AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tully thought it was funny. “There’s duct tape in the drawers. If you hogtie him, youhaveto send me pictures.”
His mum sighed. “So how’re you holding up?”
He had to kind of yell over the storm. “Yeah, we’re fine here, Mum. How about you guys?”
His dad nodded. “We’re all fine. It’s nice and cosy right now. The noise above us is crazy, but we’ve got food and water, and everyone’s safe.”
“Good, good. And yeah, it’s loud here too. Probably a good thing we can’t see outside, though the video feeds are lookin’ pretty wild.” Tully’s smile faltered for a brief second, and it hurt to know a part of him, even the smallest part, wished he was there with them and that I was the reason he wasn’t.
“So,” he said. “Things are gonna get rough for the next couple of hours. Jeremiah, what’s the status?”
I didn’t want to say specifics because I didn’t want to sound pessimistic or scare them. I could only nod and repeat what he said. “Yeah. Things are going to get rough for the next couple of hours.”
My eyes caught his, and he nodded. Then Tully smiled back at the screen. “Okay. We’ll talk again soon, okay?”
They all nodded. “Love you,” his dad said, and my heart burned. Hearing their affection and love for one another made my relationship with my own father feel so... sad.
I busied myself with the console, reading some incredible data. Wind speeds I’d never seen before, lows of 980 hPa and rainfall in excess of 200 ml in just a matter of hours. It was all Doreen and I could do to keep the alerts up to date with the data coming in. But my mind kept wandering...
Until Doreen’s big hand gripped my shoulder. Gentle but firm. “You okay there, doc?”
Startled, I nodded quickly. I hadn’t realised I’d zoned out. “Ah, yeah, of course.”
Tully came over and parked himself on my lap. “Tully, I can’t see—”
He held my phone. “Call your dad.”
“I’m kinda busy.”
He pressed the phone into my chest in hopes I’d take it. “While we still have mobile phone towers. While you still can.”
“Tully—”
He sighed, then held my phone up to my face to unlock the screen. He scrolled for a second, pressed some buttons, then held the phone to my ear. My father’s voice was faint. “Hello.”
Goddammit.
“Hi, Dad, it’s me. You’re gonna have to speak up. I can’t hear you.”
“Jeremiah? Can you hear me now?”
It sounded like he was yelling but I could still barely hear him. “Yeah, now I can. It’s pretty loud here.”
“I’ve been watching the news,” he said. “Wondered how you were getting on.”
“All good at the moment. The frontal wall is just on us now. Things are gonna get busy for a while.”
He was quiet for a second. “Right, yes. I suppose they will.”
Then I was quiet, because I had no clue what to say. We were never good with talking. “Okay, Dad. I have to go.”
Another beat of silence. “Well, thanks for calling. I would have been worried.”
Would have?
It sounded like he was already, but maybe not.
“I’ll call you when I can. They’re saying we might lose the phone towers and power, so don’t worry too much if I can’t reach you.”
