Tempest (Royce/Winston)

089

Jacob's P.O.V.

Everything sounded muffled. The only thing I could hear were my thoughts, and even then those were kind of muffled too. I blinked open my eyes and stared at the blurry ceiling before closing them again.

My lungs were beginning to ache the longer I stayed under. I didn't move though, even though I probably should've. I stayed where I was and felt the way my lungs began to burn. I don't know how long it was, but when I finally felt like I couldn't take the burning anymore, I opened my mouth and screamed.

I could hear the sound of the bubbles as they rose to the surface. I continued to scream until I couldn't anymore, then I went back to just laying there. I kept my eyes closed and wondered if things could always feel as peaceful as they did right now.

I wish things could feel as peaceful as they did right now.

Eventually I had to come up for air even though I really didn't want to. I pushed myself up so I was no longer submerged underneath the water. I pressed my back against the tub and took a couple of deep breaths. I pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my cheek against my knees.

I let my breathing level out before finally opening my eyes again. Everything was a lot clearer now since I wasn't underneath water anymore. I sat in silence and ignored the urge to scratch at my skin. Winston didn't like it when I did that, so I tried not to do it anymore. It's been hard not to because ever since Jasper's party, I've just been feeling pretty down.

Speaking of Winston, there was suddenly a knock on the bathroom door. I knew it had to be him because my parents weren't home, even though it was pretty late. They went out to eat dinner together.

"Yes?" I said loud enough so I could be heard.

I watched the door open just a bit, but not enough for Winston to reveal himself.

"You okay?"

"Mhm" I hummed, "I'm fine".

"Okay, just making sure".

"I'll be out in a minute" I informed.

Winston closed the door and I moved so I could pull the drain up. I watched the water drain from the tub, and once it was all gone, I stood up. Once I was out of the tub, I dried myself off with a towel and put in my pajamas.

Winston was in my room and laying in my bed when I walked in. He sat up when he saw me and smiled a little.

"Hey".

"Hi" I smiled a little at him because he looked cute as he sat there. "Are you hungry?"

"I could eat, yeah" Winston nodded, "are you hungry?"

"Surprisingly, yes, I am" I replied, walking across the room and placing my dirty clothes into the hamper. "I think there's some pasta noodles in the kitchen and I'm sure we have some sort of sauce. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course".

Winston followed me downstairs and to the kitchen. We both moved about the kitchen as we started making dinner. I couldn't help but notice how domestic it felt. I never really thought about the future, but I think I could see it being like this with Winston and I in our own home or something. I wasn't going to tell Winston about my thought though because I didn't know how he would feel about it and I didn't want to scare him away.

I decided to focus on watching the pot of water on the stove. I tapped my fingers against the counter and stared at the water some more. I began to think back to not even twenty minutes ago when I was submerged in the water from the bathtub.