I fall to the floor, phone pressed hard to my ear, as tears race down my cheeks.
They’re gone.
Gone.
Gone.
Gone.
“When the weather clears, we’ll go.”
“Now.I have to go now,” I tell her.
“No.It’s not safe, Ellison.You and your sisters stay where you are.There is nothing that we can do.You have to stay inside.Stay safe,” she says again, and I can hear the anguish and the worry in her tone.“Promise me, child.Promise me you’ll stay put.”
It’s a promise I don’t want to make, but this is me, Ellison Moran, the responsible older sister.It’s my job to keep my sisters safe, so even though the words taste like sawdust, I force myself to say them.“We’ll stay,” I rasp.
“I mean it,” she commands.
“I promise,” I tell her.
“Get in the basement.Once this rolls through, we’ll—” She chokes on another sob.“We’ll go together.I love you.All four of you.I’ll be right there,” she assures me.
“No.If we have to stay, so do you.”Grandma Ruby is in her seventies, and she doesn’t need to be out in this hellish weather either.“I’ll tell them, and we’ll be here until the storm passes, and Grandma, we love you, too.”
I drop the phone, just as it rings again.It’s Bowen.Furiously, I wipe at my tears.I can’t talk to him right now, so with blurry, tear-filled eyes, I type out a text telling him I can’t speak, then shove my phone into my pocket, and stand on shaking legs.
I have to get my shit together to be there for my sisters.It’s my job now, and I won’t let them down.
My knees wobble as I take one small step, then another, to the basement door.As I twist the handle, I find Baylor there, I assume coming to check on me.She sees my face and is instantly on alert.
“What’s wrong?”
I shake my head.I can’t say the words, not yet.I need all three of them together, because I don’t think I’ll be able to tell them twice.Who am I kidding?The first time is going to kill me.
“Ellison.”Her tone sounds so much like our mother’s when she’s trying to be stern with us.The thought has a whimper falling from my lips.I shake my head and nod for her to go downstairs.
Thankfully, she listens, and I follow her on unsteady legs.We reach the bottom, to find Leighton and Courtlynn huddled on the small couch.It’s battered from years of use.I can picture it when it used to be in the living room.Mom and Dad cuddled up to watch a movie with us.The pain is too much.Reaching up, I rub at my chest, over my heart.
Courtlynn and Leighton both sit up straighter, feeling the atmosphere shift.Something smashes into the small basement window, causing all four of us to scream in fright.
“Baylor, sit down.”My voice is coarse.
“Tell me!”Baylor demands.
“Please, Bay, sit down.”She must hear it in my voice, or see it on my face, because she huffs and turns to sit next to our sisters.As for me, I stand frozen, trying to find the words.I open and close my mouth a few times, unable to force anything past my lips.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, probably Bowen replying, but I ignore it.Instead, I swallow hard and start to speak.“There was an accident,” I tell them.I go on to say pretty much what Grandma Ruby said to me.
“No!”Courtlynn wails.“No.They’re wrong,” she screams, her voice cracking until it splinters into something unrecognizable.
I move toward her, my legs quaking, the air around us thick and heavy, like the room itself is suffocating.I squeeze myself onto the couch beside her, wrapping my arms around her trembling shoulders.She folds into my arms as she falls apart.My heart hammers, its rhythm frantic and uneven.
Forcing my eyes open, I watch as Baylor gathers Leighton into her arms.Their matching sobs come in sharp, gasping bursts.The kind that steals your breath and leaves you feeling hollow inside.
Baylor rocks them gently.Their faces are wet with their tears.Baylor’s lips are pressed together, as if she lets them open, she’ll shatter.
No one speaks.There’s nothing left to say.
