Page 50 of Crash Over Us
I traipsed inside, dropping the book on the table. I checked my phone again. I couldn’t stand it. I called Caleb.
“Hi. Please call me. I want to hear your voice. I want to know you’re okay. I need to know I’m going to see you before you leave Marshoak.” I almost choked on the last sentence. I carried my phone with me upstairs.
He wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye. I knew he wouldn’t. He loved me. Had protected me since the moment we met on the pier. He had looked out for me in every way possible. I believed Caleb and I would find a way to fight this. We had to.
I laid down on the bed, clutching my phone to my chest, but not before I turned the volume all the way up.
When I opened my eyes, it was morning. The sky was dotted with clouds.
I ran downstairs. No. No. No. It was after six. I looked across the sound. I saw the ferry traveling to the other side. It was nearing the dock at Pointe Harbor.
My breath left my body. I held the phone to my ear. Either Caleb’s phone was off, or he had sent me straight to voicemail because I went straight to his mailbox.
I didn’t leave a message this time. I hung up and sat on the steps of the cottage. I was completely lost on what to do next.
* * *
The meteorologist said the storm was going to make a direct hit on the North Carolina coast. The hope that the hurricane was going to spin out to sea was gone. I watched maps and radar projections. I heard the words. I still didn’t know what to do.
I jumped when there was a knock on the door. I’d been huddled on my couch all morning watching the weather updates.
“Caleb?” I rushed to see who it was.
I opened the door and gawked at Adam and Stella O’Connor.
“Hi, honey. We came to help.”
“I—um—I..”
Stella put an arm around me. “We knew you’d need someone to show you how to get ready for the storm.”
I wanted to cry on her shoulder. I wanted to tell her her son had broken my heart, but maybe it was my fault. I wanted her to know I was confused and hurt. I was scared of the hurricane. I didn’t know what to do.
Adam spoke up. “Come on out, and we’ll get started. We’ve got tonight, but she’ll be here tomorrow, and we can’t work in the dark.”
I held it in. All the emotions and the tears.
“Don’t you have to get your house ready?” I asked.
Adam grinned. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve been doing it for years.”
Stella stepped aside as I walked onto the porch with her and was astonished to see so many people from Marshoak Island in the parking lot of the Blue Heron. Nan and Josie. Bill, who ran the market. Jacob was unloading materials. Even John was standing there in the group.
“What’s this?” I was stunned.
Adam cleared his throat. “Caleb wanted to make sure you were taken care of.”
I almost cracked then. I still don’t know how I held it together. “Caleb? He did this?”
Stella nodded. “We’ll talk later. First, let’s board up the porch as best we can, and the guys can tie down the boats.” She squeezed my hand.
More people came to help. Some I knew and others I met for the first time. We worked the rest of the afternoon. Jacob secured the ice and drink machines, my prized possessions. John stored things in the storage shed for me. Adam nailed boards across the lower windows. Nan told me how to fill the bathtub with water and helped me fill jugs so I would have enough when the power went out.
“Are you sure we’ll lose power?” I asked.
She groaned. “Always do. We never know how long. That’s the only difference from storm to storm. It could be a day. It could be a week. It’s better to have enough water and candles. You have flashlights and batteries?”
I nodded. “I think I have enough.”
