The Storm

I couldn't believe it, Kevin had won tickets to one of the hottest concerts in years, and we were going to have front row seats! I was screaming as I got off the phone with him.

Suddenly my father came running into my room, with a look of tension pasted on his face. "What's wrong?!" he shouted nervously.

"Nothing Daddy," I laughed as I told him the good news.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" he exaggerated as he calmed down. "So where exactly is this concert?"

"I'm not sure, it's in some field somewhere, Kevin knows," I said with excited enthusiasm.

"IT'S

OUTDOORS?!?

"

"Yeah Dad, it's like a Woodstock thing," I said with a smile.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea Carrie, I've heard bad things about these types of concerts," my Dad said killing my momentary glee.

"Dad...there

is

security you know, it's perfectly safe," I said getting a bit irritated.

"Security isn't all I'm concerned about, what if it rains?"

"Dad, it'll be fine, it'll turn into a mud-party, didn't you grow up in the 60's?" I asked.

"I was a toddler in the 60's, and I wouldn't have gone to Woodstock had I been old enough," he said. "Plus, I don't trust Kevin, he's just off a DWI suspension, and you can't tell me he won't be drinking there. I don't like it."

"Oh Dad please, stop being a worry wart!" I yelled at him.

I knew my father was only trying to protect me, and he did have good reason not to trust Kevin. Over the seven months we had been dating, Kevin admitted a drug problem to me, got arrested for driving under the influence and cheated on me with an ex of his, which I eventually let him slide. My father and I rarely disagree on anything, and I always respect his opinion, but I will be damned if I let him stop me from going to this concert.

The discussion lasted for several more minutes, when I eventually used the, "You can't tell me what to do anymore" line, which silenced my father. He knew I was right; I am 19 and old enough to make my own decisions. Still, I wish I hadn't said it.

"You may me a young woman now, but you still are, and always will be my daughter, and I would like to hope you would respect my opinion. You know it's only in your best interest Carrie, it always is," he said sternly before leaving me alone in my room.

I knew it would happen. With one sentence he erased the raging stubborn girl within me and replaced it with guilt. I hated disagreeing with my dad. But this concert had been sold out for months, and now I was going to be in the first row. Kevin isn't the guy I want to settle down with, I know he's not right for me, but I just can't pass this up.

Four days had passed since our little quarrel in my bedroom, and my father, against his better judgment, had accepted the fact that I would be going to the concert. He spent the last few days stressing how careful I should be, and to make sure I had my cell phone on and charged.

The night before the concert my father again asked me to reconsider. The weather forecast had not changed over the previous days, and it called for possible thunderstorms in the area of the concert, which was about a two hours drive away. Still, stubborn as an ox, I didn't relent.

When the next day had come Kevin had picked me up at my house at 3pm. He was wearing a black tee shirt that matched his thick wavy hair. His ripped jeans and construction boots completed looked like they hadn't seen the inside of a washing machine in weeks. It was typical Kevin; he didn't dress to impress.

I had on a small white spaghetti strap top with a red bra underneath, and tiny short shorts with shredded edges. I also wore stiletto heals that I had bought just the other day.

My bleached blonde hair fell just below my shoulder line, and was ironed straight. My lipstick was a fiery red with dark eye shadow.

"Ooo baby, you are looking hot tonight!" Kevin said as he immediately undressed me with his eyes.

Blushing I thanked him and got in the car.

The drive was long and silent, Kevin blasted music from his MP3 player as we drove, and we hardly talked. Even if I wanted to, he wouldn't hear me. Kevin wasn't a great conversationalist. As I thought about it, he wasn't really great at anything, not even in bed. I knew it wouldn't last, but for the moment I was with him, and tonight, I was grateful for the tickets, so I would put up later if he's not too drunk.

When we got to the concert the sky overhead looked threatening, but a man on stage immediately announced that the forecast looked to hold up. But he promised, the show would go on, "Rain or shine kids" which was followed by a rowdy applause.

When the show started, a band came out and started blasting a song that I wasn't too familiar with, although it was easy to get into the raucous crowd. We stood the entire time and as the bands went on playing, the party got more and more intense, and so did the sky. The clouds had darkened considerably, but the setting sun masked how truly menacing they were.

After an hour of nonstop ear-piercing noise, Kevin was on his 4th beer and I was starting my third. I noticed a few things being tossed to the stage at one point, and then I realized they were bras. Girls were throwing them on stage from the closest rows. Taking a quick look behind me I saw a girl sitting on her boyfriend's shoulders totally topless and swaying to the sounds.

Then I felt Kevin poking me. I looked at him and he was screaming something I couldn't decipher. Eventually I made it out. He was shouting for me to remove my bra as well. I wasn't sure about doing that, but I was just having so much fun so I figured what the hell.

I reached under my shirt to unclip it. As I tried to work the straps off under my top Kevin did something that took me by surprise. He quickly put his hands on my shirt and pulled it off me. Clutching my unclipped bra to my pale breasts, he took the shirt from me and told me again to throw it.

I was a little unnerved by removing my top completely in public, but as I noticed other girls around me doing it, I figured it wasn't much of a big deal. So with one quick gasp, I flung my red bra onto the stage and bared my breasts to the band.

Their eyes found me immediately and the guitarist winked at me. It felt very awkward at first being topless, but I got used to it quickly and put my arms above my head and jammed to the music.

After another song I heard a large boom that didn't sound like it was part of the song and that's when I saw an enormous white crack cross the sky. Within seconds the rain was flooding the field and more lightning shot across the sky and on the horizon. Suddenly I was feeling very cold and I asked Kevin for my shirt back.

Being an ass, he shouted for me relax and refused to give it back. I had to pull it out of his hands, and by the time I got it over me it was drenched. The band kept playing despite the deteriorating conditions and I was starting to get nervous. I yelled at Kevin that I wanted to leave.

He was not only drunk, but also shouted at me, "No way!"

I shouted back, "IT'S NOT SAFE!"

But he shot back, "THEN LEAVE!"

I couldn't believe it. I had no way to get home, and was going to be forced to watch this thing in dangerous conditions? I couldn't believe him, how could he do this to me?

"FUCK YOU!" I yelled at him, and stormed off into the crowd, putting my soaking top back on as I went.

I don't know why I did it, I guess I was just angry, but leaving his side was probably not the smartest move. Nor was coming to this concert. My father was right.

I turned back to find him again, suddenly feeling very alone in a crowd of drunk and half naked teenagers, but I couldn't find him. Suddenly a large boom jolted everyone, and I found myself ducking as a precaution. A bolt of lightning hit a speaker system only yards from the crowd.

Before I knew what was happening I was knocked to my knees. Before I could get up I felt someone kick me from behind and almost fall on top of me. I finally found my footing and stood. The scene unfolded before my eyes, everyone was running as another bolt of lightning struck a tree on the edge of the field. The band had stopped playing, and utter chaos ensued.

"KEVIN!" I kept shouting.

I couldn't hear him. I couldn't hear anyone, but at the same time, I heard

everyone

.

"KEVIN!!"

I knew it was hopeless. There were thousands of people running, some without shirts, one guy even without pants. I tried to find the car, but for the life of me, I could not remember where we parked it!

I started to cry, and tried to find a place to stay dry.

That's when I felt a buzzing on my side.

MY CELL PHONE!

I almost forgot I took it! Immediately I removed it from the clip on my waist. The display on it revealed my father's number. I was never so happy to see his number calling me.

"DAD?" I picked up the phone yelling.

"Honey, the weather report said there's a storm..." he started.

"COME GET ME! PLEASE!" I cut him off as I continued to cry.

"WHAT'S WRONG?? ARE YOU OK??!!" He shouted now, overly concerned.

"IT'S POURING, THERE'S LIGHTNING, AND KEVIN IS GONE!!"

"

WHAT!!??!!

my father shouted madly into the earpiece.

"I'LL KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH! HE LEFT YOU?"

"NO DAD, I...I...I CAN'T EXPLAIN, I JUST CAN'T FIND HIM! PLEASE COME GET ME!!"

Without any further questions asked he shouted, "I'M ON MY WAY, STAY PUT."

As I waited for my father, I found a covered bus stop by a road that provided some shelter from the downpour. I was shivering uncontrollably and drenched from head to foot. My high heels had been gone for some time now. I had removed them after breaking one in a patch of mud.

Alone and petrified in a massive thunderstorm I waited and waited, clutching my arms to keep myself warm. Shivering and soaked, I believed that Kevin would find me. I knew finding him in the swarm of evacuees was improbable, but surely he wouldn't leave for home before doing a sweep of the area for me.

The bus stop I had taken shelter in looked aged and an advertisement for a movie that had premiered when I was 12 cemented my suspicion. There would be no buses coming this way tonight.

In the distance I saw the blurry glow of headlights as the cars made their way from the muddy parking pasture onto the service road that would take them to the freeway. I was wondering if I shouldn't wait by the lot exit, surely Kevin would be driving through there if he was already in the car.

Damn I wished I was paying attention when we parked it!

I was almost as angry with myself for my stupidity as I was with Kevin. And the more I thought about it, the more upset I became. If Kevin had been searching for me on foot, then he had someone move the car, because before too long, the pasture was empty.

He couldn't have

I thought to myself in disgust.

Surely he was still looking for me. Surely he wasn't taking the last two words I shouted at him to heart. But then I realized he had a cell phone! I could call him!

Why didn't he call me?

I felt like an idiot for not thinking of it earlier. I had the phone in my cold wet hands as fast as my numb fingers could grip it and I found his name in my contact list and dialed it.

I got his voicemail immediately. "ASSHOLE!" I screamed in disgust. He always had his phone off! Why the hell he even had one I wondered sometimes. I sat back down on the cold cracked plastic bench in the corner of the bus stop. I clutched my arms to my side again and waited, listening to the ever-growing thunder surrounding me. I was very scared.

After a few more minutes I lay on my side, and shriveled up for warmth. All though I was exhausted, my mind was racing with thoughts.

I can't believe that dick head left without me! I'm such a fucking idiot! Is Daddy going to be furious with me? Can I get hypothermia out here? Is this someplace safe to be in a thunderstorm?

I remember learning in school that it was dangerous to be in open fields and under trees or by water in a thunderstorm, but I learned nothing of abandoned old bus stops. I began to cry again, and hoped the minutes would pass.

After another half hour all around was dark, and not a glimmer of light was around. And the only sound was of the constant beating of rain on the pavement and the top of the bus stop, and the random booms of thunder in the not too far distance. The only thing I could see was the horizon when it was momentarily revealed to me by a branch of lightning across the sky.

I called my Dad and got his voicemail. Immediately I panicked fearing the worst. But after a few minutes I realized for most of the drive up I didn't have a signal on my cell. I knew it probably wasn't safe to be on the phone during the storm either, and I closed it, but kept it firm in my hands.

I waited there in the cold drenched dark for what seemed like an eternity, until finally I saw a pair of headlights cut through the night on the horizon. I sat up and watched the twin beams flicker through the raindrops. Then I saw the lights turn into the field, and I knew it must be my dad.

Without thought I ran as fast as I could out into the monsoon. My clothes didn't protect me from the rain even for a millisecond. They felt like wet rags on my body as I ran, and I felt my shirt being sucked to my chest. Stepping through a few deep puddles of mud with my bare feet as I ran, I fell in one.

Covered in mud I got to my feet quickly as I saw the car ahead circle the lot and prepare to leave. I had to keep going. I ran as hard as my cold-water logged feet would carry me, and the car made a second turn for the lot and its high beams found me.

When I made it to the car the passenger door opened and I was never happier in my life to see my dad. I got in the car, closed the door and cried once again.

As we drove my father didn't say much other than asking if I was ok, and apologizing for not bringing some spare clothes for me. He told me he had gotten out of the house so fast he didn't think I might need them.

I apologized to him repeatedly, telling him how right he was, and how stupid I was. I told him Kevin and I were over, and I'm never speaking to him again. My dad was silent and just listened as he drove. Not once did he try to tell me, "I told you so." Not once did he reprimand me.

He knew I had learned my lesson and had been punished more than he could ever try to do to me, and didn't say a word. Finally I stopped shivering as my body adjusted to the warmth of the car. My father had lent me his windbreaker when I had gotten into the car, although it didn't help much.

As we drove the conditions grew worse. Eventually the visibility grew so bad we couldn't see much beyond the hood of the car. And then my father spoke again. "We need to stop, this isn't safe."

"I agree," I said immediately. I trusted my father's driving skills, but driving in weather this bad was just begging for an accident, and I didn't need this night to get any worse. My dad and I lived alone since my parents had separated and my sister had gone away to college. So there was nobody at home to call.

At the next exit my dad slowly made his way off, and followed some directional signs to a small motel that was advertised on the exit sign. There wasn't another car on the road, and all I could think about was getting warm and dry.

When we pulled into the lot my dad pulled up in front of a small window with a glowing red neon sign in the window that read: OFFICE, and below it in blue: VACANCY. My dad told me to wait right there (as if I was going to go anywhere) and left the car running as he ran through the onslaught of rain to the small covering above the door beside the window.

I watched as he pressed a button and waited a minute before being let in. The lot seemed pretty full tonight, and I figured I was probably the only one stupid enough to still be out in this mess.

After five short minutes my father emerged and ran around the hood and got back in the car. He was drenched. "We got their last room," he said.

"Thank goodness," I said softly.

We found a spot at the far end of the lot and ran to the door marked with the number 16. My father fiddled with the key and eventually got the door open. Opening the light and shutting the door on the cold wet night seemed like such a relief, and at first I didn't realize that there was only one bed in the room.

"Dad, there's only one bed," I said.

"I know baby, I'm sorry, but this is all he had left," he told me sympathetically. "He even said we were lucky because all of the other places around are full."

"Why would motels around

here

be full?" I asked, but knew the answer before my father could issue it.

"Because of the concert my dear," he said without sarcasm. I was very grateful he was not making this harder on me than he should be.

"I got to get out of these clothes," I said as another realization hit me. "DAD? Did you bring me

anything?

" I asked nervously.

"I told you honey, I rushed out, I didn't get anything for myself either," he said looking upset.

"What am I going to sleep in?" I asked.

"I don't know honey, I don't know," he said honestly.

I usually packed pajamas when staying in a motel, but I wasn't a stranger to sleeping nude since I usually did it at home during the warmer months. But this was a completely different situation.

"I guess we can sleep in towels," my dad suggested.

"That sounds ridiculous Daddy," I said.

"Well honey, we can't sleep in our clothes, you don't want to get sick, and our clothes need to dry," he said. "Do you have any other ideas?"

"No," I said with a blank face.

As I spoke with my dad, I couldn't help but notice his eyes shift from my face to my shirt and back again once or twice. Then I caught a look at myself in the mirror that was bolted to the wall above the dresser. My hair was soaked and flat, my makeup was smudged all down my face and my nipples could be seen almost perfectly through my white top! I totally forgot I had thrown away my bra!

Feeling very exposed in front of my dad I made to cover my chest with my arms, but instead went into the bathroom. Under the bright lights of the bathroom I peeled my clothing off and tossed them on the floor. I turned on the shower faucet and waited for the water to heat up.

The pressure was ridiculously soft, but I was grateful at least for the hot water. I showered for 15 minutes almost not wanting to get out. Eventually the hot water I was so thankful for moments earlier was dwindling, and I shut the tap and got out and towel dried.

Looking at my mud covered clothes on the floor; I tossed them in the sink and ran some water on them as I dried my hair with another towel. Finally I placed my soaking shorts, panties and shirt over the shower curtain bar and tightened the towel around me.

With nothing else to wear I took a last look at myself in the mirror and opened the door and went back into the bedroom. My father was lying in the bed with the covers pulled up to his waist. He was shirtless and I saw his soaked clothes sitting on the floor in the corner.

"What are you wearing?" I said to him.

"Well honey I had to get out of those clothes, and I didn't want to come in for a towel while you were in the shower," he said honestly.

Just as I had thought, he was naked below the sheets. I couldn't tell him how absurd it was because he had the best excuse he could. Unless he pulled the carpet off the floor, he had nothing else to wear that was dry.

"Your clothes aren't going to dry on the floor Daddy," I said.

"Oh I know," he said as he started to make his way for the floor.

"That's alright Daddy, I'll get them," I said. It was one thing to accept my father sleeping naked in the bed, it was another to see him stroll across the motel room in all his glory before me.