Light In The Darkness

The ride home was relatively silent. "Baby, you are okay, aren’t you?" Cole asked. I nodded, still not saying anything. It was all too overwhelming. I turned to him.
"Can we go back to your place?" I asked, my voice soft.
"Anything you want," Cole replied and I smiled weakly.
"I think I'm just...a little...shocked," I said as I leant my head against the headrest. My eyes were shut as I listened to Cole's reply.
"You have every right to be," he said softly. "But just relax now." He took my hand in his and despite the fact that I was asleep, I was aware of him holding my hand throughout the whole journey.

When I woke up, I realised that Cole was no longer holding my hand. "Cole?" I asked. I knew I was on his bed and that he wasn’t lying next to me. I sat up, searching for his glow. Suddenly it appeared in the doorway and I smiled.
"How are you feeling?" Cole asked.
"A little...numb," I replied, frowning slightly. "I think...the intense emotions just...were all too much."
"Maybe I should I have waited to propose then..." Cole murmured but I shook my head immediately.
"No, you balanced out the fear and nerves," I smiled and lay back down, still exhausted. "Lie next to me," I said, my eyes already shut. Cole walked around the bed and then lay next to me. He held my back against his chest and threaded his arm around my waist and held me tightly.
"I love you," he whispered as I fell asleep and I smiled in response.

I woke up and I knew it was past midnight but not morning yet. I could tell by the wind hitting the house that it was a nightly storm. I was lying in Cole's arms but couldn’t get back to sleep. The wind outside kept picking up speed and volume. The sea was probably violently crashing. I wasn’t scared, but these noises brought back memories from my childhood. I gave up trying to get to sleep so I quietly sat up, hoping not to disturb Cole and then pulled on a hoodie and found my stick and left the house, needing fresh air. As soon as I got outside the wind and rain hit me and I stumbled slightly. There was a roaring in my ears that I was familiar with. I hesitantly walked forward, pulling the hoodie tighter around myself. I walked for about 15 minutes and then I heard something that froze me in place. Over the roaring, there was a higher pitched sound. Screams. Suddenly my heart was racing and my breath was coming quicker. Suddenly the roaring got louder. The sea. The wind had caused the sea to swell. It had probably flooded over the beach and was attacking the beach houses. The next sickening thing I realised was that I had completely lost my bearings. I didn't know where I was. Whether I was close to the sea. Whether I was safe...

I started running. I may have been running away from the sea. I may have been running towards it. I dropped my stick in my panic but didn't bother to pick it up. I just ran. I didn't know which direction I was running, I may have been going in circles. All I knew was the screaming wind, the roaring sea, and my own breath, hoarse in my throat. I think I was crying, but I couldn’t tell, the water on my cheeks may have been tears, or rain.

Then something happened that scared me to the bone. I took a step into freezing water. It was up to my mid-calf. "Cole!" I screamed and tried to run in the direction I thought his house was in. I kept running and screaming his name. My throat ached but there was no way I was stopping. My hands were thrust out in front of me, searching, searching for him. "COLE!"

What if he was still asleep? What if he didn't know I had gone? What if I died now and he never knew what happened to me? What if- My hand collided with something and I clutched at it. A millisecond later, two warm, strong arms were around me, holding me tightly. I fisted my hands in Cole's shirt and cried into his chest. Cole may have been talking to me, but I couldn’t hear him over the screaming wind, roaring sea and my own heartbeat.

Cole's arms moved to my shoulders and knees and he picked me up bridal style. I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly and he carried me back into the warmth. I don’t know how long it took to walk back, but it had been quite a long way. Maybe I had been walking towards the sea...

Cole set me down on the sofa and I searched for his shining figure in the darkness. Where was it? "Cole?" I whispered, shaking uncontrollably. No reply. "Cole?" I asked louder. And then the silver appeared and he kissed me passionately. I clung to him, never wanting to let go.
"You're shaking," Cole said when we pulled apart. I realised I was, but still couldn’t stop myself. Instead I just buried myself in Cole's chest.
"I was so scared, Cole," I whispered and Cole's arms tightened around me.
"It's ok, you're safe, it's ok," Cole said into my ear. He wrapped a towel around me and then picked me up again. He carried me upstairs and set me down on the bed. "I'm going to run you a bath, okay?" he said and I nodded. He left the room and I sat silently for a second before following him.
"I'm sorry," I whispered as I entered the bathroom. Cole came over to me and stroked my cheek softly.
"It's not your fault, baby," he said and kissed me tenderly.
"I shouldn’t have gone out," I shook my head. He took me into his arms and kissed the top of my head tenderly. Cole had taken his wet shirt off and I leant my cheek against his warm chest.

He pulled away after a couple of minutes and I heard the flow of water stop. The smell of flowers floated around me and I took a deep, calming breath. "Stay with me," I whispered. "please."
"Sure," Cole said softly and took my hand. He led me to the bath. He then let go while I pulled off my clothes. I reached forward and Cole took my hand again and helped me step into the hot water. I sat down and leant back and sighed, closing my eyes. The warm water soaked into my muscles and the shaking ceased.
"How did you find me?" I whispered as I looked at Cole's shining form.
"I heard you scream," he said. I frowned slightly and then reached for his hand again. He took my hand and then sat next to the bath, by my head. "God...when I heard you...I thought my heart had stopped. I was terrified." I smiled weakly.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"Don't be," he said softly as he stroked my hair out of my face. "If you weren’t screaming I wouldn’t have found you. I don’t know what I would have done if I couldn’t find you..." I reached towards him with my hand and my fingertips made contact with his face. I found his lips and then I moved my hand to the back of his head and brought his head closer to mine so I could kiss him. His hands cupped my cheeks and he held me to him as he kissed me desperately. I could feel his fear in his kiss and I returned it with just as much. Cole pulled back about an inch and leant his forehead against mine. "I love you, Lauren. I love you so much." Tears burned in my eyes and I opened my eyes and focused on Cole's shine.
"I love you, too," I whispered. "More than anything I love you." Cole's lips were then back on mine, hungrily.