After The Storm

Chapter 3: 5 Years Later

5 years later...

It was like only yesterday that the accident happened. To have a part of your family ripped from your grasp as easy as a pencil falling. It hurt and Angelina didn't know if she would ever recover from the pain and the grief, but she knew Addy would tell her to get the hell up and Jeb and Praveen would drag her up out of bed like she would do to them most days if they were all exhausted including her and there was nothing to do or when she wasn't painting or hanging out with Javi, Kate, or Addy.

So, she didn't. she held her head high and moved on. It wasn't easy and some days she still feels the pain of her closest friends being literally ripped from her grasp, but she'll be ok even though it doesn't seem like it sometimes. They would always be with her. In the months following the accident, Kate and Javi were like shells of their former selves. Angie tried to keep the three of them together, but they seemed to drift, no matter how hard she tried to keep them together.

Kate seemed to take it the hardest. She would go over to Kate's house, where her mom, Kathy also lived. The place being her childhood home. The barn, once a place of happy memories, now was like a ghost town. Kate had her mom cover everything up. She never went in there again after that day.

For Angie, every square inch of the barn held a special memory for her. Movie nights in the loft, her and Javi dancing, Addy and the others would join them a lot too. The tables, where they tested/ made small experiments. The walls were covered with photos that weren't hung up in her room at the house.

After the accident, Javi and Kate moved out. The house being too painful for them to be in. Angie wasn't ready to leave, so she started getting a job plus selling her art on the side.

Her parents and her brother, Tyler flew in from Arkansas. Her parents live in Texas, but at the time, they were visiting Tyler who was going to the University of Arkansas. They were going to visit her next, but when they heard she was in the hospital, all three rushed in.

Angie was left with scars going from her cheek all the way down to her left side. The scars would heal, but the brunette wasn't sure if things would be ok after that. She worked through the pain and things started to get better.

Javi seemed lost and Angie was trying her best to help her best friend. Everything seemed to be ok after that. Not too much later, Javi came to her and said he was joining the military. Last she heard, he was stationed in Miami, which was his hometown. 

At this point, Kate had disappeared. She quit her PHD program and decided to move to New York. She would call now and then, but those seemed to be stopping too. Javi said he would write as much as he could, but a year ago, the letters stopped, and she didn't know why.

After graduating with her degrees in Art and Meteorology, Angie wanted to help make a difference in people's lives after dealing with a tornado. So, she made one. She started a non-profit organization called the Arts vs. Twisters foundation. Her foundation helps with tornado research and helps those who are affected by tornados.

It was hard but Angie never gave up. She knew her brother was doing his own part as well. He and his childhood friend Boone created a YouTube channel. She was a part of the channel sometimes and even went on a chase or two. She even started a Tik-Tok and an Instagram page, showing off her artwork and for her foundation as well.

Angelina was now 28 years old and still living amongst the Oklahoma plains. She still lives in the house they all bought together. Their stuff except for a few things were gone, the remaining 3 decided to give Addy, Praveen, and Jeb's stuff back to their families after their funerals. A few things were kept as mementos to their memory. Angelina just couldn't find it in her heart to leave.