Paper Bride ✔️ (Book 4 - DP Series - COMPLETE)

47. Unforgettable

A bone-quacking blast has me jolting into consciousness. Glancing around, I'm made aware of only one simple fact: the power's still out and so are our candles. I can feel Seth beside me and I'm pondering how in the world he was able to sleep through such ruckus when suddenly his hand slides over my arm. Guess he's not asleep after all.

There's a calmness around us even with the high level of noise battering the sky outside our home. The storm has calmed down somewhat, but it seems the thunder is playing a solo. The sky is rumbling like an old man's diaper after one too many prunes, and I'm wondering just how long we've been huddled here waiting this out. Let's just say, it's starting to grow tiresome.

"What time is it?" I ask, my voice penetrating the blackness around us like a needle to a piece of flimsy glass.

Seth moves around beside me for a moment before illuminating the room with his phone. He turns the screen toward me so I can read the time, and a sigh escapes my lips. It's only midnight. We've still got an entire night to get through. The worst part is, it's already starting to get chilly. Even the blankets aren't satisfying my needs anymore.

I stand, stretching my arms high above my head as I yawn. Everything in my body is tired. I think my heart is even exhausted. It's almost as if my pulse has slowed, growing lazy from working so hard to calm me down after being startled awake. I just want to drop into my warm blankets and let my head sink into my pillow as dreams devour my brain. But, with this earth-shattering thunder blasting its little heart out overhead, that won't be happening anytime soon.

"You think the worst of it is over?" I find myself asking as I glance into the darkness of the bathroom. I can make out shadows and objects now that the moon seems to have popped out from behind some clouds and is filtering in through the open door. It sort of adds another level of eeriness to the situation. Shadows are never welcoming.

"Eh," he says, his voice gravelly with tiredness. "It seems that way." He pauses for a moment, and I watch as he joins me in standing. "You wanna head to bed now?"

"Yes," I answer instantly. "Definitely yes."

He chuckles and as I turn to head towards the door, he snags me by the waist and pulls my back flush against his chest.

"You're ready to sleep this opportunity away so soon?" he questions, his mouth tickling the rim of my ear with each movement of his lips.

"Well," I say. "We were already sleeping it away. Might as well continue doing so in a place that's more comfortable."

"Good point."

And then he's releasing me as he reaches for one of the flashlights. Flicking it on, he points it towards the door and motions for me to take the lead. I grab the knob and then carefully swing it all the way open, loving the whining of the hinges as they creek to a stop.

This is one of those moments where I'd pretend that I was in a horror movie as I sneak around the house, eyes fluttering from dark crevice to window to hallway as I search for my ax-yielding intruder. Unfortunately, Seth is here, and I'm not sure if he'd be up for it.

"Wanna pretend like we're in a horror movie?" I find myself asking as I swivel around to glance at his reaction.

He's clearly surprised by my suggestion, one eyebrow quirked in question as he trains the flashlight on my face. I squint back at him, annoyed by the sudden brightness tearing at my poor darkness-desiring eyes.

"You know," he says, leaning his hip on the edge of the sink, "I've always been a little curious about this side of you."

"So you'll play?"

He nods, his lips lifting slightly into a grin. I don't know what it is about the expression on his face, but he almost looks like he's taking in my features, memorizing the smile on my face. It's like he wants to remember me this way and he's imprinting this moment into his mind forever. I'm not sure exactly what it is that he wants to remember, but I find myself squinting questioning eyes at him. I know he can sense my curiosity about his expression, but instead of answering, he just smiles deeper and pushes himself off the sink.