Work Text:
Rose had done it. She had defeated both the physical demon, and her inner ones.
She watched her childhood home burn, the flames lapping up the wood and destroying the structure with ease. For a moment, she stood there, looking over the sight and catching her breath after such a heart-racing confrontation. But after a while, she chose to walk away, get into her car, and drive off.
It began to rain as she made her way back to town. Though she was able to drive just fine, her mind felt a million miles away. The monster had truly been defeated, which was a relief. And for the first time, she’d actually faced the memory of Mom, dealt with the guilt she had been holding onto for all of these long, painful years.
It felt like a burden had lifted inside of her heart, a backpack full of heavy memories that she hadn’t known she had been carrying—probably because she didn’t want to admit it. Dr. Northcott had been right after all: instead of smiling through the pain, she really did have to face her childhood and dig into her past. And while she still had things to unpack—her anger at Holly for leaving him in Mom’s house, her relationship with Trevor and how she had always made it safe and easy as to avoid confronting deeper issues, how she had left Joel because he wanted to do the opposite in their relationship, among other things—she had taken a gigantic first step, and released a great deal of pain in the process.
She could breathe easier now, for so many reasons. True peace had finally come into her life.
Of course,, she would have to tell Robert Talley that the monster was dead. But in the meantime, first and foremost, she needed some rest. After thinking for a minute, she realized she didn’t want to go home, not yet—what Trevor had said about her mental illness still hurt, deeply, and she wanted to go somewhere she felt safe. And right now, for now, that was with Joel.
She navigated to his apartment and parked the car. Walking quickly, she glanced over at the strangers she passed, checking for smiles. To her relief, they all looked like normal people, just going about their day with various expressions, and none at all like the monster’s.
She reached Joel’s place and rang the doorbell. After a moment, he opened the door, and his eyes widened when he saw her. “Where the hell have you been?” he demanded, stepping aside and letting her come inside. “I’ve been so damn worried—so many people are looking for you right now, you know.”
They walked to his living room, standing across from each other. Rose struggled to find the right words for a moment. Finally, she decided to just be blunt, and said, “I’m sorry. After the things Robert said, and the stuff we found out, I tried to beat the monster. I didn’t do it how he said, though. He wanted me to involve other people. But I realized if I really wanted to kill this thing, I had to not let it hurt others, but deal with the hurt inside of myself.”
“I see,” Joel said, nodding. “And . . . you really killed it?”
Rose nodded. “It’s dead now. I promise.”
Joel let out a sigh of relief. “Thank fuck. I thought I was going to lose you, Rose. I know we’re not together anymore, but . . . I still didn’t want that to happen.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
The exhaustion from the whole ordeal was starting to catch up with her, and she stretched. “Look, I want to tell you everything,” she said, “but everything I did . . . that was a lot. Do you think I could . . . stay the night? Rest here? I don’t feel great about going home yet.”
“Yeah, sure.” Joel agreed. “I’ll set you up on the couch, ok? Wouldn’t want to piss off Trevor.”
“Yeah, obviously,” Rose seconded, laughing. She hesitated, then asked, “Just . . . stay with me until I fall asleep?”
Joel nodded. “Yeah. I’ll stay with you.”
“You promise?”
“Yes, Rose. I promise.”
He gave her a warm smile. Rose found much comfort it, and she allowed herself to do something she hadn’t done in days:
She really, truly, grinned.
The End