27 Reason #16: Only Troublesome Days Ahead (10)

Still At Hensley's Inn

Trap in the Typhoon

After Prince Leon and the others left, the children followed Peterson's instructions and waited inside of Hensley's Inn.

Once they went inside, they saw that the flood has slowly submerged the first floor, making everywhere a mess to see.

And as the storm got worse and the sky got darker, the once cheery inn now has turned dark and gloomy.

Robbie and his sisters, who just moments ago, put on a brave face, slowly change their expression when they saw the terrible sight of their home.

"Come on," Ivy gathered them, trying to pull their attention away from the awful view of things. "We have to climb higher, and the water is rising a lot faster than I imagined. Is there room upstairs with a window? One that's big enough for us to exit later when they come back."

"We have an attic upstairs, and there is a large window big enough for us to see them when they return," said Kourtney as she went and took out some towels from the top-shelf before they got wet.

"We will need some lamps too. I'll go and get them." Said Kim as she immediately rushes off to the storeroom

"Is there anything I can help?" Khloe asked as she tugged Ivy's sleeves, wanting to make things better for everyone as well.

Though the sisters haven't been thought of as the most dependable members in the family, when Ivy saw how they react in this situation, all she could do was laugh and say

"All of you have Hensley's blood, after all."

After they prepared the things they needed, they headed towards the attic as planned.

As they were about to go, Ivy notices that Robbie was still fidgeting with the counter's cash register.

"Robbie, what are you doing? This is not the time to keep any money." Ivy ran over and grabbed his arm, stopping him from what he is doing.

Robbie paused, and he started to show a sad expression.

"I hit Pop earlier today." He said as he clenches his fist with the screwdriver.

"He was pissing me off about not wanting to leave the Inn. So I hit him, even though I know how much this place meant to him."

Upon hearing his words, Ivy slowly began to let go of his arms, and he continued to unscrew the screws that were binding the cash register.

"So I just wanted to protect the one last family heirloom that he cherished. I know it's stupid, but I want to hold on to it, at least, as long as I can."

As he said that, his eyes started to tear. He had been trying his best to hold them back all this time, but he could not keep them from falling any longer.

When Ivy saw Robbie crying, she quickly karate chop him over the head to stop his tears from falling.

"Ouch! That hurts! What are you doing?!" Robbie yelled as he rubbed the bruise on his head.

Then she took his screwdriver and placed it on the table, and she squeezes his cheeks as hard as she can and stared at him closely.

"Don't talk as if we are going to die here because we are not going to, ok?!"

"Huh?" Robbie froze as he didn't know how to react to her sudden action.

Then she continues to squeeze his face even tighter, forcing him until he says ok.

"ok! ok! Pain! Pain!" Robbie shouts in agony.

Once he did, she let go of his face and began helping him unscrew the cash register.

"This won't be the last." Ivy suddenly blurted as she continues to unscrew the cashier while Robbie is confused with her statement.

Then once she finishes turning all the screws, she smiled at him. "Once the family business expands, you're going to need a lot more cash registers than this. So, of course, this won't be the last cash register, and it definitely won't be your last family heirloom."

Robbie's eyes widened when he heard her words. Although what she said was something so simple, yet nobody in their right mind would've even thought about it, especially under such conditions.

Nobody but her.

He loved how her eyes glow and how it's clear without a single doubt. Just when he thought this was the end, he too wants to see the future together with her.

"Robbie, Are you ok? What are you thinking about?" Ivy watches him daze as she carried the cash register.

When he came around, he took over the cash register and rushed up the stairs, and said

"Hurry up. I don't want to die here together with you."

"Huh! Why you, rude little cheeky brat! If it wasn't your father, I ..."

And as Ivy continues to ramble at him, Robbie secretly let out a faint smile and swore inside his heart, "let's keep on living together in the future."

***********

"What took you two so long?!" Kim yelled at them while the other two were waiting beside her.

"You could've just gone up the attic first. It's not like you didn't know the way."

Then Ivy karate chop Robbie's head again.

"Don't disrespect your sisters. Can't you see they are just worried about you?"

The scene where Ivy hit Robbie made Kourtney laugh.

"Hahaha, to think there is another person other than our father who could scold our brother that way. You are something different, Ivy."

"hahaha," Kim started laughing too and said, "our brother has always been the level headed one in our family, so none of us would've ever hit him even if he makes a mistake. Seeing him getting beaten like that is quite refreshing."

"Can I beat him too?" Khloe said while she pulls up a first.

"I can see now why a guy like Leon would fall for you; you indeed are an amazing girl Ivy," Kourtney says as she gently smiles at her while the other two just vigorously nodded behind their elder sister.

"Uhm, I don't quite understand what you mean, though, but if your brother does make mistakes, please do not hesitate to beat him when he deserves it."

Suddenly, they felt a strong impact hitting the side of the building, causing all of them to fall on their feet.

"Urgh, what happened?" Kim was looking nervous as she tries to get up from the fall.

"It feels like something just crash into the building. It sounds like it's coming from downstairs."

Ivy says as she tries to help the girls up.

Robbie quickly put down the cash register on the floor and ran down the stairs.

"Wait, Robbie!"

Ivy called out to him, hoping that he would not do anything rash.

As she follows behind him, she found him in the middle of the staircase, staring.

When she aligns her gaze with his, she saw a large tree trunk had just crashed through the wall, and a massive amount of flood is forcing its way through the hole.

As the water continues to gush through, they could hear the wall cracking as it slowly falls apart.

Instantly, the flood covered the entire first floor, and the water level kept rapidly rising towards them.

"Robbie!!! We need to climb up now!" Ivy yelled while she tries to pull him as far away from the flood.

"But Ivy, that wall won't hold on. At this rate, the house might fall apart."

Robbie looks at Ivy, feeling scared of the dire situation.

"ROBBIE!!!" Ivy held his shoulders tightly. "We are still alive, and I want all of us to stay that way! So stop talking and come up now!"

She immediately pulled him without turning back and head towards the second floor to meet the rest of the girls.

"What happened?" Kim asked as she saw Robbie's frighten look

"The flood is coming in stronger. We'll be in danger if we stay at this level any longer. Let's go up to the attic now."

The sisters looked unsure at first. Still, they had no other choice but to follow Ivy's instructions at that point.

While the sisters gather their things and move towards the attic, Ivy continued to shake awake the frightened boy.

"Robbie, listen to me. Your sisters are here, and I'm here with you as well. Nothing will happen to us, but we need to keep on moving to make that happen. Can you do that for me?"

Robbie can feel that Ivy is shaking even though she is putting on a brave face for him.

He held her shaky hands and showed her that he was calm.

"I'm fine now. I'm sorry for making you worried. Let's head up to the attic quickly."

After that, they gathered their things and went up to the attic right away.

The attic was dark and murky. It was filled with boxes and empty beer barrels that seemed to look like it hasn't been touched for many years.

On the side of the attic was a large round arch window with wooden shutters that were big enough to fit a person through.

We then sat together next to the large window with our lamps, hoping that the rescue team will notice us.

"The storm looks bad. How are they going to rescue us now?" Kim asked as she grew even more worried after she saw the scenery outside the window.

When I peek through the window, all I could see was strong winds and thunderstorms.

Even with my past life experience, I know that it would be impossible to save us from this terrible storm.

Yet in my mind, I thought of that boy.

I pray that he wouldn't come to save me,

I pray that he would think about it sensibly and know that it would be suicidal to go out now,

I pray that he would just leave me alone and think about himself.

I know I'm selfish, even though I want us, especially these children, to be saved.

But somewhere in my heart, I couldn't help but to wish for that boy's safety first.

At that very moment, all I could think of is

<Leon, please don't come.>

**********

To be continued

Author:

I've been researching many floods, and I learn that it can be quite scary if you are trapped in a house surrounded by water with nowhere to run.

I'm also looking forward to knowing how they will be saved in the end.

See you in the next chapter(°▽°)