Page 49 of Heart of the Sun

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We ate dinner with Katelyn and Brent while the sheriff went out to check on the men who’d taken first shift at the roads leading into their town and to stop in at the community center. The grilled chicken, canned green beans, and store-bought rolls were one of the most delicious meals I’d ever eaten, and that was saying something considering I’d eaten in some of the finest restaurants in America, if not the world. We’d been existing on snack food since we walked out of that field, and while I was grateful for what we’d managed to find, the small amount of it had ensured we were practically starving. Less than a week, and food had taken on a whole new meaning. I didn’t want to think about where we’d get our meals from here on out because I was well aware that “practically starving,” was very different than actually starving. The truth was, I didn’t want to think about a lot of things and thus far, that’d been somewhat easy as the goal had been simply to find civilization and figure out a way back home.

But now, it’d become abundantly clear that the way back home was filled with a whole slew of questions, and, if Leonard was any indication of the general philosophy out there, quite a bit of danger.

Charlie was in the kitchen happily telling Brent a story from one of the movie sets he’d been on, upbeat and animated and obviously feeling smack-dab in his comfort zone.Good.Let him have it because I had a deep feeling there wasn’t going to be a lot of comfort of any kind moving forward. At least in the immediate future.

Tuck had finished first, thanked Katelyn for the meal, and excused himself, off to who knew where. Brent had sat up eating, shoveling the food into his mouth as he shot questions at me and Charlie. And I couldn’t help noticing the relieved look on Katelyn’s face as she watched her younger brother, obvious that the pain he’d been in was now manageable. Because of Tuck.

I’d helped with the cleanup, and then Katelyn had asked that I follow her upstairs where she took a canvas backpack from her closet and handed that to me along with a pile of clothes with a pair of short, lace-up hiking boots sitting on top. “The boots are size eight,” she said. “Close enough? These will protect your feet better than those.” She pointed down to the canvas sneakers that a woman had died in, which were better than the threadbare slippers, but not nearly as good as a warm pair of hiking boots.

I took the items from her. “Yes. Thank you. I wear a seven and a half. These will be great. I really appreciate it.”

“There’s a thick pair of socks under the flannel shirt. The flannel is my mom’s. I don’t think she’ll mind though. She’s the most generous person I know.” Tears shimmered in her eyes, and she pulled in a sharp breath. “She’s going to be so mad that she wasn’t here. She likes your music too.”

“Where is she, Katelyn?” I asked quietly, apprehension causing me to go still.

“Vegas. She’s a teacher and she was invited to an aspiring educators conference.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “She was excited, but nervous. She’s never traveled much at all…and then this. We don’t even know if she’s okay.”

“Oh my God.” I set the pile of clothes down and brought my hand to my forehead. “But she wasn’t on a plane. Just at the conference?”

“Yes. She was at her hotel. My dad had just talked to her before the lights went off. He says maybe the power isn’t even out there. He says maybe she’s on her way home right now.” Katelyn swiped at her eyes. “My dad’s thrown himself into his job protecting the town. I think it’s keeping him sane. Along with Brent and everything else,it’s been a lot.” She sniffled. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe Nova walks into my home, and I start crying like a baby about my mom.”

“Your reaction is totally normal. But you have to keep believing she’s okay. I’m doing the same with my mom too. They’re okay. They are.”

Katelyn nodded. “They are. And you’ll be okay too. It’s going to be hard but you’re Nova. You can do anything.”

I nodded and then I stepped forward and wrapped Katelyn in my arms and she hugged me back. “Everything feels so uncertain right now. But we’re going to be okay. And when this is over, I’m going to send you front row tickets to my concert.”

She let out a soggy laugh. “Okay. I’m going to start planning my outfit now.”

I smiled. And something about the offering of comfort to a girl who was younger than me, comforted me as well and boosted my confidence. Tuck was cool under pressure. He was strong and he knew things. And Charlie cared about me. But I wasn’t totally useless the way I’d thought of myself earlier. I could “adult” now and again if it was necessary. I’d becomeNova.I’d risen from virtually nothing. And I was going to cling to the fact that though I was scared, I would face this challenge with grace. And I’d be proud of myself when I looked back on this traumatic time.

After a moment, we both stepped back and Katelyn walked over to her nightstand where she opened a drawer and removed something. When she held it out to me, I blinked down at it. A switchblade.

“It’s been scary at night. Everything’s totally dark and silent and I, well, I took this from my dad’s collection. He has other knives too, don’t worry. Here. You press this button,” Katelyn said, demonstrating so that the sharp blade swung out. She closed it and set it in my palm. “I’m not saying you’re going to need this, but…” She frowned, pausing for a moment. “My dad says a woman should always be prepared to protect herself.” She glanced out the window to our right where the pink sunset shone through the blinds.“Promise me you’ll use this if you need to.”

chaptertwenty-two

Emily

Day Five

As the town disappeared from view, I had this panicked desire to drop my backpack and run back to the Goodfellows’ house and beg them to let me stay. To hole up in that room upstairs with the handmade quilt and men already guarding the perimeter of the town. There had been a modicum of safety there, and now, though we were headed home, we were also headed out into a world where I had no idea what to expect. On our feet.

“This fucking sucks balls,” Charlie said. The sun still hadn’t fully risen, but the streaks of color in the sky were plenty bright to light our way.

“Let’s think of it like a hike,” I said. “When this is all over and we’re back home, we’ll be in the best shape of our lives.” I’d show up for my tour looking fantastic. And okay, maybe the tour would be postponed for a few months considering the catastrophe that would have taken place for a large part of the country,but I could not allow myself to believe that it wouldn’t happen at all. I’d worked so long and so hard for my dream to come true and I wasn’t going to let it go that easily. I wasn’t able topretendlike Charlie had suggested we do to cope, but positive thinking wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, I thought it was necessary.

“Yeah. A hike. Okay. It’s not a bad idea,” Charlie said. “I just signed on for that movie where I play a superhero. It starts filming this fall. I’ll be ripped.”

I nodded. “I was thinking last night about how I want to help too,” I said. “There’s going to be so much to do, you know? So much money to raise for the people affected by this disaster and maybe driven from their homes. I can only imagine the terrible stories we’re going to hear, right?”

“True,” Charlie agreed. “Hollywood and the music industry will go all in the way they always do. There’ll be dozens of telethons.”

I perked up at the thought of all the opportunities in front of me. “And marathons.”

“Walkathons.”

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