a deadly storm, an unsolved disappearance, and a small town brimming with secrecy;
an outcast girl, a boy who only knows how to hide, and the world against them;
what could go wrong?
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Boo lays in bed that night, restlessly watching the shadows dance across her ceiling while her mind spins in circles. No matter how hard she tries, she can't get her grandmother's frightened voice out of her head.
"Get out!"
Martha's shrill scream replays over and over. Boo's throat tightens as she briefly wonders what her grandmother's last words were; if she sounded as terrified during the hurricane as she did on the tape.
In a time as confusing and frightening as this, Martha would be the first number Boo dials for comfort. Each dull thud of her heart is heavy with the things she's dying to ask her grandmother; so many questions left unanswered, only keeping her from healing. Beneath that, Boo longs for the simple stability that came with her grandmother, before Monroe so cruelly uprooted her last thread of safety-all the quiet mornings they shared together, just talking about their days or their plans for the future. A life Boo once thought boring is now the only thing she wishes she could have back.
But with that option long gone, she's left to resort to her next companion.
Harry.
To her surprise, he picks up after only two rings despite it being well after eleven at night.
"You're awake," she blunders, unable to think of a proper greeting.
He laughs breathily. "It would appear that way, yes. Did you just call to confirm that?"
"N-No," she stammers, somewhat caught off guard by his reply. "Sorry, I just . . . I can't sleep. I keep hearing her in my head."
He exhales softly and Boo knows that he knows. "I'm sorry, love. Tell me what you need and it's yours."
She pushes a hand through her bedridden hair. "Would you mind coming over? Just for a little while. I could use the company."
Her ears fill with the sound of muted shuffling and a door creaking open. "I'll be there in ten."
« • »
Ten minutes later on the dot, Harry shows up on Boo's doorstep in a pair of black sweats and a tattered gray shirt. He gives her a boyish grin as she pulls open the door and she has to refrain from swooning into his arms.
"C-Come in," she chatters, brought back to reality by a gust of cool wind sweeping in through the open door.
He flashes her his dimples before ambling inside. Boo shuts the door and sighs quietly, keeping her back to him for the smallest of moments.
"Thank you," she says softly, turning to see him already watching her. He nods immediately and she brushes past him, heading for the kitchen. "Can I get you something to drink? You hungry?"
