The Story of Us

Prologue

  My eyes flew open to the sound of something pounding against my window. I looked outside to find nothing but rain, hail, and a tornado forming in the pasture where my horses used to graze the grass. I took a deep breath closing my eyes to pray, "Lord, please be with me, let this storm dissolve and don't let it harm anyone or anything, amen." I whisper to myself as the tornado grew bigger and bigger, spinning faster and faster. I froze as I heard my mother stubble down the stairs to the basement. Did she really not think it was necessary to get me before going down to safety? Was she going to leave me to die? I know the pregnancy came as I shock but I didn't think she hated me that much. That was a low blow, even for her.
   Rushing down the stairs I turned the battery radio to the weather station. The weatherman was talking in a semi-calm voice saying that the tornado was moving South. "Good south, away for here." I said to myself for reassurance. Away from my house and away from the small town I call home. Although my house is in the country I'm still in the same general area. I sighed a breath of relief, then quickly sucked it back in when I realized that if the storm was moving South that meant it was moving straight for Allen.
   Allen is my best friend, boyfriend, my number one. The though of potentially losing him scares me more than anyone will ever know. As my mom sat on a stool in the middle of the room drinking whatever she had in her hand my mind started to wonder. She probably wouldn't care if the house and everything in it was blown away by the storm still raging on outside. Everything including me.
   "If you haven't taken shelter do so now! The storm has changed directions and is headed straight for Greenville." It was obvious that the weatherman was frantic, he sounded like he was trying not to sound that way but was failing miserably.
   "Cater, turn that thing off right now!" My drunken mother yelled at me as she took a drink from her glass filled with a dark liquid. I looked at her half way surprised that she even remembers my name.
   "Do you want us to die?" I screeched through gritted teeth. She smiled a smile that put a pit in the bottom of my stomach.
   "You, I wouldn't care. My, eh not as much but I still wouldn't care." She gestured to me with her glass as she spoke. When she did so her alcohol slid to one side, I felt a lump start to form in my throat. I was ready to scream at her, tell her how much pain she caused me. The more she acts like she doesn't care the more I forget everything kind thing she has ever done for me. All the good memories from years past are beginning to be clouded by the bad, more current memories. Then I heard the man on the radio talking again.
   "Attention, do not leave your homes, stay indoors. Debris is flying everywhere due to extremely high winds. I repeat do not leave your homes." His voice faded more with each step that I claimed up. I grabbed my dad's old jacket, and my raincoat from the hooks in the mudroom as a ran through and out the door I went. As I flung the door open the wind caught it throwing it into the wall. Rain, hail and other random items of debris were getting blown into the house, I didn't bother shutting the door. I didn't care what happens that house, the only good thing about that whole place is that my dad used to live there.  I didn't care about the women inside. Shocked, I mentally kicked myself, knowing that wasn't the truth, she just didn't care about me. I threw my hands up the protect myself from the storm, the gesture didn't do much good. Hail struck my face, despite my various attempts to block it. I had no where left to go but the barn, so I ran as fast as I could with the wind trying to push me back. When I reached the door I punched in the code on the lock and stood back, waiting for the door to open. I ducked inside the barn to shelter as soon as it was high enough for me to go under. Then I pushed the button so the door would close behind me. I ran to the back to the stall I knew would have the freshest hay. All of the stalls were clean since I haven't had horses since about two years ago. Sometimes I put fresh hay in them because I like coming out here every now and then to relax. I quickly found some blankets and spread them out to make a pallet in the corner. I laid down on the soft blankets, pulling the last one up to my chin. I closed my eyes and felt a warm tear slid down already damp face.
   The next thing I knew I was opening my eyes. I wasn't in the barn, I was in my warm bed, under my nice covers in my house. Allen didn't get hurt in the storm and I wasn't alone in the barn. Only two things from my dream were true. One, my mom is an alcoholic who doesn't care about me. She would have left me in my room, she would do so in a heartbeat. She just doesn't care. The second thing that's true is a hard one for me, I'm still pregnant.