After The Storm ♡ Thunderstorms Spin-Off

37. Worth Melting For

Dylan's POV

I don't dare leave her bed before she wakes up. I promised her last night that she would wake up with me beside her and I'd already broken enough promises yesterday to continue that trend. So, despite waking up before the sun, I stay in bed with her. I find headphones in the nightstand beside her bed and grab my phone, queuing up Disney+ and get comfortable.

I make it through a couple episodes of Andi Mack before she stirs beside me, letting on that she's awake. I pause my show and take my headphones out of my ears. "Morning."

Her eyes flutter open and I'm met with those breathtaking baby blues that I fell in love with. "You're here." Normally, I'd tease her and ask her where else I would possibly be but I know that this morning means more to her than any other morning because of the promise I made to her last night.

"I'm here" I confirm as she sits up, hugging the blanket to her chest to ward off the morning chill. She yawns and glances at her clock. It wasn't too late, just past ten but nonetheless, her parents had called us in for work and left the house for the day which left us alone for the next few hours.

"It's late."

"Your parents thought we could use another day off" I explain, reaching forward to move a hair that was sticking to the side of her face. She blushes, ever embarrassed despite the fact that I think she's flawless no matter how she looks. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Did you?" she counters, a yawn spilling from her lips. I shrug. I hadn't slept great but that was the beauty of anxiety; I got to worry about everything every single second of the day despite the security blanket wrapped in my arms. "Dylan." My name comes out as a sigh, and not the good kind. I smile softly, caressing her cheek in the palm of my hand.

"Baby. Take a deep breath" I instruct, watching as her chest slowly rises and falls while her eyes roll to the back of her head. She could be as annoyed as she wanted but I couldn't take her worrying about me. "I'm okay. I promise. I didn't leave this bed last night." And I hadn't. When the thought presented itself I thought only of her and the promise I'd made. She would never have to live without me. Distance or not, we would figure it out and I was slowly beginning to accept that.

"I'm sorry." She apologizes, hugging her knees to her chest. "I just" she pauses, rolling her bottom lip. "I just couldn't imagine waking up and finding you-."

"Emma" I scoot closer, pulling a move from her repertoire and sitting right in front of her. "What I did, was selfish. I was only thinking of my own pain and how to make it stop without thinking of the consequences. And the consequences were heartbreaking, okay? I never, ever want to see you broken the way I saw you yesterday. To look at you and not only see love but...fear" I swallow harshly, wrapping my arms around her legs. "I never want you to have to fear waking up in the morning, scared that I won't be there. Because there is nowhere else I want to be than right beside you."

She hastily brushes a tear from her eye and nods her head in understanding. "Mkay."

"Yea?" She continues to nod her head and scrambles out of her seated position to throw her arms around me and I catch her waist, holding her in my embrace. "I love you" I tell her, kissing along her neck. "I love you so much."

"I love you too" she agrees, moving to rest her forehead against mine. "And I promise that everything will work out with us. Even if, god forbid, we have to do distance for a year we will be okay. Your mom can try but she'll fail to keep us apart, we're meant to be. I knew it since we met."

I chuckle, caressing her cheek. "Yea? Even when I was attempting to undress you in the back of your car?" She laughs, nodding her head as her arms wrap around my neck.