Black Rose

tears and wine

The warm bubble bath did little to soothe her nerves. Neither did the sparkling wine she wasn't even supposed to take. Taking a deep breath, she laid back her head and closed her eyes, trying to quash the tears that burned at the edges of her almond shaped eyes. Beyond those swirling pools of an unnatural fiery bronze, that ever so perfect ivory skin face and that petite frame, her world was crumbling apart brick by brick. And she wondered how long she could hold up the fort. But one thing was for sure.
If Alana Quilea was going down, she would go down in flames.. She was never one to shy away from a war, and this one, though the most daunting, was not going to defeat her. Checking her cell phone once again, she was hoping against hope that he would at least text.

Nothing.

Her stomach sank even deeper, if that were possible. Alana took a sip of the expensive wine. And another, and another.
But even that couldn't rid her of the dark cloud hanging above her head, ominous... signifying that the end was indeed near.

She didn't even know when the tears started flowing but when they did, it was a turbulent waterfall amidst a background of sobs and hiccups. Alana cried for her ruined childhood, her dark past, she cried for her stormy present, and for her bleak future. But most of all, she cried hard for William......

Sitting at her desk, she tried to focus on the document in front of her, her eyebrows puckered in concentration. But the intense headache wasn't helping much.

Maybe her French bun was too tight... maybe her problems stretched further than the universe, maybe the icy storm she was caught up in had her trapped, with nowhere to go.

Or maybe it was the sobs floating in through the not so soundproof walls.
Groaning in frustration, she balled up her fists and stood up, making determined steps to her sister's room directly adjacent to hers.

But when she saw the sight in front of her, the icy exterior she had built up and all her defenses against all possible human emotion apart from anger, peeled off.

Sitting in the bathtub, falling apart was her sister, the ever stoic Alana, bottle of wine almost empty, eyes red and puffy and face flushed. And all she could manage was, "Should I get another bottle?"

And a hiccupy response in the affirmative broke her heart even more.