My life has become a storm of sorts, and while that particular storm isn’t calm at all, it is something I can handle. All of it. Liam, the Mutineers, a job… I will find a way to get by.
There was one other storm that played a major role in my life.
I’m twelve. My mom and I are home alone. Well, there are maids here, but my father is at work.
Only my mom gets a phone call. My father never came in.
A storm starts with a roll of thunder. My mom starts to call people to ask them to drive along my father’s route to see if something happened. In between, she’s trying to call my father, but he never answers.
My mom doesn’t realize it. She told me to go up to my room, but I slip to the garage and take out my red bike. I almost start to ride off without my helmet, but I go back for it. Itisraining, after all. The chances I’ll fall are too high.
So I ride and ride and ride, pedaling as fast as I can. I’m not sure where my father works. He never talks about his work at home, but I go up and down the streets, calling for him.
There are hardly any cars on the road because of the rain. The more I pedal, the more worried I should become, but the rain just keeps on pounding me, and I feel so very light. I can’t explain it, but the rain makes me feel like I can accomplish anything.
I make a right turn, and that’s when I see a ditch. And a car in it. There are two people inside. The driver.
And my dad.
I ride all the way over, and I open the back door. Both men are unconscious, and I grab my father’s phone out of his pocket. I unlock it after putting in his number code. I’m not supposed to know it, but I watched my father enough that I picked it up. For whatever reason, my father never uses the facial recognition software.
“Hi, I’m calling for an ambulance,” I say. “I need you to come straight away.”
My father and the driver both end up being all right. My mom never explained to me how they both ended up unconscious, but my father had been so very happy for my bravery and my help that he told me I could have anything I wanted.
I told him I didn’t need anything, that I was just happy he was all right.
I should’ve asked for a horse.
As the rain continues to pour on me, I realize this is the first time it’s rained since I’ve come to California. I need the rain. It settles me.
Whether or not I get the job, I’ll be fine.
Whether or not the boys stop their bullying, I’ll be fine.
Whether or not life continues to throw me lemons, I’ll be fine.
I can handle anything and everything.
I am Erika Slade after all.