I let out a yelp as I fell to the ground, hitting my forehead on the counter. Jason quickly crawled into a space underneath the counter; I soon felt his arms around my waist as he pulled me into the space with him. I was sitting between his legs, my head resting against his chest, and his arms wrapped tightly around my waist.

I could hear pictures and dishes falling all around us. The whole building was shaking, and all you could hear were things smashing and shattering. The lights were flashing on and off, but soon they were off for good. I was terrified as I held on to Jason tightly. I couldn't hold back my tears as I slightly sobbed into his shoulder. He was holding on to me just as tightly as I was to him; his arms around my midsection, and his legs wrapped around my lower body.

"When is this going to stop?" I asked as I moved right next to Jason's ear so he could hear me. "I don't know; it shouldn't be much longer," he replied. I could hear the fear in his voice, but for some reason I wasn't as scared as I was before. Something about being with Jason made me feel a little safer. I could feel his breath on my neck as I held on to him tightly. I relaxed just a little as I realized that we were safe from any danger while we remained in our hiding spot.

The shaking slightly subsided. "Is it over?" I whispered in Jason's ear. "The worst is," he replied as his hands ran gently up and down my back. "Can we get out now?" I asked; my body was starting to cramp up. "No, we should stay until all the shaking stops," he said confidently. I just nodded and laid my head against his shoulder.

Soon the shaking had completely stopped except for a slight rumble, but it wasn't long until that was over with as well.

"Should we wait here so there isn't any…after shock? Is that what it's called?" I asked hesitantly. In all honesty, I was just afraid to get out. In this hiding spot, I just felt safe and comfortable (minus the body cramping).

"I think it should be alright; let's just not go too far away from this spot for a couple of minutes…just in case," Jason said softly as he unwrapped his legs and arms from around me. As soon as he let go of me…the comfort went with him.

I slowly tried to crawl out of the space gracefully and lady-like, but that wasn't happening. There was barely any room to move, and all around us was shattered glass due to the broken dishes.

"Be careful," I heard Jason tell me softly as I tried to push away some glass from the ground I was about to step on. I held on to the counter and slowly pulled myself up. I slid slightly, but caught my balance before I fell.

"Be careful when you stand up. Don't pull yourself up too forcefully or you'll go sliding everywhere," I warned Jason. I could hear him moving around, trying to get out.

"Uh, Kristie…normally I wouldn't ask a girl this but…would you help me?" he asked so lowly I could barely hear him. I laughed softly despite everything that just happened, and I held my hand out for him. He softly took my hand as I used the counter for an anchor so I wouldn't be pulled down by his weight. Jason successfully pulled himself up. We both stretched as I tried to look around the room to see all the damage, but it was just too dark.

"What do we do now?" I asked Jason. It was too dark to try to walk, and it was too dangerous to try to feel our way around for the front door.

"Here," Jason said as he got out his phone. He had a flash for his camera on his phone, and was able to turn it on so we could look around a little.

My kitchen was a total mess. Everything was ruined. I could feel my eyes burning with tears as I placed my hand to my mouth. Everything I owned was probably ruined…I'd have to move back home to Alabama and give up my dream…

Jason softly put his arm around my shoulder, "Shh, it's going to be ok. Don't worry about that stuff now ok? Just be happy you're safe," he whispered. I could feel angry boiling deep inside me, as I shrugged away from him.

"Sure that's easy for you to say! This was everything I had…now it's gone. Now I'm going to have to go back to Alabama," I finished with a sob as I sat back down underneath the counter. I pulled my knees up to my chest and sobbed without care.

"Kristie," Jason whispered as he knelt down in front of me, "you won't have to go back to Alabama if you don't want to. My brothers and I, we'll help you…"

"No; I couldn't," I cut him off. I wouldn't take charity hand-outs from anyone; I wasn't raised that way. Jason reached out and gently wiped some tears away from my cheek.

"How about you come stay with me and my family for a couple of days? Just until we get some of this stuff settled out? Then if you want to go back to Alabama…you can go," he finished quietly as he held out his hand for me. I sighed, "…Ok," I said softly as I gently grabbed his hand. He pulled me into him as we both stood up.

"Ok, let's see if we can find our way out of his mess," Jason said as he still held a firm grip on to my hand. It was then that I noticed…I was barefoot. Almost anywhere I stepped, I was going to get glass in my foot.

"Jason," I whispered as I squeezed his hand gently. He looked down at me, "Yes?" he asked. "I…uh…don't have any shoes or anything on my feet," I told him hesitantly. He paused to think for a minute; he then handed me his phone, and bent down in front of me, so I faced his back.

"Hop on," he said like it was nothing. "Excuse me?" I asked a little taken back. I could hear him slightly chuckle.

"I'll give you a piggy back ride to the door; now hop on," he said seriously. I sighed…I could tell after this while situation he was going to be a closer friend to me than most of my friends back home. I doubt any of my friends back home would do this for me.

"Alright," I said as I placed my hands on his shoulders. I tried to gracefully jump up, but once again…that didn't work. I could barely jump high enough, but thankfully he caught me. I wrapped my legs and arms around Jason tightly, but not tight enough to hurt him. I held up the phone by his head so we could see where we were going as Jason stared to walk.

"Jason, will you promise me something," I said softly. "What is that?" he asked curiously.

"Please…never tell anyone about this."