Sequel: Flood ›
Tornado
Ryder
On the way back to my apartment, Amy talked happily about her day with Juniper. She happily showed me her nails and then told me about the ‘best fucking BLT’ she ever had. I grimaced at the swear word but let it go. It wasn’t until dinner time that she mentioned her episode.
“I really think I scared her,” Amy muttered, picking at her salmon.
I put my hand on hers. “Hey, look at me Aimes.” She obeyed. “Juniper is the most caring and understanding person you could ever meet. Don’t worry about it, okay?”
She eyed me. “You guys are dating, aren’t you?” I didn’t know what to say and bit my lower lip. She smiled. “It’s okay if you are. I really like her.”
I took a bite of my wild rice. “We didn’t want to upset you.”
She tilted her head. “It wouldn’t have upset me, Ryder. You’re my best friend. I want you to be happy.” I smiled. “How long have you been dating?”
“About three weeks.”
“You never mentioned her, though.”
I shifted. “She’s only my second girlfriend,” I reminded her. “I keep waiting to mess it up,” I added sadly.
To my surprise, she laughed. “I don’t think you could do that. You’re, like, the perfect boyfriend. Sam just wasn’t the right girl for you, that’s all.”
“What about you? Any special guys at school?” She turned red and I grinned. “What’s his name?”
“Brandon,” she said, stuffing more food in her mouth. “He’s in my art classes. We talk a lot about art and he… well, he invited me to his house when I get back.”
My smile faded immediately. I chose my next words very carefully.
“Amy, some guys-”
She laughed again. “I know. I already told him no. We compromised on meeting at a Starbucks.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Is he nice?”
She smiled shyly. “Yeah, he is. He knows about… I had an episode in class. He was actually the one to calm me down.”
“Wow,” I said, genuinely impressed.
We finished the evening in the living room watching movies. I had refrained from texting Juniper; I was waiting for her to. I knew how exhausting it could be calming Amy down from an episode. Amy went to bed around 11; she was going to talk to Zachary tomorrow and I wanted her to be well rested. About five minutes later, my phone buzzed.
How are things going over there?
I smiled. Good. She just went to bed. She knows we’re dating now.
Did she take it well?
She guessed lol
Well, I just wanted to make sure she was okay. I’m going back to bed. I’ll ttyl
Sleep well.
I yawned and decided to go to bed as well. I had a feeling tomorrow was going to be a big day.
-
Amy was nervous about meeting with Zachary. Though they had become friends, I know she wasn’t used to having a new doctor that didn’t act like a know-it-all. I bought her a Dr. Pepper from Sonic before we went into the office.
“Do you want to take one of your pills?” I asked quietly.
She considered it. “No. Probably bring it just in case, though,” she added bitterly.
I nodded and put the bottle in my coat pocket. The skies were cloudy and the air warm, causing my heart rate to increase. I had learned that, 9 times out of 10, that wasn’t necessarily a good thing in Oklahoma. The last thing I wanted was for Amy to witness a tornado watch or warning.
“I’ll give you two some privacy,” I said when we got to the office.
Amy looked unsure but I kissed her forehead and closed the door behind me. The first thing I did in my office was check the weather. There was a thunderstorm in the forecast for that afternoon but no talks of tornadoes. I opened my email just to see what I had going on next week. I kept an ear open to what was going on next door, though.
I could hear the low rumble of Zachary’s voice and the nervous titters from Amy. Eventually, her laughter became genuine and I was really dying to know what they were talking about. Zachary had promised to give her as much time as she wanted so I knew they’d be there for a few hours. I wondered about going to see Juniper but I didn’t want to leave Amy on her own.
It was Friday which meant tomorrow we would be going to her restaurant. She hadn’t told me much about what it looked like but, whenever we came to the subject, she looked excited.
I was right; they were in there for about three hours. I had promised not to work so I was watching episodes of Supernatural on Netflix. When his door opened, I jumped to my feet, nervous. Amy was holding a stuffed teddy bear and a few papers. She hugged Zachary for a good three minutes which made me grin. I was so happy to see she was loving all the people in my life.
“Look what Dr. Pipps got me!” she said, showing me the stuffed bear. “I’m going to name him Minion.”
I grinned. “Do you want to watch this while I talk to Dr. Pipps for a few minutes?”
“Supernatural! Yeah, definitely!”
She settled in my office chair and pressed play. I followed Zachary into his office and closed the door carefully.
“How did it go?” I asked nervously.
“She is a bright young woman,” he began. His eyes were sad. “Look, there’s something about her home you need to know.” I frowned. “She’s bullied at home.”
My eyes widened and I jumped to my feet. “By my parents?”
“No….”
“Then who?”
He rubbed the back of his neck and I sat again, feeling an odd sense of foreboding.
“Your parents rented out your room.” I leaned back in the office chair, feeling furious. “They were going to tell you after Amy got back.”
I started pacing. “Has Amy told them that their renter is bullying her?”
He shook his head no. “She’s afraid it will get worse. That’s very common with people who are being bullied.”
I rubbed my chin furiously. “I’m calling my parents. Right now.”
“No need,” Zachary said and I stopped at the door. “We called them. I insisted.” I let out a breath in relief. “They’re very upset but they can’t evict the renter for another six months.”
“So what can we do?” I asked, resuming my seat.
“Your parents gave us two options: she can stay here longer, or she can go back home and have a friend stay with her until the renter can be evicted.”
I stared at his desk, thinking hard. It would be great to have her stay longer but that would mean having to enroll her in school and put her in the pressure of making new friends. Sending her home, though, made me uneasy. The thought of her being bullied made my stomach flip. I ran a hand through my hair.
“Did she say which one she wanted?”
“No. I think you two should go back to your apartment and talk about it, though.”
I nodded and shook his hand. “Thanks, Zachary. I’ll let you know.”
-
We were seated at my dining room table with mugs of tea in front of us. The storm had started but it was nothing compared to what we were facing.
“I want to stay,” she said, wiping tears away, “but I know I can’t. It would be too hard. I don’t want to go back home to Robert, though.”
“How does he bully you?” I whispered.
“Words. Sometimes he locks me in the bathroom.” I rubbed my chin. “Now that Mom and Dad know… I don’t know what will happen.”
“I wish you had at least told me,” I sighed. “I want you to stay, too, but there are so many things that we’re going to have to do. My main concern is school.”
Her head fell and she cried some more. I wiped my own tears away; I didn’t want her to see me crying. I let her keep crying until she calmed down enough to answer me.
“I know,” she sniffed. “And I’ll miss the few friends I do have.”
“Who will you have stay with you?” I asked.
“Probably Billie,” she answered after thinking. I tried to see her face in my mind. “She’s the one who I met on my first day of school.”
“The nerd,” I laughed and she giggled.
“I just have to make sure her parents would be okay with it….”
I held her hand and looked her straight in the eyes.
“I am sorry,” I said clearly and she gave me a watery smile. “I so do wish you could stay; you have no idea how badly I wish you could even move out here.”
She sniffled again. “I wish I could stay, too, but Zachary told me something very important: Sometimes what we want and what we have to do is a hard choice. We have to be wise.”
I nodded. “He’s very right.”
“Can we change the subject?”
“Of course we can. Are you excited about tomorrow?” She grinned and nodded. “Do you know what you’re going to paint yet?”
She shook her head, relaxing in the dining chair. “I’ll wait until I see what it’s like on the inside.”
“Let’s go veg out for dinner,” I suggested and she laughed. “How does that sound?”
“Perfect.”
“I really think I scared her,” Amy muttered, picking at her salmon.
I put my hand on hers. “Hey, look at me Aimes.” She obeyed. “Juniper is the most caring and understanding person you could ever meet. Don’t worry about it, okay?”
She eyed me. “You guys are dating, aren’t you?” I didn’t know what to say and bit my lower lip. She smiled. “It’s okay if you are. I really like her.”
I took a bite of my wild rice. “We didn’t want to upset you.”
She tilted her head. “It wouldn’t have upset me, Ryder. You’re my best friend. I want you to be happy.” I smiled. “How long have you been dating?”
“About three weeks.”
“You never mentioned her, though.”
I shifted. “She’s only my second girlfriend,” I reminded her. “I keep waiting to mess it up,” I added sadly.
To my surprise, she laughed. “I don’t think you could do that. You’re, like, the perfect boyfriend. Sam just wasn’t the right girl for you, that’s all.”
“What about you? Any special guys at school?” She turned red and I grinned. “What’s his name?”
“Brandon,” she said, stuffing more food in her mouth. “He’s in my art classes. We talk a lot about art and he… well, he invited me to his house when I get back.”
My smile faded immediately. I chose my next words very carefully.
“Amy, some guys-”
She laughed again. “I know. I already told him no. We compromised on meeting at a Starbucks.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Is he nice?”
She smiled shyly. “Yeah, he is. He knows about… I had an episode in class. He was actually the one to calm me down.”
“Wow,” I said, genuinely impressed.
We finished the evening in the living room watching movies. I had refrained from texting Juniper; I was waiting for her to. I knew how exhausting it could be calming Amy down from an episode. Amy went to bed around 11; she was going to talk to Zachary tomorrow and I wanted her to be well rested. About five minutes later, my phone buzzed.
How are things going over there?
I smiled. Good. She just went to bed. She knows we’re dating now.
Did she take it well?
She guessed lol
Well, I just wanted to make sure she was okay. I’m going back to bed. I’ll ttyl
Sleep well.
I yawned and decided to go to bed as well. I had a feeling tomorrow was going to be a big day.
-
Amy was nervous about meeting with Zachary. Though they had become friends, I know she wasn’t used to having a new doctor that didn’t act like a know-it-all. I bought her a Dr. Pepper from Sonic before we went into the office.
“Do you want to take one of your pills?” I asked quietly.
She considered it. “No. Probably bring it just in case, though,” she added bitterly.
I nodded and put the bottle in my coat pocket. The skies were cloudy and the air warm, causing my heart rate to increase. I had learned that, 9 times out of 10, that wasn’t necessarily a good thing in Oklahoma. The last thing I wanted was for Amy to witness a tornado watch or warning.
“I’ll give you two some privacy,” I said when we got to the office.
Amy looked unsure but I kissed her forehead and closed the door behind me. The first thing I did in my office was check the weather. There was a thunderstorm in the forecast for that afternoon but no talks of tornadoes. I opened my email just to see what I had going on next week. I kept an ear open to what was going on next door, though.
I could hear the low rumble of Zachary’s voice and the nervous titters from Amy. Eventually, her laughter became genuine and I was really dying to know what they were talking about. Zachary had promised to give her as much time as she wanted so I knew they’d be there for a few hours. I wondered about going to see Juniper but I didn’t want to leave Amy on her own.
It was Friday which meant tomorrow we would be going to her restaurant. She hadn’t told me much about what it looked like but, whenever we came to the subject, she looked excited.
I was right; they were in there for about three hours. I had promised not to work so I was watching episodes of Supernatural on Netflix. When his door opened, I jumped to my feet, nervous. Amy was holding a stuffed teddy bear and a few papers. She hugged Zachary for a good three minutes which made me grin. I was so happy to see she was loving all the people in my life.
“Look what Dr. Pipps got me!” she said, showing me the stuffed bear. “I’m going to name him Minion.”
I grinned. “Do you want to watch this while I talk to Dr. Pipps for a few minutes?”
“Supernatural! Yeah, definitely!”
She settled in my office chair and pressed play. I followed Zachary into his office and closed the door carefully.
“How did it go?” I asked nervously.
“She is a bright young woman,” he began. His eyes were sad. “Look, there’s something about her home you need to know.” I frowned. “She’s bullied at home.”
My eyes widened and I jumped to my feet. “By my parents?”
“No….”
“Then who?”
He rubbed the back of his neck and I sat again, feeling an odd sense of foreboding.
“Your parents rented out your room.” I leaned back in the office chair, feeling furious. “They were going to tell you after Amy got back.”
I started pacing. “Has Amy told them that their renter is bullying her?”
He shook his head no. “She’s afraid it will get worse. That’s very common with people who are being bullied.”
I rubbed my chin furiously. “I’m calling my parents. Right now.”
“No need,” Zachary said and I stopped at the door. “We called them. I insisted.” I let out a breath in relief. “They’re very upset but they can’t evict the renter for another six months.”
“So what can we do?” I asked, resuming my seat.
“Your parents gave us two options: she can stay here longer, or she can go back home and have a friend stay with her until the renter can be evicted.”
I stared at his desk, thinking hard. It would be great to have her stay longer but that would mean having to enroll her in school and put her in the pressure of making new friends. Sending her home, though, made me uneasy. The thought of her being bullied made my stomach flip. I ran a hand through my hair.
“Did she say which one she wanted?”
“No. I think you two should go back to your apartment and talk about it, though.”
I nodded and shook his hand. “Thanks, Zachary. I’ll let you know.”
-
We were seated at my dining room table with mugs of tea in front of us. The storm had started but it was nothing compared to what we were facing.
“I want to stay,” she said, wiping tears away, “but I know I can’t. It would be too hard. I don’t want to go back home to Robert, though.”
“How does he bully you?” I whispered.
“Words. Sometimes he locks me in the bathroom.” I rubbed my chin. “Now that Mom and Dad know… I don’t know what will happen.”
“I wish you had at least told me,” I sighed. “I want you to stay, too, but there are so many things that we’re going to have to do. My main concern is school.”
Her head fell and she cried some more. I wiped my own tears away; I didn’t want her to see me crying. I let her keep crying until she calmed down enough to answer me.
“I know,” she sniffed. “And I’ll miss the few friends I do have.”
“Who will you have stay with you?” I asked.
“Probably Billie,” she answered after thinking. I tried to see her face in my mind. “She’s the one who I met on my first day of school.”
“The nerd,” I laughed and she giggled.
“I just have to make sure her parents would be okay with it….”
I held her hand and looked her straight in the eyes.
“I am sorry,” I said clearly and she gave me a watery smile. “I so do wish you could stay; you have no idea how badly I wish you could even move out here.”
She sniffled again. “I wish I could stay, too, but Zachary told me something very important: Sometimes what we want and what we have to do is a hard choice. We have to be wise.”
I nodded. “He’s very right.”
“Can we change the subject?”
“Of course we can. Are you excited about tomorrow?” She grinned and nodded. “Do you know what you’re going to paint yet?”
She shook her head, relaxing in the dining chair. “I’ll wait until I see what it’s like on the inside.”
“Let’s go veg out for dinner,” I suggested and she laughed. “How does that sound?”
“Perfect.”