Every Second [COMPLETED]

Chapter 12 - "Can I ask you a question?"

Amelia tossed aside her blankets, suddenly wide awake. She bent over and snatched her discarded hoody off the floor, pulling it over head. She wandered out of her room. The main part of Sebastian's apartment was lit by the reflective snow of the city.

Shuffling over to the window, she rested her head against the cool glass, looking down at the dark, empty streets. Empty, except for the snow plows with their yellow revolving lights. She imagined she could almost hear the grinding sound of the plows as they pushed against the concrete and the slushing of the tires over the snow.

Her gaze moved across the city, across the park in the general direction of her apartment. Her thoughts followed her gaze, wondering if Charlie was awake as well. Amelia folded her arms, wishing she was home. She pulled herself away from the window and moved into the kitchen. The burner clicked into life, blue flames dancing upward to heat the bottom of the metal tea kettle. Her movements were slow and quiet. It was two in the morning. She knew Will could sleep through a bomb attack, but she was worried she might wake Sebastian.

Tea made, Amelia moved everything to the coffee table and pulled an arm chair closer to the window. She was clutching her second cup of tea when a door opened and a figure emerged from the hallway. Amelia twisted in her seat.

"Will?" she whispered.

The figure froze mid-step, then walked over to her. The light from the window fell across his face. Sebastian was shirtless, wearing a pair of black pajama pants, his hair rumpled. He rubbed his eyes and took in the scene before him.

"Can't sleep?" he asked.

He showed no signs of being uncomfortable in his current state of undress. Amelia was struck by the thought that nearly every girl in the world would kill to be in her exact situation. All she could think about was whether he was cold or not.

"Force of habit," she said.

"Sorry?"

"Nightmares," Amelia explained. "And my brother and I usually end up awake at odd hours of the night. We usually spend about an hour talking and sharing a cup of tea. We've done it so often that even with him not here, it felt unnatural just to lay in bed."

Sebastian nodded, his gaze falling to the pot of tea on the coffee table.

"You want a cup?" Amelia asked him.

Sebastian hesitated before answering.

"Sure, just give me a second."

He left the room only to appear a second later pulling a hoody over his bare chest and abdomen. Grabbing a mug from the kitchen, he returned to the living room and pulled an arm chair over to Amelia's. She wordlessly took his mug, filling it before handing it back to him.

Sebastian sank into the arm chair, his long legs stretched out, focus on the window. She tried to read in his face and posture his feelings over the occurrence with the chest of drawers, but he betrayed nothing. So she followed his lead and turned her attention back to the never ending storm, the silence of it absorbing them into its folds.

After many moments had past, Amelia popped the bubble of silence with a whisper.

"My father loved snow storms," she mused quietly.

She could sense Sebastian shifting his focus to her.

"For him it meant a day by the fire with my mom, Charlie and me. Playing board games, doing irritatingly large puzzles, hot chocolate and eventually music."

A longing sigh slipped from Amelia's mouth.

"I hope, that no matter how long I live, I never forget the sound of my father playing the guitar," she said. "He had magic fingers my mom used to joke. But it's true. When he played the world stopped turning for just an instant and you wanted to do nothing but listen to him."