She started stirring and her sleepy eyes opened slowly seeing Thomas staring at her, her first instinct was to pull away but something about his dark features and beautiful eyes captivated her and somehow she lost herself in that moment, he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers pulling her closer in his arms. His lips were soft and warm, the kiss was out of this world amazing not to mention 10 times better then Marks ever could be. He seems so sincere, like he genuinely cares about me. But that can't be possible can it? No, he is shallow and arrogant and I'm not even his type and he isn't mine either. She wanted to give into the feelings he inspired but as amazing as it felt she had to snap herself back to reality and to the promise she made to herself. She came on this trip to heal, not for a rebound and definitely not to end up broken hearted again.
Charlotte pulled herself away and yelled: This cannot… No… Will not happen again, do you understand? Never again!
He frowned with confusion but with a slight smile appearing on his lips to cover his embarrassment he said: Whatever you say Charlie. He got up and didn't even bother changing, without saying another word he just walked out.
Almost the whole trip had passed without speaking to one another, other then her taking notes for his numerous business calls. Just leaving the Caribbean to set out for home, she finally decided to make a peace offering with a key chain she had bought in a tourist shop that read "Dont make me turn this boat around".
Charlotte walked out on the deck to look for Thomas, the fresh ocean air blowing through her long hair and the night sky reflecting off of the deck. She sat in the chair beside him: I'm sorry I was rude about the kiss. Truce? She handed him the key chain.
"Oh I'm not mad! I just kissed you because it seems like you needed the boost in your confidence after crying every night and I only held you because you seemed so pathetic" His voice was cold and he had a smirk on his face.
Charlotte's eyes widened and she was stunned and shocked at how callous he could be. She stared at him a moment then her face darkened as she started glaring at him and saying with a quiet anger in her voice: How could you possibly remember that if you were drunk enough to pass out?
Thomas lifted his chin smugly with a proud smirk and said: Well I knew I wasn't going to get any sleep with you crying so…
Charlotte eyes welled with tears as her face fell slightly, her lip quivered, and she said: You are despicable!
She walked away and headed to their suite. Seeing the pain on her face and the tears that had started to roll down her pink cheeks was almost to much to bear. Thomas pride wouldn't allow him to face his actions, and he cleared his throat and rolled his eyes, shoving down anything he might have felt for her.
He came into the room plopping his body onto the sofa and pretended to pass out, this time he would have to listen to her cry, only this time he was the cause, and as much as he wanted to pretend it didn't affect him, it did and greatly.
The middle of the night came with a crash, glass and furniture banging against the walls and floor, both Charlotte and Thomas were abruptly woken from sleep: What the hell was that?
"Ugh, I don't know" Thomas said as his voice was deep and husky from just waking up "But we need find out."
As Charlotte and Thomas started looking for the captain they were crashing from side to side in the halls. The boat swayed and just as Charlotte was about to fall Thomas snaked an arm around her waist and caught her just in time making her blush. He grabbed her by the hand and led her outside to the deck. The boat started swaying from side to side violently, causing the cruise employees and guests alike to slide across the deck with chairs and tables slamming into the walls and over the edge into the water. Thomas and Charlotte both held to the railing as they tried making their way to the bridge to speak to the captain but as the ship swayed further a table slammed into Charlotte's body hitting her head and sending her into the deep.
Charlotte tried to swim, she to command her arms and legs but to no avail, her body felt tired as her eyes went heavy, and she slipped into the darkness.
Thomas had been screaming for help but in the storm, no one could hear or even see him, he made his way to the lifesaver and threw it over to her but she seemed to have lost consciousness and went under the water. He dove in, swimming to her and he had to go under twice before finding her and wrapping one arm around her waist and swimming up with the other. He scoured the surface for something that could keep them afloat when he saw the lifesaver he swam to it, pulling Charlotte up. Thomas screamed for help as the boat floated further and further away.
Now cold and exhausted, he could barely keep his eyes open. He took his shirt off and tied it around them both and to the lifesaver. By morning they had been swept up to shore, god only knows where. He woke up when his face fell into the water and he gasped, sucking in water and coughing. He looked up to see a beach, mere feet from where they were floating. He untied himself and with the last of his energy he picked Charlotte up and carried her to shore.
Out of the water he fell with her in his arms, he looked around not seeing any sign of civilization and felt a flash of panic. But seeing Charlotte laying there with blood on the side of her head he knew his first priority would be to take care of her, he leaned in to get a better idea of her condition. The cut was shallow, so he checked her pupils to see if she had a concussion, looking at her frail body lying there, he leaned in and kissed her forehead and gently wiped the blood and sand off of her face.
"It's okay Charlie, we are going to be okay" he said as he pulled himself to his feet and started looking at his surroundings, the majority of what he saw was tropical trees. He gathered himself together and made a list of what needed to be done. First step was making a shelter for Charlotte to lay under so she didn't burn in this heat. Second step finding fresh water and then food.