Page 81 of Lucy Loves Him Not
“I know there’s nothing we can do, and I don’t want to intrude on your family time with this bummer news,” he said, then hesitated for a moment before continuing, “but you’re also the only person I wanted to talk to.”
Despite the bad news, I was grinning into the phone. “You can always call me.”
“That’s good because if right now is any indication, it seems your voice is one of the only things that can calm me down,” hesaid. He let out a long exhale. “The storm isn’t stopping anytime soon. Did you see those weather reports?”
I winced. “I did. It’s supposed to rain for days.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it rains all through the festival.”
My phone beeped with an alert. I pulled my phone away from my face to peek at the message.
ATTN: A tornado warning for Sweet River and surrounding cities.
I could barely breathe, fear tightening itself around my chest as I read each word. “A tornado,” I gasped.
“Lucy, did you see that alert?” Olivia shouted from the living room.
“What alert?” My mom’s panic was loud enough to carry into the back room. Their voices trailed off. All I cared about was Adam.
“Adam.” I put the phone back to my ear. “Did you get that alert?”
“I did,” he said.
“You’re not safe in your office. Promise me you will hang up with me and find shelter.” My heartbeat was pounding through my fingertips as I gripped my phone.
I knew he needed to hang up, but I desperately wanted to stay connected to him.
“I promise,” he said. Voices entered his office, panicked chatter filling the call. “Hold on, guys. Lucy? I’ve got to let you go.”
“Call me when you can.” As I said it, I could hear the tornado sirens ring in the background. I held my phone to my chest and let my prayers be a shelter around Adam I wished I could be.
The weight of my worry for Adam revealed, like a crater leaving its mark, how strong my feelings were for him. He wasn’t just a flash in my sky, he had crash landed into my world.
Hail drummed against the roof as messages from family and friends slowly trickled in. The tornado touched ground in Sweet River, but only on the backroads, breaking apart before it hit the inner city. Everyone seemed to be safe. Homes remained intact.We’re okay!andThe tornado has passed!the text messages said.
The storm still left an impact, though. The wind tore apart trees, with large branches landing on cars and leaving ruin in their wake. Things were sent flying. Hail left its icy mark.
We were discussing the updates when a text from Adam finally came through. My whole body relaxed like a balled fist unfurling when I read that he was safe. He’d taken cover with his coworkers on the ground floor of City Hall. He was no stranger to tornadoes growing up in Tulsa.
Adam
I like you checking up on me. I’m going out with the team to assess the damage done to the festival grounds. I’ll call you after.
My mom and sisters were exhaling in relief, the mood lifting along with the rain. But I couldn’t join in, it felt like part of me was here with my family while the other part was back in Sweet River.
“You’re worried, Luce?” Olivia asked, her eyes searching. “About the festival?”
“About Adam. He’s alone. He was sheltering from the tornado and is now dealing with the aftermath. He’s barely had time to take a breath. I want to be there for him. Make sure heeats….” My voice was shaky. I swallowed back the knot of tears. I didn’t want to show how badly it felt like I needed tobe therefor Adam. It felt wrong for him to deal with everything alone when I could so easily cross the miles between us.
“I was thinking about him, too,” Mom said. “I need to bring that boy some dinner.”
My phone rang. I immediately answered the call. “Adam?”
“Hey, I’m out here and, man, the wind and hail damage…it’s bad.” His voice sounded worn down. “We can fix it, but we’re going to have to work nonstop for the next couple days. We’re calling in the reserves, but so many people are off for the Fourth.” We’d anticipated our festival being the weekend after the Fourth would be hectic for scheduling, that was why we had done a lot of work ahead of the holiday.
“So much of our prep work has been compromised.” I rubbed my finger in a circle on my forehead.
“Yeah. It’s raining on me even now.” I could imagine a worried Adam standing out there in the rain.
