Chapter 21
Nolan drove well below the speed limit, leaning over the steering wheel and attempting to see beyond the curtain of rain. The windshield wipers were no match for the intensity of the storm, and it wasn’t even the worst of it yet.
He needed to get to Milo and get them both safely home before the eye of the storm made landfall. The truck swayed at a powerful gust of wind, and Nolan tightened his hands on the steering wheel. There was no way in hell he was going to bang up Isla’s grandma’s truck.
The tree branches flopped back and forth as the wind gusts picked up even more speed. He didn’t even want to think about how Milo was putt-putting along the flooded streets on a raft. He’d be lucky not to get blown out to sea.
He had faith in Milo, though. The guy was a jokester, but he was far from stupid. He had more common sense than most and had lived in this town his entire life. He knew water safety, they’d been through bad storms before, and he would make it to their meeting point in one solid piece. If not, Harper would find his dead body and kill him over again, and Nolan wouldn’t blame her.
What made him think he could ride the storm out, especially when their house was in the evacuation zone. The weatherman had predicted unprecedented flooding, and with their house right across the street from the water, there was no way around it.
Once Nolan got Milo safely in the truck, he’d give Milo hell for interrupting him and Isla, but he had to get to Milo first.
A lawn chair flew out in front of the truck, and Nolan slammed on the brakes. His heart thudded in his chest as he took a minute to regain his breath. His phone beeped, and he glanced down to see a tornado warning pop up on the screen.
“Great, just great.”
He put his foot on the gas and kept his eyes on the road in front of him. Dark, menacing clouds slashed through bright spots in the sky and the rain came down harder. A sheet of water lay in front of him, pounding the truck with unyielding persistence.
The truck swerved with another gust of wind, and he white knuckled the steering wheel to keep the truck from going off the road. Pieces of tree scattered across the road and Nolan slowed the truck down to avoid any big limbs. Getting stuck wouldn’t do him or Milo any good.
Water ran down the sides of the street and started to pool in the actual road the closer he got to where he had to meet Milo. He was more than grateful that he was smart enough to take the truck and not his car. His car wouldn’t have gotten this far.
Main Street was eerily dark with no signs of life. It was a complete one-eighty from just yesterday when the street was booming with people enjoying their summer. Nolan continued to drive into the darkness, noting all the lights were off. The power must’ve gone out. He hoped that the power was still holding strong at his place. Isla had been scared, which is why she made the trek across their yards to his place. He’d left her alone, and guilt tugged at his gut.
He knew she would be okay, but he still wished he was there to comfort her. “Just hold out until I get back,” he said out loud, hoping the universe would hear his request and grant it.
He turned toward Grove, but a massive tree filled the road, making it impossible to pass. “Shit.” He threw the truck in reverse. He was going to have to come up on the other side.
Heading back to Main Street, he checked his rearview mirror and watched as a fence lost its battle with the wind and splintered.
With his attention back on the road in front of him, he made his way to the opposite end of Grove, and turned down the street. He couldn’t see more than a foot in front of him, so he leaned closer to the windshield and squinted as he pushed through the sheets of rain pouring down in a steady stream.
The closer he got to his destination, the more water filled the street. This area was on higher ground, so Nolan knew if it was flooded here, the bay was at Milo’s front door.
His eye caught on a figure, and he sighed a breath of relief when he could make out Milo’s dopey-ass grin. Only he’d be smiling in a time like this.
Nolan shook his head and moved closer to Milo when a loud crack echoed through the night, and Milo disappeared.
***
Isla paced Nolan’s kitchen, cellphone in hand, hoping for a text or some indication that he had found Milo and they were both okay. Her heart rate had been running a marathon since Nolan had walked out the door and into the storm.
The lights flickered for the nine hundredth time and Isla prayed they wouldn’t go out until Nolan was back. She wasn’t exactly a fan of the dark, not that she was sure many people were. Creepy things happened in the dark, and it was the perfect setting for a slasher movie. She didn’t want to take part in any slasher movies tonight, thank you very much. She just wanted to keep it together long enough for Nolan to walk through that door and say he was okay.
Her phone rang, and she fumbled with it, answering it without even looking. “Nolan?”
“I’m guessing you haven’t heard from them either,” Harper said.
“No. Not a word.”
“The last I talked to Milo, he was getting on the raft and heading out. That was an hour ago. I swear I’m going to kill the bastard as soon as I see him. I told him not to stay at the damn house, but no he had to be all, ‘How bad can it be? It’ll be fine. Go to your mom’s and have fun.’ Idiot. Now I’m trying not to freak out because I don’t want to scare Tom, but Isla, I’m freaking the fuck out.”
“Me too,” she said, not even bothering to act like she was okay.
“I guess no news is good news.”
“Except there’s a hurricane out there so news might be traveling slow and be on delay.”
“Isla!”
“Sorry.” She couldn’t help herself. Her mind had come up with a million scenarios, and each one was worse than the last.
“I’m half tempted to get in my Jeep and go look for him myself, but I can’t leave my mom and Tom.”
“They’ll be okay,” she said, trying to convince herself as well. “It’s Nolan and Milo. How many situations have they gotten themselves into over the years? They always come out on top. Look at Milo. He was hit by a drunk driver, held up at gunpoint. He’s like a cat.”
“He is the luckiest bastard I’ve ever met, but what if his luck runs out? What if tonight luck isn’t on his side?”
Isla could come up with a million theories to support Harper’s train of thought, but her friend didn’t need the voice of doom. She needed her friend who could give her hope.
“He’s too good of a person for it not to be. Both of them are. I’m sure my grandma is watching over them, and she’ll make sure they get home. Just as Milo promised her, he’d watch out for me, she’ll return the favor and watch out for him, too.”
“I think you’re right. They’ll be okay. But I swear if they’re not back in another hour…”
“You’re going to do nothing but sit by the phone and wait,” Isla said.
“Probably, though it’s tempting to go out there. I feel helpless being home.”
“Tom needs you. Go play a game with him, take your mind off of Milo.”
“I did promise him we could play Guess Who.”
“Go do that and tell him I said hi.”
“That alone will make his night.”
Isla smiled. “If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Ditto. Stay safe.”
“You too.”
Isla ended the call and placed the phone on the table. She looked around the kitchen, trying to find something that could occupy her mind. If she just stayed home, she could be going through more cabinets and closets, but she was here now.
There had to be something she could do. She moved from the counter and went to the living room. A loud crackling noise broke through the wind, and the house was consumed by the darkness.
Isla felt her way to the kitchen to grab a flashlight. She didn’t want to use her the one on her phone, afraid to waste the battery. Pain radiated up her shin as she walked right into a chair. She winced at the pain, but kept going until the flashlight was in her hand.
What the hell was she supposed to do now? Sit here and wait to hear from Nolan? Wait for him to show up? She told Harper to do just that, but Harper’s brain wasn’t having an all-out field day. The things that Isla was thinking were tearing at her gut and making her sick with fear.
What if Nolan was hurt? In a ditch on the side of the road with no one in sight to help? What if he was trying to call for help, but his phone wasn’t working? What if a tree crashed through the windshield of the truck and impaled him… Oh God, why the hell did she even think that? She mentally slapped herself. Not that it stopped the thoughts from forming. It was more like lifting a latch as one horrible thought after another filled her mind.
She’d be an idiot to go out there, especially since she had no idea where Nolan was at this moment. She knew where he was meeting milo, but what if they weren’t there anymore? She couldn’t just drive up and down the streets…
She peered out the window; the tops of the trees bent toward the ground, the power lines swung haphazardly, and one at the far left of the property had snapped away from the rest and flailed in the wind.
Could that electrocute her? Not like she was going to go out there and touch a live wire. But what if it touched the ground? It couldn’t hurt her from all the way over there, could it?
What if Nolan and Milo were trapped behind power lines? Not like she could save them if they were, but maybe she could go for help. She picked up her keys.
“Don’t be stupid.” The words came from her mouth, but it was as if they came out on their own accord. She was right, though. Going out there was dangerous and stupid. She put the keys down and found her way to the couch.
She sent up a silent prayer and did the only thing she could do.
She waited.