“See you tomorrow, Josh.” I grab Viv’s plate and bring it to the tray where dirty dishes go.
“Woo hoo! Trivia!” Josh calls on his way out.
I try to brush away the small feeling of excitement knowing I’ll spend the evening with Luke tomorrow.
For now, I just need to get through tonight.
Twenty-Eight
WE WERE JUST LOOKING FOR HER CAT
Liv
“Mommy?” The bedroom door creaks under my fingers as I push it open.
“Hm?” she groans from under the covers. She’s not on her usual side near the door; she’s further away on the other side of the bed where Daddy used to sleep.
A bright light illuminates the room. Thunder rumbles outside. My hands fly up and cover my ears until it passes, my heart pounding in my chest.
“Can I come sleep with you?” My feet inch closer to the empty side of the bed.
“No, Olivia. Go to bed,” she mumbles, pulling the blanket up tighter.
The room lights up once more, highlighting her silhouette under the covers. Thunder claps again. I jump and hold the blanket I’ve dragged with me tighter.
“Please? I’m scared.”
“It’s a storm, Olivia. It’s just noise. Nothing to be scared of. It can’t hurt you. Nowpleasego to bed.” She rolls, turning her back to the door and to me. I wait a moment, but she doesn’t roll back. The sting of rejection burns my eyes, and I turn back toward my room.
I shuffle down the hallway, my socks slippery on the hardwood floor. Lightning strikes, lighting up the house from every available window in a flash of white. Thunder crashes through immediately after, the windows rattling with the force of the sound. Covering my ears, I crouch down and lean against the wall, waiting for it to stop.
I jolt upright as the thunder rumbles deep and low through the sky. The windows vibrate, fighting against the wind. Inhaling slowly, I hold my breath before releasing it through my mouth.Just noise. It’s just noise.
I pull the covers up to my chest, willing my heart rate to slow and continuing my deep breathing while repeating my mantra in my mind. Rain comes down in sheets, while gusts of wind push against the glass doors leading to the small patio outside. I open my eyes and look around for Sunny.
“Here, kitty, kitty,” I coo. I reach over and pull the chain on the small lamp next to the bed on the side table, but it doesn’t turn on.
Great.
I grab my phone and turn on the flashlight, tossing the covers off.
“Sunny, come on, kitty, kitty.”Where is he?
I pause. I brought him into my room when I went to bed. Right?
My mind races back through the evening before I went to bed. I try to piece it together. We sat to watch the movie. The radar said the storm was tracking south and that we wouldn’t feel the brunt of it.That obviously changed somewhere along the way. I vaguely remember dozing off on the couch and Viv patting my shoulder telling me we should call it a night. A few guests lingered, playing cards under the light of a lamp. Is it possible I went to bedwithoutSunny? No way.
I open the door and slip silently into the hallway. My feet pad along the soft carpet as I make my way toward the great room. It’s dark and—aside from the rain pelting the windows—silent. Blinding light flashes from the other end of the hallway, where the great room is. Pausing, hand pressed into the wall, I wait, heart pounding, mentally counting how long it takes. I reach the count of eighteen before a loud, never-ending roll of thunder resonates through the night sky, sending my pulse into overdrive until dots dance in my vision.
“Sunny!” I whisper-yell into the darkness, shining my phone flashlight across the floor. I wander toward the check-in desk to see if he’s on his cat bed. He’s not. I look under the counter and around the cushions of the sitting area. Nothing.
I don’t think he’d go upstairs…
I wander back toward the great room and round the corner to come face to face with a figure in the dark.
“AH!” My phone tumbles to the floor. My hands cover my face.
“Whoa!” a man yells.
