Come Back to Me. It's Almost Easy
Chapter One
-Gena’s POV-
“Oh my God! I’ll be there as soon as possible,” I said as I slammed the phone back onto its base, grabbed my car keys off the kitchen counter, and ran out to my car. It was two o’clock in the morning and there was hardly any traffic, but the twenty-minute drive to the hospital seemed to take a lifetime.
I had had a feeling something horrible was going to happen to him when he left the house, but I just brushed it off and tried not to think about it too much. I mean, it was a ten-minute all-around trip to the studio. And, he was just going to pick up his black and gray-striped hoodie he’d forgotten earlier. What on earth could go wrong in ten minutes? Absolutely nothing, right? WRONG.
It had been storming off and on all day, but nothing too severe; just the typical California thundershowers. When he left the house, it wasn’t raining or anything, but you could hear rolling thunder in a distance. But, by the time he had been able to get to the studio, it was pouring. It was as if someone had filled a large bathtub with water and then knocked it over.
He called me from the studio to tell me that he was going to be a little later than expected to let the rain lighten up a bit. He didn’t want to risk getting into an accident from not being able to see well. I felt reassured that my sense of uneasiness was just because I didn’t like being alone in the house at night. I figured he would be safe and sound inside the gigantic blue-brick building. Little did either of us know that Mother Nature had different ideas.
Shortly after one, I turned on the TV to the Weather Channel. It was becoming more and more violent outside, and I was feeling a bit nervous about it. I noticed the weather bulletin scrolling across the bottom of the screen. There was a Severe Thunderstorm Warning and Tornado Watch in effect for the areas surrounding Los Angeles, and Huntington Beach, of course, was included. This didn’t help the apprehensiveness I was already suffering from.
The rain started to turn into hail, and I could hear the infamous “roaring of a freight train” noise. I immediately ran to the kitchen, flung open the basement door, and nearly flew down the stairs. I stayed there until I felt sure that it was safe to emerge from the cold, damp, and musty atmosphere of the basement. That’s when the phone rang.
-Zacky’s POV-
“Damn,” I mumbled to myself after remembering I left my hoodie, that had my pack of cigarettes in its pocket, at the studio. “Hey, babe, I’m gonna run down to the studio and pick up my hoodie real quick. I’ll be back in ten,” I yelled up the stairway to Gena as I walked out the door.
I walked down the short cobblestone sidewalk, and hopped into the driver’s side of my black BMW. I turned the key in the ignition, turned on the radio, backed out of the driveway, and headed to my destination that was only a couple blocks away.
When I left the house, it was calm outside, but I could see lightning and hear thunder in a distance. By the time I made it to the studio, the storm had rolled in and it was raining really heavily. I decided to park on the side of the studio, in hopes that the building would block some of the rain from hitting me.
I ran to the side door, stuck my key in the doorknob, turned it, and unlocked the door. I entered the building, turned on the light, and made my way over to the couch where my hoodie was laying. I decided I didn’t want to try to drive home with it raining so hard and the wind being so fierce, so I called Gena and let her know I was going to be a little longer than originally planned.
I turned on the radio so I could drown out the sound of the beating rain and wind on the roof. I loved the sound, but it made me relaxed and sleepy. I didn’t want to doze off and make Gena worry sick about me. I knew she didn’t like being alone at night, period, let alone in the middle of a thunderstorm.
Just as I turned on the radio, I heard the DJ mention that there had been a possible funnel cloud sighting five miles north of Huntington Beach, and that people in the HB area should take cover in the lowest level of a building, away from outside walls and windows immediately. I did as I was informed, and ran into the bathroom that was in the center of the studio.
I could hear the local tornado sirens sounding, and then I heard a loud, constant rumble. I could tell the wind was picking up, and I just sat there and braced myself for what was to come. I was hoping and praying for the best, but expecting the worst. I heard the windows shatter and bricks tumble to the ground. I felt the wall I was sitting against start to shake. That’s when I knew things were going from bad to worse. I felt an excruciating pain on the back of my head, and then everything went black.
-Gena’s POV-
When I arrived at the hospital, I asked the woman sitting behind the front desk where I could find Zachary Baker. She informed me that he was in Room 641, and pointed me in the direction of the Intensive Care Unit. As I made my way down the long corridors of the ICU to his room, I couldn’t help but think that this would be the last time I saw Zacky. I finally made it to his room, and I opened the door.
I nearly collapsed to the floor when I saw him lying there. He was lying on the bed asleep. He had needles and wires connecting him to several different monitors, his arms and face were black and blue, and he had a bandage wrapped around his head. He looked like something out of a horror movie.
Shortly after I had sat down in the chair beside his bed, the doctor came in the room. He told me that Zacky had suffered a concussion, had cuts and bruises all over his body, and had endured a large laceration on the back of his head that needed forty-six stitches in total. They were keeping him overnight for observation, but Zacky was going to be fine. It would take six to eight weeks to make a full recovery, but I didn’t care. I was going to be there for him every step of the way, and I was just thankful that he was still alive.
“Oh my God! I’ll be there as soon as possible,” I said as I slammed the phone back onto its base, grabbed my car keys off the kitchen counter, and ran out to my car. It was two o’clock in the morning and there was hardly any traffic, but the twenty-minute drive to the hospital seemed to take a lifetime.
I had had a feeling something horrible was going to happen to him when he left the house, but I just brushed it off and tried not to think about it too much. I mean, it was a ten-minute all-around trip to the studio. And, he was just going to pick up his black and gray-striped hoodie he’d forgotten earlier. What on earth could go wrong in ten minutes? Absolutely nothing, right? WRONG.
It had been storming off and on all day, but nothing too severe; just the typical California thundershowers. When he left the house, it wasn’t raining or anything, but you could hear rolling thunder in a distance. But, by the time he had been able to get to the studio, it was pouring. It was as if someone had filled a large bathtub with water and then knocked it over.
He called me from the studio to tell me that he was going to be a little later than expected to let the rain lighten up a bit. He didn’t want to risk getting into an accident from not being able to see well. I felt reassured that my sense of uneasiness was just because I didn’t like being alone in the house at night. I figured he would be safe and sound inside the gigantic blue-brick building. Little did either of us know that Mother Nature had different ideas.
Shortly after one, I turned on the TV to the Weather Channel. It was becoming more and more violent outside, and I was feeling a bit nervous about it. I noticed the weather bulletin scrolling across the bottom of the screen. There was a Severe Thunderstorm Warning and Tornado Watch in effect for the areas surrounding Los Angeles, and Huntington Beach, of course, was included. This didn’t help the apprehensiveness I was already suffering from.
The rain started to turn into hail, and I could hear the infamous “roaring of a freight train” noise. I immediately ran to the kitchen, flung open the basement door, and nearly flew down the stairs. I stayed there until I felt sure that it was safe to emerge from the cold, damp, and musty atmosphere of the basement. That’s when the phone rang.
-Zacky’s POV-
“Damn,” I mumbled to myself after remembering I left my hoodie, that had my pack of cigarettes in its pocket, at the studio. “Hey, babe, I’m gonna run down to the studio and pick up my hoodie real quick. I’ll be back in ten,” I yelled up the stairway to Gena as I walked out the door.
I walked down the short cobblestone sidewalk, and hopped into the driver’s side of my black BMW. I turned the key in the ignition, turned on the radio, backed out of the driveway, and headed to my destination that was only a couple blocks away.
When I left the house, it was calm outside, but I could see lightning and hear thunder in a distance. By the time I made it to the studio, the storm had rolled in and it was raining really heavily. I decided to park on the side of the studio, in hopes that the building would block some of the rain from hitting me.
I ran to the side door, stuck my key in the doorknob, turned it, and unlocked the door. I entered the building, turned on the light, and made my way over to the couch where my hoodie was laying. I decided I didn’t want to try to drive home with it raining so hard and the wind being so fierce, so I called Gena and let her know I was going to be a little longer than originally planned.
I turned on the radio so I could drown out the sound of the beating rain and wind on the roof. I loved the sound, but it made me relaxed and sleepy. I didn’t want to doze off and make Gena worry sick about me. I knew she didn’t like being alone at night, period, let alone in the middle of a thunderstorm.
Just as I turned on the radio, I heard the DJ mention that there had been a possible funnel cloud sighting five miles north of Huntington Beach, and that people in the HB area should take cover in the lowest level of a building, away from outside walls and windows immediately. I did as I was informed, and ran into the bathroom that was in the center of the studio.
I could hear the local tornado sirens sounding, and then I heard a loud, constant rumble. I could tell the wind was picking up, and I just sat there and braced myself for what was to come. I was hoping and praying for the best, but expecting the worst. I heard the windows shatter and bricks tumble to the ground. I felt the wall I was sitting against start to shake. That’s when I knew things were going from bad to worse. I felt an excruciating pain on the back of my head, and then everything went black.
-Gena’s POV-
When I arrived at the hospital, I asked the woman sitting behind the front desk where I could find Zachary Baker. She informed me that he was in Room 641, and pointed me in the direction of the Intensive Care Unit. As I made my way down the long corridors of the ICU to his room, I couldn’t help but think that this would be the last time I saw Zacky. I finally made it to his room, and I opened the door.
I nearly collapsed to the floor when I saw him lying there. He was lying on the bed asleep. He had needles and wires connecting him to several different monitors, his arms and face were black and blue, and he had a bandage wrapped around his head. He looked like something out of a horror movie.
Shortly after I had sat down in the chair beside his bed, the doctor came in the room. He told me that Zacky had suffered a concussion, had cuts and bruises all over his body, and had endured a large laceration on the back of his head that needed forty-six stitches in total. They were keeping him overnight for observation, but Zacky was going to be fine. It would take six to eight weeks to make a full recovery, but I didn’t care. I was going to be there for him every step of the way, and I was just thankful that he was still alive.
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