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Freddy frowned as he tried to imagine having to work with Renner day in and day out. “Kind of. Different companies, but we collaborate.”
“I’ll be sure to call for you first. Here,” she handed him a post it and pen, “Jot down your name on top and his below it.”
“This is perfect. Thank you,” Freddy offered sincerely. “Any recommendations for where we could grab dinner before then?” he asked.
She pointed him toward a nearby option that offered sit-down service that would kill most of his waiting time.
“Thanks. I’ll be back in about two hours.”
Freddy debated telling Sabrina about the flight but worried that would jinx the whole thing. Besides, landing at Dulles at five put him back on Whitetail Mountain around eight. By the time he got home and cleaned up, it would be midmorning. If he didn’t sleep on the plane, he’d want to crash for a few hours too. Getting home earlier didn’t mean he’d get to see Sabrina any sooner.
Chapter 2: Sabrina
Sabrina’s bed shook with the force of the storm raging outside. She grabbed her phone to check the time. Two o’clock. Way too early to be awake for real. Sighing, she checked her messages. There weren’t any. No notifications had popped up, but checking made her feel better.
Growing up in tornado alley had taught her the destruction storms were capable of, but that’s why she loved living here. With no flat place to spin, tornados didn’t stand a chance. Anytime a rotation started to form, it slammed into a mountain. Still, the scent of rain was enough to bring back memories ofhiking through a field and then down the side of a road while hoping like hell she wouldn’t be struck by lightning. Rereading Freddy’s messages reminded her that she had a real friend now. He’d never abandon her in the middle of nowhere with no ride home. If she thought there was any chance he found her attractive, she’d totally propose and spend the rest of her life with him. But he didn’t. Freddy didn’t appear to be attracted to anyone, so Sabrina counted herself lucky to be a friend and braced herself for the day he found someone who changed that. Of course, if he were asexual, she wouldn’t have to worry about it.
As the ozone odor that came with intense storms filtered through the cracks around her windows, Sabrina reread Freddy’s messages and imagined them old and gray together. They didn’t need to be anything more than friends. That was enough. She’d have someone to call when it felt like the world was trying to leave her stranded and alone in a storm.
As if on cue, a burst of brightness illuminated her room, and she started counting. One, two, BOOM. The bed vibrated beneath her. Closing her eyes and clutching her phone to her chest, Sabrina reminded herself that she might be alone, but she was safe inside a house that stood through almost a hundred years of storms.
Then she reopened her phone and pulled up her most recent message thread.
Freddy: eating the biggest burger ever for dinner. you gaming?
Sabrina: nah watching crap tv. No burger pic?
Freddy: too late
Sabrina: haha im heading to bed
Freddy: hows your weather
Sabrina: lots of rain and wind is picking up
Freddy: stay safe
Sabrina: you too
Freddy: sleep well
Sabrina: night
This was ridiculous. High school was a long time ago. Tossing her phone back onto her bedside table, Sabrina flopped onto her back and debated if her need to pee was worth leaving the comfort of her bed. She needed more sleep. If she could sleep through the rest of the storm, the morning light would remind her that adult Sabrina’s life was nothing like her childhood. Resolved to do exactly that, she hopped up and dashed out to her bathroom. If she went now, she was less likely to wake up again before dawn.
It was while sitting with her underpants around her ankles that Sabrina heard the crack followed by an indescribably terrifying crash. Suddenly, she wished she’d brought her phone into the bathroom with her. Not that she had any idea what she’d do with it, especially as the room fell dark and silence consumed the usual hums and putters of a house with electrical power. Then again, her phone had a flashlight, and that would be freakin’ awesome.
Finishing her business in the dark, Sabrina tried to block out the raging wind and pelting rain that sounded so much more intense than it had before. She debated feeling her way through the house to find a flashlight or a candle, but it would come with bruised shins and stubbed toes. Since she was going to climb into bed, close her eyes, and wait for morning, that felt unnecessary. Shuffling across the short distance between her bathroom door and her bedroom, she turned the knob.
A fine mist greeted Sabrina, and her first thought was annoyance that she must not have closed all the windows. Except she had. She knew she had.
Her bedroom was too dark to see anything, but the air felt wrong. Wind moved through the space with the chilly spray of water that shouldn’t be inside her house. She breathed in the scent of the forest storm before gasping as another flash of lightning revealed a tree sprawled where she had slept. But the view disappeared in a single blink. It was just enough for all her senses to unite and reveal that the storm had invaded her safe space and stolen her spot in bed.
Without thinking, she reached back and flipped her light switch up and down, knowing it was futile but needing to try anyway. She needed to see, dammit! Another flash of lightning destroyed any adjustment her eyes made to the dark without giving her the time or clarity to see the destruction in detail.
Recoiling from the betrayal of lights remaining dark, she brought her hands to her wet face and brushed away the rain. There were no tears. She’d learned the futility of crying long before she’d been left to walk home through a ferocious spring storm in Nebraska. The only way to change facts and reality was through action.
It would be several hours before the sun came up, and with no phone, no bed, and no power, waiting for daylight was her smartest choice. Trying to drive down windy, dark, mountainroads in a storm that was taking down trees as easily as snapping toothpicks would be suicide.
