Avi ran to the cabinets finding all the candles and flashlights he could. He began lighting the candles, sitting them around. He manages to find three flashlights, giving one to each of the girls and he kept one. He was hoping that having a little light would calm the girls down, but every time it would thunder loudly or lightning they would let out a scream.

Avi ran a hand through his damp hair, looking down at his mud covered clothes.

He reaches down and gently rubs Kirstie on the cheek. She looks up at him with fear in her eyes.

"I'm gonna go change real quick. I'll see if I can find you some dry clothes." He says.

"No, Please don't leave me." She whines grabbing him by the front of his hoodie.

"I'll only be a minute, I promise." He says, leaning over kissing her on the forehead. Gently pulling her hands from his shirt, he kisses them then turns and goes up the ladder.

Avi changes clothes as quickly as he could. He slips on a pair of jogging pants and changes shirts. Luckily, he finds a pair of jogging pants that were too small for him and grabs another tee shirt, then heads back down the ladder.

"Here Kirst, put these on. They may be a little big but at least they're dry." He hands her the clothes, then turns around so that she could change.

Once she had changed, he sat down beside her and puts an arm around her and she cuddles into his side.

Looking around at Esther, Avi sees her sitting in the recliner with her knees up to her chest with her arms wrapped around her legs.

"Hey Sister?" Avi calls to her. She looks at him and he motions her over. She jumps up from the recliner and runs over and sits on the other side of Avi. He wraps his other arm tightly around her pulling her to him.

Each time it would thunder or lightning, the girls would cling closer to him. He kissed them both on the forehead and gave an exhausted sigh.

The heavy rain beating down on the roof was like a sedative to Avi. He automatically started to doze off. He woke up once to find that Kirstie had laid down on the couch with her head on his lap. Esther was still curled up at his side with her head laying on his shoulder.

He laid one arm around Kirstie's waist and his other was still around his sister. He laid his head against Esther's and closed his eyes.

The storm was still raging outside. His last thought before dozing back off was: 'If we get blown away at least we'll go together'.

~~

A frantic beating on the front door jolts them from their sleep. Both frightened girls grab Avi tightly. All three staring at the door, afraid to move. They jump and Avi pulls his sister and girlfriend closer, as the hard knocking happens again. No one should be beating on their door at this time of night, especially in a severe storm.

"ESTHER!!!" A bass voice yells from the other side of the door.

"It's Tim." Esther whispers loudly as she jumps up from the couch and runs to the door.

She finds a very soaked and an actually scared looking Tim.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" She asks as he grabs her in his arms. He was actually trembling.

"M ..My h.. house. My house." was all he could say as she pulls him inside and closes the door.

"Bubba, what's wrong?" Kirstie asks, raising up from Avi's embrace. She had never seen her brother in this shape before.

"G..Gone." Tim stutters, shaking his head.

Avi jumps up and runs to get a towel to help dry him.

"Here, sit down." Esther says pulling out a kitchen chair. "Calm down. You're not making any sense."

Kirstie fumbles around the dimly lit kitchen to find a glass and got her brother some water. Avi wraps a towel around Tim's shoulders.

With shaking hands, Tim takes the glass and gulps down half of the contents.

"I ..I dozed off on the couch after talking to you." Tim says, brushing back his wet hair. "The .. The tornado sirens woke me up. Before I could even get off the couch, my entire roof was ripped off." Tim says, trying to calm his breathing.

"Oh, my God." Esther says softly.

"I didn't have time to do anything. I just rolled off onto the floor and covered my head. I thought I was actually going to die. It was all over within a minute." Tim says, shaking his head. "It was too dark to see anything. I just know the ceiling is completely gone. There was a huge limb laying across my truck. The hood is dented and the windshield is busted but I hauled ass in it anyway."

"I'm just thankful that you weren't hurt." Esther says caressing his cheek.

"How bad was town hit?" Avi asks, sitting down at the table.

"I couldn't see anything. It was pitch dark. I passed by the diner on the way here. It's still standing but I couldn't tell about the damage." Tim says.

"Timmy, you can stay with me at my house." Kirstie says, rubbing her brother's arm.

"I have to go see what I can salvage in the morning." Tim says. "Are you all alright?" He asks, taking Esther's hand.

"Just scared." Esther says with a nervous smile. "Maybe we should to try and get some sleep before the sun comes up."

"I hope the worst is over with." Avi says.

"Avi, honey, I'd feel better if you and Kirstie slept downstairs." Esther says. "Just in case these storms aren't over."

"That's fine." Avi answers. "I'm so tired I think I could sleep standing up."

Avi goes to the closet to get a blanket and a pillow. Esther and Tim head to her bedroom.

Avi and Kirstie lay down on the couch and gets comfortable. Listening to the rain as it pounded on the roof.

Kirstie cuddles up to him, laying her head on his shoulder. "I love you, Avi." She whispers as she plays with his long curls.

He kisses her on the forehead. "I love you, Kirst." He mumbles as he slips off to sleep.

She gently rubs his bearded jaw as she thinks about everything that had happened tonight. Through the soft light of the candles, she saw the ring on her finger and smiles. Kirstie knew it was made only of wood, but to her it was worth more that gold.

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