Thunderstorm

It was a stormy day in Barden as they were in the middle of a pretty bad thunderstorm. Not bad enough to knock out the power but bad enough to where the windows would rattle after each bolt flashed the sky. All the girls in the Bella house by this point were all laying down in their rooms. Beca of course being the way she is and loving her alone time, had the attic room. As the night went on and the storm kept up its intensity, Beca found herself tossing and turning nonstop. Thunderstorms have always been Beca's lest favorite thing for traumatic reasons dating back to when she was just a little girl. As a rather bright and strong bolt flashed through the attic window and the loud echo spread through the sky Beca let out a yelp of fear.

She knew she wasn't going to get any sleep no matter how hard she tried. She felt her fear and anxiety begging to spike with each echo and rumble of the house. So she reached for her phone and unlocked it immediately scrolling to the one person she wanted.

"Hello?" Stacie answered groggily.

"Stace?" Beca said quietly.

"Becs? Why are you calling me?" Stacie asked trying to wake herself up.

"Umm can you please come to my room?" Beca asked shakily as another flash appeared.

Hearing the shakiness in her voice was enough to wake Stacie up as the taller girl threw her covers off quickly "Be right there." She said hastily as she hung up and put her phone in the waistband of her shorts and slipping on some slides.

Stacie quietly but quickly left her room and made her way up towards Beca's bedroom. Once she closed the door, she saw the small outline of her best friend curled up against the wall.

She made her way towards the bed kicking off her slides, placing her phone on the nightstand and sliding under the covers.

"What's wrong?" Stacie asked.

Beca didn't say anything as she just threw her arms around Stacie seeking comfort in the taller girl's arms.

Stacie who was caught off guard as she's never seen Beca like this, wrapped her arms around her tiny best friend.

Stacie knew if she laid there and comforted Beca giving her time then the smaller girl would eventually open up so that's exactly what she did. Stacie ran a hand up and down Beca's back softly as her other hand was running through Beca's hair. She tried her best to soothe her best friend who was shaking uncontrollably.

Stacie did however pick up on the fact that Beca seemed to shake more when the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder occurred.

After a few more minutes Stacie brought up the storm.

"Is it the storm that's causing this?" Stacie asked softly.

Beca nodded.

Stacie didn't say anything after as she held Beca closer.

Eventually as time went on Beca moved her head from Stacie's chest and looked up towards the girl.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

Stacie looked down "For what?"

"Waking you up and having to deal with this." Beca answered quietly.

"There's no need for that. You're my best friend and I'll always be here when needed." Stacie said.

"Thanks, it's just I don't like thunderstorms." Beca said.

"I picked up on that." Stacie said back.

Beca brought one hand up to the chain Stacie had on and started to fiddle with it as she seemed to get lost in her thoughts.

"When I was six, my mom and I were on our way back from an event she had to attend. She never really drove because my dad was like a GPS, he just knew how to get to places quicker than anyone, but he had to stay at work and grade all the final exams so he couldn't attend. As we drove back home a thunderstorm hit out of the blue and a bolt struck a power cable pole. The cable blew up which apparently caused the pole to topple over. My mom swerved trying to avoid all that but the car in the other lane had the same idea." Beca stopped as her voice cracked.

Stacie laid there listening intently to her best friend open up and be completely vulnerable.

Beca took a breath before continuing "The other driver swerved as well but my mom swerved in the same direction, so they collided head on. We drove a tiny Toyota and the other driver was in a dodge pickup so you can imagine who got the worse end of the wreck. Anyways last thing I remember was being blinded by the headlights and my mom scream. I woke up when someone picked me up and when I looked back into the car, I just saw her hunched over the wheel unresponsive." Beca said as tears started to fall down her cheeks.

Stacie's heart was hurting hearing this, she had known Beca's mom passed but the smaller girl never went into detail. Stacie only found out because of the tattoo on Beca's chest above her heart that had her mom's name and angel wings. She brought a hand to Beca's cheeks and started to wipe off the tears when they would fall.

"She didn't make it. The doctor said it was on impact. The force of everything caused the wheel and dashboard to be pushed straight into her chest, it crushed her." Beca said with a sniffle.

"What happened to you?" Stacie asked softly.

"My face was all smashed up from the air bag. I broke my nose, my left eye was pretty much swollen shut, my lip was completely busted, and I needed fifteen stitches for the gash I had on my head. Not to mention the broken left arm. I only survived because the truck mostly hit the driver's side of the grill." Beca answered.

"I'm so sorry Beca. I know it probably doesn't mean much but I'm sorry you had to go through that. No child deserves to lose a parent that way." Stacie said softly.

Beca sniffled "Your wrong you know; it does mean something to me. No one knows that story outside of family."

"Oh, what makes me special?" Stacie asked curiously.

"Because in a weird way you kind of remind me of her. The way you treat me and protect me, how you comfort me, how always seem to know when somethings wrong and the way you just can read me." Beca answered.

Stacie cracked a small smile "I'm sure your mom was a great woman considering how great her daughter is, so I'll take that as a compliment."

Beca let out a chuckle "She was."

The two laid there in silence for a few.

"So yeah, that's why I hate thunderstorms, it always reminds me of that night." Beca said finally letting go of Stacie's necklace.

Stacie held Beca's hand "Hey how about this, anytime and I mean anytime there's a thunderstorm you call me, seek me, text me or just walk to my room and I'll hold you alright?" Stacie asked.

Beca nodded "Ok I will."

Stacie smiled "I promise you will never go through a storm alone. If I plan to go out, I'll check the weather beforehand." Stacie smiled.

"Thank you." Beca said softly.

Stacie nodded.

Eventually Beca did fall asleep in Stacie's arms and for the first time that she could remember, she slept through a thunderstorm with no problems.