You’re being irrational, Sawyer. It’s just a little storm. You’re an adult. You can deal with this. You’ve dealt with so much more.

I thought once I’d gotten inside I’d feel better, but as the sky darkened and I felt the rumbling of thunder beneath my feet, I found myself rocking back and forth on my bed.

It didn’t matter how many times I assured myself that it was just a little storm. That it couldn’t hurt me.

It made no difference.

I’d run away from a life I hated and stupidly thought that because I’d been so brave in that aspect that a little thunder wouldn’t have the same effect on me it once did.

However, with each clap of thunder or bolt of lightning, I was learning how ridiculous and how wrong I’d been.

I curled myself into a smaller and smaller ball, hoping I would just disappear until the storm passed.

My mom used to come to my room and sing to me during a storm to ease me back to sleep. But that was only after he’d disciplined her for one reason or another. Each roll of thunder was a flying angry fist.

I tried to imagine her words. Her arms around me. To find comfort in her even though she wasn’t there.

It was no use.

Heavy rain pounded against the thin walls of my little refuge. High winds angrily pelted mud and debris against the window, shaking it loose. I found myself counting the seconds under my breath until I was sure the window would eventually break.

I pulled my worn knit blanket over my head, willing away the weather that had my heart beating like an airplane propeller getting ready for takeoff and my breathing reduced to quick shallow pants. I felt dizzy. Stars danced in front of my eyes. A strong clap of thunder rolled through, slowly at first, shaking the ground like a warning of things to come. A roar of wind slammed into the camper so hard I felt like I was turning.

It wasn’t just me.

It was the entire camper turning.

Slowly at first and then faster.

My heart raced faster and faster under the sound of crunching metal.

I held onto the wall and screamed just as the wall fell and met the ground.

Then everything went black.

Finn

I used to find the rain comforting.

What wasn’t comforting was watching Sawyer run through it as it started to pour down from the sky.

Not just because she looked like she was about to melt as the first drop hit her head or because she was running like she was escaping a pack of zombies, but because she’d left dressed in an uglier than hell long skirt and straight plain shirt and came back wearing something completely different.

Something that showed off every single bit of what she’d been hiding under all that fabric. A tight black wife-beater style tank top showed off her spectacular perky and rounded tits—the ones that I’d been shocked to see were bigger than I’d guessed when I saw her in the shower—bouncing with each of her hurried steps. Short dark denim shorts revealed surprisingly toned calves and strong thighs leading up to a high and round ass that most women would get on their knees and pray every night to possess. To top it all off?

Sexy as sin boots to the middle of her calf.

Yeah, I was uncomfortable all right. Probably because I kept imagining those boots around my shoulders while I worshipped her pussy with my tongue and fingers.

Fuck. I needed a damned drink.

I’d just grabbed the neck of the bottle when I heard a noise in the distance.

I thought I was imagining things or that it was the wind howling. I stilled my own breathing long enough so I could hear it again.

There it was again and this time there was no mistaking it for the screaming wind.

It was an actual scream.

I ran to the door and ripped it open. A bolt of lightning hit a palm tree nearby, splitting the top of it down the middle like a broccoli spear. A gust of wind lifted the camper a few inches from the ground and tossed it onto its side.

The screaming stopped.

I pushed my way through the wall of pounding rain and wind, ducking under flying mud and debris. The window of the camper was underneath it now and the door on top. I climbed up using the water tank as footing. “Sawyer!” I yelled.

No answer.

“Fuck,” I cursed at the locked door.

I shuffled back a little and with one forceful kick, I managed to break the window of the door free from its frame. I made myself as small as I could and lowered myself down inside. Sawyer was nowhere to be seen. Debris was tossed all around the inside since the floor was now a wall. The mattress from the bed was leaning against the wall.

I stepped over the cabinets and flipped the mattress up. Sure enough, there she was, unconscious. A trickle of blood staining her hairline on the right side of her forehead. I knew I shouldn’t move her but if another gust of wind came through she could be tossed around again and risk even further injury. The only problem was I couldn’t lift her out of the camper. The window was too small for us to both fit through at the same time. The wind whistled outside and reminded me that I had to try.

I bent over and lifted her as gently as I could. Her limbs were limp, flapping over my arms. I did my best to support her neck as I climbed over the cabinets, adjusting her so I could unlock and push open the camper door above us. The rain soaked us through in seconds. I climbed out on my ass and swung my legs over to the side, dropping us down. I fell to my knees in order to take the severity of the impact, suddenly grateful for the soft wet mud.

It felt like a fucking eternity to get her into the house but once inside I jogged to my bedroom and set her down on my bed as gingerly as I could. “Sawyer,” I said roughly, leaning above her. “Sawyer!”

Sawyer moaned softly and stirred, but didn’t regain consciousness. Streams of pink tinted water dripped down her face. “Shit,” I cursed, trying to remember where the fuck I’d put my phone. I ran to the kitchen and opened drawer after drawer, emptying them of the contents and tossing them to the floor until I found my phone in the very last one. I powered it on and thankfully the screen came to life.

I pushed the emergency button and within seconds a familiar voice answered the phone. “Outskirts 911,” Miller said. “What’s your emergency.”

“Miller, it’s Finn.” I could feel his surprise on the other end of the line.

“Finn, what are you…what the fuck is going on?”

I walked back over to Sawyer who hadn’t so much as budged. I knelt down next to her and had no choice but to say my least favorite words in the English language. I tugged at my hair and lowered my voice. “I need your help.”