There was a blinding light scorching Carter's closed eyes. The surface beneath her was extraordinarily soft, and cool to the touch. She rolled off of her stomach and slowly sat up, blinking to adjust to the bright light. The room she was in was familiar. She pulled the sweet smelling sheets up to her nose, breathing in the familiar vanilla scent. Behind her closed eyelids flashed a memory from the night before. Her body felt cold, her lungs restricting. She was unable to breathe. Her body was submerged in water, trembling and fighting to stay awake. She could feel herself succumbing to the darkness pulling her under when a pair of strong arms wrapped securely around her waist. A gasp slipped past her lips as she threw the sheets from her trembling body. She had almost drowned the night before. She was lucky to be alive.
She leapt from the bed. The wooden floor chilled the bottoms of her feet, sending electric waves up her legs. She squeezed her eyes closed, and Damon's face flashed behind her eyelids. He was carrying her, blue and barely hanging on. He sped toward the boarding house. Within minutes, he was dunking her frozen body into a steamy bath. Her arms were littered with goosebumps. She opened her eyes, staring at the bed she had just woken up in. Damon had saved her life. She clutched the t shirt adorning her figure, her eyes scanning the room for any evidence that Damon was still there. A light noise from downstairs attracted her attention, her nose twitching at the smell of ground coffee beans.
She quietly stepped out of Damon's room and toward the stairs where she could hear the soft tune of her favorite song playing from the kitchen. She could almost spot his raven black hair, and his strong build move through the kitchen. His voice moved through the air like a soft — but rough — melody that etched a smile across Carter's face. "Good morning." His voice snapped her out of her daze. Damon stood in the living room, his electric eyes focused on the girl at the top of the stairs. "Morning..." Her voice was soft, almost inaudible to human ears. She slipped down the steps with grace, her fingers grazing over the stairways railing. "Are you feeling okay? You..." She nodded, her lips pressed in a soft, closed lip smile. Her dimples were prominent in her cheeks, and Damon couldn't fight the smile from gracing his own lips.
