Disclaimer - I don't own Hush, Hush. Becca Fitzpatrick does.

I awoke to the sound of thunder booming. I sat up right in bed, panting.

I was alone it the house. My mom was gone and on another business trip for work. Dorothea left hours ago. I grabbed my phone off the nightstand. The digital black letters read one in the morning. I lay back down and close my eyes, wanting sleep to take over me.

Ever since the whole thing with Jules in the school gym, I've been kind of restless. Stressed. I was always on edge, I would jump at the slightest noise, and worst of all I was plagued with nightmares. And to top all of that off, my boyfriend was my guardian angel. Not that I minded that Patch was my guardian angel. In fact, I liked it.

Just when I was making some actual progress on sleep, I heard my window slide up. My heart sped.

I sat up again only to see Patch's back turned to me as he quietly slid it shut. I let out a breath that I hadn't even realized I had been holding.

He turned to me, smiling. I smiled back, but that smile quickly faded as he practically jumped on my bed and pulled me along with him. I squealed and smacked his arm.

"What the hell, Patch?" I said as he wrapped both of his arms around my waist, pulled me close to him, and buried his face in the back of my shoulder. "What's wrong?" my voice had softened.

Tired. I kinda…got into a fight at Bo's tonight. Nothing major. Just tired, so I thought I'd stay with you.

"What happened?" I asked, worried.

"Like I said, nothing major. I wanted to see you. Is that so bad?" he said while giving me one of his smiles he reserved for me only.

"No. It's actually sweet. But I still want to know what happened." I insisted.

He sighed. "One guy thought I couldn't make a shot. Bet me 50 bucks I couldn't. Turns out I did. That really pissed him off. Rixon and I told him to suck it up and give me the money. That pissed him off even more and the asshole decided to shove me. I shoved him back and from there it gets pretty ugly. That's all you need to know."

I stared at him.

"What? That's what happened." He lifted his eye brows.

"Are you hurt?" I asked then realized what a stupid question that was.

He smiled. "It's not a stupid question. I'm fine," He leaned down and his lips brushed mine. "Perfectly fine."

I snuggled into his chest, seeking warmth.

"You can be so stupid and reckless sometimes. Do you know that?" I mumbled into his chest.

He rubbed my back. I've been told that. And, anyway, you know that's one of the many characteristics you love about me.

I smiled and rolled my eyes at his cockiness. "And, dare I ask, by who?"

People.

"Who?"

"Some old friends, Angel," he whispered. "Old, old, friends."

For the next few minutes Patch and I just lay there in complete silence. He rubbed my back while I traced circles on his chest.

"Nora?" the way he said my name made my heart flutter.

"Hmm?"

"You know I love you, right?" he whispered.

I looked up at him and, before he could say anymore, kissed him. It was a soft kiss. I placed my hand on his jaw, securing him there. When I pulled back I smiled up at him.

"Yeah," I said. "I do."

I kissed him again.

"I love you too, Patch." Who knew that five words could be so perfect?

"Good," he said. "I don't know what I would do if you didn't."

"I honestly you don't think you need to worry about that," I assured him. "Ever

A few moments later he asked, "You don't mind that I stay with you tonight, right?"

"Of course not. I like when you stay with me. I feel…safe." I smiled up at him.

"You're supposed to. I'm your guardian angel, remember?" he said.

"How could I not," I replied. "My mom isn't going to be back for another two weeks and Dorothea is off whole weekend. That gives us the whole weekend together. Perfect. We have the house all to ourselves."

Good. Isn't Dorothea supposed to be a full-time worker, though? he whispered in my mind.

"Yeah, but I gave her the weekend off. She's great and I thought she could use sometime to herself."

The air conditioner in my room was blasting. Our thermostat started acting really stupid last week. Even if I got up to change the temperature, five minutes later it would change back to whatever it was at now. I shivered and Patch pulled me closer, my back against his chest.

"Cold, Angel?" he whispered in my ear.

"Yeah. The thermostat isn't working,"

"You want me to go try and fix it?" he offered.

I shook my head. "No, it's fine. Besides, if you did, I would most likely get frostbite. You're warm and that helps." I said as I snuggled closer.

Patch laughed softly.

"You know I wouldn't let that happen, Nora." he said.

"You know what I mean," I said. "I'm going to bed, I haven't gotten any sleep in the last week."

Because of those damn nightmares.

I glared at him.

"Just get to sleep, Nora. I'm right here. You'll be fine." he said. He kissed me softly. His lips moved against mine perfectly. As if we were made for each other…

He pulled away and smiled.

"I love you." he whispered in my ear.

"I love you, too." I whispered back.

He rubbed my back and every now and then he would whisper something in my ear. I remember laughing. I also remember his hand slipping under my shirt. He didn't do anything except continue to rub my back. It was nice; he was warm and didn't try anything (for once).