It was late when he found himself laying in bed, no lights on but still entertained enough by the blade on the fan spinning around to stay up.
Of course he was tired, but he had so much on his mind, he couldn't even close his eyes. Instead, he'd just spend the better half of the night replaying every good memory that house ever held. There was so many and if he let it bother him too much, he'd be up for an entire week straight, so he tried not to, even though it was hard.
But in the midst of trying to convince her not to sell, he had decided that he was going to ride out their time there and whatever happened in the end was probably meant to be.
Fate works in mysterious ways and he realized that somethings don't work in your favor.
Anyway, it wasn't until nearly one in the morning when he finally rolled over and closed his eyes. He laid like that for probably five minutes before the crackle of thunder shook the house and lightening flashed through the bedroom curtains.
Rain started hitting the roof a moment later, which caused the old shutters that they'd forgotten to lock to rattle against the glass of the windows. And within minutes, the pitter patter of her two bare feet, trailing down the hallway caught his attention.
"Linds?" She was standing on the other side of the closed bedroom door, voice just loud enough for him to hear her.
"Come on in." He smiled softly, pushing himself up to watch her come through the doorway.
She was in her silk nightgown, long blonde hair in natural waves with a fuzzy throw blanket in hand. "It's so loud out there." Stevie announced, lingering in the center of the dark room.
She didn't normally get frightened by much of anything anymore, but the way that house cracked and shook from the rain, was a different story. It felt uncertain and unsettling. It was so old and small, she feared it would just crumble down around them... like everything else in their lives.
"It's a pretty bad one." Lindsey agreed as he slid over to be on his side of the bed.
And within seconds, just as he'd predicted, she was climbing in next to him, slipping under the cozy blanket to stay warm. "I don't like this." Stevie mentioned, taking another quick glance out the window.
Leaning back against the headboard, he stared over at her. "It'll be alright." He knew it would, because it always had been.
They had dealt with more storms than either of them could count and this was far from the worst... In life, too.
"Are you tired?" She turned back, readjusting the king size pillow on her side of the bed to get a little more comfortable.
He smirked, shaking his head softly. "Not really." Lindsey was at that point in his life when falling asleep at night just wasn't very easy- he was too busy thinking to catch much rest.
Sinking down a little further, her head met his shoulder. "Can we watch a movie?" She wondered in a soft tone of voice as her eyes traveled up to look at his side profile.
She could hardly see him, but she could tell that he had a little smile dancing across his handsome face. It was the way his lips turned up, the little dimples on his cheeks and those creased blue eyes that gave it away.
"Any movie you want." He assured, grabbing the remote off the nightstand to flick on the flat screen that sat on an old dresser across the room.
"Is it supposed to rain the rest of the week?" She whispered, watching as he began to flip through the channels.
The truth was, she could have cared less about what they watched that night, because being with him was enough. It made her feel better and sleep better, which was all she needed in that moment- the reassurance.
Nodding softly, he creased a brow to look at the bright screen a little better. "I watched some of the news this afternoon and they said for the better part of it, yeah." Lindsey wouldn't say it aloud, but rainy weeks had always been his favorite.
When it was gloomy out, they spent all their time in the house which meant coffee at noon, music on the record player, movies during the day and a lot of other stuff that he really loved...
"This one okay?" He looked down at her once he'd come across the old movie station, realizing she hadn't replied to his statement prior.
"This is fine." She didn't even know what it was, but it didn't matter anyway because her eyes had wandered away from the screen anyway.
She could barely see the room, but the blue light allowed it to illuminate a little.
"What's your favorite thing about this house?" Stevie was snuggled into him, head resting at the perfect angle to hear his heart beating.
His hand slipped up, getting lost on her hair as his gaze went back to the television. "You." Lindsey didn't even have to think about it- he already knew what had him coming back there every year.
Her presence was overbearing at times, but he'd always been in love. It was her laugh floating down the hallway, the sound of her voice lingering in the kitchen as she sang along to the radio, the scent of her deep perfume, the way she decorated each room with such warmth and everything else she had instilled into those walls.
It was Stevie... Always had been.
She looked up slowly, eyes glossed over as her bottom lip curled. "You're my favorite part, too." Stevie whispered, feeling him slowly rub her shoulders so softly, she knew he'd put her to sleep in no time.
"Mar-" he was getting ready to tell her something, but the sound of her cell phone ringing on the nightstand caused her to flinch.
Biting down on her cheek, she patted his chest. "I have to take this." Stevie carefully pushed herself away, only to slip back off the bed and grab her phone on the way to the door. "Goodnight, Lindsey." She added before she spent the next hour on the phone with the man that was waiting for her at home.
