Click the banner to read story
Summary:
There was a girl. She loved a boy. And then she lost it all. Will her journey back to the place where it all began and ended light the path for forgiveness, or will it swallow her whole? A story about friendship, love and the true meaning of coming home.
I had saved this story to my "must read" list awhile back, honestly thinking it was a Bella and Edward story after simply reading the summary. Imagine my surprise after reading the first chapter that it was, in fact, a Rosalie story. Now, I'll be the first to admit I've NEVER read a non-Bella story prior to this one. They've never really interested me, but there was something about TheHeartOfLife's writing style that kept me going. I grew attached to Rosalie's character, suddenly undertanding her on a whole new level.
The story opens up to an adorable Rosalie and Edward as children, showing how their friendship first began. Not unlike many of our friendships, I'm sure:
She sniffed and said, "Your head looks like it's on fire."
His hand flew to his hair and he flattened his palms over it, trying hard to hide it from her.
"You're stupid!" he shouted, his voice infused with all the passion that his five-year-old heart could muster. He watched in fascination as the girl's nostrils flared and her eyes grew large. She looked a little bit like a monster he had read about in one of his new books last night.
"You're stupid!" she bellowed. "And you have cooties!"
"I do not!"
"Do too!"
Of course they developed as friends the only way they knew how, by insulting each other. The second chapter, however, picks up 20 years later, and things are not quite as we expect. We find that Rosalie and Edward are not the best life-long friends that we imagined. Instead, they're not even on speaking terms, and Rosalie is surprised to find that her former bestie is about to be married - in four days.
This is where I start to feel a certain, My Best Friend's Wedding kind of vibe. Granted, I loved that movie, so it's very much a good thing. The whole, girl loves boy, boy loves - well, the other girl, and you're stuck in limbo trying to not to drown in feelings of rejection. Here's a little peek at what happens when Edward and Rosalie are reunited:
"You were going to do this without telling me," I stated. I tried to keep the tremor out of my voice but I couldn't hide it. I couldn't hide the pain of what he had done to me, of what we had done to each other. It stood between us like an invisible divide.
"I – I don't know. No," he fumbled over his words, stepping closer. I moved further back, hitting the fridge door.
"I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when Alice called me yesterday and said you were getting married," I replied. "This Saturday, Edward. That's four days from now, and you're going to stand there and tell me that you weren't going to get married without telling me? Bullshit."
He balked, his gaze narrowing. "Rosalie, I -"
"You what?" I interrupted, the anger exploding inside of me, pushing through my lungs and out of my mouth. It propelled me forward, closer to him. My pointed finger hit his chest. "I'd love to hear you talk your way out of this, Edward. I'd love to know how you thought it'd be okay to get fucking married and leave me in the dark. How you thought it'd be okay to ask Alice to lie to me for the past five months, for Jasper to, for Emmett."
His eyes flashed with a mixture of pain and anger. "Christ, I had my reasons, you know I did. Don't you remember what you said to me?"
I remembered everything about that night. It was burned into my memory, hot and painful. "Don't say it."
Things definitely aren't all sunshine and roses. No worries, though, things aren't always so heated and angry in this story. And while some of you may already be running away from this in fear that it's some sort of Edward and Rosalie love story where Edward leaves Bella at the alter, you can just forget it. This story is all about Rosalie and HER journey, not some love triangle gone crazy. I can say, for just the briefest of moments, I actually wanted Edward to dump Bella and run off with Rose. There, I said it, now go hate on someone else. If it helps, I quickly got over that insane theory.
The ending that TheHeartOfLife creates is ten times better than anything I could've imagined, and even better, it's believable. The transitions between the characters and their relationships are written seemlessly. Some of you may see it coming, some of you may not, but I can't wait to read what is to come. I have a new-found sympathy for Rosalie, a new view on Bella and Edward's relationship, and I can never resist reading about a playful and loving Emmett; he's just too cute for words.
Go - read, review, and enjoy.
Follow on Twitter: @TheHeartOfLife1
No comments:
Post a Comment