Abandoned

Rooney’s life hadn’t been easy. She’d lost her mother at a young age. Her brief time in South Florida was spent helping her aging grandmother, living with her Aunt, and wandering around Ft. Lauderdale. She’d somehow managed to find a job as a Dishwasher at a Cafe in the heart of Downtown Ft. Lauderdale. She’d often stay in an abandoned building nearby. Instead of going back to her Aunts apartment. She’d spent her days off at her grandmother's condo. She listened as her grandmother shared stories about her grandfather. She rarely shared stories of her childhood though. For good reason. 

Life in the rural town she’d been raised in, and currently living in, was one of the worst things she was going through. She was openly Lesbian, to everyone else’s behest, and disappointment, struggling through life. She’d been living with Adam, her dad, who’d often be checked out as a parent. He wasn’t taking care of himself like he needed to be. It didn’t help that he likely had Dementia to some extent. Something nobody believed. The few that did were around him enough to realize it. She’d been abandoned by people who’d claimed to be her friend. People who’d rather play White Knight and lie about it than anything else. 

Actions speak louder than words. Others actions spoke loudly over time. Actions that left being shunned as time went on. Things that were revealed they’d done toward Rooney that people didn’t agree with. It’d left her with severe trust issues as a result. She stopped letting people in after a while. It seemed like people didn’t understand what she was going through. So she stopped sharing what she was going through as a result. The handful of friends still in her life made sure she was okay while knowing she was far from okay. 

She’d moved back to Ft. Lauderdale after leaving home again. She’d gotten a job in Marketing. Adam had made comments he shouldn’t have made. She’d called him out on it. Shamed him. And cut all contact with him. People began noticing everything after she left. He was eventually placed in an Assisted Living Facility. He was no longer able to live alone without something happening. He was no longer able to even drive or work. His health rapidly declined after that. She briefly went back home to deal with the aftermath of his death. She’d put everything in storage until she was in a more stable place in life. 

She’d made it known that she was doing well in the Marketing job she’d been doing for the last six months since she’d left. She’d left more than a few things out though. She barely spoke to anyone in the time she’d been home. She’d saved that for the funeral. When she knew people would be shocked to see her. Most were shocked to see her. She’d made it clear she was only there until the day after the funeral. There was nothing more for her to be there for other than the funeral. Something nobody was happy about. She didn’t care. There was nothing keeping her there. 

She was far happier in Ft. Lauderdale. Her grandmother had passed two months after moving home. She reflected on that time often. Things her grandmother had shared. Things her grandmother had told her. Loving her for who she was, regardless of her sexuality, being one of the many things Maggie reminded her of. Her Aunt had also passed. Unknown health issues Doctors couldn’t figure out. She reflected on her life while watching the sun rise from the balcony of her new condo.