Page 16 of It's a Brewtiful Day
As much as I wanted to be close and see what it was like to be held by him, now was not the time. I needed to get home, desperately, and as fast as humanly possible. I was sure Cassie would understand me no-showing the volunteer event with this storm. She understood my fear, and was ready with a soft blanket, my noise-cancelling headphones, and a brightly lit room to wash out the flashes of lightning.
I just needed a few more minutes to go back to the bookstore, grab my bag with my phone, and head for the hills in the pouring rain. If I ran all the way home, it shouldn’t take more than ten minutes. Manageable. It was amazing how fast I could run if I was scared, and being out in this storm would be terrifying. I could likely sprint all the way. Unless … Maybe Elliot had a car and could drop me off?
I twisted away from him and paced to the back of the dining room, staying as far away from the window as I could. Nervously, I wrung my hands together, trying to encourage some warmth back into them.
“Are you bothered by the storm?”
A rumble of thunder shook the ground. The storm was rolling down over the mountain range. I crossed my fingers it would pass quickly and not stall over the town; it didn’t need to do that every time, did it?
“What? Me? No. I’m just cold from being wet. Has it been fifteen minutes yet?” My gaze jumped around the space looking for a clock. “I think it’s been fifteen minutes. I should go get my things.”
Where was the clock? Why didn’t the Coffee Loft have one in the customer area? That was just all sorts of crazy. There was no clockanywhere. Surely, fifteen minutes had passed. At least. Probably twenty. Yeah, it had been at least twenty.
“It’s been five.”
“Five? Really?” I pulled my head back in shock. Impossible. “Maybe that’s enough? Maybe I should go? Worst thing to happen is the alarm goes off, and my brother-in-law shows up. He knows I’m not a criminal.”
Sidestepping away from him, I moved toward my chair, spun, and paced back toward the front counter to grab my drink, unsure of the best place to be. I couldn’t make myself head to the door just yet.
He walked the length of the counter, clicking the last machine off. The display case darkened, and the house lights went to sleep. “Let me grab my things from the back, and I’ll walk you over. I get the sense you shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“What? No. I’m fine. I’m really fine. I just want to go home, is all. Simple really.” My gaze was as unsteady as my heart rate which was jumping like a kernel of popcorn in a hot air popper.
Elliot stood in front of me, shielding me from the window and door. “Are you just scared of the storms, or is it something more?”
“What? No. I’m not scared. Not at–” The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as if a general had entered the room.
Microseconds later, the place flashed in brightness and a loud crack exploded.
Once again, the lightning had come for me.
My hands covered my ears, and I screamed as the giant tree out in front of the store was blown apart. Massive branches and part of the trunk crashed to the ground, ripping the awning above the door, and effectively blocking our way out.
Chapter Four
“Get back.” Elliot pushed me behind the counter as another crack of thunder rumbled the ground. He ran to the door, but it wouldn’t budge. “No, no, no!” He shook it violently, but the door only cracked open an inch, and that was being generous.
Howling wind circulated and screamed through the tiny opening, keeping the hairs on the back of my neck fully erect. It was creepy and ominous and borderline frightening.
Elliot clicked the door back into place, twisting the lock to help seal it shut.
The rains pelted the window with enough intensity, that I worried they would break the glass. It had happened once at Pages & Dreams, not with rain but with hail. Was it hailing out? Based on the incessant tapping, it could be, but there was no way I was getting anywhere near enough to the window to check itout.
Elliot returned to me. He was jittery, but it could’ve been me as I couldn’t stop shaking. “It’s going to be fine, Sage. We’re going to be fine. I’ll just call the fire depart—”
He tipped his head like a dog does when it hears something unusual.
“Why’d you stop talking?” My wide-eyed jumpy focus bounced from him to over his shoulder to the nasty tree debris outside and back again.
“Do you hear that?”
Another heart-shattering crack of thunder rumbled through the air, piercing my sanity. The storm was directly overhead.
I nodded, crossing my legs, afraid I was going to pee my pants. “Yeah, I heard that.”
“Not that.” He twisted his head again and scanned the area. “We have no power. There’s no hum even.”
I swallowed, loud enough for Elliot to have heard over the thunderous rain. “No power? But we have phones, right? I mean, there has to be a landline or something. What about your cell?”