Free From The Wreckage by Michele G Miller Page B

daylights out of her, so she simply nods his way instead. She nods to acknowledge both West and his father, who are now holding the glass door open after saying goodbye to her mother.
    "Thank you for making sure we got the news," Jules offers.
    West nods stiffly, his eyes focusing on her hand firmly clasped with Stuart's. It makes her feel sick and she pulls her fingers free; feigning the need to fix her hair. Stuart's arm goes around her waist instead, and she leans into him out of habit more than need.
    "You take care, Jules." His father gives her a soft smile.
    West nods one last time before he turns and follows his father down the path to their truck sitting at the curb. The whole time Jules watches them leave, she feels a tug at her core.
    Fear.
    For some strange and unknown reason, she feels afraid. Of what, she doesn’t know, but the moment West Rutledge is out of her presence, the feeling takes over. Suddenly, inexplicably, she wants — no, she needs — West by her side.
     
    * * *
     
    "Have you ever felt like that? Like the one thing you needed to keep afloat, to keep moving, just walked out the door on you? I have. Twice, actually. It was the most bewildering feeling I've ever had, Tanya. Imagine my surprise as I stood next to the boy, who less than twelve hours before I was thinking about giving my virginity to, and then BAM! I was smacked in the face by this freaking MACK truck named West Rutledge."
    “In a matter of minutes on a Friday night, I lost my school, my identity, the security of my first love, the personality of my sweet fearless brother, my best friend, my town, everything as I knew it. Everything changed.” 
    “Minutes — that's all it takes to change your entire life. How do you deal with that? Not very well, apparently."
    Jules shakes her head ruefully as she recognizes she's gone off track. She takes another sip of her sweet tea and starts again.
    "Sorry, let's not skip ahead. So there I was, standing with Stuart, who apparently hadn't heard of your death yet. He was sweet, T. We spent the afternoon on the couch, barely speaking as I sat in shock. I slept a little; my head was still hurting so badly. Jason came downstairs from the nap my mom forced on him since he'd been up, terrified, most of the night before, and my mother and father sat him down with us to explain what happened.”
    “You know, for all the annoying things Jason used to say about you and Katie, he cried. He jumped to my side and hugged me something fierce, too. His small hands gripped my neck so tightly I thought he was going to strangle me. He sat between me and Stuart on the couch, holding my arm and watching television, until he fell asleep.”
    “Stuart left soon after promising me he would call when he got home, and I had to remind him we had no phone service. He pulled his cell out of his pocket and we both stared at it; like how in the world can these things not work? He kissed me gently and brushed over my bruised cheek with his fingers as he told me how grateful he was that I was safe. We never talked about it…about what I went through, or what had happened with him to delay him from ever reaching the Ice Shack before the twister. It didn't matter. None of that mattered to me anymore.”
    “I took the steps to my room slowly. I felt like someone who'd been beaten and dragged through the town. I could barely pull myself to my room. My body, my head and my heart were all shattered and tired. I remember falling onto my bed and looking at my alarm clock. It was a little after ten o'clock. Ten o'clock. Twenty-four hours ago, we had no idea of the storm heading towards us. At that moment, as I rolled into a little ball and allowed myself to shed a few more tears, I had no idea the storm was only the beginning.”

Nine
     
    "When all was said and done, forty-five people died. Forty-five. Twenty-fourteen, and forty-five people can die from a tornado in the United States."
    Jules bites down on her lip in thought. "I