How Lost Souls Love

Stormy Nights

Maisie POV

I'm going to kill  Noah.

Another crash of thunder rolls through the house and I wrap my fists around my ears trying to block it out. Noah PROMISED me he would be back before the storm was supposed to start. We had been talking about it all week. My dad had to be out of town till tomorrow because he was helping out a family friend whose wife was having a baby, and they needed help watching their other ones. 

When I saw the weather channel say to prepare for the storm I told him I was worried. He knows I hate thunder and lightning.even before the accident. I HATE it. Under no circumstance should I be left alone. 

My phone lit up next to me and I grabbed it quickly. 

DAX: Did Noah get home yet? 

Dax knows how afraid of storms I am. We’ve talked about it before, and a bit more this week after we heard there was a storm coming, even though I still didn't explain the why.

Maisie: NO! He never came home.

I'm shaking badly as I type it out but manage to hit send. I look around and decide I need to try and drown out the noise. I get up and turn on my new TV and turn it all the way up. Then I walk over to my dresser and grab my earplugs. I can feel the dresser shake as another flash of lightning lights up my room. Even through the light and the TV, its power is still the brightest thing for those three seconds.

I can feel my bravery cracking. Even through the loud TV and almost every light being turned on I don’t think I can handle this. I run to my bed and bury my whole self in my comforters. I wrap the blanket around my head so tightly that it’s almost hard to breath. 

I hear the front door open right before another burst of thunder rattles the windows. I throw the covers off and sprint through the door. 

“I swear Noah! I will NEVER forgive you for leaving me alone like this!” I say wiping the tears from my face. “You KNOW why I hate these storms you ass-!” I say stopping short as I take another look at the person removing their hood. 

 His sweater is drenched from the short distance from his car to the front door. I want to ask him what he was thinking about driving all the way over here in the middle of a storm like this. But all I can seem to register is the fact that Dax is here. He didn't leave me alone.

“Hey Maisie.” He says giving me a half thoughtful half concerned smile.

I cry. Then I sprint to him hitting his chest hard. He catches me easily and rubs my back in soothing circles. When I stopped crying he wrapped his arms tight around me and laid his chin on the top of my head. 

“I take it you're not mad I came over in the middle of one of the worst storms of the year so you wouldn’t be alone?” 

“I’ll be mad later.” I mumble into his chest. He chuckles and gives me one big squeeze before pushing me away to look at my face. 

“How about a really loud action movie, shitty snacks, and the promise that i won't leave you alone until the storm is over?” he says reaching out and stroking my cheek comfortably. 

I nod my head and he takes my hand and leads me toward the living room, with a bag of what I assume is the snacks, in his hand. I look around and I notice I can see all of the trees and gusts of wind and rain hitting all the open windows leading to the back patio and pull his hand back to stop him. 

“I don't think I will be able to get over any of this if i have to sit here and watch that tree rock back and forth in the wind. Let’s just go to my room and watch the movie on my new tv.” I said, pulling him back down the hallway to my room.

“If Noah comes home he is really not gonna like that.”

“Well then he should have kept his promise and been here for me.” I say back bitterly. 

Lightning cackles loudly and I scream a bit as the immediate sound of thunder roars in my ears. My knees buckle and Dax drops the bag and catches me before I hit the floor. 

“Jeez. You weren't kidding when you said you were scared of the storm were you.” I didn't bother responding. I just squeezed my eyes shut as tight as i could and nodded my head.

Dax took a deep breath and then slipped his arms underneath me and lifted me to his chest. Usually being in a position like this would make me nervous. In Dax’s arms where I can feel his toned chest and thick arms around me I should be swooning… But the storm has me absolutely petrified. Instead of making a mental note about the way his body feels when he holds me, I'm shivering and shaking like a child. 

Way to go Maisie. Way to go.

Dax sits me gently on my bed and pulls my comforter over me. I slowly open my eyes and watch as he goes to his backpack and pulls out a movie and pops it into the DVD player next to my Tv. He then grabs the remote and tosses it towards me.

“I’m technologically challenged so you're gonna have to at least start the movie. I'll run and get us some water from the fridge.” 

I take a deep breath and flip to the correct input until the dancing DVD symbol pops up on the screen. Then I hit play and skip the previews. As the main menu comes up Dax walks back into the room with water and a pack of oreos.

“I think your dad is trying to hide the oreos from us.” he laughs. “I found these behind the glass cups in the cupboard we never use. But someone put my favorite cup in there so I found them.”

“You have a favorite cup?” I ask trying to control the shaking in my voice.

Dax holds up a tall plastic cup. On the front is a giant realistic looking Charizard Pokemon breathing fire. He smiles proudly as he shows me and it cracks through the fear and makes me smirk. “Cute.” I say looking anywhere but at his face.

“You can NOT call Charizard CUTE. He is awesome. Fearsome. Cool.. but never say cute.” he says pointing at my face. “You ever call him cute again and I'm going to tell Lotto to hide the oreos till the end of the year.” 

I shake my head and just let it drop. I don't even want to get into the fact that i barely know what pokemon are. He seems like he is a hardcore fan, and as much as i appreciate and love that Dax is here with me through this storm, there is no way in hell im sitting through a kids show right now.

“Die Hard?” I ask. 

Dax smiles like a little kid as he rips open a bag of blue doritos.

“Yup!” he says dramatically popping the P at the end. “Best Christmas movie ever.”

I just roll my eyes and hit play. I pull my blanket up higher and try to settle into watching the movie as Dax sits down beside me. About 15 minutes in I notice Dax starting to rub the side of his legs a bit and realize he must be cold. I pull my blanket out from under his legs and drape it across the both of us. 

He looks at me and seems about to protest when lightning lights up the room. I Throw myself down into my pillow and press my face in hard covering my ears. The thunder that follows is muffled by my ears and I let out a small breath.

Dax slips his fingers through mine and slowly pulls them out of the pillow. He sweeps my leg over his lap and pulls my head into his chest. I cling to his hand entangled with mine and bring them between us. With my other hand I twist my fingers into his shirt.

He grabs the remote and turns the volume up louder. “Don't worry Maisie..” he whispers against my hair, “I've got you.” 

I sit there in his lap and alternate between watching the movie and burying my face in his chest. With Dax I noticed everything felt calmer. I was still afraid of the storm but it wasn't crippling me as badly as it was when i thought i would have to go through it on my own. When the movie ended we put it on a regular TV show.

The storm had calmed down. It was 3 in the morning and the only thing we could still hear was the heavy downpour of the rain against the roof of the house. I was laying under all of my blankets with my head on the pillow and facing Dax. He was laying under an extra blanket that he insisted he use just in case Noah came home. I didn't want him to.. But I understood he had to. 

He was running his fingers through my hair as he watched the TV. I don't even know if he realizes he's doing it. But I wasn't going to stop him. I mean what girl doesn't like getting their head rubbed? Even broken girls like me love that s**t. If Dax wanted to rub my head he could do it any time he wanted.

“Hey Maisie?” 

“Hmm..” I say looking up at him sleepily.

“Why.. er..  What's the reason you are so afraid of thunder and lightning?” he asks, still stroking my hair.

Usually it's not a story I would tell people. But again, it's 3 in the morning and for some reason my brain filter stops working around 1am.

“When i was six my mom went to work in the middle of a storm. She left me home alone. The storm got really bad and the power went out. She didn't come home when she was supposed to. I sat in the dark till morning wondering where she was. All i remember when i hear a storm now is the amount of fear i had thinking something happened to my mom in that storm. I sat on the phone with Noah until the power went out. And I called him first thing when it came back on. My dad was furious. I ended up coming here to see my dad and Noah for a whole extra week that year.”

“Wow.” he says. And for a second I think he is going to pity me. I don't want that. “Noah is an even bigger asshole than I thought for not being here if he knows that story.” he says glaring at the TV. 

I chuckle. “Yeah.. i don't know if i can forgive him for this. I'll probably let it go after I get some form of revenge… but he is never living this down.” I say yawning loudly.

“Want me to move to the couch so you can sleep?” he asks, turning off the TV.

“No.” I say pulling him down. “I sleep better when you're with me.” I say maybe a bit too honestly. Damn my 3am brain. 

But i don't care. I can feel his chest shake with a small chuckle as he puts an arm around me and continues to run his fingers through my hair, lulling me to sleep.

DAX POV

I didn’t know what time it was when I felt something jerk at my arm. I ignored it at first. I curled toward the pillow on my left. 

“Dude!” I heard Noah whisper yell as he jerked my arm again. I sleepily opened my eyes annoyed and stretched my arms. Noah was pissed and throwing daggers that could kill. 

I look over and tense as I realize why I deserve the look. Maisie was the pillow I was so nonchalantly pulling closer to my body. Her hand was on my chest fisting the front of my shirt. Her hair was in a beautiful mess and her mouth was open slightly. She was completely knocked out and curled up right beside me. 

My shock faded into a light grin and I felt a smack against the back of my head. 

“Get the f**k up.” Noah whispered at me again. His features had grown dark. s**t. 

“Sorry man. I didn’t even notice.” I said honestly. I moved my body away from her and pulled her hand from my chest. I felt the cold of her absence hit me right away and I wanted so badly to crawl back in next to her in the bed.

 I looked back at her and saw her shirt had creeped up above her belly button and a push of protectiveness rolled through me. Noah may be her brother, but I didn’t want him looking at her. I pulled our comforter back over her arms. She stirred and made a face as if to say she wasn’t comfortable anymore but didn’t wake up. 

Noah grabbed my arm and pulled me away and towards the garage. I stepped through as he dropped my arm and closed the door behind us. 

“Dude. What. The. f**k?” He said stopping at the end of each word. “Off limits. She’s my sister!” He fumed. 

“Relax!” I said back holding up my hands to show I meant no harm. “It’s not what you think.” Even though a part of me hurt at the idea of it not being what he thought. I wouldn’t mind if it was. That was the first night I’d gone without a nightmare in weeks. 

“How is it not what I think?!” He hollered. 

“She was scared because of the storm. When you didn't show up she was scared out of her mind. I wasn't about to leave her like that. We watched a movie until we passed out. I swear man. I wouldn’t disrespect you or Lotto by doing that. I slept. She slept. That’s it. I swear.” I try no to point out the fact that I wouldn't have had to be here if he had kept his promise to her and been here for her when she needed him.

I mean seriously Maisie had enough to worry about on a daily basis without being scared of the storm. It really makes me mad that Noah preaches to Maisie everyday that he will always be here for her if she needs him, but the first time she actually needed him here he was balls deep in his girlfriend instead.

“Off. f*****g. Limits.” He emphasized again. “I mean it Dax.” He said pointing at my face. The first time he said it I could understand. But now it felt almost personal. 

“And what’s that supposed to mean? Now I'm too broken or something?” I said getting angry. 

“No but she is!” He yelled back without thinking. Instantly I could tell he regretted the way it came out. “She’s not ready. She needs to lean on family first.”

“And here I thought I was.” I said backing away from him. 

“Don’t be such a girl, you know what I meant.” He said stopping me as I tried to walk out. 

“I am not broken.” 

Both of us swing our heads to the door that leads to the kitchen and freeze. Maisie is standing there with anger and tears in her eyes. It doesn't take a scientist to know that she just heard every word. 

“Maiz..” Noah starts but she cuts him off louder this time. 

“I am not broken Noah! I don’t need you to take up secret meetings to talk about how I am either!” She says shaking from head to toe as she tried to bite back tears and hurt. 

“I thought you were sleeping…” Noah says looking down. 

“Well I was but you stole my pillow.” She says turning and slamming the door behind her. 

Noah forgets about me and goes after his sister. I lean back against the Jeep and smile. Does that mean She knew she was sleeping on me? She didn’t pull away or freak out..She stood up to Noah like a boss and even more impressive. She stood up for herself.