Devil's Playground

part ii : We Call It Day Drinking in America, Sweets

Jane could do very little to soothe Kathleen's sea sickness. Her hurried breaths begging for a bucket for Kathleen's stomach to pour into. The crew on the ship were more than kind, checking up on Jane and Kathleen every few hours to ensure that they were comfortable, and their needs be met.

Jane had tried to talk to Kathleen about what had happened with Arthur now that almost four had passed, and her bruises were turning yellow, but Kathleen barely gave away any information, pushing her sister out and only speaking to her when she felt she had to.

The morning had woken Kathleen much earlier than it had Jane and being cooped up in their room was making her feel more sick than before. She got up to wash her face, rising up for a towel to pat herself dry before looking at her reflection in the mirror. In the two days they had been there, the bags under her eyes showed a million more emotions than she intended, so she shuffled through her makeup bag and made herself look presentable.

The ship was serving breakfast, and Kathleen didn't feel like waking Jane, she wanted some time to herself, time to get a breath of fresh air. She made her way to the ship's dining room, the chairs and tables sparsely filled, before grabbing a plate of food and sitting as close to the corner as she could, attempting to stay away from any prying eyes or interruptions. It was when she finished her food that she noticed a man, suit clad and staring right at her, issuing a blush onto her cheeks before looking down at herself, not knowing how to react. The man was sat with what seemed to be his friend, they were dressed similarly with smart blazers and slicked back hair, their good looks sending a flutter off inside of Kathleen. The man staring at her hadn't let go of her eye contact once, even as he nodded and responded to his friend's' comments, his stare remained.

Kathleen sat up from her chair, walking over to get another drink and having to pass by the man's table, his eyes following her to where she queued for the drink. The man rose from his chair, just as Kathleen had, abandoning the conversation he was having and walking over to stand behind her.

"Have you tried the wine?" Kathleen chuckled inwardly at his attempt to strike a conversation with her as she watched his hands dance along the table cloth, smoothing over the wrinkles embedded into the cotton.

"I haven't, have you?" She turns to him, an amused smile gracing her features, looking up and allowing him to take in her beauty. He chuckles, shaking his head.

"No, I haven't, but would you like to try some with me?" She bites down on her lip, trying to prevent another smile spilling out onto her face, but she failed, her grin now matching his.

"At nine in the morning?" Her head tilted to the side, questioning his decision.

"We call it day drinking in America, sweets." Kathleen was next in the queue, the cashier anticipating her choice of drink. The man looked at her pointedly, his lopsided grin proving impossible to ignore as she gripped onto the bottle neck of the red wine.

Kathleen could almost hear her sister scoff at her, scolding her not only for drinking so early in the morning, but for entertaining the idea of this handsome man, only days after leaving Arthur.

The man's friend had disappeared in the time that the two of them were in the queue, clearly taking his hint to leave when watching them both talk. The seat she took was still warm, her hands moving to ruffle her skirt so that she could sit comfortably whilst the man in front of her opened the wine bottle and began pouring the red liquid into hers first,

"Tell me when to stop." She laughed at him.

"I fear that if you leave it up to me, then you will never hear the word." He nods, letting out a raspy chuckle, filling her glass a quarter of the way and his too.