I’d want him to come and talk to me about it instead of waiting around for me.”
“Yeah?” He lifts a bushy brow and the movement wrinkles half of his face. Since he works in the sun all day, his skin has the appearance of worn leather.
“Yeah, Mr. McDonald. I think Dex would like that.” We fall into a comfortable silence and thunder rolls above us. A steady flow of rain peppers the windshield. It’s weather like this that reminds me of a typical storm. “Are you and the boys okay over at the farm? Clubhouse has plenty of room.”
“We’re okay. Don’t you worry about us. This isn’t our first storm. It won’t be our—”
Before we know it, the roof of the truck caves in, and the tires skid across the road. Since the pavement is wet, the rubber can’t get traction. Mr. McDonald is pinned against the steering wheel, and all that’s left for me to do is go along for the ride.
When we finally come to a stop in the middle of the road, I know we aren’t out of danger yet. “Mr. McDonald. Can you hear me?”
“Ya. Ya. It’s a bit hard to breathe though.”
With the way his neck is angled, I don’t find that surprising. I’m about to help him when I hear a long-drawn-out honk.
And see headlights coming right at me.
It’s all in my head. It has to be. I’m losing it. Fuck. I’m losing it. I dry off my body from the bath and my hands won’t stop trembling as I mop up the water on the tile floor.
No, someone had to be here. I didn’t dunk myself underwater.
I let out a breath once the floor is dry, and I hang the towel on the edge of the tub. I lift the baggy black gym shorts up my hips and try to tighten the strings, which is pointless considering Rainbow is so much bigger than me.
A loud commotion from the living room has me throwing a hand on my chest. A few shouts of words that I can’t understand have me racing to the bedroom door and swinging it open. Maybe it is Rainbow. He’s been outside for a long time.
When I enter the living room, Mime throws a lamp against the wall, making hoarse, panicked noises. He tugs on his hair, the strands dripping wet. His clothes are drenched, and his eyes are screaming for help.
“Mime, what the hell happened? Are you okay?” Fox timidly takes a step forward, but Mime can’t seem to gather himself.
He’s darting his eyes all around the room, gasping and clutching onto his stomach, when Hound walks through the door next. Half of his pants are drenched in mud, and he’s dripping in water, too. Hound is creating a puddle around his feet, and he picks one boot up to kick the door shut. “Fuck!” he yells at the top of his lungs.
“Where is Rainbow?” I ask, a slight tremor in my voice.
I don’t hear the banging on the roof anymore, and while I enter further into the room, I have to put aside who could have drowned me because that isn’t a priority right now.
Mime still hasn’t met anyone’s eyes. He’s distraught, so it isn’t hard to put two and two together.
“We were trying to plant our feet to hold his weight, but the wind got too strong. It swung him over the river, and I was pressed against the house. Mime was holding me down, but I was in so much pain,” Hound explains, wiping the water from his face. “He cut the rope.”
“What the hell do you mean he cut the rope? What does that mean? Where is he?” I sound hysterical, my voice cracking. God, why do I care so much? I’ve only known the man for a few days, and I’m halfway in love with him, and now he isn’t here. “Where the hell is he?”
“He’s in the river,” Hound finally says. “And there is no way—”
Mime throws a punch, and it lands with a smack right against Hound’s face. The abrupt motion has everyone standing from the couch. Jokester grabs onto Mime’s arms, and Fox wraps his around Hound.
“He’s a firefighter. He knows how to swim. He’ll be fine,” I say, more to myself than to them. “I’m going to go.” In a daze, I head to the bedroom. I think I saw a first-aid kit somewhere. “Yeah, I’m going to go.”
“And where the hell do you think you’re going?” A man I