Chapter Twenty Six —
Conspire

"If you die, I swear to God I'm going to fucking kill you all over again."

Grizz chuckled at Rosa's empty threat, and the fact that it made zero sense. He moved forwards to embrace his best friend into a hug, maybe the last one they'd share for a while.

This was it. The day that Rosa had been dreading for weeks.

Grizz and his group were leaving to explore for land they could use to farm, a system they could fall back on once the inevitable happened and supplies ran out. As with most people in New Ham, the memory of what happened the last time a group went out in the woods, remained engraved in Rosa's mind. She could tell that Grizz was worried himself too, even though he constantly reassured her that they were much better prepared this time.

"I'm going to be fine," Grizz promised, meeting her eyes with a smile. "You look after yourself too, all right?"

Rosa nodded, blinking away the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She glanced over Grizz's shoulder as they moved apart, unable to quite hide the smile forming on her lips when she spotted Sam stood in the distance, waiting for them to finish their goodbyes.

Rosa's gaze drifted back to Grizz, the grin tugging at her lips. "I think somebody's waiting for you." Grizz's eyebrows drew together in confusion, but the huge grin Rosa was struggling to bite back suggested it could only be one person. "I'll leave you to it," she told him, leaning forwards to press a kiss against his cheek. "I'll see you soon. I love you. Stay safe."

"Love you too, Ro," Grizz smiled softly, their last look lingering for a moment before Rosa headed in the opposite direction, almost finding it difficult to turn away, as if this would be the last glimpse of Grizz she'd ever get.

But Rosa had to remind herself that he was going to be okay. It was a fact that they were better prepared this time, and if anybody could lead the expedition and succeed, it was Grizz.

Rosa smiled warmly as she passed Sam, signing good luck to him, one of the very few signs she knew. Rosa was really going to have to learn some more sign language to communicate with him better, especially if he and Grizz were going to get closer.

Sam responded to her with a sheepish nod, making his way over to Grizz. Rosa waited for a moment before she left, watching them both fondly for a few seconds before deciding she shouldn't intrude any further.

She left the woods hopeful that the boys would reconcile, and hopeful that the group would find land that they could use to farm.

Rosa headed back to the crowd that was waiting to cheer on the expedition crew as they left. She stood beside Sasha, who immediately wrapped an arm around her, noticing the tears glistening in her eyes.

"They're gonna be okay, you know," Sasha assured. "Grizz will be home before you know it."

Emotions were running high from everyone as they watched the expedition group leave. Cheers filled the air, banners held high with pride, but it was tearful eyes that were following their movements, watching until the group had completely disappeared out of sight.

Even when the crowd dispersed, Rosa remained stood where she was, as if rooted to the ground. She stared ahead of her into the woods, the familiar aching feeling of loneliness settling in her chest.

Parting ways with Grizz had been harder than Rosa imagined.

Hastily, she wiped away the single tear that trickled down her cheek, eventually tearing her eyes away from the woods.

Rosa had something that was, somehow, even more challenging to think about. The upcoming elections.

"Hey."

She turned her head at the sound of Allie's voice. The blonde smiled weakly as she approached her. They'd had a disagreement only a few hours earlier, because, Lexie, on the brink of imploding, had approached Rosa and told her that, whilst imprisoned over the Thanksgiving poisonings fiasco, she had gotten her period, and Jason and Clark had forced her to change right in front of them. To make matters worse, when Allie was informed about it, she had dismissed Lexie completely by telling her to simply "get over it."

Rosa was furious, and whilst she hadn't gotten round to kicking Jason and Clark's asses yet, she had confronted Allie, even offering her a solution – expanding the guard to include women.

When she'd proposed this idea to Lexie, it had gone down fairly well, but Allie was not quite so convinced – mainly because she was concerned Rosa was putting herself forwards, and she needed her right by her side, on the council.

Alas, the blonde had clearly heeded the many warnings Rosa had delivered the past few days, because Allie had come up with a very intricate plan.

It was no secret to anyone that her electoral campaign could potentially be in trouble. After failed attempts from both of them to steer Harry in another direction, they had to accept that he, though, technically Campbell, was running for mayor, and they were going to get a lot of votes – mainly from the rich assholes who were still stuck in their immature high school brains – but if Harry managed to deliver a charismatic enough speech at the debate, they couldn't rule out others being swayed to that side.

Rosa cared about Harry, she wanted him to be better, she hoped he could become the person she imagined he could, but with Campbell pulling strings from behind closed doors, that wasn't going to happen. And it made them dangerous.

Rosa was committed to working with Allie to stop them, for the sake of the whole town. But she had to admit, when Rosa had pledged her allegiance, she didn't think Allie would take it quite so seriously.

"You're the only one who can do this."

Rosa drew in a deep breath, front teeth finding her bottom lip.

"So many people listen to you," Allie continued. "Harry trusts you–"

"Campbell doesn't," Rosa interjected sternly. "He won't go for this."

"If Campbell thinks you're playing a game, he'll still play it," Allie replied. "It–it's part of the chase, you know? His own twisted amusement. If he catches on, he'll entertain it. See how far it goes."

"And when he's had enough?" Rosa asked, arms folding across her body.

"It won't go that far," Allie assured, meeting her eyes with sincerity. "I won't let it."

Rosa released a huff of air through her nose. "Allie–"

"This is a worse case scenario," Allie reminded as Rosa shook her head. "If it's clear that I'm going to lose the election, then you have to be on the winning side."

Rosa's jaw tightened. "So, how far?" She asked, sparing a glance over her shoulder. "How far do I need to go?"

Allie didn't hesitate. "Whatever it takes."

"And what if people don't believe me?" Rosa countered. "What if nobody's convinced. I mean, why would I switch sides so quickly? I've always stood by you, Allie–"

"Rosa," she interrupted firmly. "You can do this."

Rosa's lips pressed into a firm line. "I really fucking hope it doesn't come to this," she stated. "For your sake and mine."

"Me too," Allie agreed. Her eyes softened as she met Rosa's gaze again. "I know what I'm asking you to do. I know how it feels. You guys stood in front of me and asked me to lead this town. I know exactly what that weight feels like."

Rosa nodded, remembering the day she promised to remain by Allie's side. It was for the sake of the whole town that she stepped up, and brought law and order. And now, Allie was asking in front of her asking her to do the same thing.

Rosa had no other choice.

"Whatever happens," Rosa started. "Whatever I have to do, whatever I have to say. I'm with you. One hundred percent. No matter what."

Allie stepped forwards, and reached for Rosa's hands. They stared at one another, for what felt like the longest time, before Allie finally spoke again. "There is no one else I trust to do this. Only you."

A/N

Rosa and Allie have a plan...but will it work?? And exactly how far will Rosa go?? 👀