by Angela Blake
“Have you ever been in a storm like this before?” Ashlyn whispered to Brandon.
Brandon nodded. “Yes, plenty of times.” Ashlyn was surprised. Brandon didn’t seem like some farmer who frequently weathered hurricanes.
Brandon gave a little laugh. “My family was big for vacations when I was little. We went a little bit of everywhere, as long as everywhere was in the United States. We didn’t have a regular vacation, like always going to the beach, and my parents wouldn’t tell us where we were going until we were on the road. When my brother and I got older, though, we started to learn something about snooping.”
Ashlyn smiled.
“So, I guess you could say that my family was never one to let weather deter it. We had to go the first week of September if my dad was going to get off work, so we always went somewhere that week, rain or shine. I have been through two hurricanes before.”
“Did you ever get hurt?”
Brandon shook his head. “Nope, we just went into the hotel’s lobby or the campground’s group bathroom and weathered it out.”
Ashlyn laughed. “You had to hang out in the group bathroom?”
Brandon nodded. “Yeah, and I didn’t think it was so funny at the time. I was seven years old that time, and because the men’s and women’s bathrooms were separate, I couldn’t go in with my mom. She would have held me and been comforting. My dad just sat on the toilet, reading his magazine. I was quietly crying in the corner, because my brother was young enough to go with my mom, and I wasn’t.”
This time, Ashlyn’s gales of laughter really sounded. Everyone gave her either a disturbed or an annoyed look. Ashlyn turned back to Brandon with amused eyes. “I should have known that you had a fun childhood. You seem like the kind of guy who has weathered a few storms.”
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.
&n
bsp; 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.
Chapter Four
Ashlyn let the small towel fall to the floor, and she saw that Brandon was on the ground. His back was up, but little pieces of glass sprinkled his T-shirt.
“Brandon, Brandon, are you okay?” Ashlyn wanted to kneel, but the glass on the floor warned her against it. Brandon slowly began moving, and Ashlyn felt a pounding in her head as the blood started thumping and finding its passageway free again. Ashlyn reached for the cloth on the floor, but Brandon grabbed her hand instead.
“Don’t,” he said. “It may have glass on it.”
“Okay,” Ashlyn said, nodding as though she wasn’t scared. But with the amount of blood leaking from her body and the tiny pricks she felt on the rest of her, she knew that she was not in a good situation. “We have to get somewhere and get this glass out.”
“There won’t be room in the bathroom,” Brandon decided. They both took very careful steps. Ashlyn followed Brandon as he led her to her room. “Lay down on your bed here.” Brandon bravely went to the window and made sure that the blinds and curtain were shut as securely as possible.
“Even if something happens,” Brandon said, “I don’t think the glass can make it through those small cracks.”
Ashlyn lay on her stomach, using a shirt from her suitcase to dab at the wound some more. “Let me get the glass off your back first,” Ashlyn said. “I think you got the worst of it.”
Brandon shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does,” Ashlyn insisted. “Remember how stubborn I can be? Just lay down on your stomach and let me do it.”
Brandon finally agreed, and Ashlyn realized that the only reason for such quick compliance must be that he was in real pain. He lay down gingerly, and Ashlyn dragged the trash can over. There were only a few big pieces clinging to Brandon. Only one of those big pieces had made a cut on his lower back.
Brandon grunted as Ashlyn pulled the piece out. “Are you okay?” Ashlyn asked, wondering if she needed to stop.
“Just keep going,” Brandon replied through gritted teeth. Maybe he didn’t like to show that he was in pain, though he had been authentic with her about everything else so far. Ashlyn blinked and studied the back of his shirt carefully, picking out the most miniscule pieces. She then started on the backs of his arms. There were a few pieces that had cut through the skin. They left little blobs of blood that had already started drying. The other pieces were merely on his skin.
“Maybe you should take off your shirt,” Ashlyn suggested. “I don’t know if there are any more pieces. I can at least shake it over the trash can.”
“Okay, that sounds like a good plan. If you have any tape, you might also be able to get any little pieces left on my arms.” Ashlyn dug around in her drawer, but she couldn’t find any tape.
“I don’t have any, sorry.” The wind was whistling hard outside the window, and Ashlyn kept glancing fearfully at it. After just seeing the back door explode, she couldn’t be cautious enough.
Brandon had taken his shirt off, and he was shaking it above the trashcan. A few pellets could be heard falling into the trashcan. “Let me check you out one more time,” Ashlyn said, looking at his back in a concerned manner. She giggled when she realized how her statement sounded.
“You can check me out as much as you want to,” Brandon said. He turned around and gave Ashlyn a sound kiss on the lips. He pulled back and looked concerned. “It’s still bleeding.” He grabbed up the shirt Ashlyn had been using for her forehead and gave it to Ashlyn. “Put it on your forehead. I need to check your back for glass.”
Ashlyn had felt a few prickles of glass on her skin, and she knew that there were a few pieces imbedded in her. She lay on her stomach and waited as Brandon began picking out pieces here and there. Ashlyn felt lulled by a sense of false security. Each time Brandon took a piece of glass out, it was like he was pinching her, and each time, it made Ashlyn feel more and more excited for the next place he would touch her.
Ashlyn’s breathing became heavier, and she felt her panties becoming warm. Who knew that picking shards of glass off of someone could be so exciting?
“Are you holding that cloth to your head?” Brandon asked like a supervisor whose employee was not doing her duty.
“Yes, Father,” Ashlyn replied sarcastically. “Anything you say.”
“Well, anything I say, huh?” Ashlyn could hear the smile in his voice. “I say you should probably take off your shirt to make sure there is no more glass.”
Ashlyn caught her breath. She had to make a decision. Either she didn’t follow what Brandon was saying, which would show him that she might not ever be interested in having him, or she could take off her shirt and risk starting something right there in the middle of the storm.
Ashlyn slowly sat up and turned to Brandon. “What are you trying to do?” she asked, her words sounded clumsy as she tried to keep her eyes focused on Brandon’s face.
Brandon smiled at her. “I’m just trying to be the best doctor I possibly can be.”
“Well, I guess doctor’s orders are doctor’s orders.” Ashlyn briefly stalled as she tried to remember what bra she had put on that morning. She certainly hadn’t been expecting anyone to see it. But it was her black one, and that one was okay for company. Ashlyn took off her shirt and held it out to Brandon.
“Go ahead. Shake it over the trash.”
Brandon took the shirt from her sl
owly, not taking his eyes off her for a moment. He shook her shirt over the trash then threw it across the room where it landed on top of the dresser. Ashlyn’s heart raced as she let her eyes trail down Brandon’s body. Her eyes traced his hairs that curled out across his chest, down his smooth stomach, and to the top of his shorts. He had a tan belt holding up his khaki shorts, and Ashlyn mentally undid the belt, her eyes dropping just a few centimeters lower to the bulge that Ashlyn knew was his erection. And she could tell that he was erect.
Ashlyn remembered what it felt like to touch him when they had been on the beach before. But if that hadn’t been the right time, surely right now wasn’t the right time either. What did she think she was doing? Ashlyn glanced at her shirt which was across the room. But she had plenty of other glass-free shirts. She should just change and get back to the bathroom. That would be the best decision for both of them.
“Look, it’s still not stopping,” Brandon said. He reached across, and Ashlyn lay back on the bed’s pillows. Brandon dabbed at her head wound, and Ashlyn winced. She liked seeing the concern in his expression. That concern was for her.
“Does it still hurt you?” Brandon asked.
Ashlyn nodded, even though it as more of an exaggeration than a truth.
“I’m sorry. I could see that you hit the counter hard, but I have never seen this much bleeding.”
“It’s a head wound. I’m supposed to stay still. The problem is that I keep moving round.”
“You’re supposed to stay still, but that doesn’t mean that I have to stay still,” Brandon smiled. He glanced down at her breasts, which were filling her bra. He continued looking at her for a few moments before he looked back up and into her eyes. “I’m sorry. I know that we talked before, and we. . .”
“We what?” Ashlyn asked slowly. “What did we decide?”
“Well, I was kind of under the impression that it would be better to wait and not just act on a whim but you know, decide if we were going to make a commitment to each other.”
Ashlyn took a deep breath as she tried to steady the rate of her heart. She didn’t understand why Brandon was bringing this back up. Was he not tempted by her as they sat on her bed and she was shirtless? If he wasn’t tempted by that, then maybe he just didn’t find her very attractive. The idea almost brought tears to Ashlyn’s eyes.
