AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I looked up at her, surprised. She was a stickler for attendance, and I knew her father was as well. I glanced at him, and he looked up from his iPad, sighing as he did so.
“That’s not a bad idea,” he murmured. “In fact, I’d prefer it if you two didn’t go outside.”
Apparently, I wasn’t the only surprised one, because Hannah stared at her father with an open mouth.
“What?” She asked, “Why?”
Julian flipped up the iPad so we could see what he’d been reading. There was a large picture of a storm, showing red and yellows moving across the map in tight swirls, and above it, a dire headline.
Hurricane Erin Headed for New York, New York—will Broadway survive this Meltdown?
“Ahh,” Hannah said, “Then we’re definitely skipping class.”
I checked my phone as it dinged.
“It’s not skipping if there’s no class,” I said, showing it to her.
“Perfect!” Hannah crowed, standing, “I recommend aHarry Pottermarathon! It will keep us busy for a while!”
“Okay, okay,” I said, laughing, “but I have to run home and make sure everything is fine there first.”
Julian looked at me sharply.
“That doesn’t sound safe,” he stated. “Anything you need, we can provide. You should wait out the storm here.”
“Yeah, Ev, you should just stay here,” Hannah agreed.
I saw the two concerned faces, and it occurred to me that it had been twelve years since anyone had looked at me like that. I brushed it off.
“It will be fine, guys, besides, when is the hurricane supposed to hit?”
“Um,” Julian flicked his eyes back to the article, “tomorrow afternoon.”
“See!” I said, standing, “We’ve got more than a day before it hits, I’ll be fine.”
Hannah shrugged but warned me not to get hurt or she’d hurt me herself. Julian followed me out to be polite, but at the door, he handed me a card.
“This is my number,” he said lowly, “If you think you’re going to be in any sort of danger, call me.”
I nodded and didn’t say anything. I took the card from his hand. Our fingers brushed, and his dry warmth was as electrifying as I remembered. I closed my eyes and turned away. I threw a coat on over my clothes and stepped out the door.
The weather was already worse than I had imagined. The wind nearly bowled me over when I stepped into the street, and every step towards the subway was a struggle. The rain was needle-like and freezing cold. I saw almost no one else on my way to the subway, and the tunnels were deserted.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that the weather was worse near my apartment.
I was on lower ground, and the buildings were close enough together that they created wind tunnels that tried to sweep me off my feet. I pushed through though, and finally reached my own block of apartments. The door was almost impossible to get open, the sign declaring it would be fixed next week flapping in the wind. I managed to pull it open far enough to slide in, and narrowly missed it banging shut on my fingers. I took a breather once I was in the lobby, and glanced around. The lights were flickering, struggling to stay on, and there were leaves everywhere. That wasn’t good. I sprinted up the stairs to my apartment, and jiggled the keys in the lock, needing to get in, when my phone chimed. Figuring it was just Hannah checking that I was okay, I pulled it out to tell her I got home safely. Instead, it was a severe weather alert, telling me that there was a hurricane warning. Underneath it was one I had missed, telling me there was a chance of flash flooding. I knew I was right on the edge of the evacuation zone, and I suddenly felt a lot more uneasy.
The lock gave under my hands, and I entered my apartment.
A large crack ran along one of my windows, and I prayed it would hold. I dashed over to my bed and pulled out the small suitcase I’d brought with me from Oregon. I threw in some clothes, and a pair of pajamas. Figuring I’d probably end up staying a day or two, I also chucked in my ancient laptop and books necessary for my school work. Lastly, I dug around in my bedside table, pushing aside receipts and subway tickets, until I found what I was looking for. I tucked the small brown packet into the front of the suitcase, and ran out the door, dragging the bag with me. I slammed my door behind me, made sure it was locked and prayed once more that my place would be alright.
Getting back to the tunnels was harder this time, the rain more intense. I reached the entrance to the subway and almost cried. I had no way to get back to the Upper East Side and knew I couldn’t get back to my apartment with the way the wind was picking up. Outside the entrance, I found as much shelter as I could and sat on top of my suitcase. No one was around, and I had no idea what to do next. A garbage can went tumbling past me, and I had to scuttle backward to make sure it didn’t hit me. I couldn’t help the tears that fell from my eyes. I pulled my phone out, dialed Hannah’s number, and waited. It rang once, twice, three times, and went to voicemail. A sob pulled from my throat as I reached for the card in my pocket and copied the number off of it. It rang twice, and then a voice answered.
“Hello?”
“H-hi, Julian,” I said quietly.
I wasn’t even sure he heard me over the timbre of the storm.
