The Storms That Fated Us

by JP Summers

  The latch to the window opened without any problems. The drop to the ground didn’t seem too far either. At least there’s enough snow to cushion my fall if I slip off of the tree.

  With my body trembling, I used my unsteady legs to push off the glass door, ready to catapult myself onto the tree. Just as I counted backwards from ten, my eyes caught a glimpse of something that stopped me dead in my tracks.

  Another mountain lion stood beneath the window looking up at me. I screamed out to Carson, but he wasn’t there. I had half of my body inside the bathtub and the other sticking out, praying Carson had heard me and would show up.

  I looked to the left and then to the right of the house. Still nothing. Not even any traces of foot-prints in the snow.

  The beating against the glass from one mountain lion then the other one trying to jump onto the tree next to the house and makes its way inside almost caused me to have a panic attack. A million things went on in my head—where was Carson, was he okay, why didn’t I pack better bras and panties, am I going to be dinner to one or both of these beasts?

  As I began pulling myself back into the bathroom, the mountain lion from outside quickly jumped high enough to climb up the tree, not giving me a chance to get out of the window and close it. The animal was halfway through the window as its claws frantically reached out for me. I laid down screaming for help as the animals both worked to get at me.

  I placed my arms against my face, keeping my eyes shut tight. I didn’t want to see myself being eaten alive with their sharp teeth. I bent my legs, pulling my knees as far as they would go up to my chest, hoping that would serve as an extra barrier of protection.

  I’m not sure why I didn’t want to make it easier for the animals to take my life. If I went without a fight, wouldn’t my death be quick instead of an excruciating one?

  As mental images of my past flashed through my mind one-by-one, I couldn’t help wishing I had lived a better life. I felt like I had wasted my life at a dead end job, with a boss who deserved to be strangled, and I had dated an endless list of boyfriends who meant absolutely nothing to me. Most of all, I wish there had been more time to make up with my ex-best friend.

  The sharpness of claws scratching the surface of my flesh sent an agonizing pain through-out my body. I found myself praying I’d go into shock before the teeth dug into the rest of my skin. The warmth of my blood momentarily comforted it me. It reminded me of Carson’s warm arms had wrapped around me as I slept last night.

  A loud sound echoed from the other side of the bathroom window as the full weight of the mountain lion plummeted on top of my body. I screamed hysterically while trying to breathe. There wasn’t enough strength in me to get out from underneath this animal. Its face was on my right shoulder as its glazed-over eyes stared right into mine. Blood spilled out of its mouth.

  Suddenly a gunshot came from the other side of the glass door. A sharp ringing echoed inside my eardrums, leaving me partially deaf. I stayed perfectly still as the weight of the mountain lion crushed my wind pipe making it difficult for me to breath.

  After a few more minutes, I was able to fully breathe again. The weight of an animal that must have been three times my own was finally removed off of me. I lay in the tub, paralyzed from shock. I couldn’t believe how close I had been being mountain lion food.

  I opened my eyes to witness Carson tossing the dead carcass next to the one he shot just minutes ago. He leaned over to pull me out of the bathtub, then lifted my shaken body into his arms. Carson held onto me until we stood next to the bed, then he carefully placed me on top of the mattress. It took a few seconds before everything completely sank in. A weight of emotions forced me to finally break down. Life has no meaning until you’ve faced death in the eyes and survived it. I didn’t know what I was more thankful for at the moment, but I was extremely thankful to be alive.

  Carson sat on the bed and gently grabbed onto my wrist wanting me to join him. I sunk into the bed while he held my scratched-up face with his trembling hands. He used his thumbs to wipe away my tears. I couldn’t stop myself from bawling.

  The tears continued to flood over my eyes, making it difficult to see Carson. His forehead press itself against mine as I breathed out a sigh of relief. Our noses gently touched while Carson’s fingertips wiped every fleeting teardrop away from my cheeks.

  There are so many things I wanted to say, but I worried saying them would only diminish this moment. I knew my best friend was fighting his way out of the emotional rubble we had last left each other in.

  It wasn’t too long before my body felt the aftermath of the attack against it. My eyes had regained focus from practically bawling them out when I noticed Carson seemed a little upset. A tear trailed down his cheek before falling onto his lap. He sat next to me staring intently into my swollen eyes and revealed, “I thought I had lost you.”

  My head pressed harder against his. “You’re not going to lose me. I’m here as long as you want or need me to be.”

  We remained in the same position for a few more minutes before my body began shivering uncontrollably. Carson excused himself, returning back into the living room to boil some water and help clean up all of my wounds. In the midst of being swooped up in true superhero style, I neglected to see the damage the bewildering animal inflicted on me in its entirety.

  I wasn’t in any kind of pain, but that was probably from me still being in shock. I saw the amount of blood from the lacerations on my arms. One claw had dug into my wrist, making a deep scratch all the way down to my elbow. The scratches on the back of my thigh turned out not to be as deep as I had originally thought. At least I was able to block my face enough so that I had obtained only a few minor scrapes.

  Carson came back with a small pot of boiling water, then went into the bathroom to grab some towels and the first-aid kit. He carefully dabbed away the blood from the parts of my body that needed the most medical attention. His gentle touch made me smile as he took some ointment from the kit then smoothed it over the areas that were more likely to become infected. We made a temporary bandage by putting washcloths on my wrist, and wrapping them with gauze and taping them in place.

  I thanked him for helping me as he grabbed a handful of towels just in case my bleeding continued. Carson asked if I needed anything else before heading back into the living room. I declined, but thanked him for generously offering.

  He made sure the door to the bathroom stayed shut, then pulled off the sheet set from the bed to block the small opening on the bottom, anticipating that other animals wouldn’t be able to pick up the scent. I quickly dressed into the clothes I had planned on wearing for skiing and grabbed extra blankets from the closet to help keep us warm. I wasn’t sure how many hours or even days we’d be stuck in these grave conditions, but I figured it was best to prepare ourselves for another freezing night.

  I stood outside the bedroom door listening to wind screeching as a huge gust caused chills to run down my spine. In the last twenty-four hour period I’d been petrified of the guy in the next room and survived an atrocious animal attack that could have easily ended my days on Earth.

  Regrettably, those events couldn’t hold a torch to the raging blizzard holding me as its prisoner. How could we ride out this snowstorm if its intentions are to ruthlessly terrorize us?

  CHAPTER NINE

  With one arm holding onto the pile of blankets, I used the other one to close the bedroom door behind me. If we could contain most of the heat in one area of the house, it would aid in keeping us a little warmer as the temperature dove into the negative numbers. I would hate to think my life could have been spared if only I had been better prepared to ward off hypothermia.

  I took my time walking back into the living room, wondering if Carson and I truly had a major breakthrough in mending our friendship. I’d be lying to myself if there wasn’t a part of me that didn’t believe the impossible had happened.

  I caught a glimpse of Carson rearranging the sofa cushions on the floor
, forming what resembled a huge bed. I was a few feet from approaching the area when he motioned for me to join him.

  I dropped the blankets, then walked over to the cushion closest to the fireplace. As I comfortably positioned myself in place, Carson reached his hand over the towel that was still wrapped around my arm, checking to see if it was holding up okay, and commented, “I bet you were really looking forward to skiing this weekend.”

  “Actually, I was looking more forward to spending time with everyone, but this sudden change of plans isn’t a bad trade. It’s kind of nice sitting by a warm fire with an old friend whom I’ve missed too.”

  “So now I’m old?” Carson sarcastically stated.

  “No! What I meant was—”

  “I know what you meant, Tia. I’m just kidding.”

  “I’ve forgotten how you used to joke around with me.”

  “Yeah. I was quite the jokester.”

  There was a brief pause before I curiously asked, “When did you learn how to shoot a gun?”

  Carson cleared his throat and answered, “I was a security guard for a major software company. They made me carry a gun at all times, but I never had to use it. I would practice targets at the shooting range every now and then just in case I ever had to aim it at someone. I’m glad I decided to keep my gun in the glove compartment.”

  “I’m glad you did too otherwise I might have been…”

  “There’s no way I would have let anything happen to you.”

  I knew that no matter how much Carson might hate me, he wouldn’t have stood by and watch me get eaten by the mountain lions. But his simple admission made me feel safer, more confident somehow, that we might be on the right track toward reconciling.

  Carson had the yearbooks on the opposite side of him. He reached around, grabbing all but two, then gave the other ones to me, commenting, “I can’t believe you brought these.”

  I took all the yearbooks, placing them on my lap, replying, “Mira wanted to reminisce about our high school days. I’ve been looking through them to pass the time.”

  “Holy shit. We looked so young in these pictures,” Carson said, flipping through the yearbook from our freshman year. “I swear it was like ages ago.”

  “I know. I’m looking forward to seeing people from our class at our five-year reunion.”

  “It doesn’t feel like we’ve been out of school for five years already. I guess it didn’t dawn on me after all this time. When I moved away, I wanted to leave every memory of New Holston High behind.”

  “I tried leaving everything behind, but certain things have a way of following you no matter how far you’ve gone,” I sighed.

  “True, but I’m just really good at blocking things out.”

  Carson made it to the yearbook from our junior year, then shook his head while chuckling, “God, my truck was more of a piece of shit than my jeep, but I loved that thing to death.”

  “Yeah, it was a real pile of junk, but we did have a lot fun times in it.”

  “Do you remember the day I bought it?” Carson questioned with a heightened curiosity in his voice.

  Did I remember? Of course I did. How could I ever forget one of the major turning points in our friendship?

  *****

  I can’t believe I survived the first week of our junior year. I needed to excel academically if I wanted to increase my chances of being accepted into a good school so that I could get the hell out of here. I was already feeling overwhelmed by the weight of the advanced classes on my schedule. It felt like all I could hope for was the rest of the school year to run smoothly.

  Carson texted me during 1st period, saying he had a surprise for me after school. At least I had something to look forward to. I was already wanting to go back to being a sophomore. I spent all day stressing about my tough classes, knowing they’re only preparing me for college. It was now up to my brains to get me into Northeastern Michigan University.

  I only had one class with Carson that year, and it was at the end of the day. We didn’t have lunch together, which made me a little sad, but our lockers were still within yelling distance. At least I got my best friend fix throughout the day.

  Once Carson showed up to the last class of the day, I pleaded for clues to what the big surprise was. Of course, he said I had to wait another hour to find out. I hated when he kept me in suspense.

  Not a second after the bell rang, I rushed Carson out the door, wanting to find out what he had up his sleeves. We left the parking lot in my car since his jeep had blown its engine weeks ago. He instructed me to head straight to a dealership, where I saw a black, short-bed pick-up truck with a ‘Sold’ sign sitting on its windshield.

  The smile displayed across Carson’s face when he admitted this was his truck was priceless. I was so happy for him. He loved the jeep, but it was on its last leg and wanted a truck to do more things with. The salesman said his dad already signed the papers and turned the keys over to Carson. He joked about being the owner of a newer piece of junk, but as long as it ran, it didn’t matter what it looked like.

  I left my car at home, then Carson whisked me away to a destination he already had in mind. The smile never left his face as we stopped at the store.

  Carson came back with a bag, telling me not to peek, that it was part of my surprise. Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the lake where the sun was beginning to set. A magical array of colors glistened off the water as I looked around and took notice that we were the only two people there. Carson grabbed the grocery store bag along with the blanket he took from the trunk of my car, then pulled the tailgate down for us to watch the sun set.

  The scenic view was amazingly beautiful. The sound of the small waves hitting the shoreline echoed around us while the night air was tranquil. Carson gathered a few big rocks to make a little firepit to build a bonfire, then took out the food he brought for our dinner. I couldn’t help but snicker at his food selection of bologna, cheese, a loaf of bread, a bag of chips, marshmallows, chocolate candy bars, graham crackers, and a six-pack of soda.

  He made several sandwiches, then served them on napkins. We enjoyed our meal while talking about the first week of school and the struggles we were going to face with having difficult classes this year.

  Carson found two sticks to roast our marshmallows on so we could make s’mores with the graham crackers and chocolate bars. I noticed he had some chocolate on his face and decided to wipe it off. He swiftly grabbed onto my hand, using his mouth to remove the chocolate off my finger, causing me to almost fall off the tailgate.

  I scooted away just a smidgen, leaving Carson with a regretful look in his eyes. I distanced myself from him, but his tongue licking the tip of my finger took me by surprise. He sat with his eyes staring at the ground looking as if he had done something terribly wrong.

  My hand placed itself on his back, rubbing circular patterns to assure him I wasn’t upset with his actions. I felt him deeply inhale, as if he were getting ready to speak. Carson finally lifted his head, focusing his eyes on mine and causing my heart to beat faster than before.

  “What I’m about to say is going to come off as sounding crazy. Promise you’ll at least hear me out before you hit me with something.”

  Nodding my head, uncertain about why something would drive me to hit Carson, he looked away and continued. “I haven’t been in a relationship for a while, but I’ve been thinking maybe it’s time for me to date again.”

  “Okay… where’s the part that makes you sound crazy and makes me want to strike you?”

  Carson jumped off the tailgate, then stood in front of me with his unsteady hands reaching for mine. He rested them on top of my hands, making me feel the sweatiness of his palms. I knew he was nervous from the way his eyes wouldn’t meet mine.

  It took another minute before he stilled himself, then he went on, “What I’m trying to say is that I want to see where things could lead with us.”

  “M…me..?” I stammered in total disbelief.

&nbs
p; “Yeah, you. Why do you sound so shocked?”

  “I honestly didn’t think you wanted to risk our friendship.”

  “Well, I don’t, but a part of me wants to see how things would go.”

  “I do, too.”

  “Good,” he stated.

  “I’ll give you as much time as you need to be ready,” I said quietly.

  “I can’t ask you to wait around for me until I’m ready. What if something changes and we don’t end up dating?”

  I squeezed his hands with a strong certainty while replying, “You’re worth the wait, and if we don’t end up dating…”

  “Then you’ll end up being pissed off at me?”

  “No. I won’t. You were open with me about your intentions. It wouldn’t be right for me to hold your own words against you.”

  Carson pulled his hands out of mine, then got back on the tailgate to unfold the blanket. He placed his arms around my body, drawing me backwards until we were on our backs staring up at the stars.

  CHAPTER TEN

  That was the night the likelihood of there being an “us” had become more of a reality.

  I turned my focus back to the yearbook, looking at pictures of all the friends I had over the years. The teachers who influenced me to reach for a goal in life and not stop until I’ve achieved it. It’s because of them I got accepted to Northeastern Michigan University. It was because of my ignorance and stupidity that I didn’t even attend college after all the hard work I had done to get there in the first place.

  The next page was filled with memories of my worst nightmare coming to life. I never expected things to take a turn in the wrong direction.

  I tried not showing my anger in front of Carson as the pictures of Erin appeared in our group. I didn’t want to stir up any harsh feelings between me and Carson by commenting, but that year she became my worst enemy. Erin not only took advantage of my best friend, she also stabbed me in back and wasn’t even discreet about it.