The Art of Falling in Love

Chapter Forty Four

❝Your memory feels like home to me. So whenever my mind wanders, it always finds it's way back to you.❞ -Ranata Suzuki

The silence is almost unbearable. All the adults are staring at us, as we are drenched from head to toe due to the storm. The consistent patter of rain can be heard, and all was fine until the quaking sound of thunder cracked through the air. All of a sudden, the lights in the room go dark.

"Shit." Chris is the first to speak.

Harley comes back downstairs with a frown, "I looked out the window; looks like the whole neighbourhood is out of electricity. I think it's a city wide power outage."

"What a great time to be stuck in a house," Richard says dryly. "Are the twins doing okay? Cam never liked thunderstorms."

"They are fine, Reina knows how to comfort him," there is a small smile on Harley's lips. Her eyes drift to Noah and I, then to Richard, "what ever happened at dinner needs to be sorted out. None of us need another family feud."

She goes back upstairs to take care of the twins, which leaves Noah and I alone with the adults once more. In the middle of a storm. Looks like this conversation is unavoidable.

"I don't have any signal," Rachel murmurs, checking her phone. "I think it's best if we all sit tight. That storm looks pretty bad."

"If it's alright with you, Rachel, we may all have to stay over for the night," Mabel says hesitantly. "The roads look dangerous. I doubt the highway home would even be open."

Rachel looks like she wants to ram her head through a wall, but she nods in agreement. "We have a few guest bedrooms you can use. Diana, do your parents know you are with us?"

I nod, "I texted my mom before I left this morning."

Rachel wears a grim look, "great, I guess we should all get comfortable then, it's going to be a long night."

❀ ❀ ❀

"You are still so young, ma belle," Mabel says to me softly. It is just us two in the living room while the others are organizing the guest rooms. "How do you know Noah is the one?"

"It's not something I can explain easily," I sigh out. "When I'm with him...it's like seeing colour for the first time in my life. Why would I break up with him when he brings all this beauty to me? I can't live happily if I don't at least try to be with him."

"The rest of your life is waiting for you, don't make the same mistakes that I did when I was younger. I fell recklessly in love, got my heart broken and built walls higher than a mountain to heal. It took years for me to find love again with Richard, and even that was not easy."

I frown, "love is never supposed to be easy. Isn't that the whole point? It's challenging and beautiful and worth it because of how difficult it is to keep. It's the one thing worth fighting for."

"I suppose you're right," Mabel says wistfully. "In my experience, the more you love someone, the more it breaks you if it doesn't work out in the end. Just keep that in mind; if you two really love each other this much at such a young age, if anything were to happen, I don't think either of you would ever be the same."

"Thanks for the advice, Mabel, but I'm not you. It's my life; let me be the one to figure it out."

I like to tell myself that life is too short to second guess. The only thing certain about life is that no one makes it out alive, so I have to spend my time with the ones I love and the things I enjoy. For me, there has never been a moment of hesitation when it came to Noah. He is someone I would love until my last breath.