Chapter 11: This is the Calm Before the Storm

       When something woke me up from my sleep, it had to be for a serious reason since I was quite the heavy sleeper. And right now, the reason for me suddenly waking up in the middle of the night was a heavy thunderstorm happening.

       I reached for my phone to check the time, sighing when I saw what it was. Three in the morning.

       And I noticed my phone was no longer charging despite still being plugged in so I guess that was no power in the house. I laid back down on the air mattress, listening to the rain pounding against the roof and the wind howling loudly. A few times, the wind was strong enough to cause a nearby tree's branches to tap against the wall outside.

       There was no way I was going to get any sleep tonight but at least it was the weekend so I wouldn't have to wake up in a few hours for school.

       I did try falling back asleep but it was no use. I just couldn't fall back asleep.

       I sat up on the mattress, looking over at Sawyer only to be jealous at how peacefully he was sleeping. I was tempted to wake him up so I wouldn't be lonely right now but that wasn't really the nicest thing for me to do. He woke up early every day to do his assigned chores so he could use the sleep right now.

       The storm kept raging on, not showing a single sign of stopping. In fact, it was starting to get a bit worse, lightning and thunder now being added to the mix.

       And I could have sworn I heard a horse's panic whine in the distance.

       I was hoping I was just imagining it but once I heard it again, I knew exactly what horse was panicking.

       Paint.

       I quickly got off of the mattress, heading over to Sawyer and shaking him awake. "Sawyer," I said. "Sawyer, get up."

       Sawyer's response was not one I expected from him. He just turned away from me, covering his head with his pillow.

       So I gave him a response he probably wasn't expecting.

       I grabbed the pillow and starting hitting him with it. "Wake. Up."

       That was all it took so Sawyer to actually sit up, mainly to grab the pillow and stop me from hitting him with it. "Jamie! What--"

       "There's a thunderstorm going on right now and I could hear Paint freaking out," I said. "I'm worried something is going to happen."

       Sawyer didn't take any time getting out of bed so he could help me with Paint. And of course, the first thing I noticed was that he decided to sleep without a shirt on. I was thankfully the lights were turned off and the power was out so he wouldn't be able to see me blush because I could feel my cheeks burning.

       I grabbed a sweater and put it on as Sawyer put on a shirt and then a sweater. We then headed downstairs and to the front door where our shoes were, quickly slipping them before heading outside and to the stables.

       And that was when I saw Paint wasn't in the stables like he should have been since I put him there last night. He was in his field, running around all panicky. 

       "I'll go check the other horses," Sawyer said. "Go get Paint."

       I nodded and hurried to the field as Sawyer went to the stables. I hopped over the fence, making sure Paint saw me before I approached him. I carefully walked towards him, my arms reached out. "Hey," I said as calmly as I could. "It's okay. It's okay. There's nothing to be scared of."

       He was starting to calm down a bit but there was a sudden flash of lightning, freaking him out again.

       "Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said, trying to calm him down again. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here."

       Paint stopped freaking out, allowing me to rub his neck and calm him down. I should lead him back into the stables but I wanted to make sure he was perfectly calm with me here before I put him back there.

       Sawyer walked out of the stables and into the field. "The other horses are okay," he said. "A tiny bit spooked but they've had worse storms."

       "How did Paint get out of his stall?" I asked. "Because I know for a fact I locked it."

       "Yeah, he broke it down," Sawyer said. "It wasn't the first time it happened and I'm guessing it won't be the last. There's an extra stall in the stables that he can go in for tonight. I'll fix his in the morning."

       I nodded and started leading Paint into the stables and to the extra stall. I was, thankfully, able to put him in there without him resisting. However, as soon as Sawyer and I were about to leave the stables, he started freaking out again.

       I sighed, heading back into the stables and over to his stall. "It's okay. You'll be fine. I'll come back here in the morning."

       Once again, I was about to leave but Paint wouldn't let me. He wouldn't stop freaking out.

       I looked at Sawyer. "It looks like I'm going to have to spend the night in here."

       "Want me to stay here with you?" Sawyer asked.

       "No, you don't have to do that," I said.

       "I know," was all Sawyer said. He walked over to a trunk in the stables, opening it up and pulling out a thick, wool blanket.

       "Why is there a blanket kept in here?" I asked.

       "Because believe it or not, this isn't the first time someone is spending the night in the stables," Sawyer said. "Or the second. Or even the third."

       There was a few hay bales sitting in the stables so Sawyer walked over and sat down on it so I walked over and sat down beside him. He placed the blanket on the two of us, warming us up from the cold.

       "Thanks for staying here," I said. "You really don't have to, though."

       "Jamie," Sawyer said. "I know. I want to stay here with you. I don't want to leave you here alone."

       I smiled at him, my heart starting to beat a bit faster than normal. I really liked Sawyer. A lot. It was hard spending time with him because I was so worried about where things were going to lead for us. I know part of me wanted something to happen but at the same time, the bigger part didn't want anything to happen.

       I didn't think I could handle the pain and heartbreak again.

       "Hey, are you okay, Jamie?" Sawyer asked.

       "Yeah, why do you ask?" I asked.

       "Because even though you're smiling at me, it looks like something's troubling you," he said. "Need someone to talk to?"

       I sighed, looking down. Maybe I should at least tell him what happened between me and my ex-boyfriend. After all, he did tell me what happened between him and Kitty. And I really needed someone to talk to about it, even if I didn't want to get into too much detail.

       "I was just thinking of something that happened before I moved back here," I said. "Something that really affected me and made me a bit glad to move away."

       "What happened?" Sawyer asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

       "I don't mind," I said. "I... I had a pretty rough break up. Right after my dad passed away. In fact, my dad's passing had to do with the break up."

       "How?" Sawyer asked.

       "Well, I was pretty miserable because of losing my dad," I said. "Even though I knew it was coming because he was sick for a long time and the doctors told us he had a few weeks left live. But it's just not something I could get over so easily. And my ex-boyfriend didn't understand."

       "Did he tell you to get over it or something?" Sawyer asked. "Because if he did, just know he's a horrible human being and never deserved an amazing person like you in the first place."

       I wanted to smile at Sawyer's compliment but I just couldn't right now. Not when I was thinking back to everything. "He basically did. Because I was miserable, I wasn't really being... affectionate. I just was never in the mood to do anything. And he didn't like it. So he asked when I would finally get over it."

       "I'm so sorry, Jamie," Sawyer said. "You really didn't deserve him saying that. He should have understood that you needed time. As much time as it took."

       "Yeah, well, he didn't," I said. "So I dumped him but... I really liked him. So him saying that and just getting mad at me for mourning my dad really... broke me."

       "I get it," Sawyer said. "Dating someone that you really like and then them saying something so out of character that you just don't understand. It does break you. But you'll be able to get through it. Just take as long as you need. And if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here to listen."

       This time, I was able to smile at him. "Thanks. For being here. For listening."

       Sawyer smiled back at me, making me feel quite warm inside because of his bright and comforting smile. "You're welcome."

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jamie my baby :(

why do i always torture my most loved characters? idk idk

well actually, i remember recently reading something that said the a writer's most loved characters are actually given a lot of trials and not just a boring simple life. as a writer who tortures nolan all the time, i can confirm.