Chapter song: Colorblind by Counting Crows
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Sitting in the soft sand, wind blowing through her hair, she watches the waves get rougher as the skies get darker. Besides her darkroom, this is her favorite place to clear her mind. It's peaceful, without the unwanted silence.
As the thunder gets closer, and the wind blows stronger, she starts to make her way back to the house. She makes it halfway through their backyard before the skies open up, unleashing ice cold rain on her once warmed skin.
Closing the glass door behind her, all thoughts on what to make for dinner skid to a halt. Her breath catches in her throat as she tries to hold in her screams when she sees a figure standing in front of her.
As her mind finally catches up with her eyes, she's finally able to let out the breath that was caught.
Standing before her, the last person she ever imagined it would be.
Her husband.
"Sorry… I didn't mean to scare you. Thought you'd need this," he says, holding a towel out to her.
She didn't even notice he was holding a towel.
Shaking her head slightly, as if shaking it would help clear her confusion, she takes the towel with a quiet, "Thanks."
As she starts to dry herself off, her mind races.
Did he say he was coming home early today? Did something happen? Is Seth okay?
With that thought, she stops running the towel through her hair and looks up at her husband, frantically asking,"Is everything alright? Seth's okay, isn't he?"
Caught off guard by her questions, he stutters his response in, what he hopes is, a soothing tone, "No, I mean, yes, every thing's okay. Seth's okay."'
She visibly relaxes, and brings the towel back to her hair.
Just as she's about to ask him why he's home, he lightly grabs her arm, and takes the towel from her. She looks up at him, completely confused. He looks down at her, hoping she sees everything he can't say.
Gently, he turns her around, and massages the towel through her long, damp hair. She tenses at first, finding his behavior odd, but then decides to stop thinking so much, for once, and enjoy this rare, tender moment with her husband.
As her hair starts to dry, he drops the towel to the floor, laying a soft kiss on her bare shoulder. Rubbing his hands up and down her arms, he brings them back up and wraps them around her, pulling her to his chest. As he rests his cheek on the side of her head, she rests both of her hands on his forearms, both just watching the storm.
Content.
No thoughts on the past. No thoughts about what's to come. Just being content in the moment.
As the storm starts to break, and the sun peeks through the clouds, they both break away, slowly, from each other's arms.
An awkward silence descends upon them.
Not knowing what else to do, she picks up the towel and says she's going to change and then start dinner. Right before she reaches the stairs, she stops, and asks a question she's afraid she already knows the answer to, "Are you staying home for dinner, or are you going back to...work?"
His chest burns with guilt. She already looks defeated, as if she's already expecting him to leave. She can't even look at him as she waits for his answer.
Rubbing his hand over the burn in his chest, he softly answers, "No, um... I'm not going back to work. I was hoping we could have a night... just us."
She finally looks up at him, as he walks toward her. When he reaches her, he takes the towel from her hands and whispers, "I got this," kissing her on the forehead before he makes his way to the laundry room.
She stands there for a few moments, wondering if what just happened really happened.
Snapping out of her confused, but happy, daze, she finally makes her way up to their room. As she showers, she thinks back to waking up in his arms, then him holding her after his nightmare, to just a moment ago when he said he was hoping for a night with just them.
She can't help but wonder what has changed between yesterday morning and last night. Should she be concerned, or should she just go with it and hope that whatever it is, it's here to stay?
Most people would think she's stupid for letting him back in without explanation, but she knows the man he used to be. She knows he is still in there somewhere.
And tonight, she saw him.
She just hopes he's here to stay.
A/N: Special thanks to my pre readers to this chapter, Crackylu and my sister, Ashley… and also to the best beta in the world, Allison Cullen!