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THREE HOURS, eight cans of tea, and an entire pizza later, Ray comes down the staircase, rubbing his eyes. He walks into the living room to find his daughter laying on the couch with her feet resting on a young man's lap, who is sitting at the end of the couch.
"Taron," Ray says, standing by the television.
"Hello," Taron replies, waving once to Ray.
"When'd you get here?"
"A few hours ago." Ray nods and Eleanor pauses the movie.
"Where's Robbie?" Eleanor shrugs, sitting up. "What, so you two have been down here by yourselves?"
"We're just watching movies," Eleanor assures.
"Yeah, I know what that leads to. I was a teenage guy once."
"Jesus," Eleanor says in agitation as Taron clears his throat.
Ray puts his hands up in defense, saying, "Hey, I'm just being a dad."
"Yeah, well, knock it off," Eleanor replies, running her fingers through her hair.
"So, you don't know where Robbie is?" Ray asks.
"Nope," Eleanor says, looking at her father with the slightest trace of a smirk. "He just took your car and left."
"You're joking." Eleanor shakes her head. Without another word, Ray walks out of the living room and through the front door. Eleanor looks at Taron and rolls her eyes, causing Taron to chuckle.
Outside, Ray's attention redirects to what everyone on the street is staring at: a gnarly storm hovering just a few miles behind the line of condos. He jogs around the house to the backyard, allowing a clear line of sight to the congregation of dark, swirling clouds and sparks of electricity.
He stares for a moment longer before jogging to the back door of the house, saying, "Hey, do you guys want to see something cool?" through the screen door. "Come check this out."
Taron and Eleanor look at each other before standing, Taron following Eleanor through the kitchen and into the backyard. The two of them join Ray in staring at the black clouds overhead. Eleanor pushes her hair out of her face, for the intense wind that continuously picks up speed has managed to blow the red strands in her line of sight.
"I've never seen a storm like that," Taron declares.
"Yeah, me either," Ray replies.
Eleanor looks around, noticing the direction in which trees and plants are bending. She realizes which way her hair is blowing, too, and why it's so odd that she can't seem to get her hair out of her face.
