Diamond S Ranch

33-Believing

It was the loud clap of thunder that literally seemed to shake the whole house that caused Elle to sit straight up in her bed.  Her lights flickered.  She scrunched up against headboard and pulled her covers up to her chin.  Her eyes wide, she waited.  The lights stayed on but she could still see the lightening flashing angrily outside her window.  The howling winds pushing the rain,  splattering it up against the windows. She reached for Mr. Marshmallow and held him close to her chest as the lights blinked again, hesitating longer than she liked this time before coming back on.

"Please don't go out. Please don't go out. Please don't go out." She muttered over and over into her blanket.  Seriously trying to will the lights to stay on. Suddenly another crackling flash of lightening immediately followed by a booming rumble of thunder that sounded really, really close and then....everything went dark.

Elle pulled the covers over her head and closed her eyes against the darkness.  Like that helps, she thought as she lay there half frozen in fear. All she could think now was that stupid ghost story that Gage and Garrett had told her.  She slowly pulled the covers down and opened her eyes, the lightening flashed again, now illuminating her room with sharp slivers of bright whitish-gray light. Shadows shifted as she looked around now distorting normal objects into creepy scary things.  Another static crackle flash followed again by a thunderous shaking. Something banged loud against a wall somewhere in her room. 

Nope, Elle couldn't stay there anymore...not by herself...not in the dark...not with something banging around. She threw back the covers and bolted out of the bed. She ran to her door, throwing it open, she flew down the balcony as the lightening continued to flash, providing more than enough light for her to see. She headed down the hall and straight towards Jake's room.  Not even stopping to knock, she wretched the door open, where crashed as it slammed up against the wall.  Running full force into the room, she flung herself onto Jake's bed, only thing keeping her from propelling herself off the other side was his body. 

Jake's first waking moment was having the sensation of something rather painfully slamming into his body as he lay there sleeping. 

"Oof!  What the...."He growled coming up out of a dead sleep trying to understand what in the world just slammed into his ribs. He attempted to sit up but was pinned somewhat under his covers and whatever was leaning against him. His brain trying to process what was going on, he thought for a second it must have been Rosie.  But for life of him he could fathom a reason she would have pounced on top of him like that. Then he heard a little girls voice. Well, if he knew anything in the haze of that moment, he knew Rosie couldn't talk.

"I'm sorry." Elle said sheepishly as she sat right up beside him her knees still digging into his ribs.

Jake lifted his head, trying to focus, as if he can see in the dark, he thought to himself. 

"Elle?" He asked, a flash of lightening confirmed what he could sort of see, Elle crouching practically on top of him. "What's going on?" 

Elle sat there for a moment as the thunder rolled around, "It's, it's storming and...and the power is out and it's dark in my room." 

Jake let his head fall back onto his pillow. He rubbed his face trying to force his brain to focus.

"Um, well, I'm sure it will be back on in a few minutes." He offered.

"Can...can I stay here with you until it does." She asked anxiously.

"Elle, hon, it's just a storm." He answered as he ran his hand through his hair pulling it away from his face. 

"But, it's dark in my room." She repeated, "And...and I'm scared."

"There is nothing to be scared of." Jake tried to reason wondering why this was now a problem when it hadn't been before.