“Amelia! Stop that,” Beth says as a loud snap echoes overhead.
A deafening crack reverberates through the night. We all freeze in disbelief as a cacophony of destruction tears through the air. The ceiling groans and gives way under the weight of a falling giant tree, and shards of plaster rain down like confetti as the tree crashes through, its branches shattering the tablescape. Crystal glasses clatter against fine china, and the floralarrangements are reduced to chaos in an instant. The tree brings with it a cascade of debris and leaves, creating a whirlwind of broken branches entwined with shattered glass.
I hear myself screaming as the lights go out and the dining room is plunged into darkness. I crawl out from under the tree, scrambling to safety before there’s another loud crack and the tree trunk falls through the roof and onto the dining room table. I hope everyone else managed to get out of there unscathed. I don’t really know, though. I was too busy saving myself. Self-preservation is a vital life skill, one I’ve been utilizing this entire, chaotic weekend.
41
Beth
I know I’m in shock because everything happening is taking place in slow motion. I hold my hands up to my face. Maybe this is a nightmare? I fold my hands together. It’s real. I’ve never been so terrified in my life. A huge tree narrowly missed crushing us all, and now we need to get out of here. The dining room, once a sparkling haven, is now a blend of destruction and the raw power of the fallen tree that has reshaped it.
Roxy sits in her chair at the end of the table, and Jamie sits next to her. Across the table from me, Amelia stands blinking.
“Roxy! Jamie! Amelia! We have to go, now!” I yell.
Amelia runs out of the room, but Jamie remains frozen in her seat. I run to Roxy, and she points to her arm.
“I’m stuck,” she says, eyes wide with fear.
I see part of the tree, a large branch, has pinned Roxy’s armto the table. Somehow, I find superhuman strength and lift the tree branch.
“Move, Roxy, now,” I say, holding the branch.
She pulls her arm out from under the branch as my strength gives out. I notice a large gash on her arm as I grab her by the shoulder. “We need to get out of here.”
Roxy nods and stands up, finally ready to go.
“Jamie, come on,” I say, taking her roughly by the arm. I hurry from the room as the ceiling groans again under the weight of the tree. As we make it to the foyer, I hear another deafening crack, and I know the entire trunk has crashed through the ceiling. I can’t believe how close we all came to dying, right there, in the opulent dining room now in ruins.
By the time I usher Jamie and Roxy into the living room, Amelia greets me, her navy dress torn and disheveled, her expression a mix of shock and disbelief. She is staring at the piano where Brett’s body lies covered by a sheet, like a sleeping ghost. What a catastrophe.
“Jamie, Roxy needs medical care,” I say, hoping to snap her back to life, back to her career.
Jamie nods. “Yes, of course. Roxy, let me see that arm. Please.”
“OK, but I think I need to lie down,” Roxy says, dropping to the floor. Roxy’s dress is covered in blood now, and Jamie makes quick work of ripping the bottom of her dress to make a bandage. Outside the wind has stopped, but that clearly doesn’t mean we’re out of danger. I hope another tree doesn’t decideto smash into us, its roots, firmly entrenched in the earth for decades, breaking free tonight.
Jamie tends to Roxy’s arm as Ryan and Greer rush into the room.
“Is everyone all right?” Ryan asks, hurrying to Roxy and Jamie. “Roxy, what happened?”
“A tree fell through the ceiling,” she says. “My arm was pinned.”
“She’s going to be fine, but it will need medical treatment,” Jamie says.
Greer walks to Jamie’s side. I watch as they have an awkward embrace. “I’m glad you’re all right. When we heard that loud crash, well, I thought the worst. We’ll get through this, Jamie.”
And as I watch their love story hold firm, I get angry. Greer doesn’t know the worst of it, though, because he left the dining room before her full confession. He doesn’t know that Jamie left Sunny to die in the pool. That she could have saved her.
“I love you,” Jamie says, and they kiss.
I turn away, disgusted, I guess, with who Jamie really is, and was.
“Honey, could you go to our room, get my medical bag so I can treat and wrap Roxy’s arm? She’s going to need stitches,” Jamie turns back to the patient, patting Roxy’s shoulder.
“Yes, now that you two lovebirds have reunited, I’d love to stop bleeding out,” Roxy says, the drama queen returning.
“Be right back with it,” Greer says and disappears into the dark house using his phone’s flashlight to show the way. Iwouldn’t want to go back down those hallways. The hole in the roof has allowed dust and debris to circulate through the house, I’m sure, reaching us here in this room now. My chest is tight with dust inhalation.
