If Tomorrow Never Comes | On Hold

8

The morning sun shone over the marina as it began peaking over the horizon, the streaks of light dancing across the water and forming little diamonds on the surface. Avery watched in amazement as the sky slowly morphed into hues of oranges and pinks, the colors being mirrored on the water before her.

Small ripples formed where her feet slowly circled the water, her ankles submerged. She'd been up most of the night, her thoughts consumed by her fathers wellbeing and the boy who was sleeping just down the hall. When she saw the start of the sunrise through the curtains in her bedroom, she rushed down the stairs and made her way to the water.

She loved watching the beginnings of the day, basking in the relief of her father making it through another night. When the sun was high enough in the sky, when the pinks and oranges dwindled and the blue sky began to come forth she lifted herself up and used the small towel she brought to dry her wet feet.

Avery pushed the home button on her phone, the screen coming to life and indicating that it was well past eight in the morning, realizing she'd been sitting outside for well over two hours. On her walk back to her house she wondered if Aiden was a late sleeper or if he'd be up and sitting in her living room wondering where she was.

Opening the sliding doors to the living room, she quickly glanced around. Not a sound reached her ears as she stepped inside and she sighed, not sure if it was from relief or disappointment. She shook her head and closed the doors behind her, locking them back into place before heading towards the kitchen.

"Morning," a sound between a yelp and a strangled scream escaped her as she turned to face the staircase. Aiden stood there in all his glory, chest on full display and the grey sweatpants she'd given him sitting dangerously low on his hips, the prominent cut of his hip bones giving Avery a warm feeling in her stomach. His green eyes were still sleepy, cheeks a faint shade of pink and his hair a tousled mess that looked unbelievably good. His voice was raspy, clearly he had just woken up.

Avery covered her face with her hands, trying to hide the heat that was tinting her cheeks after the embarrassing sound she made. She peeked through the slits of her fingers to see Aiden making his way down the stairs with a smirk on his lips, she hated that smirk. It did weird things to that stupid organ in her chest called her heart.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she rubbed her hands down her face, "you scared me. I didn't think you'd be up so early." She stood awkwardly in place, watching the way his shoulders moved up and down with every step he took down the stairs. His eyes darted around the room, searching, before a frown pulled at the corners of his lips.

"Where's Autumn?" Avery let out a chuckle as Aiden continued to scour the area for the dog, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she watched him.

"She likes to sleep in my dads room," she said and then called out the dogs name, "just wait for it."

Aiden walked towards the couch but stopped when a crashing sound echoed through the entire house, followed by the heavy paw prints against the wood flooring. Seconds later, Autumn took a sharp turn from the hallway on the other side of the living room, her legs spread out on all sides as she slid across the floor and slammed into the side of the couch. Her tongue was out and made her look like she was smiling as she jumped up on the couch and attacked Aiden with plenty of good morning licks.

His laughter struck something within her, the smoothness of it even though it was so deep had her mesmerized. When Autumn calmed down she hopped off the couch and headed towards the sliding doors that led outside, sitting down and wagging her tail. Avery finally snapped out of her Aiden-trance and her feet began moving towards the doors.

"I'll take her out and then I'll make some breakfast," she said, "if you want any I mean." She heard him get up and his bare feet slap against the wood floor in her direction.