14. ANOTHER OPTION

"Would you like to join me when I go upstairs?" Brent asks when he is finished with his tea.

"Err…" I do not know if I want to go up. What if the storm is worse than it was? What if there is no house anymore? What if the storm calmed down and Brent can go home? I realise that the one scenario I want least is the last mentioned. I like having Brent here. I did not realise I felt lonely in this house because I was always content with being alone. Now Brent is here and I am not sure I want him to leave just yet.

"I can assure you if the house caved in, we would have heard something already. So do not worry about that right now." Brent seems to be able to read my mind. Hopefully not everything.

"I think I will let you tell me how bad it is when you open the door and then I will decide." I smile at him. His mouth spreads into a beautiful smile.

"Very well, I prefer you stay down here anyway. I do not know how stable the house is and it would be the worst thing if you get hurt now."

"Oh yes, it would be really difficult to get to any medical services." I nod while I agree with him.

Bent looks at me in silence for a moment. There is some emotion that crosses his face that I wasn't able to read in the fleeting moment it passed. He leans closer and kisses me on my forehead.

"Yes, that too."

Brent gets up and takes my cup. He places the cups on the makeshift table in the middle of the room and goes to stand at the bottom of the stairs. He closes his jacket up.

I get up from the bed and walk towards him. Standing next to him we both look up towards the door at the top of the stairs.

We do not know what is on the other side of that door. It could be good news or it could be bad news. We will only know when the door is opened.

Brent looks at me and smiles.

"Well then, here I go" he says in an animated voice. I laugh at him and quickly put my arms around him for a quick hug.

Brent wraps me in his arms and holds me tight. The quick hug turns into an embrace that stirs emotions in me that I wasn't ready to feel. I let go of him and take a step back. He smiles and climbs the stairs leading to the door.

He unbolts the door and slowly opens the door. A gust of strong wind comes down into the basement. Brent shows me his open hand, indicating to me that I have to stay. He disappears into the house.

My heart is hammering against my chest. I can see the wind blowing in the house. I know the attic window is broken, but for the wind to blow through the house like this must mean that there is another opening somewhere where the wind is coming in.

My heart sinks. I do not know if this old house can withstand such a terrible storm. The sounds coming from upstairs are those of a raging storm.

It feels like forever before Brent opens the door and rushes down the stairs. His hair is blown in all directions and his cheeks are red with the cold. He places some things on the floor next to me and rushes up the stairs again. He leaves the door open but the wind swings it open ad slams it shut again. I look at the things Brent placed beside me. It is a small box with a portable phone charger and my mobile phone which I left in the ground floor study.

The door opens and Brent comes into the basement again. He bolts the door and comes down the stairs.

He stands next to me and looks me in the eye. He looks worried. He is clearly overthinking what he needs to tell me.

"Just tell me how bad it is." I tell him.

"Well, it is really bad. A tree has fallen in front of the house. One of the branches came through the large window next to the front door." Brent goes silent.

My mind quickly goes through the trees in the front of my house. There are only two large trees. The others are all fairly small considering trees. The one large tree splits into two at the base of the tree. It grows in a V and it is leaning away from the house. If that tree had fallen it would have fallen to the other side.

The other tree that is large enough to have a branch falling into the house is just across the driveway. Which reminds me of Brent's car. My eyes grow wide.

"Did the tree miss your car?" I ask Brent worriedly.

Brent smiles a pained smile and shakes his head.

I cover my mouth with my hand.

"Not to worry. The car is replaceable." Brent quickly reassures me that he is not worried about the car.

"Unless it had a vase in it" I try to lift the mood with some humour.

Brent's eyes go wide and his smile fades completely.

"Yes, that would be a true tragedy" He smiles and goes to put the things in his arms on the table.

I pick up the box and go to him.

"I am afraid we cannot stay down here for too long. I have tried to call someone I know but I have absolutely no signal here. Even upstairs there is no signal. I brought some of your things down also. You do not have any signal either." He tells me in a informative tone as he packs the things down on the table.

Brent turns to me with a serious look in his eyes.

"How far away are the nearest neighbours?"

"I don't know. I have never been that far away from the house." I tell Brent honestly.

Brent gives me a worried look. It must seem strange to him that I do not leave the house.

"I will need to go to find them to see if there is a way out of here. I am not sure how long we will be able to stay here or how long the storm will last. I didn't look up on it before I came here and I have no means of looking it up now. It is not a smart thing to do to sit and wait a storm out without any idea how long it may last."

Brent seems to get ready to leave the basement again. I feel the tension build up in my chest. My heart is pounding. I am not even willing to leave the basement and he wants to leave the house? This sounds like a very bad idea.

"Is it not too dangerous to leave the house?" I ask Brent in a small voice.

"It is not safe to leave little sapling, but it is also not wise to stay here without a plan." His voice is soothing again. He must know when I am worried. His voice has this soothing tone whenever he seems to want to assure me that everything will be fine.

"How will I know if you are okay?" I ask again. The uncertainty seeping into my voice.

"I will come back for you." Brent places a hand on my shoulder and pulls me into a hug. I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his chest.

There is no way I will know if something happens to him. I will only be able to find out what happened after the storm has settled. I do not even want to think about it.

Brent checks his watch and lets go of me.

"There are about three hours of good daylight left. It gets dark earlier because of the storm. Already it's not very light outside." Brent rubs my shoulders and turns to walk away.

"Wait" I can barely get the words out. My voice is soft and small.

Brent turns to look at me. His gaze is questioning but he does not speak.

"The main reason why you want to leave is for our safety?"

"Yes"

"If there was somewhere else, we could wait out the storm where you did not have to leave the house, it would be good?"

"Well, yes" Brent takes a step closer to me. "If there were enough supplies and I did not have to worry about your safety, it would not be an urgent matter to leave this house." Brent has turned his soothing voice on again. I am worrying him.

I turn to walk to the back of the stairs leading out of the basement. I bring the box with the vase out from under the stairs and place it next to the bed Brent made.

I move the wood panel away from the door and let it lay against the wall next to the door.

Brent stands looking at me. His curiosity is evident when he sees the door handle shining in the dim light.

I place my hand on the door handle and pause to look at Brent.

"I want to show you something."