“Okay,” she squeaked.
Throwing open the door to Jennifer’s room, he peered into the darkness and could barely make out the sleeping girl across the room. “Jennifer? Jennifer, it’s Tim. Come on sweetie you need to wake up. There’s a big storm coming, and we need to get down to the basement.” He could hear Jo-Jo crying in the next room, obviously grumpy from being woken up in the middle of the night.
“Tim?” Jennifer groggily moaned.
“Yes. Come on. We need to get your sisters.”
The little girl’s hand was tiny in his as he pulled her into the hallway, meeting Jessica in the process. Baby Jo-Jo’s eyes were wide in the dim light from the phone and Jessica’s dress seemed to glow. The foursome made it to the bedroom and burst through the door. The wind had picked up and through the windows was a powder flash of light underneath a cloud base silhouetted by lightning.
“Jennifer, hold on to your mama,now!”
The little girl started to whimper as she clutched her mother’s skirt. Jessica frantically waved the light back and forth between two beds. Jill sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“Is it morning?” she asked sleepily, her blonde hair matted to one side of her head.
Tim grabbed her around the waist clutching her to his side while frantically looking everywhere for the fourth child.
“Where’s Julia?” Jessica panicked, focusing the beam of light on the child’s empty bed. “Tim, where is Julia?Oh my god!”
He forced the girls out the door and ushered them to the stairs as Jessica yelled her daughter’s name over and over, all of them noticeably upset. Jessica almost slipped on the edges of her gown as they quickly descended.
“Get to the basement—I’ll go back and find her! Huddle up under the bar. Use your dress to cover their faces.”
When they got to the top of the basement stairs, Tim set Jill down and kneeled in front of Jennifer.
“Jennifer, you’re a big girl. I need you to help your little sister down the stairs. Hold onto her hand real tight, and do as your mama tells you once you’re down there.”
Jennifer’s face was red and wet with tears. She could only nod. When Tim stood, he focused on Jessica who was holding an inconsolable baby Jo-Jo in her arms. He patted the toddler on the head before cupping Jessica’s cheek in his hand and offered her a small smile.
“I’ll be right back. Get the girls settled. Me and Julia will be right there,” he reassured her. “She’s probably just scared and hiding under the bed or in the closet. I’ll check the bathroom too.”
Jessica’s eyes were wide with fear as she stared back at him, unable to respond.
“I love you, Jessica. Everything will be okay.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The muscles in Tim’s legs burned as he bolted up the stairs two at a time.
“Julia?Julia!” he kept yelling over and over again.
Quickly, he knelt to the floor and looked under the first bed. Nothing. Grabbing the handle to the closet, he flung the door open and used his hands to feel the floor among the tiny shoes and flowery scented dresses hanging across a bar.
“Julia?! Come on sweetie it’s not safe! Please, come out. I’ll protect you, I promise!”
Kneeling in front of the second bed by the window, lightning flashed and for a split second, he was able to spot a small figure huddled in the corner clutching a blanket.
“There you are. Come on. I’ve got you!”
Her small leg was cold to the touch as he pulled her out and into his arms. She clung to him tightly, her tiny body shaking with fear.
“Honey, I’ve got you. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“No,” she whispered. “Don’t let go.”
Tim was taken aback hearing her small, frail voice for the first time. He couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. “Youcantalk! Iknewit!”
At that moment, the air pressure changed and the house creaked. There was a continuous rumble, like a locomotive amongst popping sounds soon followed by the shattering of glass and wood splintering. Tim and Julia looked up to see the roof being peeled back from the house, a brief amount of light glinting inside before it disappeared in a shower of pink insulation falling from the sky.
