The Multitudes Within Me (Sequel to The Sound of Ice)

Bonus Chapter - Rainy Days

Cam's POV

~

My muscles are tight and I stretch in the elevator, a bruise forming on my hip from a check. We lost a home game that we should have won the other night, so practice has been rough, and I'm way more tired than normal. Today is a Friday, though, and I have the rest of the night off.

The elevator dings on my floor and I head to my apartment, fidgeting with the keys and running a hand through my damp hair. It was pouring outside, and my shirt feels soaked even under my rain jacket. I want to take a hot shower. Maybe a long bath. Sam bought these bath bombs a few weeks ago, and I would never admit it to him, but I like them a lot. They just smell so good, okay? And they make your skin so soft. Sue me. 

"Sam?" I call as I swing open the door, tossing my keys on the counter and dumping my hockey bag on the floor. "Sam?" It's dark in the apartment, but a lone yellow lamp is on, and the rain is loud against the windows. Even though the apartment is small and the furniture is pretty plain, I like it here. It's sort of cozy, in a way. And I like looking down at the Toronto city streets, especially at night.

I peel off my shirt and throw on a hoodie, glancing on the bed and knocking on the bathroom door. "Sam, you here?" He normally beats me home on Fridays and stays for the weekend, but maybe something came up this weekend. Maybe I just haven't checked my phone in a little bit.

But I smile - he's just on the couch, sleeping quietly, half-hidden under a rumpled blanket. A book is open on his chest like he fell asleep reading, and his head is turned peacefully to the side. A certain softness washes over me and warms my chest.

I sit on the couch and take the book off his chest, dog-earing the page he was on, and glance out the window. Rain drips down the glass, distorting the colors of the dusk sky and hazy city lights, and thunder rumbles in the distance. When I look back at Sam, he's looking at me sleepily, his hair messed up and freckles sprinkled haphazardly across his skin. 

"Hi," he says drowsily. 

I smile. "Hi."

"How was practice?"

"Meh." I stretch out on top of him and wrap my arms around his neck, and he laughs. 

"Hey. Ouch."

"Hey."

He hugs me back, smiling into my chest, and we settle into a comfortable position on the couch. I breathe in the scent of him, which I always miss so much during the week.  "This is nice," he says.

I run my fingers through his hair. "You softie."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you."

"Yeah, okay."

I close my eyes and listen to the rain. His head is curled in the nook of my neck, his eyelashes fluttering against my chest, and his arm is hugging my body, a leg curled over me. We found a rhythm, in our cuddling, the way our limbs lock so perfectly together, like my only purpose in life is to snuggle with Sam Hughes. It's the comfort that kills me. And the safeness. Who knew?

"I lit a candle earlier," Sam says quietly. "Lavender. Lavender-vanilla, technically. It smelled terrible in here. You should invest in more candles."

"My apartment? Smelling terrible?"

"Yeah. Like a gym bag."

"What? Impossible. Maybe you're just crazy."

He laughs. I love it when he laughs. "Yeah, maybe I'm just crazy."

We lie in silence for a minute, and I stretch out my muscles, pulling him tighter. "How were classes this week?" I ask.

"Good," he mumbles. "Really good. I gave that presentation on Wednesday and I think I did alright. But I'm tired."

"Yeah? I kinda picked up on that. I'm glad you had a good week, though."

There's been a certain calmness lately, these past couple months - Sam's been doing great at university, Tom started a new treatment that seems to be working really well, and Hailey calls me at least twice a week to update me on everything happening in St. Anne - all good things though, just details about her cat and Veronica's new job and her teammates on her junior hockey team. Which makes me so proud. She's a great hockey player.

"You're gonna be better than me soon," I told her during our last phone call, and she giggled for a minute straight. 

Sam kisses my jaw, then glances down at my hip, where my sweater was pulled up, and the bruise is semi-visible. "You got bruised?"

"Just a little."

His fingers twitch, like he's thinking about running his hands over it, and then he does, softly, and he pulls the sweater down gently in such a tender movement I can hardly stand it.

"Can we stay here forever?" he asks.

My voice is caught in my throat. "Sure, we can stay here forever. I was gonna take a bath, though. If you wanted to do that later."

"Oh. Yeah, we can do that too."

I smile. Outside, thunder rumbles, and it rains and rains and rains. 

I wish it would rain forever.

~

A/N  i hope you enjoyed this super soft lil chapter! some random things to share - 1) if ur here it means u paid i think? literally thank u so much i appreciate u with my whole whole heart wOW. marry me.❤️ also 2) i'm in a writing slump :'( so genuinely if there's anything u wanna see from my writing in general (i'm slowly working on a new story but it's rough and emotionally draining ahh) let me know! more gay? more girls? less realism? more? go absolutely crazy, and especially since it's summer i'll have more time to write. anyway, talk w me about anything im bored and a procrastinating writer :)