hard | daniel seavey

chapter forty-three

The storm rolled in, rain pouring hard over Los Angeles. Thunder roured loudly and lightning flashed through the sky. It was rare it rained in LA, let alone stormed like this. I stood at the door, watching the rain come down harder. Lavender began crying in the living room, making me rush over. Jack and Gabbie had asked Daniel and me to watch her so they could have a night to themselves. Daniel ran out to get food, but probably got stuck in the rain somewhere.

"Shh, it's okay, Lav. " I picked her up, holding her close and rubbing her back. Withing minutes, she was fast asleep. I didn't want to put her down, afraid she would wake up again, so I walked around the house in hopes it would keep her asleep.

The door swung open and in walked a soaked Daniel. Water dripped onto the floor as he walked into the kitchen. I held my finger up to my lips and pointed to Lav, telling him to be quiet.

"How long has she been asleep?" Daniel asked quietly, pulling out Chinese food containers out of a bag. His wet clothes clung to his skin as he moved around.

"She fell asleep right after you left, but then woke up like 10 minutes ago because of the storm. Go get changed, you're gonna get sick if you keep your wet clothes on." I told him before leaving the kitchen. I dragged the bassinet into the kitchen and laid her down gently. She stirred a bit at first but thankfully stayed asleep.

Daniel went up to his room and within minutes came back down in a pair of sweatpants and a tshirt. We ate the food he got, talking quietly about random things. It was nearing 9 and the storm only continued to come down harder. As Daniel was talking about something him and Corey did earlier that day, my phone rang from the living room. When I went over, Gabbie's name flashed on my screen. When I answered, I could her Jack mumbling complaints in the background.

"Oh my gosh, Madison, I'm so sorry but I think we might be home a little later than expected. We're still stuck on the highway and the traffic doesn't seem to be moving," Her voice was full of worry. Car horns honked in the background, proving her point.

"That's okay! Lav is asleep right now and everything else is fine here. Be careful, it doesn't look like this storm isn't calming down any time soon." I reassured her, looking out the window. The sky was dark, but lit up with a flash of lightning.

"You're a lifesaver, I'll call you whenever we seem to be getting somewhere. Thank you so much!" We said goodbye and I went to the kitchen, where Daniel sat making faces at Lavender.

"She woke up while you were on the phone," Daniel said and stuck his tongue down at her. He ran his fingers over her stomach, tickling her and sending her into a giggling fit. I smiled at the sight. Daniel picked her up and held her to his chest. Within seconds, she was closing her eyes.

"You're good with kids too? Is there anything you're not good at?" I joked as he stood up. He walked over and leaned down, placing a quick kiss on my lips.

"Only you would know what I'm really good at," He winked and grabbed at my waist with his free hand. My mouth dropped and I laughed at him, gently pushing him away.

"Daniel James Seavey now is not the time to make sexual innuendos-" I was cut off by the lights flickering and then shutting off completely.

"And there goes the power," Daniel groaned. Through the darkness I could see him pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Here, take Lav and go sit in the living room. I'll find some flashlights and then I'll go in the basement and try to get the power back on."

He gently handed Lavender over to me and I slowly made my way to the living room. The house was pitch black so it was hard to see, but I successfully made it without waking her. Daniel followed me with the bassinet and set it down nect to couch. Laying her down, I used the flashlight on my phone while Daniel frantically ran around trying to find the other ones. After about 10 minutes, he finally found one and handed it to me.

"Okay, stay here. I'll be right back." Daniel said before going to the basement, using his phone flashlight as guidance. I sat anxiously in the living room. I wasn't afraid of the dark, but for whatever reason sitting in the dark living room sent a wave of fear over me. I tried using my phone as a distraction, but my service was cut, making nothing work.

I walked around with the flashlight in my hands, trying to find candles or something to give the room extra light. But of course, the boys had everything and anything but the one thing we needed. I remembered Daniel had one upstairs in his room, so I ran up quickly and grabbed it. When I walked downstairs, a figure walked through the doorway, causing me to jump out of my skin.

"Jesus Christ, Daniel. I literally just had a mini heart attack." I laughed and held my hand to my chest. He walked over and placed a kiss on my temple.

"Well the bad news is is that it's not a fuse or anything. It must be one of the powerlines. So for now, we are stuck in the dark." Daniel sighed and plopped down on the couch as I lit the candle. It didn't help much but it was good for now. I laid down on my back across the couch, resting my head on his legs.

"I don't have service on my phone either, so you're gonna have to keep me busy." I joked and poked his nose.

"Wanna hear a scary story?" He asked, running his fingers through my hair.

"Why not?" I rolled my eyes and giggled at him.

Daniel began talking me the story of a mother taking her son out to lunch and how the son had asked to go in the play area they had. He described it as something McDonald's or Chuck E Cheese would have with slides, tunnels, a ball pit, etc. The kid went into the ball pit and about 10 minutes later came out crying and had two little spots on his arm. They went to the doctors and found out the kid had gotten bit by a snake in the ball pit.

"...so then the mother went back to the restaurant the next day and told the employee what had happened. The employee looked at her and said, "Consider yourself lucky. Last week a child got eaten by a shark."

"Daniel that was the stupidest thing I've ever heard." I laughed at him, rolling my eyes.

"Corbyn told me that one." He answered with a smile and laughed along with me.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" I yawned and tried to keep my eyes open. With Daniel playing with my hair and him rambling on with that story, it was getting hard to stay awake.

"You can go to sleep, Pretty Girl. I'll stay up until Jack and Gabbie get back."

"But what if she wakes up again?"

"Don't worry, I got her." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. I turned on my side as he continued to run his fingers through my hair, almost instantly falling asleep in his lap.