The Storm

Tom was grateful he had fully prepared for the storm. He didn’t understand why some people liked to wait until the last minute.

Anything could go wrong.

He had already seen signs of this when he left his cabin, and spotted several vehicles attempting to drive through the blizzard. Either out of desperation or stupidity, those people chose to do that to themselves.

Tom listened to the wind blowing with a vengeance as he sat in his rocking chair by the fireplace. A blanket was draped over him, a cup of hot cocoa in his hands.

One of the best things about living alone was that he didn’t have to worry about looking after anybody. Only himself.

While Tom was enjoying the storm outside, he thought he heard a knock at his door. Tom stood up from his chair, the blanket falling off his shoulders.

He stomped over to the fireplace to retrieve the rifle from the wall above the fireplace. You couldn’t be too careful.

Tom marched to the front door, making sure that the gun was loaded.

“Who’s out there?,” he yelled over the storm.

“Oh, thank goodness! Would the kind old resident inside be nice enough to let me in?” a voice shouted back.

Tom’s fingers tightened on the trigger of the gun.

He didn’t like the overly politeness from this stranger. Nor the fact that he called him old.

“What the hell are you doing out there?”

“My car broke down in the storm! Can you let me in, mister? It’s freezing out here!,”

Tom scoffed.

Of course, it had to a stupid idiot attempting to drive through the storm.

Tom thought for a second, but knew if he left him out there, the chances of someone helping him were too slim. Tom lived quite far from the town, about 6 miles away. The lad wouldn’t be able to make it.

Tom let out a grunt of frustration as he pulled open the door. The stranger quickly ran inside. Tom slammed the door immediately, shutting off the storm from his home.

The stranger brushed snow from his coat, and then removed his hoodie. It was a young man who appeared to be in his late 20s to early 30s.

His hair was dyed a purple color, and he had the brightest blue eyes that Tom had ever seen. The young man smiled and stretched out his hand to him.

“Thanks, sir! I could have died out there!”

Tom ignored the handshake.

“Haven’t I ever seen you here before? You don’t look familiar. I lived in this town my whole life. I would have remembered you.”

“I came to visit family around here. I’m not exactly familiar with these folks. They are my girlfriend’s parents.”

“What are their names?”

The young man’s eyes floated to Tom’s gun before addressing his question.

“What? Are you going to shoot me if I don’t give you the names? That makes sense. I’m a stranger to you after all.”

Tom tried not to show his discomfort. There was already something off about this stranger. The fact that his face suddenly changed when he saw the gun bothered him. It was a blank expression.

“I’m not going to shoot you, kid. I just want to know their names. I’m familiar with everyone that lives here.”

The young man smiled.

“Sally and John Roukes. They own the convenience store by the diner.”

Tom slowly lowered his gun.

“Jesus. For a minute there, you were starting to scare me. Sally and John did mention that their daughter was dating a handsome man…what’s your name, son?”

The young man stretched out his son again. This time, Tom reluctantly shook his hand.

“I’m Richard. Jenkins.”

“Richard…oh shit. Now I remember Sue mentioning you one time. She mentioned that she was dating some guy named Richard. Why the hell aren’t you staying out there with them?”

Richard shrugged.

“Would you believe it if I told you that I was stupid enough to go out there and see if some people needed my help? Well…it turns out that it happened to me instead. Sue always told me that I had a couple of screws loose.”

Tom scoffed.

“Yup. Sounds just like her. She is straightforward, that one.”

Richard laughed.

“I think that’s why I fell for her. She’s one of a kind. I’m a lucky man. I was thinking about proposing to her. Not now, since we barely started dating. I’m thinking…about four months from now? Until I can even afford to buy a ring…”

Tom waved the fireplace for Richard to try and warm up. Richard complied and got on his knees in front of the fire. Tom set his gun standing by the door. He picked up his blanket to throw over the young man.

“I guarantee you that Sue doesn’t care. She’s not a spoiled one. She’s grateful for anything. She’s a bit too nice. Just like how my Mary used to be.”

Tom looked over his shoulder.

“You were married, sir?”

Tom wished he could take that statement back. Some memories were best left alone.

“I — Yes. She was a special one.”

Tom looked back to the fireplace.

“Did you love her?”

Tom hesitated before answering.

“Yes. Mary was…the only one for me.”

Richard no longer asked any more questions. He continued to stare at the fireplace, as if he was lost in thought. Tom thought about asking if Richard needed anything, but he was suddenly uncomfortable for no reason.

The silence was unnerving.

Tom cleared his throat.

“Uh…do you want hot cocoa? I just made a batch for myself.”

Richard let out a small noise. At first, Tom couldn’t figure it out, until he saw Richard leaning over, his shoulders shaking. The lad was crying.

Tom didn’t know what to do. This reaction was unexpected. Tom was never good with people who cried.

Mary cried all the time, and he never knew how to handle it. It was easier to get angry than address these painful emotions. This time around, Tom didn’t have a choice.

“Son? Are you alright?”

Tom reached out to touch Richard’s shoulder, but then he stopped, wiping away his tears.

“Sorry…it’s just…my mother used to make me hot cocoa when I was a kid. She…passed away. I really miss her.”

Richard looked down to touch the blanket around his shoulders.

“This was her blanket. She made this for me years ago.”

Tom blinked.

“What?”

Richard stood up, turning around to face Tom. There were tears on his cheeks.

“Do you not recognize me?”

Tom studied his bright blue eyes, recognition kicking in. He took a step back.

“I, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Get the fuck out of my house -’’

“You remember how many times you hurt my mother? Your wife, Mary?”

Tom didn’t stop walking away until his back touched the wall of the cabin. The gun was just an inch away from him, by the door.

“You killed her. She didn’t…deserve that. And you…told the police that it was an accident. A fucking accident. And then you abandoned me. You sent me away. You didn’t think that I would come back, did you? Dad?”

Tom ran for the gun. But the young man was much faster. Richard snatched the gun away from the door. He smashed the end of the weapon straight into Tom’s face. He felt his nose break from the impact.

Tom yowled from the pain. He fell on his knees, touching his face. His hand came away with red. His hand was shaking.

“Please. Don’t. I’m sorry. I loved Mary. I would never hurt her-’’

Tom flinched when he felt the tip of the gun press against his head.

Tom began to plead, begging for mercy. He felt like his wife at that moment, always on her knees begging for his forgiveness.

He remembered his little boy, standing in the corner of their bedroom, watching everything enfold. Tears were flowing down his face.

A gunshot went off inside of the cabin. Tom was dead. Richard sobbed softly into his mother’s blanket. Then he waited until the storm began to calm down.

After a couple of days, it was time to go. Richard took the gun with him. It wouldn’t be smart to leave the only evidence behind. He walked down the snow-covered road for a long time, until he found his vehicle.

He made sure to park the car far away, so that no one would suspect a thing. He opened the trunk and threw the gun inside. He was going to go somewhere and bury the gun in a different area.

Even though it pained Richard to be rid of the blanket, he couldn’t take any chances. He was going to burn it later. Richard leaned against the hood of the car, letting out his tears again.

His phone went off in his pocket.

Richard took out his phone and saw a familiar face. He answered the call.

“Rich! Oh my god, are you alright? I was so worried. I kept calling you over and over, but you didn’t answer. Why did you decide to take off like that? My parents didn’t care if you stayed over!”

Richard smiled. If his mother were here, she would have loved Sue.

Richard let out a small laugh, as he continued to talk with Sue on the phone. Even though he couldn’t undo the horrible act he had committed, both he and his mother would finally be at peace.

Richard wiped his tears away with his mother’s blanket. It was enough for him to pretend she was there with him.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn