Stain My Rose With Scarlet Tears

It’s been exactly one week since we landed in Maldives, and dare I say, every day was better than the last. Lucy and Charlie spent every night together, sleeping over at either our or Tom and Bianca’s room. They were staying in the same room again, and I had to admit, after the year we had, it was a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

I knew the year wasn’t over yet, but I tried not to expect too much. Nothing can surprise me anymore, and in the year, I learned that even though life seems like a complete nightmare, the good thing is, you can always wake up. But hopefully, after the year we’d had, I hoped we wouldn’t have as many terrible days as this year.

It was one of the sunnier days in Male, and we took our chance and went to the beach. We hadn’t really been there since the first day, it was just our luck that we were stuck with the bad weather when we’re on vacation, but we tried to make the best of it. Basically before today, Bill, Lucy and I spent our days watching movies, snuggled up in my and Bill’s bed, talking with Tom and Bianca over the phone about what was happening. We hardly went out; I wasn’t really a fan of sightseeing.

There were the times were Bill and I bored Lucy to tears, when she would play with her cat, unfortunately named Tomi, by her uncles request. I think if Tom had his way, every living thing on earth would be named after him. It was amusing at first, but I don’t I can cope with two Tom’s back home.

For the first time this year, I was actually able to stop thinking for a moment, lie in the sun and relax. It felt good.

Bill, Tom, Lucy and Charlie were swimming again, while Bianca and I watched them. There were a couple more people on the beach than last time, but we weren’t on the main beach, so it was mostly unoccupied, which suited us perfectly.

“... Sam, are you even listening?”

The harsh voice snapped me out of my thoughts quick enough. My head snapped up to see Bianca waving a hand in front of my eyes, a crease on her forehead. My brow furrowed in confusion as I looked at her, seeing her lips twitch slightly. Only when she started laughing loudly, I realized that she had been talking to me. It was odd, I never zoned out like that.

“Um, no... Sorry.” I replied lamely. I sat up to look at her, placing a hand on the back of my neck. “What were you saying?”

She continued laughing for a few minutes, then slid her sunglasses over her teary eyes and smirked at me, shaking her head.

“I wasn’t saying anything- “

“Oh.” I cut in, lying down again.

“I was asking if you remember anything about your and Bill’s first date?”

My eyes were closed, but I could hear the enthusiasm in her voice. I chuckled a bit, not bothering to sit up again. I kept quiet for a moment, thinking back to when Bill and I first got together. I expected all the memories of our first date to come rushing back in the matter of a nanosecond, but they didn’t. Only then did I realize it, “We never had a first date.” I said out loud.

Bianca’s laughing had started up again, even louder than before. I slipped off my sunglasses and glared at her. She paused and looked down at me, her smile disappearing instantly. Her mouth was opened slightly, her eyebrows starting to disappear under her hairline.

“You’re serious?” She exclaimed, pulling me up straight.

I nodded sheepishly, turning my back on the guys to look at my best friend. I crossed my arms over my chest awkwardly, my eyes roaming the trees behind Bianca. I shrugged once before answering.

“Yeah, I mean... We never had the chance. We spent all of our time with the bands; we started dating when we were on tour and I think the closest thing to a date we had was a night in our hotel room.” I rambled on pointlessly, “I don’t think we ever had a date until months after our tour finished... And I didn’t really think of that as a first date.
“Actually, I don’t remember you and Tom going on dates either...”

My eyes rested on her as I said Tom’s name, glancing at her curiously. I saw the color rising to her cheeks, as her smirk changed into a mischievous smile. She avoided my gaze for a minute, running a hand through her hair slowly. “We kind of... snuck out a lot.” She answered.

“That explains it.” I murmured.

Bianca snorted and turned around, now laying on her stomach, opening the book she brought. I accepted that as the end of our conversation for now, so I lay down again and closed my eyes. I started soaking up the sun’s rays, something I hadn’t gotten the chance to do at all this year, and I felt myself slipping into a light, dreamless sleep.

“Is she sleeping? How can she be sleeping? No one falls asleep on the beach!”

Tom’s loud voice woke me out of my sleep half an hour later, water dripping on my forehead. I lifted my hand and wiped it away, then opened my eyes to glare at him. I lifted my sunglasses off of my eyes, cursing at him quietly.

Bill and Tom were standing above me, glancing down. Only when I glanced at him, had I realized that it was his hair dripping on me. He extended a hand and helped me up, hugging me briefly before letting me go. I pulled my t-shirt over my head and started to gather up my things, with my friends’ help.

Bill took our things into his arms, while I carried Lucy in mine, hugging her wet body against me. Bianca did the same with Charlie, as Tom carried theirs. It was already starting to get darker, making the road back to the car seem much longer than when we arrived earlier. It was our turn to take care of Charlie and Lucy, and it wouldn’t be hard to get them to go to sleep. Like every day at the beach, everyone was exhausted.

As we drove to the hotel, Lucy had already fallen asleep; all I tried to do now was keep her from waking up. Tom pulled over in front of the hotel doors, making it easier for us to get our kids in their beds.

Bianca brought Charlie up to my and Bill’s room, and into Lucy’s room. Charlie was falling asleep slowly, glancing at her I could see her struggling to keep her eyes open. Lucy had always been a heavy sleeper, so it was easy for me to change her into her nightclothes and tuck her in.

She smiled softly when I pulled her blanket over her and kissed her head.

Bianca’s POV

I closed the door of my and Tom’s hotel room, just as Tom got out of the shower. He walked out, and smiled just as he saw me. I walked towards him and allowed him to throw his arms around me, hugging me to his chest. That was probably the thing I missed most about Tom, and I wasn’t about to lose it again. I shivered slightly as he kissed my neck, his dreadlocks brushing against my exposed skin.

“You seem tense.” He murmured against my skin.

“I’m fine.” I whimpered as his hands traveled down to my hips. His lips traveled from my neck to my cheeks, making me turn around, they found my lips.

“No, you’re not.” He argued with me. His lips had the ability of making me forget about most things of life, but along with most things, Tom had changed quite a bit. He seemed afraid of what might happen if I didn’t tell him what was on my mind. He wanted to listen, even when I didn’t want to tell him.

He pulled away, teasing me. He knew I wanted more, but he glanced at me worriedly, making me feel guilty about my secrecy. He pulled me closer to him, resting his right hand on my lower back. He deliberately brushed his cold piercing against my shoulders and neck.
“What’s wrong?” He whispered.

“N- Nothing...” I swallowed hardly, I wanted his lips, and I didn’t want to talk at that moment.

He grunted in annoyance, letting go of me completely. He crossed his arms across his well toned chest and sent me a glare. I sighed and smiled, taking his hand. I lead him towards the kitchen counter, sitting on it to stare at him. He stood directly in front of me, so I swung my legs forward, catching him around the waist, pulling Tom towards me, and then wrapped my legs around him.

“Did you know that Sam and Bill never had a first date?” I asked thoughtfully, my thoughts slowly turning back to them. He thought for a moment, and then shook his head, a questioning look on his face. I smiled.

“Well... what do you think of us... helping them out a bit?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows, causing him to laugh. He nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s a brilliant idea.” He said quietly, attacking my lips hungrily.