Crash of Storms

Molly and Calvin had gone to see her mother in Michigan for the weekend so I had the apartment completely to myself when I got home from the show on Saturday night. I kicked my shoes off and put my hair up into a sloppy bun before walking into the kitchen in my comfiest outfit (a white crop racer-back crop top and black hipster maxi skirt) to make some popcorn. I turned my stereo on and soft rock pumped through the speakers lightly punctuated by the popping sounds coming from the microwave. I was in a pretty good mood, the show had gone well and the next day was a rare Sunday off due to some theatre maintenance we’ve had scheduled since December. I grabbed a root beer from my fridge and popped the cap off as I stood in front of the sliding glass door to the balcony.

I could see flashes of lightning streak the sky periodically and hear the rolls of thunder course through the city streets around me. It was only a matter of time before the rain started and I smiled to myself. I’ve always loved summer storms. The way they cool everything down, wash everything away. The power they can have. There’s something so much bigger than you when it comes to storms. It makes you forget your problems for just a little bit.

Or maybe that’s just me.

The loud, cranky beeping of the microwave pulled me out of my thoughts. As I filled a bowl with the fresh, hot popcorn my phone rang. I recognized the number immediately and was surprised but hesitated about answering. I chewed my bottom lip, sighed, and picked it up. The only sound I could hear on the other end of the line was intense sobbing.

“Sarah?” I asked into the phone.

Sarah had called and texted me frequently when Mike and I were together. After her mother died she’d occasionally call me to complain about school or tell me about her friends. After Mike and I broke up, though, she’d stopped calling and texting and I didn’t blame her; it would have been awkward if she’d continued to contact me, I think, and so things moved on…until Saturday night.

“Sarah, are you okay?” I felt an uncontrollable panic start forming in the back of my throat and silently begged her to answer.

“Faith? I need help.”

She was crying on the other end and I could hear loud music and laughter in the background.

“What’s going on?” I asked with concern.

“Can you come and get me? I’m not in a good place and I…there’s nowhere for me to go.”

I was confused by that but decided to put it aside and ask her where she was. She sent me a text with an address and I told her to wait for me at a bus stop just one block down. It was a good 30 minutes away from my apartment and Molly had taken her car so public transportation was my best option outside of a cab. I sent Sarah a text letting her know that I was on my way as I slipped on a pair of black and white flip flops and threw on a thin zip-up hoodie over my top. I grabbed my keys and transportation pass and flew out the door. Sarah didn’t sound like she was in a good place and I wasn’t sure what was going on but I figured getting all the information out of her could wait until she was somewhere safe.

The rain started coming down about 15 minutes into my commute to go and get her. I had to transfer buses at one point and felt the heavy drops through my hoodie. I threw my hood up over my head and bounced from foot to foot waiting for the next bus. When I finally reached her I was astounded by how she looked.

She was sitting under the glass bus stop awning in an incredibly revealing black mini dress. It was one of those dresses that had sheer panels on the sides and down the middle of the chest to the belly button so you can announce to the world that you aren’t wearing any underwear at all. And her shoes…well…those could only be described as “fuck me heels”. Her hair was shorter than it used to be and she’d died it brown. Her make-up was dark and it took me a second to realize that her eye make-up wasn’t purposefully applied to look that heavy but was actually just a mess from all the tears streaking her face. She was definitely not the same kid I met at Thanksgiving with Mike’s parents.

“Sarah?” I approached her hesitantly and sat down next to her.

She wiped her nose and looked at me but didn’t say anything. She looked embarrassed and then her lip started quivering and suddenly she had her arms thrown over my shoulders and her face buried in my neck as she sobbed. I hugged her and tried to get her to calm down. It took about 15 minutes.

“Sarah…what’s going on?” I asked her when she was finally breathing normally.

“Faith it was awful! Selena was supposed to be my friend but they…she…”

And the tears started up again. I asked her guiding questions instead.

“Was Selena the only person you were out with tonight?” I asked.

“No.” Sarah shook her head, “She wasn’t even supposed to be here. Jeremy and I…we…it was date night.”

“Who is Jeremy? Is he your boyfriend?”

Sarah’s eyes filled with even more tears and she looked like she was in physical pain.

“Did something happen tonight with him?” I asked her soothingly.

She nodded and looked down at her hands.

“Tonight was going to be special. Jeremy and I…we were….it was my first time.” She said quietly.

“Oh.” I said realizing.

“Did you and Jeremy…?”

She nodded quietly again and refused to meet my eyes. Her entire face was red from crying but she was also blushing intensely.

“We were supposed to go out….afterward….and have a nice night out but I found him and Selena making out in the bathroom at this club he took me to. They didn’t even look like they felt bad about it. They just laughed at me as they walked out of the door and left me behind.”

She started crying and my heart broke for her. What a shitty thing to happen right after you have sex for the first time. I pulled her in for another hug and patted her hair as she cried even harder.

“I trusted him!” She cried into my shoulder, “I thought he loved me….”

“Shhhh. It’s okay.” I rocked her back and forth as the rain picked up outside the covered bus stop.

The wind started up within minutes and the clouds completely blocked out the moonlight. This storm was going to be bad and sitting outside under a metal and glass bus stop was not my idea of a good time.

“Sarah, why don’t I get you home, okay?” I said.

I figured Sarah was home for the summer in between her junior and senior year of college and was staying with her dad. She had only just calmed down but at my suggestion her eyes went wide and she shook her head and I could see her panicking all over again.

“I can’t go home, Faith! He’ll kill me!”

I couldn’t help but give a small laugh.

“Your dad is not going to kill you. He’ll just be glad that you’re okay. We don’t even need to tell him what happened, okay?”

Sarah’s eyes narrowed at me with confusion.

“Faith…my dad died six months ago.”

I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. My mouth was hanging open and I was at a complete loss for words. I snapped out of it and managed a clumsy apology.

“Oh, Sarah, I…I’m sorry…I didn’t…what?”

“He had a massive heart attack…I assumed Mike told you.”

“He…he didn’t. I’m so sorry, Sarah.”

We sat there awkwardly, the wind whipping Sarah’s hair all over.

“Um. So…where are you staying?” I asked after a long silence.

“With Mike…He moved to a new place after my dad died so I could live with him when I’m not at school.”

“O-oh.” The prospect of dropping Sarah off at Mike’s apartment made me want to throw up. What if he was there and I had to see him? Was that something I would be able to handle?

“But, Sarah, why is Mike going to kill you? He doesn’t need to know about any of this…”

“He told me that Jeremy was a jerk. He didn’t like that I was seeing him. If he hears about what happened, he’ll kill me but he’ll also kill Jeremy! Please, Faith, just let me stay with you!”

“Your brother isn’t going to kill anyone. “ I reasoned with her, “But he will kill me if I let you stay with me and never tell him where you are. I think we should get you home to your own bed. You’ll feel so much better after a shower and good night’s sleep.”

We stood up and I realized she was shivering so I took my hoodie off and gave it to her as she told me Mike’s new address so I could look up directions. We walked about five blocks to get to a different bus line and then waited on the sidewalk for what seemed like forever with the rain starting to pour down. I crossed my arms over myself to try and keep warm. Wearing a crop top that showed my midriff and a skirt with pretty much no insulation was a poor decision on my part. The ride to Mike’s place only felt long. We sat in silence, both of us caught up in our own thoughts.

My heart broke for Mike. He’d lost both of his parents in such a short amount of time and he and his dad were incredibly close. It had to have been devastating for him. And poor Sarah…

“That’s his building.” Sarah pointed down the street in front of us as we got off the bus.

The rain was coming down in sheets and by the time we got to the foyer of his apartment building, it looked like we’d just jumped out of a swimming pool. I followed Sarah into the elevator as she pushed the button to the 8^th floor. She was nervously fidgeting.

“Look…Faith…can you…can you just explain to him what happened? He’s going to yell and I just don’t want to deal with it right now.”

“Sure.” I said with understanding putting my arm over her shoulders as we walked down the hallway to his apartment.

Sarah pulled her keys out and tried to quietly open the door but before she could even unlock it Mike had wrenched it open.

“Where have you been!?” He said staring at her sternly.

Mike was wearing a dark blue T-shirt and jeans. His hair was mussed and he looked tired.

She rolled her eyes and walked past him, down a short hallway, and slammed a door all while telling him to leave her alone.

Mike looked at me as if he’d only just realized I was there. He looked confused, shook his head, and followed Sarah to what I assumed was her room.

“It’s almost 2 o’clock in the morning!” He said after her, “You weren’t answering your phone!”

He was standing outside her door yelling and I grabbed his arm and dragged him into his living room/kitchen combo. He pulled his arm out of my grasp and rounded on me.

“And WHAT are you doing here?” He asked angrily.

“Sarah called me because she was upset and scared to come home.” I said evenly.

I opened a bunch of cupboards and found a mug. He stared at me for a beat before turning and heading back to Sarah’s room. I heard him open the door as I filled an electric kettle but she screamed at him to get out and he walked back into the living room. I stood in his kitchen, leaning against a counter as I waited for the water to boil.

“Mike, just give her some time to decompress. She’s had a pretty rough night.” I said quietly.

“A rough night? Did you see what she was wearing!?” He stomped angrily to his fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

“This is ridiculous. She was out with that idiot kid.”

Who was this person? Mike had never been so…bitter when I had been in his life. I wasn’t used to seeing this side of him. I found a tea bag next to Mike’s coffee pot and placed it in the mug I had found earlier.

“Okay.” I said suddenly frustrated, “Why don’t you just chill out and try being a little more sensitive to what your sister is going through.”

“Oh, sure, she comes home in the middle of the night wearing a stripper’s clothes and I’m being insensitive.”

“Ugh, god, just shut up, Mike!”

He raised an eyebrow at my outburst while I calmly turned around and poured the water into the mug.

“You’re not the victim here. Your sister lost her virginity to that ‘idiot kid’ tonight and then he promptly broke her heart by hooking up with her best friend immediately afterward. So why don’t you take this cup of tea to her room, sit down, and just give her a damn hug.”

I handed the hot mug to him while his mouth hung open. I was being harsh with him but I felt so bad for Sarah that hearing him complain about the choices she made tonight as if they even mattered at this point was just not something I was capable of doing. Mike closed his mouth and swirled the tea bag around in the mug as he took in what I just said. He slowly backed away and disappeared into the hallway. I heard a door slowly open and then close.

I stood in Mike’s kitchen for a few minutes; I didn’t hear any yelling which was hopeful. After about ten minutes I felt uncomfortable standing in Mike’s new apartment. I looked around and recognized his old furniture mixed in with some new furniture and other pieces I recognized from his parents’ house. It was a beautiful apartment and had an even more spectacular view. I looked out a floor to ceiling pane window in his living room and watched as the storm outside continued. Rain hit the window hard, making a drumming sound punctuated with rolls of intense thunder and bright flashes of lightning.

I saw him watching me in the reflection on the window and turned around.

“She’s asleep now.” He said crossing his arms and leaning against the opening to the hallway.

“She’ll feel a little better tomorrow morning.” I said.

I looked around awkwardly and realized Mike was trying not to look at me, I gave him a confused look.

“Uh,” he cleared his throat and blushed, “I can see through your shirt.”

There was the Mike I knew. Shy, kind of awkward, and adorable. I looked down and you could see my bra completely through my wet crop top. I quickly crossed my arms over my chest and blushed.

“Um. I…should go. I’m glad she’s safe.” I said walking past him.

I realized that my hoodie was in Sarah’s room and I didn’t want to risk waking her up to go get it so I gritted my teeth and prepared myself for going outside in the storm.

“I’ll drive you home, Faith.” Mike said grabbing his keys.