☂ 𝑳𝑶𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑺𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻 || 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚂 𝚡 𝙾𝙲 || 𝑩𝑲. 𝟑 ☂

05. RED IS FOR BLOOD & ROSES

Elaina invisibly stood and watched as the elevator doors closed on Tony while cradling her stinging hand against her chest. What a day. She needed a drink, but suddenly, she grew an aversion to elevators within the last twenty or thirty minutes and figured the drink wasn't worth it anymore. What a bummer.

The girl turned around and started making her way back to her and Five's room, rattling her brain for a way to explain what just happened. Should she even mention it? She could always just say that she tripped and dropped the bottle, thus slicing her hand open. No need to screw up a perfectly good night, right?

No. She had to tell him.

Back in Dallas, she covered for Tony once when she cared for him. Things were obviously different now. She needed to let Five know what happened.

With her mood depleted, she dragged her feet to her room, ready to completely ruin the honeymoon-like bubble they were in.

God, she hated her life.

Why was it always her?

Blood continued to trickle down her hand and onto the carpeted floor. It wasn't long before a trail of tony red dots pursued behind the girl. Completely caught up in her self-pity, Elaina was shocked when she arrived at the hotel door so quickly.

With a disheartened sigh, Elaina carefully took the key to the room out of her robe's pocket before inserting it into the lock. A click was heard as she twisted the knob and opened the door.

Too lost in her thoughts to notice that the lighting in the room was dim, Elaina walked in and dropped the key on the counter near the entrance. Once she was in the security of her room, the girl grabbed the extra length of her robe's belt and wrapped it around her bleeding hand with a quiet hiss of pain.

"I see you made it back," she heard behind her, startling her slightly as she jumped and spun around. "I've been waiting for you,"

It was then that she took in the appearance of the room: the lights were nicely dimmed, adding a sense of warmth and intimacy to the tacky room. Red rose petals scattered across the floor, and as Elaina followed the path they went on, she noticed they led to the bed. Surrounding the bed was a handful of white candles, strategically place in the least hazardous places they could be.

Taking in the scenery made it all worse, considering Five was patiently laying on the bed waiting for her while the Lauryn Hill version of "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You " was playing in the background.

It was so beautiful. Everything about his effort was sweet and thoughtful.

"Oh, Five..." she smiled weakly.

Yet short-lived.

"You shouldn't have... really,"

Elaina unknowingly let her voice crack in a way that notified Five that something was wrong. He was leaning back against the palm of his hands in his best effort to look alluring, but at the sound of her voice, the boy sat straight up. The room wasn't super dark, but it was enough that the boy couldn't fully see her expression from across the room.

Five narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong?" he questioned, blinking from the bed to a few feet in front of her.

It was then that he took in her appearance and his eyes widened. Five's hand shot to the switch beside them, flooding the room with fluorescent light for a better look. When he last saw Elaina not even thirty minutes ago, she looked great–fantastic even. Her white robe looked almost ethereal on her and she had this cheerful glow about her that rivaled the sun.

That was a harsh contrast to her appearance now. Elaina's white robe now had patches of red and looked disheveled to hell, her hair was crazed and her expression was a mixture of gloomy and irritated.