Excerpt 12 'The Storm'

I think that was the first night he saw me break down and cry. Did you like seeing me like that Anth? Because now looking back, sometimes I think you got a kick out of hurting other people.

Tears rolling down my face, he said...

“Some find the sound of thunder soothing, some find it too aggressive and pray for the rain to stop. I’ve hid from the storms before ‘til I heard my name being called in the rain, ‘til I felt what it was like to stand side by side as the heavens broke and washed away my fear of the storm. Every romance novel, every sad movie all include the same depiction. You can’t have love until you stood in the rain and kissed, as the clouds’ unrelenting rains poured down on each other, and everything went silent for the first time. You look at each other soaking wet, both still standing in the cold down pour as you say the three words you both have been dying to hear all your life.” He told me not to fear the storm because there will always be black clouds in the forecast. That not too many people tend to venture outside when it rains, but those who do step outside, know that life will always carry rain, and I must grow to love it. I knew when I first laid eyes on him, that this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. But one thing he probably didn’t know about me then, I always liked the rain. “We stood in a forest and the rain clouds rolled over, we stood together with our courage in both hands and looked at each other with something we both wanted to say, while the storm washed away the sadness. Maybe I didn’t say those 3 words out loud, but, we both made a promise that day in Juniper Springs without saying a word. I'll love you through the storm.” Well, you can’t have sunshine without a bit of rain. Except it wasn’t just a bit. If our love was the titanic, you’d be Rose, and I’d be Jack clenching on to the beautifully carved piece of wood, etched with dreams and hopes for a future. He held on to me and kept his head above water, just trying to stay afloat. Our love is not the titanic, and I am not Jack, but I still happened to drown.