Chapter Three
The group was in the bathroom for two hours before they started getting bored. The room was shaking more than ever, but Ashlyn was beginning to wonder if the storm was really as dangerous as Brandon had been saying. After all, this was his third storm, and nothing had ever happened to him.
“I don’t think I can stay in here any longer without some food,” Katy announced. “I am willing to risk myself if it means we have something to eat.”
No one protested. They just began shouting their orders.
“Chips!”
“There are grapes in the bottom drawer of the fridge!”
“Bring some spoons. I think there is ice cream.”
Katy nodded, leaving her blanket in a pile on the floor and pretending that she was listening to what everyone said. She looked around, and her eyes caught on Ashlyn. “Why don’t you come with me? You know, safety in numbers?”
Ashlyn had been thinking about volunteering for the mission anyway, so she was glad when Katy suggested the idea. Ashlyn extricated herself from Brandon’s arm and stood. “Good idea. With as much stuff as everyone is ordering, you’ll need an extra person anyway.” Standing felt good, and Ashlyn bent her knees one or two times to stretch them.
Brandon stood up next. “No, Ashlyn, you can’t go.”
Ashlyn gave Brandon an irritated look. She was her own woman, and she wasn’t used to taking orders from anyone. “I’ll be fine.”
She really didn’t want to have a spat in front of everyone. She could feel them watching her. She knew that any kind of drama between herself and Brandon would prove to be some sick sitcom for everyone else to enjoy.
Brandon gave her a stern look and took her arm gently. “I don’t want you to put yourself in danger.”
The house seemed to sway, and everyone froze or grabbed onto something. Ashlyn wondered if the stilts on which the house was standing would continue holding them. But, in her mind, if the stilts gave way, everyone in the bathroom would get just as hurt as she would in the kitchen.
“Thank you, Brandon, but we’ll be back in, like, five minutes. Seriously, it won’t take long.
Brandon finally let go of Ashlyn’s arm, and she fought with the bathroom door. The wind in the house was pressing up against the door, and it took the strength of both Ashlyn and Katy to force it open.
“Good gracious!” Katy said. “Who knew that a door could be that strong?”
The two girls take careful steps through the house. There was an occasional shudder of the floorboards, and the wind sounded terrible.
“Who knew wind could blow that hard?” Ashlyn asked as she tried to take a look out the windows. They were covered, and she knew enough to not get too close. If Brandon knew, he would kill her. “I bet it’s like 40 mph or something crazy like that.”
“It’s strong enough to do some damage,” Katy said. Her face was worried. “I’ve seen the news. I know what hurricanes can do. I’m really worried that we won’t make it out of this one.”
“You didn’t seem so worried back there,” Ashlyn pointed out.
Katy shrugged. “I eat when I’m upset. I knew if I didn’t get a bag of chips in my hand that I was going to go crazy.”
The house shuddered, and Ashlyn reached her hand out to steady herself on the kitchen counter. She misjudged the distance as the house shook again, and her hand kept falling and falling. It seemed surreal as her hand smacked into the ground. Ashlyn closed her eyes as she waited for the impact.
Something sharp pierced her forehead before her body hit the ground hard. She lay there, feeling a sharp pain over her eyes and wincing as she tried to keep from feeling dizzy. She felt Katy bending over her.
“Oh, Ashlyn!” was all Katy said. “I need to get you some help.” Ashlyn’s stomach seized up. How bad was it? She opened her eyes but immediately shut them afterward. A curtain of blood was falling into her eyes, and Ashlyn started to feel dizzy.
“Don’t leave me, Katy,” Ashlyn pleaded faintly. Katy came back quickly, too quickly, with Brandon. How were they moving so quickly?
“Brandon was already coming,” Katy said, sitting beside Ashlyn again. “Can you hear me?”
Ashlyn tried nodding, but the dizziness almost knocked her out, and Ashlyn suddenly knew that she needed to stay awake. “Yes,” she barked out like a hoarse seal.
“Ashlyn,” Brandon said. She could hear the concern in his voice, and she wanted to open her eyes again. But she was too afraid of the curtain of blood that she would see falling down.
“Okay,” Ashlyn replied, not quite understanding what was going on around her.
“What happened, Ashlyn?” Brandon asked. When she didn’t respond fast enough, he turned to Katy. “What happened, Katy?”
“She just fell,” Katy explained. “The house was shaking. I think she. . .” Katy let out a shriek. “I think she hit her head there.”
“I can see the skin,” Brandon replied. That made Ashlyn start to panic. She reached her hand up to feel for her forehead. Did she even still have a forehead? Her fingers only touched warm liquid, which she knew was blood.
“Brandon, help me,” Ashlyn said, pulling her hands back. She automatically tried to open her eyes, but she couldn’t see anything. She swiped at her eyes to clear them, but it only succeeded in making her hand just as wet as her forehead.
“Katy, is there a towel or something we can use?” Brandon asked.
Ashlyn felt a cold swipe of air pass over her head and the sound of the towel landing in Brandon’s hands. The towel was instantly pressed up against her forehead. Ashlyn felt the tiny little rough ends of each towel fiber, and she squeezed her hands into fists as Brandon dabbed.
“Can you get me another one?” Brandon asked. “I need to stop the bleeding enough that she can move.”
Katy threw another towel over. Brandon commanded Katy to hold the towel in place on Ashlyn’s forehead as Brandon methodically cleaned each of Ashlyn’s hands and her face. Ashlyn’s skin felt sticky, and she knew that some of the blood was already drying.
“Ashlyn, how do you feel?” Brandon asked.
“I’m okay,” Ashlyn said, feeling as if she were telling the biggest lie of her life.
Brandon nodded to Katy. “I think we’re fine. Why don’t you go ahead and get back to the bathroom? I’m going to see if there is space in the coat closet for her to lay down.” The coat closet was one of those under-the-stairs types, and it stretched out far and low.
Katy grabbed up a few essential food items and scurried back to the bathroom.
“Ashlyn, I want you to try sitting up,” Brandon said. Ashlyn squeezed her teeth together and sat up. Brandon was still pressing the towel against her head. The blood flow was slower, and Ashlyn thought that it might have been stopped altogether. She took the towel with her own hand and sat for a few minutes.
She blinked her eyes open and took a deep breath.
“I’m okay,” she announced, finally believing it.
Brandon smiled. “I didn’t know you were so old that you needed a cane to walk around steadily. I thought we didn’t have to deal with falls until you were at least in your 70s.”
Ashlyn shook her head and gave Brandon an amused look. “You followed us out of the bathroom, didn’t you?”
Brandon shrugged. “Guilty. I couldn’t just let you come out here by yourself. I just had this bad feeling about it.”
“What?” Ashlyn asked. “You’re a psycho now.”
Brandon nodded. Then, he slowly leaned down and kissed her lips. Ashlyn leaned into his kiss then pulled back.
“Wasn’t there something said about a safe place? I’m pretty sure that this doesn’t count.”
“Yes, ma’am. Let’s get you to that safer place.”
Ashlyn stood and paused a moment so that her head would stop spinning. The wind outside sounded ferocious. They slowly made their way to the coat closet under the stairs. Brandon opened the door, and eight faces stared back at him like bats who were being disturbed from their sleep.
“I guess there isn’t room in here for two more?” Brandon asked.
The heads all shook in unison.
“Stay safe,” Brandon said, closing the door again. “I guess we can go back to the bathroom. Maybe if you curl your legs up and lay your head on my lap, there will be room. We can make it work.”
They took small, steady steps around the stairs to the bathroom. Just then, a mighty burst of wind assailed the house. The back door, which was made of glass, bowed in before finally bursting. Ashlyn threw her hands up to cover her face as little pieces of glass rained down around her. Now that the wind was free to tour the house, Ashlyn felt a chill sink in over her.
“Brandon,” she said, as soon as the glass had settled. “Brandon!” She didn’t hear an answer.