by Sophie Love
Just then, Emily heard a horrendous cracking noise. She gasped and looked through the slats of the shuttered kitchen window just in time to see a tree fall across the lawn.
“Daniel!” Emily cried.
“Quick,” he said. “It’s getting worse.”
They rushed through the basement door and hauled it shut behind them. Emily’s legs trembled as she raced down the steps. The lights began flickering.
Daniel squeezed her hand. “Good thing you got the roof fixed over the summer,” he said.
At the mention of the summer, Emily felt her jaw tighten. She couldn’t help but recall the sense of abandonment from Daniel, of how he’d helped her source the slate tiles they needed to get the job done but hadn’t been there through the weeks of labor that had taken place in his absence.
The lights flickered again. Emily and Daniel reached the last step and the vast basement opened up before them. Then the lights completely died. They were plunged into darkness.
In the distance they could hear the kids running around through the labyrinthine corridors, slamming doors as they looked into all the different rooms, hunting for the vaults and the treasure within them. Emily could just make out their glowing flashlights.
It was like a rabbit’s warren in the basement, with corridors coming off corridors. Emily herself hadn’t even gone into every room in the basement and was sure that some more of her father’s secrets would be revealed to her once she did. Maybe one of the children would manage to get into one of the locked up vaults and discover another piece of the puzzle.
They finally caught up with everyone the wine cellar. Yvonne was holding a candle, as Suzanna gripped a lantern in her trembling hands. Even down here, they could hear the roaring wind. At least the wine cellar was more comfortable than the other random rooms in the basement; her father had set it up with a banquet table and chairs.
“It’ll be okay,” Emily reassured everyone, though she herself felt anything but confident. Instead, she was racked with guilt for asking her friends to take such a risk. But she forced herself to smile in a carefree manner. “Why don’t we sample some wine?” she suggested, gesturing to the rows of dusty bottles.
This seemed to delight everyone. Emily went over to the wine rack, which took up the whole length of one of the brick walls, and plucked out a dusty old bottle.
“This is amazing,” Wesley said, studying the faded label. “I used to work in a wine store. It was always a dream of mine to get into the business. Trading, maybe a bit of producing.”
“What happened to the dream?” Emily asked.
Wesley looked over at Suzanna. “Well, we decided to start a family. Settle down. Get sensible jobs.”
It made Emily sad to think that Wesley had given up on his dream. For the first time she felt a sense of pride in herself for having taken such a huge risk by giving up her own “sensible job” in New York City. It had been less than a year and yet she’d achieved so much. She’d been brave, and had never given herself enough credit.
She popped the cork and poured everyone a glass. Daniel lit more candles, making the old brick room look both beautiful and terrifying. Everyone clinked their glasses together and took a sip of the pungent red wine.
“Exquisite,” Wesley said, swirling his wine like a pro.
“I think you should take a risk,” Emily said suddenly, her eyes sparkling. “Start a wine business. What’s the point in life if we don’t follow our passions?”
Suzanna looked horrified at the suggestion. She laughed nervously in an attempt to veil her true emotions and took a long sip of wine.
Kieran piped up. “I’m siding with Emily on this one,” he said. “All I ever wanted to do when I was a child was fly planes. I was obsessed with them. Every birthday, every Christmas, all I asked for were magazines about planes, model planes, hell, even paper planes entertained me. As soon as I turned sixteen I started learning to fly at a local airfield. And I loved it. It was everything I’d dreamed it would be. But my folks wanted me to take over the family business. Refrigeration! Can you imagine me being even remotely satisfied selling refrigeration systems to the poultry industry?” He laughed and sipped his wine. “It was so hard turning them down. The disappointment on their faces, my God, I will never forget it. I don’t know if they were ever truly proud of my achievements as a pilot. Climbing the ranks, becoming a captain, none of that mattered to them. But to me it wasn’t just a desire, it was a need. I had to fly to be happy in life. And I don’t regret it for a second.”
The room fell silent as everyone soaked in Kieran’s story. Emily felt herself growing closer to the gang of parents. Yvonne squeezed Kieran’s arm.
“It was the right thing to do,” she said, grinning her beautiful grin. “We would never have met if you hadn’t followed your dream.”
Kieran seemed a little choked up. He drained his glass of wine. “I think I need another one of these.”
The mood in the room eased. Wesley selected another bottle of red wine for the group. Emily could feel the effects of the alcohol already. She became more giggly, more open. Soon, they were all laughing and sharing stories.
They could hear the children running around the basement, laughing happily also. Even when there was a massive crash—one that told Emily another of her beloved trees had fallen—they squealed with frightened delight rather than terror. Both Emily and Daniel were relieved to know Chantelle was finally happy, even if it sounded as though the entire house was about to fall down around them.
As another huge crash of thunder sounded out above them, Emily glugged down her wine and quickly poured herself another. She was going to need more than a bit of Dutch courage to get through tonight.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
When Emily awoke the next morning—wrapped in a sleeping bag in the basement, groggy headed from too much wine and merriment throughout the evening—she rushed upstairs to assess the damage of last night’s storm. To her great relief the new roof had held out and there were no signs of leaks. But outside on the lawn, Emily was confronted by a scene of devastation. The lawn was completely flooded and several trees had fallen.
As Emily gazed around in shock and disbelief, she saw that the large tree between her and Trevor’s properties had fallen into his house, smashing through the roof and even damaging some of the brickwork on the upstairs floor. The window where Trevor would peer at her had been destroyed entirely.
Emily was struck with sudden fear. Had Trevor been home during the storm? What if he’d been in the upstairs room, spying on her like he so often did?
She ran across the soggy grass toward Trevor’s house and hopped through the new gap the tree had smashed into the fence between their two properties. She rushed up Trevor’s porch steps and knocked loudly on his door.
“Trevor?” she called when there was no answer. “Trevor, are you in there?”
She peered through the window into his living room. Nothing was out of order there. She’d never actually seen Trevor’s house and was somewhat surprised by the décor, which was more modern than she’d expected from the man.
Emily briefly hesitated, wondering if she was intruding on Trevor’s privacy by being here. But her overwhelming concern that something terrible had happened to him drove her on. She rushed around to the back of his house and was shocked to see even more devastation out there. His shed had fallen completely, the planks lying splintered, the contents—a mower and hoe amongst other items—were strewn across the grass, as though they’d been flung there by an angry giant. It looked to Emily like a tornado had torn through Trevor’s backyard rather than a storm. He’d clearly taken the brunt of it.
Karma, Emily thought, then immediately regretted it.
As Emily headed toward the back door, she saw there was another fallen tree. The top branches of this one had smashed through the back kitchen window, and shards of glass hung precariously in the door frame. Emily carefully stepped into Trevor’s kitchen, which was white and sparkly clean.
/>
“Trevor?” she called into the eerily silent house.
For the first time she heard a muffled murmuring noise. Emily leapt into action, following the noise, hurrying through the corridor calling for Trevor, listening to the groaning response, growing more frantic and terrified with every second that passed.
Then she rounded the corner into Trevor’s utility room. There he was, lying sprawled on the floor, covered in debris and plaster that had come from the ceiling above falling down upon him. A huge steel ceiling beam lay diagonally across his chest, crushing him into the floor. It took Emily a moment to work out what had happened. When she did she gasped. The large fallen tree between their properties must have hit into the water tank in the attic, causing it to flood throughout the night, weakening the framework. Then the smaller tree in the garden must have damaged it further. Finally, when Trevor had emerged from his basement bunker this morning, he’d rocked the weakened framework, causing the ceiling to fall down onto him. The whole house could be unstable.
“Trevor, can you hear me?” Emily cried.
He murmured in response, his eyelids flickering open and fluttering several times before closing again. Emily’s stomach dropped with terror. Trevor needed help and quick.
She jumped up and ran out of the house, careful not to snag herself on the jagged glass shards of the broken back door, and headed back across the marshy grass to her home. Her shoes were soaked through by the time she made it back, and her pant legs had absorbed cold, grassy water.
“Daniel!” she cried, tearing through the corridor.
In the kitchen, she drew to a halt. Daniel was there putting on a fresh batch of coffee. He swiveled to face her.
“There you are,” he said, reaching for her. “I was worried. I had no idea what had happened to you.” His expression changed when he saw the look on her face. He took her hands. “You’re freezing. What’s going on?”
“It’s Trevor,” Emily stammered. “He’s trapped. Hurt. He needs help.”
“What?” Daniel gasped, his eyes widening.
“We need to hurry!” Emily cried, more frantic now, frustrated by Daniel’s confusion. “The house is unstable. A water tank must have burst and flooded out the place.”
“We should call Jason,” Daniel said, referring to their firefighter friend. “If the house is unstable we shouldn’t go inside.”
“We can’t wait for the fire department!” Emily exclaimed. “We need to move now!”
Finally, Daniel agreed. He sprang into action. He rushed toward the basement door in order to call down to the others, but found that they were already halfway up the stairs. They must have been alerted by the ruckus.
“What’s going on?” Yvonne asked as Bailey wedged her way past her, pushing herself into the kitchen.
“Look!” she cried, pointing out the window at the wreck of the garden.
“Oh my,” Suzanna gasped as she emerged out after the others. “The storm really did a number on your vegetable patch, Daniel.”
“Never mind the vegetable patch,” Emily cried. “My neighbor is trapped. Injured. He needs help.”
Kieran and Wesley filed out from the basement stairs with Chantelle and Toby behind them. Mogsy and Rain followed.
Chantelle looked terrified. “What’s happening?” she cried, clinging to Emily’s leg then cringing when she realized her pants were saturated with water.
“We just need to help someone,” Emily said hurriedly, trying to reassure Chantelle as much as she could, even though she herself needed reassurance. Emily looked up at Suzanna. “Can you stay with the kids?”
“Of course,” she said, nodding, her face drawn with anxiety. She pulled Chantelle and Toby into her.
“Can I come?” Bailey asked, excited.
“No way,” Yvonne said sharply. “Stay here and behave.”
Bailey pouted, but no one had the time to deal with a cranky child.
The adults ran toward Trevor’s house.
“Watch the glass here,” Emily said as she led them through the broken back door, then along the hallway and into the utility room. Trevor was now lying unconscious, pinned beneath the ceiling beam.
“Oh God,” Yvonne gasped.
Together they grabbed the beam and tried to haul it off him. It weighed a ton and everyone grimaced as they attempted to lift the large steel girder. Finally, they managed to lift it just an inch. Trevor groaned loudly as the pressure that had been on his chest was finally released.
“I can’t hold this for long!” Wesley cried, his arms shaking from the effort.
Trevor woke up and began to moan loudly with pain.
“I’m going to try and pull him out,” Emily said. “Has everyone got a good hold?”
Daniel nodded, and Emily could see the muscles straining in his neck. She would have to move fast if she was going to get Trevor out before they had no choice but to drop the heavy beam.
“It’s okay, Trevor,” Emily said as she crouched down. “You’re going to be okay. Just work with me.” She scooted her arms beneath his armpits. “Ready? You need to push with your feet.”
Above them, the steel beam moved precariously close.
“Keep it still!” Daniel barked.
“Trevor,” Emily said hurriedly. “Stay with me.” He was passing out again from the pain. “I can’t get you out unless you help.”
Finally, something clicked in Trevor’s head. He kicked out with his legs. Bit by bit, Emily was able to pull him free from his trap. She heaved, putting all her weight into it. Then with a final push, they tumbled out into the utility room. A second later, Daniel and the others dropped the ceiling beam. It crashed into the floor.
Yvonne rushed over to Emily and Trevor. “Are you okay?”
Panting, Emily nodded and sat up. She felt dazed from the exertion but her focus was on Trevor. Even as Daniel rushed over and tried to help her to her feet, she shoved him off and instead went to help Yvonne maneuver Trevor into a sitting position. He was covered in white plaster and looked like a zombie. He coughed, making a cloud of dust fly into the air.
“Don’t get up too quickly,” Emily told him.
With everyone’s help they managed to get the old man onto his feet, and led him into the kitchen, where they plopped him into one of the chairs.
“Emily,” Trevor muttered, looking up at her. He seemed surprised to see her there. Then he reached out and patted her hand.
Emily was shocked. Trevor had never shown even a smidgen of kindness toward her. She felt bad for all the terrible things she’d thought about him over the months. Looking at him now, covered in dust, looking frail and terrified, she realized that Trevor was just a vulnerable human after all.
“He might have a concussion,” Emily said to the others. “I’ll call Dr. Patel, see if she can come out to the house and check him over.”
“Good idea,” Daniel agreed. “I’ll see if Jason’s able to come out and look at the structural damage.”
They both disappeared into cell phone conversations. Yvonne stayed with Trevor, asking him questions gently, trying to keep him awake and talking. Kieran, meanwhile, poured the old man a glass of water, while Wesley started to sweep up some of the debris.
Both Jason and Sunita hurried over to the house as fast as they could. As Jason and Daniel wandered around assessing the structural damage to the property, Sunita checked Trevor over, shining her flashlight in his eyes, checking his head for any signs of injury, listening to his chest.
“You’re a very lucky man, Trevor,” Sunita finally said, wrapping her stethoscope up and putting it in her pocket. “No breaks, no fractures, no concussion. Barely even a graze.”
Emily was so relieved to hear the news. It was almost a miracle that he hadn’t been hurt in the fall.
“It’s a good thing you’re such a caring neighbor,” Sunita said to Emily. “The number of people who live alone and have no one to check on them, it’s tragic really. If he’d been stuck there for a day he would have qu
ickly succumbed to dehydration.”
The thought horrified Emily. She vowed to be kinder to Trevor, even if he remained as unpleasant toward her as always. He was just a lonely man, as fragile as any other human.
Jason and Daniel returned from assessing the structural damage to the house.
“I know just the people to call, Trevor,” Jason explained. “Don’t you worry. We’ll get this fixed up for you in no time at all.”
Trevor nodded in a hypnotized manner. Emily chewed her lip anxiously.
“Is he going to be okay?” she asked Sunita. “He seems really out of it.”
Trevor must have overheard them, because for the first time in a long time he became animated again. “I’ll be fine,” he said dismissively, removing the blanket from his legs and standing. But as soon as he did he lost his balance and stumbled.
Emily grasped his arm just in time and lowered him back into the chair.
“Maybe you could stay with him for a bit?” Sunita suggested in a quieter voice. “He’s obviously quite shaken up.”
Emily nodded her agreement. Then to her friends she said, “Why don’t you guys head home? I’ll stay here with Trevor.”
“As long as you’re okay,” Yvonne said.
Emily nodded. “I am. And thanks for everything, guys, I really appreciate you coming out for Chantelle.”
Everyone left Trevor’s house, none of them saying a word. Emily went to make him a cup of tea.
“You don’t have to stay,” Trevor said.
Emily could tell from his tone that his pride had been stung by the whole experience. Though he was clearly grateful for her help, she could tell that there was a bit of Trevor Mann that wished it could have been literally anyone else in the world who’d come to his rescue.
“I know,” she replied with a little shrug. “But I want to.”
As awkward as Emily felt intruding on Trevor’s life, she also knew it was the right thing to do. Trevor may be a surly, angry man but he shouldn’t be alone, not after what had just happened. No one should be alone at a time like that.
She finished making the tea, hearing from the other side of the window the sound of her friends leaving in their cars, of Mogsy and Rain barking, of Chantelle’s happy giggles. She felt a pang of jealousy, wanting to be there, to savor every moment. But she was here with Trevor and she felt glad for it. Perhaps this shared experience could be the start of something different between them.