Glass Houses || [Noah Sebastian]

12. Ive seen the devil more than I've seen God

We quickened our pace as the clouds began to gather thickly in the sky. Up until now, the sky was beautifully noir and completely empty aside from the stars that speckled across it in shimmering clusters. We got the first splatter of rain when we were half way to the pizzeria. The small droplets making contact with the tops of our head in what seemed instantaneously. We hurriedly took shelter under under a small overhang nestled in the side of an old brick building. A wall of rain quickly moved over us as the droplets began to drum against the pavement.

We couldn't stop the laughter that fell from our lips as we safely took shelter under the small lip in the building. We were soaked at this point, my hair beginning to coil up as soon as the wetness made contact with it. I could see Noah's deep chestnut locks sticking to his forehead as he gazed happily at me.

"I didn't know it was calling for rain" he speaks loudly, the sound of the heaving droplets smacking against the ground almost drowning out his voice.

"You never I never mind a good thunderstorm" as soon as the words fall from my lips a loud crack of thunder roars through the atmosphere, as lightening lights up the sky.

I hear him mutter a small profanity to himself as the abrupt noise startles him and causes him to jump slightly in place. His actions cause me to smile widely, it's heart warming how virtuous he can be.

"Hopefully it clears up soon I'm starving" he says after a moment of us getting lost in watching the heavy shower descend from the sky harshly.

"It seems like it's slowing down a little" I whisper back as I get hypnotized by the storm that unfolds in front of us.

I've always loved the rain, ever since I was a small child I was infatuated with it. I'd sneak onto my front porch whenever I saw the cocktail blue skies begin to darken into its telling gravel grey. Before my dad got sick he would make time to dance in the large puddles that formed in the divots in our driveway. We'd splash and jump around without a care in the world, letting the cold water fill our socks and sneakers as we laughed aloof.

"Hey, Roni. Are you okay?" Noah's voice falls into my ear, causing me to snap my head around and look at him. I can feel a hot tear sliding down my face, my hand coming up to wipe it away hoping he didn't catch a glimpse.

"Yeah just thinking" I admit with a crack in my voice

"Why are you crying" he inquires as he steps a little closer to me, putting a comforting hand on my back.

"Just thinking about my dad" I cant bring myself to lie to him. There was no point considering the way my voice shook, and the tears in my eyes gave it away.

"I figured as much. I remember why you love the rain" he admits as he pulls me close into his side. He holds me tightly in his embrace for a while, as we stand and watch as each rain drop falls from the thick clouds in the sky and comes crashing down against the wet surface of the earth. We don't speak and it's almost like the universe was giving me my moment of silence as well. The usually busy and crowded city nearly empty, only a handful of cars passing a few streets over can be heard over the sounds of the colliding sky.

I have done a damn good job at keeping my despondent mind occupied over the years. I couldn't bring myself to even think about my father for more than a moment, it wasn't worth the risk of my sorrow taking over. Jasper was never the comforting type, and talking myself off the ledge isn't my strongest attribute. It's gotten harder to keep my woes at bay since being here. There was constant reminders of the life I once had, and the people that are now long gone. I first found out about my dad's sickness when I was 14, he had hidden it from me for two years prior. At that point he was in his first remission and wanted to share the great news with me. However, a year and a half later the cancer came back and it was more aggressive. He fought for roughly two more years before his body wasn't strong enough to do it anymore. He had to be put in hospice for the last three months of his life, until one day he was just ... gone.
I know he wouldn't be happy with me and the decisions I've made. It goes without saying that he would probably be on the hunt for Jasper as we speak for what he did to me. Who's to say that I wouldn't be in a completely different situation now if he was still here to help guide me.