Once a Stranger

Chapter 115: Unlucky birthday?

Pov y/n

As soon as I realize what day it is, I smile and turn my head to the side. Scarlett is still asleep and a glance to the alarm clock tells me that we got another five minutes before it goes off.
I scoot a little closer and hold her near me with the arm that was already wrapped around her. The annoying sounds of an alarm aren't what you should wake up to on your birthday, so I start placing soft kisses on the back of her neck.

When she starts stirring, I stop and let her roll onto her back. My hand finds the matrass next to her body and I push myself up to look at her. Her eyes slowly open and she gives me a tired smile.

"Good morning, birthday girl." I whisper and kiss her forehead. That makes her smile even more.

"Good morning, baby." She replies, her voice raspy from sleep. One of her arms wraps around me to pull me down. She nuzzles her head into my neck, her breath tickling the skin there.

The moment is so peaceful and quiet, that I nearly jump when the alarm goes off. Five minutes really go by faster when you don't want them to.

"You can stay in bed a little longer while I wake up Rose." I tell her and kiss her cheek. She hums and lets me get up, snuggling the blanket that was covering me mere seconds ago. I smile at that and leave the bedroom to go wake up Rose. Despite it being Scarlett's birthday, we have to do our daily morning routine since it's a school day and I have to work.

I silently push the door to Rose's room open and smile at how cute she looks when she sleeps. Her hair is sprawled out on the pillow and the blanket is halfway on the ground. Looks like she moved around a lot during the night. Mr. Mouve is pressed to her chest and one of his tentacles lays across her face. I take a mental picture and step up to her bed before sitting down on the edge.
Carefully, I lift the tentacle off her face and brush the back of my fingers over her cheek.

"Good morning, little dolphin. It's time to wake up." I coo, keeping my voice low. I prefer waking her up softly because I feel like it makes the whole day better. Being woken up by an alarm or by my parents switching on the light back then was never nice. It makes waking up annoying and harder.
And if I can make the morning just a little bit better by being soft in waking her up, then I will do that.

Her eyes slowly flutter open and I smile.
"Hey, Rosie." I greet her and cup her face. "It's morning."

She looks at me for a few seconds before raising her arms towards me. That's new.
But I take her up on the request and lift her into my arms, giving her a hug. When she doesn't let go, I decide to just get up with her. Her head rests on my shoulder and it almost feels as if she was going back to sleep.
Maybe all the moving around in her sleep is a hint to a nightmare that made her lose sleep.
Nonetheless, I walk with her to the window and pull the curtains back so light can flood the room. Well, as much light as there is at 6:50 in the morning at the end of November.

"You're a little sleepy today, hm?" I ask and kiss her temple. She nods against me and tightens her hold on me.
I hug her and rub her back, a little confused by this clingy behavior.

Maybe that's a whiplash from the nightmare. Or she's just clingy because she feels like it. I walk with her to the bedroom and sit down with her so she can say good morning to Scarlett. Scarlett is still laying in bed, seeming very tired as well. I frown, that's unusual.

"I don't feel so good." Rose whines and buries her head in my shoulder. That makes Scarlett open her eyes and look at me.

"What's bothering you, baby?" She asks, her voice still raspy, which surprises me because she's been awake for too long for it to be from her sleep.