The Storm between Us

Chapter 10

The storm had been going since sometime during the night.

Amber woke up before her alarm to the sound of rain beating against her bedroom window. It wasn't the soft kind of rain that could put somebody back to sleep. This rain was heavy, loud and constant. Every few minutes, thunder rolled through the sky, making the windows shake slightly.

Amber opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling.

She reached for her phone and squinted at the screen.

5:17 a.m.

"Man, ain't no way," she whispered.

She pulled the blanket over her head and tried to close her eyes again, but another loud c***k of thunder made her sit up.

There was no way she was going back to sleep.

After lying there for another few minutes, Amber grabbed her phone and opened the group chat with her best friends. She hadn't talked to them properly in a few days, and since she was already awake, she figured she might as well see if they were up.

Amber: Y'all awake?

She stared at the message.

Nothing.

She waited.

Still nothing.

Amber rolled her eyes and tossed her phone onto the bed.

A few seconds later, her phone started ringing.

She picked it up and saw Milly calling.

Amber smiled and answered.

Milly sleepy face appeared on the screen, followed by Jasmine joining the call one after another. All three of them looked like they had just been dragged out of their dreams.

"Girl, you scared me," Jasmine said. "I thought something happened."

Amber laughed.

"I said, 'Y'all awake?' That's it."

"You never text that early unless something is going on," Milly said.

Amber leaned against her headboard.

"The storm woke me up."

Kayla glanced toward her own window.

"This storm is crazy."

They spent the next few minutes talking about the weather, but eventually Jasmine noticed the smile that kept creeping across Amber's face.

"Wait a minute," she said.

Amber looked at her.

"What?"

"Why you smiling like that?"

"I'm not smiling."

"Yes, you are."

Amber tried to hide it, but that only made the girls more suspicious.

"Okay," Milly said. "What's his name?"

Amber laughed.

"Who?"

"The man."

"There is no man."

Milly shook her head.

"Amber, please. We know you."

Amber finally gave in.

"Okay, fine. I met somebody."

The girls immediately became interested.

Amber told them about the same mysterious guy she'd first noticed at the gas station, how she'd seen him again at work and how she learned that his name was KJ and that he was Simone's son.

"And let me tell y'all something," Amber said, lowering her voice even though there was nobody else in the room.

"He is even more fine."

The girls burst out laughing.

"How fine?" Milly asked.

Amber smiled.

"Fine fine."

She explained that he seemed younger than her, although she wasn't exactly sure how much younger, and that she hadn't really gotten the chance to talk to him much.

"But now I'm probably gonna see him a lot," Amber said. "Because I work with his mom."

jasmine raised her eyebrows.

"Ohhh, so you're excited."

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to."

Amber laughed and shook her head.

Eventually, the girls told her she needed to get ready before she was late for work.

Amber ended the call, got out of bed, and started getting ready.

Her cousin dropped her off since he had the day off and by the time Amber arrived at work, the rain was still coming down hard.

She hurried from the car to the entrance, holding her bag over her head even though it did very little to protect her.

"Have a good day," her cousin called from the car.

"You too!"

Amber rushed inside and shook the rain from her jacket.

The warmth inside immediately felt better than the cold, wet air outside.

She greeted the staff and headed into the back to put her things away. As she got settled, she could hear the rain pounding against the windows.

One of the staff members looked outside and shook her head.

"This weather is supposed to be like this all day."

Amber sighed.

"Great."

She laughed, but she couldn't help thinking about the drive home later because her weather app did say it might flood.'

She pushed the thought aside. For now, she had work to do.

The morning started off smoothly.

Amber helped with breakfast and assisted with the usual morning routine. She was beginning to understand the rhythm of the house better now. Things that had felt unfamiliar during her first few days were starting to feel more natural.

She knew where things were kept.

She knew which staff members handled certain responsibilities. She was becoming more comfortable speaking with the residents and recognizing the signs that someone might be getting overwhelmed before things escalated.

Amber was beginning to realize that working there wasn't going to be easy, but she was starting to enjoy it. There was something rewarding about knowing she was helping, even on the difficult days.

After breakfast, things became quieter for a while. Amber spent some time helping clean up and checking on the residents. She was talking with another staff member when she noticed Lindsey, one of the clients becoming restless.

At first, it wasn't anything unusual.

Lindsey moved around the room, appearing distracted and increasingly agitated. Amber watched her carefully without making the situation feel like she was being watched.

"Lindsey," Amber said gently, "you okay?"

Lindsey didn't answer.

Amber gave her some space.

A few moments passed.

Then Lindsey suddenly moved toward the wall. Amber immediately recognized that something was wrong.

"Lindsey, come over here."

Lindsey continued toward the wall.

"Come sit down for me."

Amber moved closer, but she didn't want to crowd her.

Lindsey suddenly tried to bang her head against the wall.

"Lindsey!" Amber immediately stepped in to redirect her.

Another staff member noticed what was happening and came over to help.

"She's trying to hurt herself," Amber said.

"I see her."

The staff attempted to redirect Lindsey away from the wall, but she continued fighting against the redirection. Amber stayed calm even though her heart had started beating faster.

"Lindsey, you're okay. Come with us. Let's go sit down."

Lindsey continued trying to move toward the wall. Amber knew they needed additional assistance.

She called for backup while the other staff member continued trying to keep Lindsey from hurting herself.

Within moments, additional staff arrived. The room became more active as everyone focused on keeping Lindsey safe.

Amber stepped back enough to allow the other staff members to assist while remaining close by.

She continued speaking calmly.

"Lindsey, we're not mad at you. We're just trying to keep you safe."

It took some time, but eventually Lindsey began calming down.

Her movements became less aggressive, and she stopped attempting to bang her head.

Amber watched carefully as the situation settled.

Once everything was under control, the staff checked on Lindsey and made sure she was okay. Amber finally let out the breath she'd been holding. One of the staff members looked at her.

"You good?"

Amber nodded.

"Yeah. That just scared me for a second."

"It happens. You handled yourself well."

Amber smiled slightly.

"Thank you."

The rest of the afternoon went much smoother.

Amber continued with her responsibilities, helped around the house, and spent time with the residents.

Outside, the storm never really let up.

Every time Amber glanced through the windows, the sky looked darker. Rainwater rushed along the streets, and cars moved slowly through the roads.

By the time her shift was coming to an end, Amber was ready to go home. She grabbed her phone and called her cousin.

"Hey, I'm about to get off."

Her cousin sighed on the other end.

"Yeah, I know. I'm gonna be late."

Amber frowned.

"Why?"

"The traffic is horrible because of this storm. I'm at the gym right now, but I'm gonna leave soon."

Amber looked toward the windows.

She could already imagine what the roads looked like.

"Don't worry about it. I can wait."

"It's just gonna take me longer than usual."

"Okay."

Amber ended the call and put her phone away.

She didn't want her cousin rushing through terrible traffic just because he had to come pick her up. She walked toward the front area and stood near the entrance, watching the rain pour down. She was trying to figure out what she was going to do when Simone walked through the door.

Simone noticed Amber almost immediately.

"Amber?"

Amber turned around.

"Yeah?"

"You okay?"

Amber smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Simone looked at her for a moment.

"You don't look fine."

Amber laughed softly.

"It's nothing. My cousin is supposed to pick me up, but the traffic is really bad because of the storm. He's at the gym right now, and I just don't want him stressing himself out trying to get here."

Simone nodded.

"Where do you live?"

Amber told her. "Sandy way Road."

Simone's expression changed slightly.

"Oh, I live that way too. But further."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We're over in Willow Creek Estates."

Amber nodded.

"I'm over in Maple Ridge Community."

Simone smiled.

"That's basically on the same route."

Amber already knew where the conversation was going.

"Oh, I'm okay. I'll just wait for my cousin."

"You don't need to wait." Simone pulled out her phone. "My son can take you."

Amber's heart immediately dropped.

Her son.

KJ.

She suddenly became very aware of how she looked, how tired she probably looked after working all day, and how nervous she already felt around him.

"Oh, no," Amber said quickly. "You don't have to do that."

Simone waved her off. "It's no problem."

"Seriously. I don't want to bother him."

"You're not bothering him."

Amber smiled nervously.

"I can just wait."

Simone shook her head.

"No. It's raining too hard, and your cousin is stuck in traffic. I'll call my son."

Amber opened her mouth to protest again, but Simone was already dialing.

Outside in the parking lot, KJ was sitting in his car.

The rain was hitting the roof and windshield so heavily that the entire parking lot looked blurred through the glass.

KJ was leaned back in the driver's seat, finishing up a blunt before he drive off.

His phone suddenly started vibrating in his hand.

He looked at the screen.

His mom.

He answered. "What's up?"

Simone got straight to the point. "I need you to take somebody home."

KJ raised an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"Amber. That cute young lady that just started working here." Simone said and look over at Amber who was blushing.

There was a brief silence.

KJ looked through the windshield toward the building. A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.

"Amber?"

"Yes. She's waiting inside. Her cousin can't get here because of the traffic."

KJ glanced down at the blunt in his hand before putting it away.

"Yeah, Ma. I got her."

Inside, Amber stood beside Simone, trying her best not to look nervous.

She knew exactly who was sitting outside. And the worst part was, KJ had no idea that Amber had spent the morning telling her best friends all about him.

Simone ended the call and looked at her.

"He's coming. Still parked outside. Let me walk you out so you dont get wet." Grabbing her umbers from the umbrella bin. Amber made a mental note to buy herself one.

"Okay.Thank you so much miss simone."

She looked toward the glass doors.

The rain continued pouring.

She texted her cousin that she was getting a ride and he immigrated replied to send all information possible.

Her heart was beating fast. Because getting into KJ's car was one thing.

Getting into KJ's car alone was something completely different.