Great. I’d slept most of the day. Thankfully, after my very long and exhausting shift at the hospital, I had been able to run by our small grocery store to grab some necessities for tonight. You know—more wine, chocolate chips (in case a certain someone came over), non-perishable food, and two cases of bottled water. I’d be A-Okay if the power went out, and by the sound of the wind and rain slapping against my window, it would be out sooner rather than later.
I had welcomed my shift at the hospital with open arms. We were swamped, the ER taking the brunt with several men (and a few self-sufficient women) coming in with accidents from trying to prepare for the hurricane. I had to bounce back and forth between the floors, losing myself in bandaging wounds and performing tetanus shots, which thankfully helped steer my mind away from my earlier encounter with Luke.
He’d seemed so…off when he’d seen whatever was on his phone, and I couldn’t quite shake the rare and few between moments that my mind did drift to him. Like right now, staring out my bedroom window through the dreary darkness of my half-boarded up window. Luke was right; I sucked at boarding my windows.
I wondered what he was doing. No! Stop. I blew air out of my mouth and walked out of my bedroom, heading straight for the kitchen to whip something up for dinner before the power really did go out.
When I got to the sink, that was when I peeped through the tiny sliver of non-boarded window to see if I could spot any lights on in Luke’s house. It was a terrible habit, me spying on him, but it was the one guilty pleasure that I couldn’t quite give up…yet.
I couldn’t make out anything through the darkness, but I could glimpse a tiny glow of light through his window. It was boarded-up earlier, but somehow, it wasn’t boarded-up now. Whether that was from the wind knocking it down or the harsh rain, I wasn’t sure. Suddenly, I jumped back and squealed as the wooden plank swung slightly off my window. Jesus, the winds were picking up pace and they were doing it fast! I placed my hand on my chest to calm my erratic breathing, and then squinted my eyes back towards Luke’s window. Our eyes met instantly, like he was waiting for me. His body was illumined in the window with just the one dim light on in the background. He was wearing what looked like a black t-shirt, and if I tried hard enough, I could see his perfect green eyes, too. I reached my hand up and waved at him.
So, what? I was playing nice tonight. Whatever.
When his smiled lifted on one side, I couldn’t help but feel my mouth do the same and then, BAM!
The lights shuddered off. I jumped back and let out another shriek, my eyes searching the darkness for Luke, although I knew I wouldn’t be able to see him. It was pitch-black and the gusty rain didn’t help matters.
I thought about texting him, but the service was sure to be spotty from the weather, so I let out a frustrated sigh while fiddling with a granola bar in the dark of my kitchen. My bare feet pattered against my hardwood floor as I went into the living room to light some candles. I would just read a book; that would keep my mind off Luke and the increasingly loud, howling wind outside.
I shivered as I heard a tree branch whip against the side of my house. I held my breath for a moment, allowing myself to feel afraid for about three seconds, and then I grabbed the lighter off my coffee table and flicked it on, staring at the red and orange flame before my finger let off of the trigger.
My head lurched to my front door when I heard a terrible screeching noise. It sounded like a cat dying, getting louder with each howl of wind. I walked over to the front door, slowly, before I put my ear against the wooden panel, and then I shot back again, heart racing in my chest.
“Oh no!” I said, as my fingers reached my mouth.
I was pretty sure it was a cat and it really did sound like it was dying. Its cry resembled a meowing noise mixed with a high-pitched scream. Before I knew it, I was grabbing my grey cotton jacket off the coat rack and pulling the hood up over my head. I slipped on my pink rain boots and quickly grabbed the nearby flashlight, flipping it on.
When I opened the front door, a deep chill set throughout my bones. It was absolutely astounding how beautiful the weather had been just a day ago, and now it was a wicked hurricane, destroying everything in its wake.
The shrieking noise had stopped for a moment, so I paused at the threshold of my ho
use, about to retreat back inside from the awfulness of the storm, when it started up again. The noise was coming from the in-between part of Luke’s and my identical front porches.
My heart was beating ferociously in my chest as I crept down the front steps, making sure that my front door was closed and secure.
The rain that found my bare shoulders even through my cotton jacket was bitterly cold. I had been out in the storm for maybe five seconds, and I was already soaked from head to toe. I realized pretty quickly that I hadn’t really thought this plan through. I was only wearing a pair of cotton pajama pants tucked into my rain boots, and a tank top underneath my jacket. That was all I had to protect myself from this storm, but the poor cat had nothing to protect it, so I continued on my mission.
My boots squished in the rain-soaked grass. I wiped away the rain coating my face and let my eyes adjust to the beam of light from my flashlight. I was getting close to the cat by the way its piercing meows had grown louder. The closer I got to the sound, the closer I got to Luke’s porch.
How is he not hearing this poor animal?
I heard one last cry from the cat and finally spotted its soaked black and grey fur. It was stuck! My heart dropped when I saw the tree branch lying on its long, tangled tail. Its glowing, green eyes found mine, and then it meowed even louder. As if it were asking me for help.
Or telling me to go away. One or the other.
“You poor thing!” I whispered, tasting the chilly rain that dripped into my mouth.
I walked over to it quickly, placing my flashlight on the muddy ground, and put my hands on the branch to lift it up. Just as I grasped it, a huge branch suddenly came swinging down, missing my head by a hair.
“Argh! Shit!” I yelled, falling back onto my hands. The freezing mud coated my palms, but I leaned forward again, getting on my knees to move both branches. I reached for my flashlight to see better, but it had disappeared somewhere in the muddy mess.
“CAMMIE! What the hell!” A loud voice boomed through the hurricane winds.
I looked up from the ground to find a dark figure looming on the nearby porch.
“There’s a cat!” I yelled, digging my fingers into the bark of the branch.
“Get up here!” Luke yelled back down to me, but I ignored him.