Grand-Slam

∞Chapter 15∞

Song: Safe and Sound Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars 

"...You will always be that little someone I really do care for, that I would sacrifice everything for to protect and keep safe." -Beau Taplin, The Promise

"Are you kidding me!?" Nate exclaimed as he got off of me and pulled me up. I ran to the front door, seeing that the wind picked up drastically, and the sky had turned deep green. I ran back into the house and grabbed a broom.

"We have to clean this up and then get downstairs." I yelled at him, and Nate looked at me with a look that screamed, are-you-insane!?.

"You really think we have time to clean!? We need to get downstairs now!"

I rolled my eyes, throwing him the mop. "Listen, city boy, we don't need to worry until the power goes out, Now, help me clean up this damn mess!"

We hurriedly cleaned up the kitchen, and thirty minutes later, as soon as we finished, the power went out. Nate and I ran to the front door, our jaws dropping when we saw our surroundings. The trees creaked, and the dust was whipped up into the air, semi-blinding us as we stared in awe of the twister ripping across the plain.

At first, we stood there, watching as the violently twisting cyclone rotated on the field, but as the twister grew closer, we realized it was on a direct path to the house. The weather radio I had turned on was calling it an F2 on the Fujita scale, telling us to take cover then. Nate grabbed my hand and dragged me to the basement, and we ran back to the bedroom that was completely underground. I turned up the radio, and Nate sat beside me on the bed as we listened.

"...A tornado was spotted southeast of Jacksonville, Alabama, heading north at twenty-five miles per hour. Move underground immediately."

I glanced at Nate, and he stared at me as I pulled my knees to my chest, letting out a deep breath.

"Are you scared?" He asked, staring at me with worry clouding his eyes, and I shook my head, looking away.

"No. There just hasn't been a bad tornado here since I was twelve, and that tornado... it killed my grandma." Nate's eyes grew wide, and then he moved closer, pulling me into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Brooke. I had no idea." I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. He pulled me onto his lap, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"It's okay. I just hope this isn't as bad as the last one."

It was silent for a couple of minutes, and then all of a sudden, it sounded like a freight train was crashing into the house, and I screamed, clutching Nate's shoulders. He pushed me down so I was lying on the bed, and then he grabbed the blanket, throwing it over us before he wrapped his long, warm arms around me and held me close. I buried my head in his chest, tears streaming down my face, and his arms tightened around me as debris hit us.

"It's okay, Brooke!" He hollered over the wind. "I'm right here, okay!? You're alright."

I held onto Nate tighter, and I could feel his lips pressing against my forehead before he buried his head in my hair, holding me tightly against him.

As soon as it happened, it was over, and everything was silent and still once again. Nate waited a couple minutes before pulling the blanket off of us, and when we sat up, there was dirt and debris in the basement. Nate rolled off the bed and grabbed my hand, pulling me up. Nate wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me close against him, and we maneuvered our way around the debris, until we were upstairs. There wasn't much damage, but some of the windows were busted, and there was some dust and debris in the entrance towards the front door.

I clutched Nate's arm as we walked outside and saw the damage from the tornado. It was worse outside than it was inside, and luckily, our house was still intact. Nate's arm tightened around me once again as I leaned my head against his chest.

"Well, I don't see any flying cows, so I think we're good." Nate mused, and I giggled as I held onto him tighter. He wrapped his other arm around me as we walked back inside, cleaning up some of the debris. 

Once we were finished, Nate left for his date with Jamie, and I stayed at the house by myself. As I sat on the front porch, the sun started to peek from behind the clouds, and our city of Jacksonville was at peace again, and in that moment, I realized that sometimes, the chaos could bring out the true beauty of life. 

************************************
Hey guys!

Ah, good times. It's always fun to have near death experiences, am I right? (; 

I love how Nate is so protective of Brooke even though they don't get along. AND HOW ABOUT THAT #BRATE MOMENT DURING THE TWISTER!? (; (; 

Teaser: I'm fully accepting the hate you all give me after you read the next two chapters, or maybe the love... I guess it depends. (: Be prepared, my loves. 

Make sure to comment, vote, and spread the word!

Thanks for reading! 

Much love, 

-Abby