Defenceless

41. Oman

"Mom, have you seen my straightener brush?"
Ruth's instincts sprouted, she almost never called her that, usually a "Mother" or "Ruth" escaped her lips, specially when she was angry; the girl wanted something... or was hiding something.

"I don't know Rose, every day I tell you to clean up your room. If I had known you were bringing your trash to the entire suite, I would have insisted Cal to stay..."

Ever since India, things had been very good with her mother, Rose was surprised to see she was genuinely interested in culture without believing herself superior (as Ruth usually did). When they both agreed, Rose was once again that little girl eager to follow her mother to the ends of the earth.

Rose continued outlining her eyes, making sure to leave a wing on the outer corner. Then she took off her ear piercings, looking to match the Oman dressing code. I hope the recent ones don't close, she thought, not wanting to go through the pain a second time.

She sighed in frustration, she couldn't find the iron under all her things; maybe Ruth was right, she needed to clean her room. Rose made herself a little corner in the bed upstairs, since they weren't getting off until they reached Southampton again, she took the liberty of re-decorating the suite. Cal had moved to the stateroom next door, not wanting to sleep in the same room as his ex-fiancé and his ex-mother in law. With that in mind, Ruth knew something was up...

"Ugh forget it, I'll go borrow Molly's"

"Come here young lady" Rose rolled her eyes "You never spend time with your mother. At least tell me where you're going"

"I told you I'm going to Molly's and then we'll explore Muscat"

"What's going on Rose?"

"Nothing..."

"Is everything okay with Cal?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Our relationship is exactly the way we want it" Non-existent, that is.

"Then why aren't you wearing your ring?"

The ring. Where was it?

Rose stumbled for an answer but couldn't find a convincing one, not for herself, not for her mother. She eagerly searched for it while listening to Ruth's scolding two steps behind her.

"I'll look for it later! I have to go mom..." she rushed to the hallway and closed the door behind her.

Was she brave enough to lie to her face like that? Was she making the right choice going behind Ruth's back and meeting new investors without her consent? Forgiveness is easier than permission I guess...

Meanwhile, a third of the RMS students were in a van and on their way to the rocky coastal plateau, home to the Bimah Sinkhole. The vehicle had air conditioning which helped them get through the heat of the dessert. They only hoped the water was cool enough.

"Brizio! Look at the goats" Tommy cheered. The younger boy wasn't impressed, he was too busy finishing his book. Liam had warned him to not read while they were moving, but he hadn't listened to him either.

"Put that thing down" Jack grabbed it by the cover

"I'm almost done, I promise"