He was glad Esperanza moved toward the driver’s side door because he was shaking too hard to be able to drive. Relief chased the fear from him, but adrenaline still surged. Austin got her out. Austin helped make sure she was safe. He’d never be able to repay his friend.
“You look like you need a drink,” Mr. Laughton said, relief evident in his own voice.
“After I make sure everyone is safe, you know what? I think we one hundred percent should go have a drink.” Once he knew no one was hurt. Houses could be repaired. The effort would take time and money, but it could be done.
His mom was safe, and that was what mattered.
He directed Esperanza back to the town square, to the doctor’s office, which he saw now had cars parked in front and alongside. Why hadn’t he noticed that when they’d driven past before? He’d been so focused on getting to his mom that he’d been laser-focused on the road.
Once again, he opened the door to the SUV before Esperanza fully stopped on the street in front of the office, and he ran into the brick building.
He’d been inside before, to go to Austin’s apartment upstairs, but he’d never been into the office itself, which was pretty tiny. And at no time had he met with so much noise as when he walked through the doors today.
But he heard his mom’s voice above it all. She’d clearly been watching for him. And then she was in his arms, her face pressed into his chest, like she thought she’d never see him again. He bent his head over her, relief washing through him as realization she was safe sank in.
She pulled back abruptly and pointed right at his face. “Don’t you dare say you told me so.”
“I never would,” he said, a smile curving his lips, since he’d been tempted, just a little.
“You were thinking it. I just know you were.” She squinted up at him. “You were out looking for that tornado.”
“We went to the trailer park as soon as we got back to town.”
His mother’s face closed off. “It’s bad?”
“I couldn’t even figure out which one was yours at first.”
Her face crumpled, and she lowered her head to her hands. “Oh, Javi, what am I going to do?”
His heart broke for her. Everything she’d worked for was in that trailer. He didn’t know how much they could salvage. “Well, you’re going to come live with me for now, and we’ll get in there and save what we can. We just have to take it one day at a time. Isn’t that what you told me?”
She’d said those words to him every day when he’d been recovering from the bus accident, when he’d started to work to get fit so his friends would never again have to risk their lives to save his.
She knew he was feeding her own words back at him, because she narrowed her eyes at him.
“Let’s go then. To your house.”
He hesitated, because he hadn’t actually checked out his house to see if it was damaged or not. His house was farther east, but he couldn’t be sure. “Let me go check it out, and see if anyone else needs help, then I’ll come back here.”
She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it again and looked around her. “I am lucky. Most of these people don’t have anywhere to go. Are all the trailers in bad shape?”
He hadn’t really looked except for hers. “Even if they’re not damaged, there’s so much debris in the place, they wouldn’t be able to get to them anyway.”
“Oh, Javi, what are they going to do?”
He looked across the room at Mr. Davila, the head of the town council. They had a plan. They’d planned for nearly every contingency since the bus accident. And Javi was part of the action team, which meant he needed to get out there to see if more people needed help. “Once the storm has passed, they’ll move everyone into the gym at the school. I imagine some of the volunteers are already heading over to set up.”
His mother drew himself to her full height. “I want to help. I’m not too old to help.”
“I’m sure they could use it.” But he didn’t want to send his mom out in the rain. He looked over and saw Esperanza standing near the door, obviously waiting for him to come back so she could drive him around to see where he was needed. He waved her over.
“Mom, this is Esperanza. Esperanza, my mom, Lupe. Can you take her over to the school to help get the shelter ready?”
He could see the impatience in every line of Esperanza’s body as she looked up at him. “I was going to drive you.”
“You don’t need to. I can get around just fine. And you’re not dressed to help me even if you did go with me. Take my mom and I’m sure the shelter will have plenty for you to do to help.” He nodded toward the crowded space. “They can’t stay here, and they can’t go home.”
Esperanza drew in a deep breath, then nodded. “Come on, Mrs. Saldivar.”
