Hendrix - Kelsey Clayton Page 0,50
knocked my entire world off its axis. And if I had to go through that again, I don't know if I'd make it through this time.
“All the more reason why it shouldn't happen,” I declare.
Maddie hums, like she knows something I don't, and drops the subject. “If you say so. Mama knows best, right?”
“Exactly.”
THUNDER BOOMS AND LIGHTNING makes the dark night sky come to life. The whole house rattles, shaking the little trinkets I put on a couple of the empty shelves. Brenna is sitting on Colby's lap and watching him play a game on his phone. Meanwhile, I can't stop staring out the back door.
Storms have always been something I love, and I was hoping to pass that onto Brenna, but she isn't really fond of them. Loud noises aren't exactly her style, which is comical to me being as she's the loudest person I know.
One particularly close bolt of lightning slams into the ground and the whole house goes dark. Brenna shrieks, and Colby chuckles softly at her.
“Relax, B. It's just a power outage.”
She takes a deep breath. “I knew that. It just scared me.”
I make my way to the front of the house and open the door. From what I can see, the whole neighborhood is out. Great. They won't even come fix it until the storm stops, which isn't supposed to be until morning. I go back into the living room and check my phone.
“All right, Bren. It's bedtime,” I tell her.
She whines and tucks her head into Colby's chest. “Do I have to?”
“Yes.”
Colby tickles her side. “You have school tomorrow, bug.”
Brenna groans but still climbs off his lap and comes over to grab my hand. Before I leave the room with her I look over at him.
“Do you have any candles or something?” I ask. “Just to add some light in here.”
He nods and gets up as I head down the hall with Brenna. Thankfully, the nightlight she has is battery operated, so I don't need to worry about her complaining about it being too dark. I carry it around the room with me to find her some pajamas then set it on the nightstand and tuck her into bed.
“Will you sit in here with me, Mommy?” she pleads. “Just for a minute?”
Whenever she asks me that, I can never manage to say no. I'd rather take advantage of it while I can, because there's going to come a day where she doesn't ask me anymore. I don't ever want to regret not doing enough with her.
“Sure, baby girl.”
I sit on her bed and run my fingers through her hair. It's a trick my mom would do on me when I was younger. For some reason, it always made me fall right to sleep. Brenna must have gotten that trait from me, because it only takes a few minutes before she's sound asleep. I press a kiss to her forehead and quietly leave the room.
By the time I get back to Colby, there are at least ten candles set all around the living room and kitchen. As I look around at them all, I can't help but laugh.
“Okay, I never expected you to have this many.” My eyes narrow on the closest one and read the scent. “Summer breeze? Really, Colb?”
His bottom lip juts out as he looks up from his phone. “What? It smells good!”
I shake my head teasingly. “I always knew you had a secret girly side.”
Plopping back onto my corner of the couch, I grab the closest blanket and drape it over myself. For some reason, it feels chilly in here. Once I'm comfortable, I notice Colby glancing over at me and smirking.
“What?”
He snickers. “Nothing.”
I take the closest throw pillow to me and swing it at him. “Don't be like that. Tell me.”
His thumb scrolls back up on the screen, and he turns the phone toward me. It's a picture from seven years ago, and one I remember well. Maddie took it shortly after we started dating. Colby had just scored the winning touchdown, and I was so excited that I ran onto the field and leaped into his arms. It was the first time that I had done anything spontaneous like that, and the first time he kissed me in public. It didn't matter how many people were in the stands or that everyone's eyes were on us. He grabbed my face and he kissed me.
“Where did Selena even get these?” he asks.
I pull my eyes away and look down at