In the Life of a Rose

August 1, 2023

In the Life of a Rose...

I had slumped on the couch and immediately taken off the Minnie ears headband off. I deeply sighed, exhausted from the full-day trip to Disneyland. It was probably one am right now and all I could do was hang my sore feet on the table.

"Was it fun?" Chris asked. He handed me a mug of hot-chocolate. I wasn't surprised that some of it spilled on the crew-neck Cinderella sweater he had gotten me some time ago. He laughed at the incident and kissed my cheek and I groaned, not caring because I was too exhausted.

"It was fun," I said softly. "I'll relay my happiness in two days when I recover. I'm practically hallucinating right now."

"Well, tomorrow, we're going to California Adventure."

"No!" I exclaimed. "Two days, please."

He pursed his lips in dissatisfaction and his grin expression later turned into a smile: "Okay."

We were staying in the Disneyland hotel where we had a reservations for a suite for however long we decided to stay. I only thought it would be a day but I suppose the trip was going to be extended because he was mad that I had never been to Disneyland. Once upon a time, Chris had promised he would take me and show me the best places.

"I did like the Star Wars campus," I admitted. "I don't even watch Star Wars!"

"It's the lightsabers." He tossed the red one I impulsively bought onto the coffee table. He proceeded to take out more stuff: a candy apple, another Disneyland sweater, some sunglasses, a stuffed Mickey animal that I'd probably give to Cerberus, and a Jessie hat. "This is probably two hundred bucks."

"I was a child at the moment," I justified. I had even bought a kid a toy after he whined to his mother in the gift store because I had almost bought everything.

"Come on, Thea," he huffed. He set down my mug and carried me bridal style off the nude couch. Leading me to the bed, he set me down and I just laid there. He shook his head and started taking off my shoes, my shorts, and my sweater and t-shirt that I was wearing underneath.

"I can just take a shower in the morning," I murmured. My eyes slowly opened and closed but they were forced wide open when he placed a cold makeup wipe on my face. "Chris!"

"I know you never go to sleep with your makeup on," he told me. "I'll let your skin-care routine slide this one time. Okay, Country Club?"

"You know me so well," I said drowsily. I yawned as he began sliding on my silk pajamas and put on the bonnet I had packed. He pulled me up to the pillows and tucked me in before he changed out of his clothes. He got into bed, shirtless, and I placed a hand on his warm chest. "Hmm... goodnight, Pretty Face."

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"Thea," Chris called. "Thea!" I felt him shaking my body and I rolled over, shielding my eyes from the sun. The light made my eyesight sensitive and his exclamations made me aggravated to the point where I started crying.

"I'm so tired," I whispered through my small tears.

"Are you okay?" he asked calmly. He sat on the edge of the bed and rested a hand on my side, softly rubbing me. "You need to eat, baby. Then after, I'll give you some Advil."

I pulled myself up and rested on my elbows, looking around and trying to gather all of my senses. I wasn't too surprised when I saw my bonnet on the other side of the bed- I slept too good.

"Food," I murmured. "Yeah."

"I know. Shower. Clothes," he pointed at the bed. "Kitchen."

He got up and clapped, as if he was ordering me like an officer beneath his ranking. Obeying, I got out of bed and went to the bathroom where I washed off my grimy body. The hot water was perfect against my skin and something about cheap hotel soap made it seem vacation-y.