The Way I Feel About You

Chapter 18

Then what could’ve been the strange white blur progressing right behind the glass windows we stood behind?

The flamboyant bashing from the door woke us from our stupor and Edwin was quick to place his hand on the door. With a swift pull, the door came back only a few feet then shut again. I could’ve sworn I heard howling from the wind or whatever that was out there. Edwin tried again, putting extra strength in it. It finally opened and Sam came inside spitting fluent Italian.

I stood there watching there facial expression to catch some of what was going on. As Angelo frantically spoke to him, Edwin grew serious and straightened up. At least seven times he ran a hand through his chocolate-colored hair. I patiently waited for the ending of this. As I waited, I watched the continuous white fluff fall from the black sky in awe until I heard the Italian frenzy go quiet. Turning to Sam, he gave a nod in my direction, looking dead at Edwin. His current character seemed completely changed from his earlier jolly one.

Before Edwin spoke, he cleared his throat. Then, opened his mouth only to close it again. After a calming sigh, he finally spoke. “We’re currently going through some blizzard, Stephanie.”

“Blizzard?” I repeated. How in the world was that possible?

“And, they’ve shut down all surrounding streets and stop lights.”

“How is this even possible?” I asked, my heart rate going up. I could feel the blood pumping behind my ears. “We live in Florida, we live in the southern United States.” I mumbled. Just yesterday the sun was giving off its daily shine, being as bright and happy as always.

“I know, but we can’t stay here. The power’s out so we’ll practically freeze overnight.”

Overnight? Did that mean that I wasn’t sleeping at home tonight . . . ?

“But, where else can we go? If the streets are shut down, how are we going to get anywhere?”

He quickly glanced at Angelo, then back to me. “There’s a Starbucks around the corner. It’s in the same center we’re in now, so it’s only a quick walk outside.”

All I did was sigh in reply. I didn’t know exactly what to say. I pondered for moment, but not about myself and this situation. What about Briana and Landon at the Formal? What about my parents? Surely, they’re snowed in, too. All I knew was that this was something that I’ve never even thought about. We live in Florida, for crying out loud! I guess I’d just have to go with instinct this time. Whatever felt right, we’d have to go on. And going to Starbucks somehow felt right. “Okay,” I replied simply, not showing any expression on my face.

Edwin glanced at Angelo again, who nodded once.

“You kids stay here.” Angelo said, grabbing a flash light out of nowhere and clicking it on. “I’ve got to get those keys I left for you two on the piano.” His voice sounded tight as he spoke, confusing me as to what else was going on.

When he was gone, Edwin turned to face me. “Listen,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I got you in to this, we should’ve just left a long time ago and we wouldn’t be stuck in this condition.”