Vortex

Vortex — page 5 — Never She looked over at him but he kept his eyes on the road The smile on his face wasn’t real It was the same smile he’d used all weekend at all the awkward moments the smile of a guy who expected to be let down Blair didn’t know what to do about it Except promise not to move to South Dakota For the past six years she and David had been a team taking care of things while Dad was at work which was most of the time Their dad had dealt with the divorce by burying himself so far into his job that he was barely home which meant that Blair and David had to pick up the slack Doing the laundry learning to cook looking out for Logan Looking after their dad too in a lot of ways When had David gotten bitter about it Blair wasn’t sure Better question When had she stopped being bitter Little by little without really noticing it she’d forgiven her mom for leaving and her dad for never being around David hadn’t That was his choice of course Blair couldn’t tell him how to feel But she wished 5

Vortex — page 6 — she’d been able to enjoy her mom’s wedding She liked Theo and she liked her mom honestly If David hadn’t been so obviously miserable Blair might’ve actually had a good time She wished David would let her drive That would give her something else to think about I don’t like the look of that sky David said He had a point It had been cloudy all morning but now the clouds looked heavier darker They hovered so low to the ground that they looked close enough to reach up and touch Blair pulled out her phone Want me to check the forecast Yeah Maybe put the radio on too See if we can find a local weather station Blair had already pulled up her weather app Hold on my phone still thinks I’m in Michigan She plugged in Hatchville South Dakota They were already an hour east of her mom’s home but it was the only decent-sized town in the area Blair wasn’t even sure anything else would show up on a map 6

Vortex — page 7 — The phone’s screen flashed with warning icons Whoa there’s a tornado watch for like the entire state Did you say tornado watch asked Logan Apparently he’d paused the blackened doom Just a watch not a warning David said quickly What’s the difference A watch just means conditions are right for a tornado to form Blair told him A warning means a tornado’s actually been spotted Tornadoes weren’t common where the O’Neills lived But as an outdoor lifeguard last summer Blair had gotten a crash course in weather safety And she’d heard her mom’s stories Five years of living in Tornado Alley had made her mom an expert Cool said Logan Wake me if there’s a warning I’m gonna take a nap David’s hands had tightened on the wheel Turn on the radio Blair Blair hit the AM button on the dashboard She didn’t even have to scan 7

Vortex — page 8 — channels A staticky voice was in the middle of a weather report and as far east as Mathison County If you’re in those areas we advise you to stay indoors Once again folks we have a major storm system moving north There is a tornado watch in effect for much of north central Nebraska and southern South Dakota The announcer ran through the list of affected counties again Blair checked the GPS screen The O’Neills were in Tate County just east of Mathison County right on the edge of the storm system Off to Blair’s right in the depths of the thick clouds lightning flashed Sounds like the storm system’s southwest of us said David He sounded calm but he always sounded calm Even when he was angry he kept his voice flat and distant The flatter and more distant the more emotion he was holding in And we’re heading away from it Sort of said Blair We’re going straight east It’s moving north and east We should be fine if we keep going Still Blair saw the speedometer’s needle inch upward 8

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