Zac fidgeted on the couch in the basement and put his arm around Lizzie. She had just moved to Oklahoma and she wasn't used to storms like he was. "I don't like this at all." He frowned and stared at the steps, hoping to see Carter and Taylor coming down to join them. He wasn't worried about Taylor, but Carter was terrified of thunderstorms and tornadoes and the siren hadn't stopped yet.
"Do we know where Mom and Dad are?" Isaac asked Zac from his spot on the floor in front of the couch.
"They went out with my dad." Melissa was walking around the basement, gathering flashlights. The power had gone out a few minutes earlier.
"Where the hell is she?!" Zac stood up, causing Lizzie to fall over. "Sorry." He muttered, staring at the basement door. "They should have come over here by now."
"I'm sure they're just in the basement next door." Tanis shrugged. "They're fine, Zac."
"You know, Carter. She runs to the basement at the first thought of a tornado. She probably just doesn't want to come out." Isaac added, trying to hide the fact that he was worried, too. He knew just as well as everybody else that the crash they heard came from Carter's bedroom.
"She's probably scared out of her mind." Zac sighed and sat back down on the couch. He almost jumped up again when he heard the shrill sound of the siren disappear. "It's over."
Everybody in the room looked around at eachother for a few seconds until Zac jumped up and ran up the stairs. Lizzie sighed and looked over at Tanis. "Are Zac and Carter still..."
Tanis shook her head.
"Oh."
Zac ran outside and into Carter's house as fast as he could. He tore through her house and into her basement. His heart fell when he saw that she and Taylor weren't there. He took a moment to catch his breath before running back up the two flights of stairs to Carter's bedroom. Her door was closed and he pushed it opened without knocking.
"HEY!" He shouted when the door only opened an inch. He tried peaking inside but all he could see was the branches of a tree blocking his way.
"Zac!" Taylor ran to the door and got as close as he could with the tree in the way. "We can't get out. A tree went through the window." He bit his lip, looking at the large gaping hole in the side of Carter's bedroom. Not only had the tree gone through the wall, but it had taken half of the wall with it.
"Is Carter ok?!" Zac asked, looking past Taylor, trying to see where Carter was.
Taylor rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm great Zac. Thanks for caring."
"I'm serious! Where is she? Is she ok?!"
"She's scared shitless. What do you think."
"Where is she though?"
"She's on her bed. She's fine."
"Make her come over here! I want to talk to her."
"No."
"What?"
"I said no. It's not the right time. Go get Isaac. Tell him what happened and get him up here."
"LET ME HELP!" Zac kicked the door, half hoping it would open.
"God dammit, Zac! Go downstairs, get Isaac and Meli, and make sure Tanis and Lizzie go home!"
"WHY?! WHAT'S WRONG?! She's hurt, isn't she?!"
"Just go!"
Taylor slammed the door shut and kicked past a few branches before making his way back to Carter. She was sitting on her bed with tear stained cheeks. When he came over, she slid down onto the floor and wiped her eyes. She had several scratches on her left arm and a few on her face but Taylor had been hurt worse.
He sat down on the floor next to Carter and she put her hand on his arm which was wrapped in part a piece of cloth. After he had made sure she was ok he noticed that his own arm was bleeding. Carter grabbed her bedsheet, ripped a corner of his arm off and wrapped his arm with it. Then, she grabbed her mattress, shoved Taylor to the corner of the room and covered them both with it. She had forgotten for those few short moments that she was terried of dying.
"Are you ok?" She asked, still shaking a little.
"Yeah."
"Zac sounded mad."
"He was just worried. I didn't want him to know how bad the damage in here is because then he would have worried more."
"I don't know what to say to him." She sighed and shook her head, not wanting to think about that situation. "What the hell are we going to do?"
Taylor looked over at the door. "I'm thinking we'll have to take the door off of the hinges."
"We do that way too much around here." She laughed lightly before running her hand along his arm again. She didn't notice him shiver. "Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yeah, it's not that bad. It could have been worse."
"Thanks for not laughing at me." She shook her head. "I just got really scared after we ducked behind the mattress... I didn't want to cry."
Taylor laughed. "Have I ever laughed at you for crying before?"
She thought about that. "No... " Carter was going to say something else, but before she got the chance, her bedroom door opened an inch or two and Zac started to pound.
"CARTER!"
Carter sighed and stood up. She walked over to the door and peeked through. "Can you guys get us out?" She asked softly, as calmly as she could.
"Are you ok?!" Zac asked. "I'm sorry I wasn't up here with you..."
"My bedroom has seen better days."
Melissa's voice came from somewhere on the other side of the door. "What happened?"
"Well, your bed... is hanging out of the side of the house..."
"WHAT?!" Isaac, Melissa, and Zac all shouted in unison.
"The tree took out the wall."
"Oh my god. Are you guys ok?" Isaac asked, while beginning to unhinge the door.
"We've already established that." Taylor spoke up. He walked over to Carter put his arm around her shoulders.
"Stop answering for her, Tay! She's not your fucking girlfriend!" Zac shouted angrily.
"SHE'S NOT YOURS EITHER!"
"STOP!" Carter screamed before picking up a piece of the wall and throwing it at the door. Zac, Melissa, and Isaac all jumped back. "DAMMIT! JUST KNOCK IT OFF! It's bad enough breaking up with Zac and getting over that. But when I have to do that AND deal with you two fighting about it, I just can't... I JUST CAN'T!" She stomped her foot on the ground.
Taylor looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry." He whispered, feeling horrible. "I'm sorry."
Carter nodded and ran her hand across his cheek. His face and hair were still wet from the rain. She gave him a quick smile. Then, she leaned against the wall so that she could see Zac through the crack in the door. "Zac, I'm fine. Tornadoes just suck." She gave him a big smile.
"I'm sorry about everything. I still love you and I always will... I just..."
She nodded. "I know." There was nothing else she could say. There was nothing else she needed to say. She knew he still loved her and that she still loved him. She also knew that their romance was over, but their friendship would never end. "Can you get us out of here?" She asked.
Zac nodded and glanced at Isaac. "Monkey's got a wrench."
"Shut up." Isaac laughed before taking the final hinge off of the door. He pulled it away and saw the damage for the first time. "Ok... we'll let your dad deal with that. Can you guys climb over the tree?"
"Yeah." Taylor nodded. "Carter, you go first."
Carter nodded and gave him one last smile before carefully climbing over the tree. She stepped into the hallway and practically fell into Zac's arms. She gave him a hug and reassured him she was ok before turning to Taylor and waiting for him to climb out of the room.
When he stepped into the hallway he stood still for a while, staring at Carter. Then, she took a deep breath before giving him a huge hug. He whispered something into her ear, barely soft enough for her to hear. Then, he wiped the last of the rain off of her cheeks before they all went downstairs to find their parents.