Hey guys! Would've updated sooner, but, it took a while to get 5 reviews! Now, I want another 5 this time, please! :D Thank you guys so much, I'm very glad you like it!
"Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy."
- H.L Mencken
Scarlett
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SCARLETT HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUU!"
My body bounced on top of my bed, and my eyes shot open to see Tom, Bill, Gustav and Georg jumping above me, large smiles on all their faces.
I laughed as my body was flung around,
"You guys! Stop it! I'm gonna throw up!" I giggled.
They slowed their bounces, and Georg dived down beside me,
"Happy birthday, Scarlett!" He grinned, producing a large box that was wrapped in pink and purple paper, with a large pink bow at the top.
"Oh wow, Georg! You didn't have to get me anything!" I couldn't help but smile through my lie, I loved presents!
He waved me off with a flick of his wrist, "Of course I did! Tom made me!"
I laughed as Tom glared at him from across the bed.
"Nah I'm just kidding, it's your birthday! I had to get you something!"
I felt tears in my eyes. I cried at the most stupid things!
"Thank you, sweetie!" I exclaimed, wrapping one arm around Georg's neck, while holding onto my present with the other.
Georg hugged me back, "Don't mention it! Just hurry up and open it!"
I laughed and pulled away from him, ripping apart my pretty box. Inside was a large, cream bear, with a small brown nose and matching paws, it was wearing a tiny leather jacket. Small dark sunglasses covered its eyes.
"Oh wow, Georg, you gave her your boyfriend." Tom retorted from the bottom of the bed.
"Shut up, Kaulitz!" Georg yelled, lifting one of my pillows and firing it at Tom's face.
We laughed when the pillow knocked the sunglasses off his face, revealing a very angry Tom.
"I thought you might like the Rockstar bear." Georg turned back to me, oblivious of the death glares he was getting.
I laughed and lifted it out of the box, it was fluffy and cuddly when I gave it a big hug,
"It's so cute! I love it!"
The boys laughed at my childish grin.
"My turn! My turn!" Bill yelled, shoving Georg out of his way, and thrusting a red and gold gift bag in my face.
"Thanks, Bill." I laughed, taking the bag off him. Inside underneath all the red paper, were a pair of killer black Louboutin heels, with the signature red under sole, and silver studs all over.
"Oh my God…" I breathed, my eyes popping at the glorious shoes before me.
The boys laughed,
"I knew you would love them! I saw them in the shop and I just HAD to get them!" Bill grinned at his success. I thanked him again and gave him one last hug, before Gustav sat down beside me with a shy smile and a long, rectangular white box.
He handed it to me with a 'Happy Birthday, Scarlett' and a warm hug. I thanked him and opened the strange package, to see a pair of drumsticks, with my name engraved in black on each of them.
"Oh, wow!" I gasped, lifting them out to examine them further.
"I, well, I don't really know what to buy women, but when I saw you playing the drums the other day, I thought you might like your own sticks." Gustav smiled. He was such a cutie!
"I love them! Thank you, Gustav." I beamed, giving him another hug.
"Well!" Bill boomed, clapping his hands together, "Now that present time is over, it's time for us to make your breakfast! Or should I say, order your breakfast…. From room service."
I laughed as Bill, Georg and Gustav jumped from my bed and shoved out the door. I looked down at my presents that covered my legs, and smiled. The guys were awesome! I had forgotten Tom hadn't left until he cleared his throat. I looked up into his warm brown eyes, and smiled.
"Happy Birthday, Scar." He smiled back.
I frowned, "Dude, where's my present?" I joked, nudging him in the shoulder.
Tom laughed, " Be patient, young cub, you'll get your present soon enough." He grinned evilly, and my smile disappeared. I knew that evil little face all too well.
"What are you planning?" I asked, sounding like a strict mother.
"I'm not planning anything!" Tom exclaimed, sounding horrified at my accusation, while mockingly putting his hand to his heart. I frowned at him, letting him know I wasn't fooled.
His dropped his act, then grinned,
"It's already planned!" He said cheekily, jumping from my bed and running out the door before I could say a word. I rolled my eyes at his cute childishness, and walked into the bathroom to wash and dress.
The guys had made my 18th birthday morning happy, but sadly I had some business to do that was less than enjoyable. With people that hadn't spent a birthday with me in 10 years. And had celebrated none before that.
Tom 2006
"Happy birthday! Happy birthday! Happy birthday!"
My tired eyes shot open to see a small, heart shaped face just two inches away from mine,
"Happy birthday!" The smiling face exclaimed, planting a sweet kiss on my forehead and jumping up on my bed like a 5 year old.
I turned over on my back to look up at Scarlett, who was jumping up on either sides of my legs, her long brown hair flying around her face, her bright smile stretching to the tips of her shining eyes. She was beautiful. My hand ached to reach out and grab her.
And this time, my hands won.
I wrapped them around her small waist and pulled, she fell down beside me with a weak yelp. She continued to giggle, pushing a stray strand of hair out of her face,
"What was that for?" She asked, resting her hands on my chest, while mine stayed glued to her sides.
"No reason, just wanted the jumping to stop." I joked, catching her infectious grin.
"Okay. Did I forget to say Happy Birthday?" She mocked a frown.
I laughed, " No, I think you remembered that!" But then I realised that not only was it my birthday, but it was also my twins, "Did you forget to say it to Bill?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.
"No, I went into him and he threw a hairbrush at me." She stated, pouting her pretty pink lips.
I laughed, of course Bill wasn't a morning person! Well, neither was I, but with the most beautiful girl in the world lying across my chest, how could I not be awake?
"Wait!" I exclaimed, frowning, "You went into Bill before me?" I asked, looking at her suspiciously.
"Wellll….. Yeah…..kindaaa…. But only because I knew he would kick me out!" She laughed. I laughed with her, and it sounded like perfect music.
"Soooo….. I don't suppose you want your present, now?" Scarlett's dark green eyes glittered with excitement. Now I was really awake!
"Yeah!" I yelled, my grin splitting my face. Scarlett laughed and jumped down from my bed. I sat up and watched her duck out of my room, only to return a second later with a small black box.
For the past week I had tried everything to get Scar to tell me what my present was, but she never budged. Although, when Bill asked what his was, she was more than happy to tell him it was Nena concert tickets! How unfair was that?
Scarlett sat across from me on her knees, the small box resting in her palm. A look of pure seriousness washed over her face. I instantly frowned, all ideas of what she could have gotten me were dropped. This was obviously a serious present.
"When I left Poland, I didn't take very much with me. I just wanted to get out as fast as I could." Scarlett shrugged, her green eyes falling down to the package in her hand, "But I took this. It's my favourite possession."
But before I could interrupt, about to say that I couldn't take it from her, she raised her head to trap me in her beautiful, broken face,
"And you're my favourite person."
She took my heavy hand in her small, smooth one, and placed the small black box in my palm, before wrapping my fingers around it, closing her eyes, and pressing her full, pink lips to them. My heart stopped as electric shot from the tingling spot on my skin where her lips had been to the rest of my body.
I tried to close my mouth and find my breath, as Scarlett looked up at me with a warm smile, before walking out of my room, leaving her sweet sent of wild flowers and vanilla to surround me. I looked down at the small, black box, running my hand over it's cold, smooth exterior. What was that?
Glass?
My hands became alert at the fragileness of this box, not to mention that it was Scar's most prized possession, and if I were to break it, I would be a dead man.
"Hey! Tom!"
My head snapped up to see a very tired looking Bill standing in my doorway,
"Scarlett made breakfast, come and get some." He motion for me to follow him, but I told him I'd be down in a minute.
Finally, my fingers slipped under the lid of the black box. My heart raced under my shirt. Scarlett had never shown me, never mind told me about this box, yet it seemed to mean so much to her. Why did she keep it a secret? And why was she giving it to me?
The lid flipped open with a 'click' to reveal a small, gold heart. It edges were ragged, and it was clearly an antique, but it was beautiful.
For my 16th birthday, Scarlett gave me her heart. And I planned to protect that heart with everything I had.
Scarlett
I fiddled with the radio in my car, cursing stupid technology when it failed to change to the station I wanted. I gave it one last 'smack' before the light turned green and I sped off down towards the highway. I was alone, after finally convincing Tom I would survive in a crowded café with my father for a quick half an hour while I got my information. He wasn't happy about letting me go, but I assured him I would call him if anything happened, and sealed that promise with a hug. He was able to crack a smile then.
Today I was meeting with my father, to ask about my mother. That shouldn't be weird… but it is. Despite his best efforts to win me over, I still didn't trust my father, but him coming back into my life made me curious. Clearly he hadn't forgotten all about me, but had my mother? Did she know where I was? Did she care? Was she even alive?
I hated knowing nothing.
I let out a loud sign of frustration as I turned off at the sign for the Hilton, where my father was staying. I had agreed to talk with him in the café across the street from the hotel to have some breakfast, but he was unaware of what I was really there for.
I parked close to the café, keeping my large black car in safe reach in case a quick getway was necessary. I pushed my black ray bans from my eyes to the top of my head as I grabbed my purse from the front seat and climbed out of my car.
My father stood outside the café, with his hands in the pockets of his long, black pants. He was wearing shiny black dress shoes, and a crisp blue shirt, cleaned and ironed to perfection. His black curly hair was slicked back, giving a clear view of his dark skin and large brown eyes. This was casual for him.
He glanced around him, and when his eyes caught me, his face broke into a grin, revealing a row of straight, white teeth, that gleamed in the sun. His grin caused his eyes to wrinkle at the sides, and laugh lines to form at the sides of his mouth. His raised a hand out of his pocket to wave at me. I gave him a feeble smile and an awkward lift of my hand as I approached him.
I saw as many women walked past and stared at my father, clearly in awe at his appearance, and when I reached him, and we said our hellos, I realised why. He was very hansome. I hadn't remembered my father as hansome, he was always frowning, with a perminant crease in his forehead. I remembered the way his nostrils flared and he gritted his teeth when something went wrong, and he clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white and the vains in his arms were visable.
That to me, was not hansome. But this calm, friendly looking man in front of me was. And as he ushered me inside the café and towards a table at the back, chatting away about how he had lunch in here yesterday and when the waitress was giving him his delicious BLT sandwich, a small boy walked in to ask for 2 coffee's to go, and a crowd of teenage girls started screaming and chased him out. I wasn't particularly amused, because of all the things in the world to talk about, my father gossips about his incounter with Justin Bieber!
"Em…. I forget his name. The waitress told me it yesterday. Was is Jason? Jackson?" He scratched his head, rhyming off more names that started with J.
"I think you mean Justin Bieber." I first sentence I'd said to him, and I was already annoyed.
"Ahh, yes!" He snapped his fingers, "That was it! God, those girls were going crazy, but luckily the kid was pretty fast -
"Dad! Could we not talk about Justin? I was hoping we could descuss something more important." I asked, trying to keep polite, as a tall, teenage boy walked over to take our order.
I opened the menu quickly and stated the first thing I saw, 'I'll have the pancakes, please." I gave him a quick smile and the menu. I wasn't hungry, because I'd had breakfast with the guys earlier, but I didn't want to give my dad conversation. I looked around the pretty café, and noticed a group of teenage girls looking over, whispering. I turned away swiftly, letting my hair fall across my face to hide it from them.
Oh great, they recognised me! I thought. Of all times!
They weren't too far away from our table, and could probably hear us, so I decided to speak in Polish, and hope none of them were fluent.
My father told the waiter his order of bacon and eggs, and handed him his menu, before turning back to me. His face was open and friendly, and he stared into my eyes. I let mine drop to the table where my hands were fidgetting with my phone. I still couldn't look him straight in the eye. It was creepy.
"So, how have you been, Scarlett? We haven't talked since….well…. Since the, um, airport…uhh…incident."
My mind reeled back to when we met at the airport in New York. My father told me he was dying, and I fainted.
My cheeks turned red at the thought of it.
"Um, yeah, I'm good." I nodded, biting furiously at my bottom lip, "How-how are you?" I asked, although that wasn't the right question.
The right question was-
"It's cancer." My father replied easily.
My stomach churned and flipped at the word. My eyebrows creased until it hurt, and tears stung my eyes.
"I'm sorry." I whispered, not able to say anything else.
My father sighed, "Let's not talk about that, huh? Let's talk about something else!" He put on a smile and a fake 'everything's happy' voice.
I have to say it, just say it. No cutting corners, just say it.
Say it.
"I actually came here to talk about my mother." I raised my head to look my father in the face, and he was as pale as I was human. But I wasn't finished yet.
"I need you to tell me the truth, dad. I need to you tell me what you know about her, and I need you to be honest with me. I need to know about my mother."
Short, shallow breaths were coming from my fathers slack mouth. He hadn't blinked in a while, and just when I was about to ask him if he was alright, he spoke,
"She knows about you."
I frowned, confused. She knew about me?
"What do you mean?" I asked, leaning foreward on the table.
"She knows that you've been living with the Kaulitz's, that's you've been doing music, she knows that your touring with them, and that you're here."
The air caught in my throat,
"She-she knows what?" I choked on the words.
She knew I was here. She was in Vegas.
"W-W-What…." I stuttered and stopped, my mind raced a thousand times a minute. How many times had I wondered where she was, how many times had I been to Las Vegas when the boys had a concert here?
How many times had she known I was here?
"She lives here." My fathers voice sounded distant. "Scarlett."
I looked up at him, my mouth open and my eyes still wide.
"Your mother and I devorced a short time after you left. She moved here, where she found a new man, who has recently become her husband. They have a child together, another girl. She seems to be very happy… different."
He fired a surprise at me, one after the other, and I felt like throwing up.
She was married. She had another kid. I had a sister-in-law.
All I wanted to know was if she was alive or not, if my dream had been real. But it hadn't, it couldn't of been further from reality!
Married.
Sister.
Tom
I was starting to get worried about Scarlett. She had been gone for over an hour, and hadn't called or text anyone. I've never trusted Aleczandar Rosnovski, and I was prepared to chop my nuts off before letting Scarlett anywhere near him alone, but she begged, and promised she'd be alright. And it was very hard to win with her. So I let her go…. Alone….
And now I was sitting in her empty hotel room, holding her heart, and praying that the real one doesn't break.
Tom 2004
Another strangled sob ripped from the angel's throat, and more tears fell from her beautiful face. I tried to comfort her, soothe her in whatever way I could, but the damage was done.
I was lying on Scarlett's bed, holding her to me with everything I had. Her small, warm body rested on mine as she cried her heart out on my chest. My hand rubbed her back, keeping her close. The other smoothed at her hair, occasionally wiping the tears from her pale cheeks. I kissed her head, repeating over and over again that it would be alright, everything would be alright.
But it wouldn't.
Scarlett had lost the only family member that had ever loved her, ever treated her right. And with no one else, she fell apart in my arms. She broke down, and I tried my hardest to fix her, but I don't think I can. Not this time.
A tear slipped from my eye, and rolled silently down my cheek. I cried for Aleczandar Rosnovski, who passed away from cancer only yesterday. I cried for his granddaughter, who without him, was a family of 1.
I tried to make this chapter as long as I could, but I'm not sure I'm happy about the content. I don't think it's very good L Sorry. Also, sorry about Scarlett's age, it keeps jumping around from 18 to 19, but I just want to clear everything up by saying she turned 18 on this birthday, okay? And sorry if my spellings wrong, but it 5 in the morning, and I couldn't be bothered to check it. Sorry.
Katie