Page 50 of Still Afraid

One more time. Nothing.

“Jesus, please let her be okay.”

Josh’s phone rang. He answered without looking. “Chloe?”

“No, it’s Troy.” He paused. “Chloe’s not with you?”

“No. She was headed here but didn’t arrive before the alert went off.” Josh’s heart, that he didn’t think could sink any lower, reached another layer inside the earth.

Troy gasped.

“What is it?”

“There’s a tornado on the ground. Stay in your safe space, and I’ll be in touch.”

Troy hung up without any more words. What wasn’t he telling Josh?

Josh pulled up the YouTube weather guy on his phone.

Poirot rested his head on Josh’s leg and whimpered.

“I know, buddy. I don’t know where she is either.”

The live video loaded. Ryan was following the tornado on the ground in Knoxville. Only a few miles from where Josh was …

Where Chloe’s house was!

“Oh Jesus, please. Please let her be safe.”

What if she wasn’t? What if she had still been driving? Had she been able to get to safety? It sounded like the tornado had formed quickly. Anyone in its path might not have had time to reach safety.

Josh tried Chloe’s phone again. It went straight to voicemail without ringing once.

He rested his elbows on his knees and dropped his head into his hands. As soon as the storm let up, he’d leave and find her. Until then he’d pray and try to keep the contents of his stomach where they belonged.

Chloe remained in her head-covered position on the ground of the crawlspace. The sound of utter chaos and destruction clamored around her. But she couldn’t think about it. She had to focus on each and every breath.

In. Out.

Was she safe here? If her house was being decimated, would it come down on her and leave her trapped under a pile of rubble and crush her to death?

Stop.

In. Out.

But she was all alone. Why hadn’t she gone straight to Josh’s house? Why did she think she could make it home and then back? Going grocery shopping had been so stupid.

No.

In. Out.

Her lungs hurt. Her chest was tight as she fought to get air in and out. She needed … help.

Jesus.

Jesus, help me. When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.

In. Out.