The Roommate Down The Hall

Chapter 12: Astraphobia

Kyles POV***

I smiled and held my hand out, gesturing go Veronica to go first.

 Veronica and I walked side by side, picking up any stick that we thought was good enough. I looked at the sky. You were not able to see any of the stars because there were dark clouds covering the once clear, star filled sky.

"It looks like its gonna rain. You think it will hold out?" I asked Veronica as  we picked up two more twigs

"I don't really know. I hope it does" she replied back. She tossed the small scrap of wood to the ground.

I didn't get to say anything else. There was a huge clap of thunder, followed by a blinding strike of lightning that spread throughout the sky. Veronica jumped and sighed at herself for the action. I know that Veronica doesn't like storms. She doesn't mind the rain, but bad storms scared her. I had never really asked her why that was, but it never came up. Whenever there was a big storm at the house, she needed to be with someone or have someone home with her. Sometimes, if I was lucky, she would crawl into my bed when no one else was home. We would just talk or sometimes play a card game. She would stay there until she was about to pass out, eyes drooping. I didn't mind at all. I was glad that I could provide some sort of comfort, especially knowing what I know now.

"Hey now; you're fine. I'm right here." I murmured to her.

 I reached over with my free hand so I could wrap her little hand in my big one. She glanced down at the hands, then at me.Even though we were best friends, I felt that if I held her hand, I would be crossing some line. I can't really explain it, but it was there.  I hoped that this wasn't going to be the first thing that made her upset. Thankfully for me, she gave me a slight smile, which I returned. I knew it shocked her a bit by the whole hand thing, but hey; it helped. I'm not sure who it helped more...

***

The thunder and lightning continued to boom as we made our way back to the camp fire. I didn't let go of Veronica's hand the whole time. As far as I could tell, it kept her nerves at bay. She did not flinch or jump the rest of the time that I had her soft fingers.Austin and Allison were already back at the pit. I had a sneaking suspicion that they didn't look very had for s'more sticks. I looked over to where the sticks they had gathered were laying. There was only 3 twigs that looked like they would break under the weight of one marshmallow. I rolled my eyes at the poor excuse for sticks. I planted my butt in the nearest seat.  The fire was kicking out heat at this point, creating a bubble of light and warmth. We all just began to talk like we normally do. Allison snorted at stories that Austin told about someone at work. Veronica had a smile on her face as she crunched into a s'more

 We were just sitting down at the campfire when I felt my first raindrop. It was cold and landed on my upper arm. I stole a glance to the side. Ronica's didn't feel it yet. Or at least I don't think.  She looked content, her feet tucked under the arm of her chair, slightly leaning back. She watched the flames dance, glancing around at the person chattering at the time.Maybe it was just my imagination. No one seemed to notice.

A roaring clap of thunder tore through the cabin grounds.

Suddenly, the clouds burst and a down pour began. I could hear the girls scream. They went off, running towards the cabin. I let out a laugh of irony.  Austin and I grabbed all of the stuff and ran back up to the cabin as well.Once inside , we let everything fall out on to the table. I didn't grab the chairs, but that didn't matter right now. They still sat where the fire once was. The once bright flames were now just steam due to the rain.

***

We all Had to change. It may not have been raining buckets at the time of our flee, yet our clothes were too wet to lounge in comfortably.  We all gathered into the common room of the cabin. We were all disappointed that we had gotten rained out. You could see it on all of our faces.