a certain time, I'll be in our room to work on essays or do random things on my computer.

Today was one of those days. I decided to derp around on Facebook, doing nothing in particular. Then a knock sounded on my door. I went to it to see one of my friends from class. He looked at me frantically.

"You're Rosemary's boyfriend right?" he asked, breathlessly.

"Yes, what's wrong?" I asked.

"This weird girl and her boyfriend, I think, are starting trouble for her," he said. Instantly Emma came into my mind, and I had a gut feeling it was her. I got my dorm key and then immediately followed my friend somewhere on campus to where I saw, of course, Emma and her weird new boyfriend.

Rosemary had her fist clenched up, and Emma was saying something to her that I couldn't hear yet. As we got closer I got in on their conversation.

"You're a boyfriend stealer," Emma said, as if she just finished a long speech and just came to the conclusion.

"Your selfish actions caused you to lose him," Rosemary snapped. "How does your boyfriend now feel about how obsessed you are with my boyfriend?" A deep blush of shame formed on her face, but she regained her composure.

"He supports me, right babe?" she asked, turning to him. Who was this Emma? Was I so blind to not see who she really was, or did she really change this much from jealousy?

"Of course, I like to take care of past grudges," he said, cracking his knuckles. I ran to Rosemary's side, and looked at him in anger.

"Who are you cracking your fingers to like that?" I asked, my anger boiling. Did he really think he was going to hurt my girlfriend and get away with it? He seemed slightly surprised that I was there, and looked to Emma who was frowning.

"We can still deal with the task at hand," Emma said, standing up straighter. "We're gonna teach Rosemary a lesson. A lesson she'll never forget."

"Oh yeah?" Rosemary asked, unafraid. "Make my day." A tension surrounded us until we heard a professor yell, "What is going on here?!" My friend and one of our professors in our school were by our side in a few seconds.

"Who are you two, do you go here?" he asked to Emma and her boyfriend. They said nothing.

"No, they don't," I snarled. "They were threatening to hurt my girlfriend."

"No we weren't," the guy said. "We were--"

"I don't care," our professor said. "You have no business being on campus. And if you are here to pick a fight, grow up. Are you still in high school?! This is ridiculous behavior. Next time I catch you here, or one of these students catch you here, you'll be escorted out by our campus police, in the most shameful way possible. Now get off this campus right now or your shame will commence immediately."

They both left without a word and we turned to the professor and the boy. Rosemary said a thank you to my friend, and I thanked the professor. They left after, and I turned to her.

"What happened?" I asked.

"They showed up here, looking for me, and then she picked a fight with me," Rosemary said, shrugging. "No big deal."

"It is a big deal," I said, firmly. "That big guy was going to hurt you."

"I'd like to see him try," she growled, and frowned. I hugged her tightly and sighed. I had a feeling I was gonna end up having to come close to taking that guy's life for him to back off.

***

"I wish these hallucinations would go away," Rosemary groaned, pulling her legs up to her chin. "It would make me feel more sane." I nodded, sympathetically. We were at her aunt's house in her room. She was complaining about the condition her mind was in.

"Well, what do you think is making them stay?" I asked her.

"I don't know," I muttered. "They're probably ghosts that won't let go."

"We already went through this, ghosts don't exist," I said, sighing.

"But, what if?" she asked. "I mean, what if they really just want to make amends with me and they don't feel as if they have?"

"Rosemary," I said, taking her hands in mine, getting up from the floor to sit next to her. "Your parents are dead. They've been dead for a long time. You have to let go of them."

"I've tried," she cried, and sniffed. "They won't go away."

"Do you really want to let go of them?" I asked. She chewed on her lip for a second and then nodded.

"They scare me now," she whispered, looking around. "My mom sometimes stands over my bed. She has tears in her eyes. She then screams that..." She stopped speaking for a second and looked down.

"She screams what?" I asked.

"The same thing my father says," she muttered. My heart sank slightly, and I made her look at me.

"Do you believe them?" I asked, cupping her chin. She searched my eyes, making my heart pound as always, and said nothing.

"Oh god, please don't tell me you do," I begged. She looked away.

"It's just..." she started, but then stopped. "I don't even know, Brian, I'm honestly losing it."

"No you're not," I replied, and hugged her. "I promise you that you're not."

***

"Come on, double dates are fun," Eric said, as I got into his car.

"I'm just worried," I said, sighing. "I want Rosemary to be happy, and know how much she means to me. But she seems to think that she means nothing to me which is so frustrating."

"Well, maybe you guys should take your love to the bed, if you know what I mean," Eric said, driving toward the park.

"She hasn't expressed wanting to go there yet," I said. "I think she wants to wait until we get married. Which I'm fine with. Why rush to the bed? And technically we're different. Everyone else is having pre-marital sex and we're waiting. Take that society!"

"You guys are losers," Eric commented, teasingly.

"Hey, excuseeeeee usssss," I said, chuckling. He laughed with me, and then we both went quiet for a second.

"I don't think I ever apologized for punching you in the face," I remembered. "I really regret that."

"Hey, no hard feelings," he said. "I understand. You were defensive and it came out wrong. No biggie." I nodded, relieved, and looked out the window.

I was starting to look forward to this date. It was going to be nice to hang out with Rosemary for a while without her coming to me stressed out. I smiled to myself, wanting to just hold her, and perhaps even tell her that I was in love with her. I would love to see her reaction and perhaps hear the words coming from her lips too. Then we'd kiss and--

"BRI--" He never got my name out before a car crashed into my side of the car. I felt the impact and glass shards fly around us, some even seeming to be in my skin. I lost consciousness as the car spun off the road.