Closing the door behind me, I wipe my face with my arm.
Denise is reading a magazine on my couch. “Did you have fun tonight?”
That’s when we hear a loud roar, almost like a train. “What the hell is that?”
Her eyes widen. “I’m not sure.”
I run back to my daughter’s room to check on her. She fell asleep with her headphones on. Not sure that’s a good thing, but at least she’s not scared. I peer out her window to the backyard. The trees are whipping around and that roaring finally subsides.
Hazel sleeps through the whole thing.
Even the crash next door that rattles our house.
16
NICK
“Stay with Hazel. I’m gonna check on my neighbors,” I tell Denise as I run out into my front yard. Car alarms blare up and down the street, and there’s a ton of debris everywhere. Leaves and trash and tree limbs litter the neighborhood. It’s hard to believe that all happened in the last few minutes.
At least the rain’s subsiding. When I get to Abby and Paige’s house, I’m about to pound on the front door when I hear a scream inside. Thankfully, the knob turns, and I’m able to get inside without kicking it in.
“Abby! Paige!” I shout.
“Back here!” a feminine voice calls out.
I head down the back hall where I find Paige and her boyfriend trying to open one of the bedrooms. The door is blocked.
“Abby’s stuck,” Paige says. “A tree fell through her wall.”
What the fuck?
The door opens an inch, and from what I can tell, there’s more tree in there than bedroom.
“Abby!” I yell. “You okay?”
Paige nudges her way in front of me to talk through the crack. “Nick’s here. We’re going to get you out.”
When I hear the crying, my heart sinks. “Abby, hang tight. I’m on my way.”
She calls out, “Nick, there’s a huge tree limb braced against the door! It has me pinned to the floor.”
Holy shit.
I turn to her roommate. “Paige, call the fire department. I’m gonna go around the side and see if I can get in through the window.”
By the time I get to the backyard, it’s pouring again, but the wind has died down. There’s a cluster of live oaks between the houses, and one has pulled a few feet out of the ground and fallen through the roof. So much for climbing through a window. There is no window, just a gaping hole where the wall was sliced apart.
I peek through the gash and see Abby’s bare legs on the ground. “Hang on. I’m coming.”
“Be careful! There’s glass everywhere.”
After I yank off my letterman jacket, I throw it over the opening so I don’t accidentally cut myself and climb through what used to be the window. I make a point to avoid the tree so I don’t put any pressure on Abby. When I land, my feet crunch on the broken glass.
I rush over to her and crouch down. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Are you bleeding anywhere?” Most of the tree landed on the bed, but there’s a huge-ass limb pinning her down.
My heart is in my throat as I wait for her answer.
Her frightened eyes meet mine. “I can’t breathe. It’s heavy.”
