Sebastian

Rose's eyes widened in horror. "What?" She breathed.

"I never told her anything about you."

"Then how did she ..." Her voice trailed off. I followed her eyes back to the fourth cabin.

"I have no idea," I confessed, pushing down my own fears. "Maybe she overheard us talking?"

Rose breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted to believe that just as much as I did. "You're right." She laughed dryly. "I'm spooked out for no reason. That woman, she just ... Her eyes."

Rose shook her head back and forth, like she was trying to erase Merelda from her mind. Her long black hair swung behind her and, for the first time, I noticed just how beautiful she was.

I smirked. "I did warn you to stay away from her." For this exact reason, I thought. Ever since Merelda began her stay here, I knew there was something off about that woman. Not to mention the fact that she seemed to know more about me than I had ever told anyone.

Even things I wasn't ready to admit to myself.

Rose's eyes narrowed. "I thought you were joking around!" She laughed and the tension that lingered between us moments ago seemed to disappear. I sighed in relief. "How long has she been here?"

"Merelda?" I asked, thinking back to when she checked into the Purple Inn. "A while now. Maybe four or five months." Rose nodded contemplatively.

"What's with you and flowers?" She asked suddenly. I felt my cheeks heat up as I pushed down thoughts of Violet.

Violet and Rose. Two flowers. Where is your flower? Merelda's words sat uneasily in my mind.

You cannot hide. Not from me and my eyes. Was it possible ... Could she —

"Sebastian?" Rose's voice brought me back to reality. She was watching me carefully, her green eyes bright as they roamed over my face. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," I answered too quickly. "I don't know what she meant about the flowers." I lied, hoping Rose wouldn't see through it.

Her lips pursed as she nodded. After a moment, she sighed, defeated, and reached down quickly to take off her sandals. When she stood up again, her face was flushed as a shy smile played on her lips.

"You were right about the shoes." She admitted quietly.

I resisted the urge to laugh out loud and simply smiled at her. "How was your exploration?" I asked, grateful to steer the conversation away from Merelda. Leaning against the wall of the cabin, I studied Rose's face as she spoke.

She chuckled as she sat down on the step leading up to the porch. I took a seat beside her. "These woods seem to stretch on forever," she admitted. "But... There's something beautiful about being stuck in the middle of nowhere. Something peaceful." She turned to me slowly and I could see the vulnerability in her eyes. "You know?"

I nodded. I knew better than I could possibly tell her. "It's the perfect getaway."

Rose smiled and my heart beat quickened. "But that's the thing about getaways — they don't last forever. Reality comes knocking sooner or later."

And when she turned away, I could see the sadness that crept its way onto her face. I watched Rose and wondered what had possibly happened to this girl to make her move into the yellow roof cabin.

Her eyes were latched onto the grey sky. The sun had just set. I bumped my knee against hers and she looked at me, her eyebrows raised but her eyes were far away.

She blinked and she was back. "Were you really alone in your tent this morning?" She asked after a moment.

"That's what you're thinking about?" She gave me a distasteful look that made me throw my head back as I laughed.

"Just curious," she said, shrugging.

I watched her for a moment before I responded. "I was alone, Rose." I told her honestly. She nodded, seeming satisfied with my answer. "Tomorrow is Tuesday," I said absentmindedly.

She smiled, watching me amusingly. "Is that supposed to impress me?"

I rolled my eyes as I chuckled. "Every Tuesday I go into town to buy food, supplies — whatever guests need. Everyone writes their own list and I pick it up for them. Anything you need, let me know. Just slide the paper under my door by tomorrow morning and I'll get it for you."

I ran a hand through my hair as the wind picked up. Her eyes followed.

"Anything I need?" She asked slowly.

"Anything at all."

"Got it," she responded, smiling.

I stood up slowly and brushed the back of my pants. "Make sure to add boots to that list," I teased, nodding at the sandals in her hands.

Rose's foot stuck out to kick me but I stepped back quickly. Her eyes narrowed when she missed.

"Goodnight, Rose." I called to her, laughing, as I began to walk backwards to my cabin.

After a moment, she smiled, her green eyes still bright in the darkness. "Goodnight, Sebastian."

When I closed the door to my cabin, she was still sitting there on her porch — shoes in her hand, staring at the grey sky.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to find a small piece of paper resting in front of my door. Grabbing my mug of coffee, I walked across the kitchen and picked it up.

"Boots," I read aloud, chuckling to myself as I sipped my coffee.

I looked out the kitchen window to Rose's cabin. She was sitting on the steps to her porch, her knees tugged up to her chest, a mug resting on the ground beside her. Her eyes looked up quickly and met mine. She waved. I held up the note and her face stretched into a grin.

I was overwhelmed with the urge to go and sit beside her. To see what she drank in the mornings. To see how she looked when she just woke up and sleep still lingered on her face. Most importantly, I wanted to ask her about the paint supplies she had scribbled down for me to buy her.

But the more I watched Rose, the more she began to turn into Violet until I swore it was her sitting there instead, watching me with that coy smile on her lips. The one she knew I couldn't resist.

Shaking my head, I willed Violet to vanish until it was only Rose sitting on the steps in her pyjamas, watching me with a funny look on her face.

I waved before I turned away from the window quickly, my breathing heavy. I shoved the note into the pocket of my jeans. Violet's face creeped into my mind. I haven't seen her since the night before Rose moved in.

I shut out her face — shut out the worry rising in my chest — as I walked back to my bedroom to get dressed. I had a long day ahead of me and thinking about Violet would just make it longer.

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