Like Father, Like Son ✔

Chapter 18 - The Morning After

CHAPTER 18

NICK

Nick woke up to the sounds of birds singing and wind chimes dancing. He could feel the hot morning sun blazing against his bare back, and the wind was coming in through the window screens, leaving little goosebumps on his arms. There was this dull ache that seemed to begin deep in his bones, the remnants of everything he'd felt last night.

He sighed and opened his eyes, but there was no light to greet him, no colors. It was the same darkness, the same nothing, every single day of his life.

It used to bother him. When he was a kid, he used to hate being different and he used to try so hard not act like everyone else, even if that meant doing things that could get him seriously hurt.

His parents did a good job teaching him that he could do anything he set his mind to, but they also made sure he was always safe doing it.

Still, they treated him like they treated their daughters when they were his age. He had chores he needed to do around the house and he could never use his lack of eyesight as an excuse not to do them. When he tripped, he was told to get back up and try again. How many times did he run into walls or trees because he didn't think it was cool to use a cane?

It still bothered him sometimes, he couldn't lie about it. This morning, for example, was one of those times where he wished he could see. He just really wanted to see the face of the beautiful girl that was lying asleep next to him now, her arm draped loosely around his waist.

Moving a little in the bed they shared, Nick let his hand wander up Cat's back, over her shoulder blade and through the mane of hair that'd managed to get pretty tangled up – not a surprise there, considering the number of hours they'd spent getting themselves all tangled up last night. His fingers moved very slowly so as to not yank a strand and hurt her.

He stroked some of the hair from her face and ran his thumb over her jawline. He'd gotten to know her face quite well over the last few months, having memorized all of the dips and curves. Her body was something he wasn't as familiar with, but he was pretty sure he'd have that memorized by the end of the weekend.

Well, he was planning on it anyway.

He was awake for at least ten minutes when he finally began to feel Cat shifting in the bed. Her leg nudged his as she stretched, and she let out a slow, contented sigh when his arms laced around her.

"Hey," he whispered, kissing her neck.

"Hi," she whispered back, twisting in his arms so that they were face to face. He felt her lips against his and despite the knowledge that his breath probably smelled really bad, he kissed her back. He held her a little tighter after that, unwilling to begin the day just yet.

"Did you know that you talk in your sleep?" he murmured after a little while spent in silence.

"I do not," Cat argued, swatting his arm playfully.

"You do, just a little bit," Nick smirked, bringing his thumb and index finger close together to show her what he meant by 'just a bit'. "It's cute," he shrugged.

"Well... you snore! And it's not even that cute," Cat giggled, although the noise quickly turned into a shrill squeal as Nick twisted their bodies around so that he was on top of her. He started tickling her and she burst into uncontrollable, breathless giggles. "Okay! Okay, you're cute! Stop!" she squeaked.