lady may
the three times you recoil from tyler “physical touch” owens and the one time you don’t. (tyler owens x reader. kind of a tyler childers song fic, but not all of it is lyric-based, only one section is and its kind of skippable! this is 7.8k words of pure self-indulgence, take caution. only one bed trope used! mild angst at the end. lawyer!reader but u never see her doing lawyer stuff lmao. reader is a little weirdo)
—
Tyler Owens was a tornado of a man, there was no question about it.
He spun himself in metaphorical circles everyday, from tracking the radar like it was gospel to counting down the miles to the next motel the wranglers would stay in for the night in their perilous chase of all things extreme.
You met them by chance, driving across Route 66 as a present to yourself for passing the bar exam. You hadn't come out West since your undergraduate days and you missed the wide open spaces that freedom almost certainly followed across the skies. You could taste the promise of life in the air whenever you crossed the Mississippi.
You were traversing Tornado Alley, not your finest moment, you even admitted later, during peak storm season when you first ran into the wranglers. Lily was the first to hunt you down at a bar.
It was still early in the night, and all you were looking for was a decent meal and a beer, a hoppy habit you picked up in spirit of traveling the country. Beer would be your drink of choice to remember your time by. With a basket of chicken wings demolished in front of you, you clutched your third beer of the evening tight in your hand, nails tapping along the chilled glass when she approached, complimenting your bright red nail polish.
Naturally, you pulled the bottle out of your capacious purse and offered to paint hers to match, and that is where Tyler Owens first saw you.
Dani and Dexter had never seen the cowboy so starry eyed as he cut through the scrambling crowd of the bar to meet you. You showed him the brightest smile he'd ever seen as Lily dragged both your hands up to show him your perfectly painted polish job.
Tyler knew he was long gone before he knew your name.
It was instant chemistry, but you were too oblivious to notice it, deep in your own head about the absolute Adonis of a man who swaggered up like he knew he was the best catch in the dive bar, which he definitely was, but you didn't want to feed his ego and tell him that. He was drop-dead gorgeous, and when he reached his hand out to shake yours and introduce himself, he watched you retreat into your own skin as you mumbled your name.
"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, sugar. My mama raised me to always properly introduce myself, especially to a woman as beautiful as yourself." He nodded his head and reached a hand up to take the wide-rimmed hat off his head and keep it politely tucked against his chest while he addressed you.
"Oh! It's no worries, Tyler. I'm sorry I'm so awkward, I don't like touching other people that much." That, Tyler thought, made more sense than his assumption of your aversion to him.
"Well, I can completely understand that. You never know what the cat dragged in." His eyes lit up at his own joke, watching you shake your head lightly as your hair glowed in the dim lighting like a halo.
"Yeah, he's what the cat dragged in. Do you want to have a drink with us? Promise my friends aren't all as forthcoming as Narcissus over here." Lily playfully shoved her shoulder into yours and Tyler watched as you stilled for a split second before nudging her back in an attempt to reciprocate her gesture.
You were considerate. Tyler felt his heart speed up.
"I'd love to! Do y'all want anything? I have a tab open already." You finished the last of your third drink and readied to order a new one as the bartender made her way over to the new people surrounding you.
Tyler leaned forward and ordered a round for his friends as Lily and you conversed around his figure, too tipsy to hear him place his card down on your tab and give the bartender strict instructions to not let you pay your bill, at which the woman coyly smiled and wished him good luck before spinning off to pour the drinks.
The night went great and you found yourself falling in love with the ragtag group of misfits rallied around you. They were storm chasers, you learned, and they planned to stop for about a week in the area as a giant front made its way through, hellbent on tracking the beast and helping in any clean-up efforts they could if it caused any damage.
"So, why are you here in middle-of-nowhere Oklahoma? Are you from around here?" Dani asked and sipped on Tyler's drink as his gaze was transfixed onto you. You had a slight accent that was heavier than theirs, but the twang was higher pitched and scratchier than a true Bible Belt, Southern drawl.
"No, I'm from Kentucky. I just finished law school and passed the bar exam so I decided to drive Route 66 as my graduation gift. I've always loved traveling." You took a swig from your fourth?-fifth?-drink of the night. You weren't entirely certain, as Tyler was keeping an eye on your glasses and brought you refills and water in equal amounts when they dipped too low.
"That's where your twang comes from. We don't sound like that in Arkansas. Appalachia, right?" Boone clapped a hand on your shoulder giddily.
Tyler watched you tense up.
"Screw her accent, Boone, she's officially a lawyer now! This calls for a congratulations round! I'll be back."
Lily sauntered off, and as you watched her walk away, loudly protesting the thought of taking a shot, you met Tyler's intense eyes, his hand coming up to gently shoo Boone off of you and respectfully nod.
Oh you were in deep.
—
The following week in the small town of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, was the most fun you'd had in a long time. The wranglers would go storm cell hunting during odd hours of the day, so you spent the hours in between walking the town, shopping with Boone, and playing cards in your motel room.
It was Tyler who first offered to take you out with them. You protested, not too fond of the idea of driving into a death trap, but as he pulled the radar up to show you the very small cell forming North of the town with a promise to not let you get hurt, you found yourself agreeing. You didn't notice the wink Dani shot Tyler as you left, or the silent shake of his head as he turned away.
"You drive the most asshole truck ever." You spoke as Tyler started off down the interstate. The red truck dwarfed your own small pickup in size, and all of the buttons on the console were just begging to be pressed.
"Stop eyeing up those buttons like you're gonna push 'em." He furrowed his brow and lightly brushed your extended hand away in fear of you setting off the rockets, which could be triggered by the giant red switch you were on course for.
"Sorry," You sheepishly apologized and he laughed to lift your spirits again, catching himself midair as he went to squeeze your hand in reassurance before playing it off by leaning his elbow on the actual console above the buttons.
Music filtered in through the speakers as Tyler turned down a dirt road and rolled down the windows, his eyes never leaving the sky. You heard a familiar tune drowned out by the flowing wind, so you reached forward and turned knobs on his dash until the volume rose.
My mind's a mile a minute, and my thoughts, they bark like hounds
I focus on my breathing and the Universal Sound
"You like Tyler Childers?" Tyler questioned as he pulled something up on a scanner built into the dash.
"He's the crown jewel of Kentucky, how could I not?"
On the day that I return I aim to lay her down
But right now I am focused on the Universal Sound
"I like him because he's good at telling stories. Don't get me wrong, I'll take a Chattahoochee any day, but nothing compares to a song with a story like Cash or Williams, senior, not junior." Tyler tapped the beat of the song against the steering wheel and rolled the windows up.
I'd close my eyes, it was all so clear
It was all right then, it was all right here
"You're taking the words right outta my mouth, Owens. I love this song, it's one of my favorites. I'm not religious, but I think the thought of a Universal Sound is comforting. And it doesn't have to be the same for everyone, just the hum of the universe and life and how everyone interprets it, religion or not." You nodded so surely after your statement that Tyler had to stop himself from staring.
"There, look!" Tyler suddenly jolted as the sky began to funnel, hitting the gas and barreling straight toward the angered circle of dark clouds.
You grasped tight onto the handle above the window, heart beating out of your chest as the funnel descended from the sky only a couple hundred feet in front of the truck.
"Put your harness on and hold on." Tyler yelled over the growing wind as he grabbed a set of straps from somewhere behind his seatbelt and slung them over his shoulders. You began to mimic his movements, but could only free one side of the strap as the tornado approached.
"Tyler!" The fear in your voice was enough to make his blood run cold. He looked over to you and found the other half of the harness caught behind the seat, no doubt tangled in one of Boone and Lily's many seat switches, and he lurched into action.
He quickly pressed one of the buttons he told you that you weren't allowed to touch as the truck lurched itself into the ground. He then unbuckled his own safety vest to throw himself at you, bracing his body with a hand on the headrest of your seat and using his free grip to tear the buckle out of the netted mesh pocket on the back of the seat and manhandle it around your frame before you could properly blink.
Tyler was gone as fast as he came, double checking he actually secured your harness before rebuckling his and throwing a protective arm out to keep you pinned in the seat by the shoulders.
"It's okay, sugar. It's barely an EF1, and we're not going anywhere in this thing." Your head turned to his and he nodded, causing you to reach up and wrap your hands around his outstretched arm, Tyler letting you drag his arm down to rest in your lap as you gripped his hand.
I focus on my breathing and the Universal Sound
I let it take me over from the toenails to the crown
The music somehow cut through the roaring winds as the tornado covered the truck. The adrenaline in your system turned giddy, and soon you were leaning forward in your harness to look out of the windshield and up into the eye of the storm. Every anxious bone left your body as you marveled up at the natural disaster, uncaring about the warmth of Tyler's hand and how it grounded you in the midst of the storm.
Tyler could only look on with a smile.
The storm raged on and you spun to watch it out of the back window as it dissipated only a few feet away after traversing over the truck.
"Do you want to join us on the road? We could always use some legal counsel for our copyright."
Tyler's green eyes cut through the brightening sky like headlights on a dark night.
"Tyler Owens, do you even have to ask?"
You laughed to yourself and suddenly went stiff, pushing his hand away and running a disbelieving hand through your own hair in an attempt to get the feeling of him off your skin. All he did was laugh.
He seemed a little haggard, but it did not slow him down
He was humming to the neon of the Universal Sound
—
Becoming the Tornado Wrangler-Lawyer involved a lot more paperwork than the crew thought it would, which is why they were glad you were the one they were hiring so you could complete it yourself.
Mechanics and calculus? Count Tyler in. Paperwork and legal terms? Count Tyler out. That's what made you both such a great team, as Lily brought up whenever Boone was giving you googly eyes as he often did to any pretty woman with a strong sense of self.
You only laughed and shyly looked to the ground while Dani slapped the back of the man's head in scorn, loudly declaring that if anyone was going to be the one to date you it would be her, at which you sent a playful wink and raised your beer.
Tyler sat next to you at the small campfire and shifted. Dani caught his eyes and sent him an impish grin, shrugging her shoulders and hopping back up onto the tailgate of Tyler's truck.
You were all parked in the lot of a motel somewhere in the middle of nowhere. You fell asleep in the back of Tyler's truck for a few hours and didn't remember the last town sign you saw, and you didn't particularly care to ask your whereabouts. Wherever the wranglers were was always safe.
The parking lot filled to the brim with other chasers who were circling around your bonfire and others to speak with their old friends. Most of the wannabe chasers, nicknamed the "Wrangler Groupies" by Dexter, were all too interested in finally meeting you, the newest addition to the team. You didn't appear in the livestreams and often were cooped up in the back bedroom of the RV when they were on a chase, much rather preferring to stay out of the limelight than be plastered on the internet and at the mercy of the entire world. You were the opposite of camera shy when it came to the group's private videos, always sneaking in the back of photos with a mischievous smile and pointing your phone to capture whatever mess Boone always managed to get into.
You were a calming presence, but you knew how to give hell when needed, as evident by the look in your eyes as Storm Par approached the wrangler bonfire.
"Storm Par, nice to see you as always." Tyler spoke from beside you where you sat on a small blanket. You rigidly pushed yourself to the edge to avoid touching his relaxed figure.
"Wish we could say the same, Owens, but we just came to see your newest recruit. It's nice to meet you, I'm Javi and that's Scott," Javi said, Scott coming up to flank his side with crossed arms and a mean mug.
"It's nice to meet you, too. I've heard all about you both." You showed them your teethy smile, always too polite.
"I would ask if it's good or bad, but I think we both know the answer to that." Javi laughed.
"You'd be right, Javi. But it is nice to meet you. I like to put names to faces." Scott scoffed from beside his laughing teammate.
"Something funny, Scott?" Tyler leaned forward on his knees to ask as his beer began to sweat from the proximity to the fire. "It's just that your new lawyer here doesn't seem to be as cutthroat as everyone says."
He raised a challenging eyebrow, solely addressing Tyler.
"I don't think I need to broadcast my achievements in order for them to matter." You rebutted, causing the surrounding group, wranglers and others, to let out a dramatic "ooh."
"She's got you there, MIT." Javi was even chuckling at Scott, turning to see him near fuming in the parking lot. "Nothing will change the fact that Storm Par is more academically equipped to deal with these conditions, lawyer or not."
"Try Harvard Law on for size, Scott. Then we'll talk." You stood from your spot and sent him a look that kept him rooted in place as you walked out of the group and toward the edge of the motel where no one lingered.
Javi and Boone burst out in laughter at the exact same time, breaking the tension in the group as everyone dissolved to converse about the newest wrangler who owned Storm Par on their first meeting.
Tyler, on the other hand, could not care less about Scott's humiliation unless the next thing that came out of his mouth was his own teeth, preferably by his own doing.
Lily watched Tyler clench and unclench his fists before meeting his eye, nodding her head in the direction of the girl he was so head over heels for. He pushed himself up from the dirt and set out in search of her in the crowd.
"I hope those two get together already. I can't stand any more of this." Dexter rolled his eyes as Tyler disappeared into a sea of chasers.
You were a meek thing amongst the crowd of rambunctious chasers. You carried your head high and your pride higher, but the chasers weren't eloquent in the same way you were. They were too carefree to be, something you never managed to master. You left your drink somewhere in the dirt where you and Tyler sat, so you wrapped your arms around yourself as you paced the empty length of the side of the motel wall. It was hidden from sight, and you were armed with a pocket knife like always, so you weren't afraid to pace further into the darkness.
"Hey, sugar! Wait up. You shouldn't be back here alone." Tyler yelled out of breath as he slowed his jog down to a walk now that he located you. His clothes were wrinkled from wearing them for so long on the road, but his charming white undershirt was exposed as he unbuttoned his red flannel to release some heat.
"I'm fine, Owens. Promise." You shot him a sickly sweet smile. "I should've broken his nose for talking to you like that-"
"Woah, slow your roll. Scott was an asshole, but from what you've told me, he's always like that. My entire law career has been filled with Scotts, I can handle another."
Tyler Owens was really driving you insane. He cared, oh, god, he cared. It was evident in his reddened face and the way his shoulders pulled tight, as if he was raring to fight somewhere in your honor. He abandoned his hat on his tailgate, so his hair was messy and loose, falling into his face while he stared you down with intensity.
"You don't have to fight my battles for me." You softly spoke and leaned against the wall behind you.
"I know I don't, but I want to if you'll let me." Tyler came to stop in front of you, his flannel sleeves rolled up to reveal a vein popping in his forearm.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"That is what I said, now let's go back. I want to go to bed soon." Tyler nodded seriously and fell in step behind you like a guard dog. It was strange to walk through the crowd and have them part for the man who stood at your back. Once you made it back to the wranglers, they all shared knowing looks with each other as Tyler glued himself as close to your side as you would let him for the rest of the night.
Soon enough, the chasers dispersed into the motel and the wranglers began to yawn. Lily put the fire out with a lukewarm soda she was sipping on earlier as Tyler divvied up the keys to the rooms between the groups.
Lily and Dani bunked together, zooming off as soon as they had their key, then Dexter and Boone followed, both of them about half-dead on their feet as they staggered into the air conditioned lobby.
"Here, you're on the third floor." Tyler handed the key to you along with your duffle bag, already turning away before he could ensure you were well on your way up to the room.
"Where's the key to yours?" You followed after him and asked, seeing no other key clenched in his palm.
"I got the last three rooms they had, so I'll sleep in the truck tonight. It's not a big deal, I've got a sleeping bag to throw in the bed for when this happens." Tyler ran a hand up the back of his neck and avoided your gaze. "Like hell I'm gonna let you sleep out here. I'll go bunk with Dani and Lily, you take the room."
"I can't let you do that, sugar. I'm afraid that full size bed has your name written all over it."
"Tyler, I'm not letting you sleep in your truck after you got us these rooms."
"Technically, I take the rooms and food out of your cut from the channel, so it's really just coming from your own pocket."
"Technically, I don't care. We're sharing my room." You spun off on your heel before waiting for an answer, knowing damn well you slipped the key back into his pocket and you left him there to follow you up.
He felt the metal outline in his denim, sighing to himself about how whipped you had him as he grabbed his backpack and took the stairs to try and beat you in the elevator.
Sharing a room with Tyler was something you'd done before, many times, actually. It was natural; you had a routine. He let you shower first even though you took triple the time he did, and he would sit on his bed until you came out in an oversized band shirt and a pair of men's sleep pants so large he wasn't quite sure how you got them. Your hair would drip from the shower as the bathroom door opened to flood his senses with the smell of your products and your minty toothpaste. You always sent him a retainer-filled smile before laying down to sleep, and he knew you never fell asleep before he was done showering for the night.
Sharing a bed with Tyler was a different story.
You both began your routine, you throwing your stuff down on the far side of the bed and him on the side closest to the door, and you started to rifle through your heavy bag to find your toiletries you now let him use. No one on the team commented on how Tyler started to smell like coconut and lavender, but he knew they wondered. You grabbed your balled up sleep clothes and headed off to the bathroom, leaving Tyler alone with his thoughts and you with yours.
Everything was normal as always until Tyler emerged from the shower with only his boxers and a shirt on. You were scrolling on your phone, but you made sure you averted your eyes as he strutted into the room with wet hair looking like that.
He roughly rubbed his short hair one last time in the towel as a toothbrush stuck out of his mouth, him grabbing something from his bag before walking back into the bathroom. The door was still swung wide open, and you couldn't help but ogle how good his ass looked outside of his Wranglers. Tyler's head rounded the corner of the bathroom with his toothbrush still hanging out of his mouth as he held up your pink bottle of mouthwash.
"Yes." You nodded to him at his unspoken question. It was normal for friends to share mouthwash, right? Just like it was normal for friends to share a bed. It was nothing more than a sleepover with one of your girls tonight. But instead of getting drunk and watching movies, you were stuck with a man who you were carnally attracted to.
"If you're not comfortable with me being this close to you, I get it. I can sleep on the floor. There's some extra blankets in the closet." You jumped out of your skin at Tyler's sudden presence. So far for being normal, you thought.
"What?"
"I know you don't like people in your space, and you look pretty damn uncomfortable. You can still send my ass down to the truck." He laughed and gently sat on his side of the bed.
"No, you're fine, but thank you. I don't think I could live with myself if I let you sleep outside in that muggy heat tonight. I'll be fine for one night, Tyler." You playfully rolled your eyes and turned away from him to plug your phone into your charger on the nightstand.
"Okay. Let me know if I'm on your side at all. You can kick my ass off the bed anytime I get too close, and I mean it."
You laughed at him as he walked over to shut the big light off, plunging the room into darkness. You spun to your right side to face the wall and not the gorgeous man who was more naked than you'd ever seen him and laying in the same bed as you. The rational part of your brain knew you were overthinking his lack of clothes, but the crazed voice in your head theorized he was so underdressed because he wanted you like you wanted him. Either way, you wouldn't act on his advance, if it even was an advance. You wouldn't risk the friendship you'd built with him because of a girlhood crush.
Tyler, on the other hand, was doing everything in his power to not confess his love to you right then and there. You in your disgusting Nirvana shirt you picked up from a thrift store and your red fleece pants that were way too hot to sleep in during the summer. He felt the droplets from your hair across the middle of the bed, and for once in his life he cursed his impressive stature because it meant he took up more of the full size mattress than you did, forcing you to inch to the side to avoid his touch. He knew it wasn't personal, you froze when Boone or Dani hugged you and when Lily led you somewhere by the hand, but your distance hurt his heart. He wanted nothing more than to open his arms and let you lie on his chest or to wrap an arm around your waist in public, but he knew it would only push you away. Maybe one day he would have the confidence to ask you, but until then, he let the droning of the AC lull him into a heavy sleep.
You heard Tyler begin to heavily breathe behind you, which meant you finally relaxed a little. The loud air conditioning unit was blowing directly at you and about froze you half to death, but you made no complaints because you knew Tyler liked to sleep in near-freezing temperatures. You huddled in on yourself to conserve your body heat, brushing the freezing tip of your nose with your hand before drifting off into slumber.
You noticed, when you awoke, that the room was much warmer than it was last night. You couldn't feel the draft from the edge of the bed like before, and your nose was no longer numb. It was actually warmer than it was last night surrounding the campfire, but you paid no mind to the change and decided to keep your eyes shut, burying yourself further into the personal heater that magically appeared during the wee hours of the morning.
The heater, in question, was Tyler, who was just as oblivious as you were to your predicament. The sun was only beginning to rise in the sky when Tyler first stirred. In a half dreamlike state he felt a weight on his chest and tugged it closer to him, shivering at the chill that came with it before falling back asleep. His chest thrummed with soft snores that matched your own, though neither of you were conscious of the harmony. Only when the sun became too scorching for him through the window did he properly wake up and freeze when he saw you on him.
That was not supposed to happen, he thought, but he wasn't complaining.
You look peaceful. It was the most relaxed he'd ever seen you. You weren't on alert like always, you were calm. Tyler's hand on your head came to stroke your hair softly, pulling you closer into his chest in hopes of softly stirring you from sleep naturally and saving you the embarrassment he knew you would have from crawling on top of him in the middle of the night. Not that he wasn't partially to blame, either, as neither knew who exactly initiated the contact.
Your eyes creaked open for the first time in the morning and were met with two strong arms encircling you, a bicep under your head as a makeshift pillow. You went still. Tyler knew you were awake now.
"Morning, sugar." He mumbled into your hairline, and god you hated how the rumble of his chest made you curl further into him. He smiled at that. You didn't respond, now all too aware of the hand you snaked up his shirt and rested on his stomach somewhere in your tossing and turning.
You sprung up from the mattress and Tyler instantly dropped his arms.
"You know, I didn't even mean to do that, and I don't think it'll ever happen again, so I think we should just ignore it. It's not like either of us meant it after all, friends sleep with each other all the time. Not like that-that's not what I meant. I mean Boone and I have shared a hotel room before, this is no different." You rambled to yourself and crouched down to pull out the outfit you sat out for the day, eager to run into the bathroom and stare long and hard into the mirror while debating the ethics of sleeping on top of your best friend who you were absolutely not supposed to be attracted to.
You didn't pay another glance back to the blonde man as you locked yourself in the bathroom, sinking to the floor against the door and banging your head off of it in frustration.
Tyler didn't expect you to act so weird. Never once when Dani got too in your space for too long did you explode on her like that. None of the wranglers were ever lectured by you about their touch, so why was he? What made him so bad that you would rather pretend you never shared a bed with him, something so trivial he should have laughed, than put up with the mutual touch like you did with everyone else? He tried not to feel defeated, but to Tyler, he truly lost his chance with you.
And the worst part about being in Tyler's arms was that you liked it.
—
The wranglers were just about at their wit's end with both of you. They could only put up with so many awkward interactions which were once so natural. The pair of you couldn't even sit next to each other at dinner anymore without silence taking over. Sure, you were amicable in your jobs, and would participate in group conversation, but if you were left alone with each other, the sparks that once ignited dwindled down to duds.
Lily would take you off in one direction and Boone would take Tyler, the team determined to find out why you were both acting like the other was poison.
"It's nothing. I don't know why he's acting like that."
"Ask her."
Were the only responses they ever received into what transpired. Whatever happened, Dexter said, could be narrowed down to the night Tyler followed you after Scott tore into your integrity. They all had theories, from Tyler expressing his feelings in such a time of emotion and you becoming overwhelmed, or, more likely according to Lily, you shut Tyler down in his quest of protecting you because you weren't some damsel in distress. You never would be and you never wanted to be, but Tyler was the type of man to protect what was his, and you just so happened to fall under that umbrella for better or worse. His chivalry would be the death of him. He still brought you coffee from his gas station run every morning just how you liked it. He always waited until he saw you disappear into your own truck or the RV if you joined a chase before he hopped into his truck. At bars, his eyes never left you. Dani called him pathetic. She wasn't wrong.
You were sitting in the back of the RV bedroom, well out of sight from the livestream camera hooked up to the dash where Dani and Dexter sat. The cell you were chasing was supposed to be big, but none of you could have predicted how dangerous it actually was.
The EF2 winds registering on Dexter's data tracker soon picked up to an EF3, and before they could account for those changes, they jumped to an EF4.
Tyler told Boone to cut the livestream and radioed for Dani to cut theirs as well.
A town approached on the horizon, and as they crested it after the beast of nature, it changed course: it was headed straight for the town.
"Oh my god," You ran up behind the duo and grabbed onto Dani's seat while Dexter whipped the RV back to turn around, already dialing 911 to notify police of the tornado path and pulling up the local weather station's contact to do the same before a static hum cut the air.
"Dani, you hear me?"
"Yeah, Ty."
"I want you to hang back until it makes its course. We're gonna head into town and see if we can speed around the storm to warn people in the streets."
"Copy. Keep us updated."
"They're going into town?" You spoke. "They're gonna warn as many people as they can before it hits. Right now she's only creeping there, so they'll be able to make it and save lives. It's the right call."
"What about when it hits them?" Dexter went silent from his previous response.
"They're wranglers, they'll be safe. All we can do is alert the people who can tell the town to get to shelter. The RV isn't meant to weather a tornado like the truck is." Dani looked back at the shocked woman and nodded before turning her attention back to the number Dexter was dialing on his phone, picking up where he left off.
It was an agonizing hour before the EF4 moved on from the town and Dexter deemed it safe enough to roll in.
You weren't sure if you were more worried about the flattened town or Tyler. It was horrific to watch the town be destroyed by something so powerful in the rear window as Dexter first brought you to safety. It felt wrong, driving away from people that so desperately needed help in such destruction, but you knew it was the right choice. There needed to be some kind of support for when the twisting funnel passed, and you three were going to be there no matter what. Not even a second twister could keep you from helping those people.
The RV pulled into the far roads of the town and drove through the streets until the debris was too severe.
"Now, we canvas for people. We need to make our help known so people know it's safe. Start checking storm cellars and I'll set up the food." Dexter directed you both, nodding and took off in separate directions without another word.
You began jogging through the once thriving community and yelling out for people to answer. You came across a family who broke out of their storm cellar and pointed them in the direction of the RV with the promise of food and a clean shirt. They hugged you before bolting in the direction you came from.
You kept calling out, finally coming across movement under some rubble of a storm door trying to open.
"I'm coming, hold on!" You yelled out as you ran to what you assumed to be the concrete steps of a front porch, the cellar door sandwiched next to it under a large chunk of concrete.
"There's a piece of concrete on top of the door, I need you to push up when I tell you to so I can roll it off, okay?"
"Okay!" A chorus of voices echoed out from beneath the debris as you positioned yourself on the ground next to the door. You used the hinge for leverage, bending your arms fully to wedge them under the block and readying yourself to push it in the direction the door would roll it off in.
"Now!"
The door pushed up with a strong force that combined with your strength and sent you tumbling with the small boulder to the ground. Your head hit the concrete, but the scrape was too minor for you to care as you jumped back up and pulled the metal door open, coming face to face with a large group of survivors.
"There's food and water all the way at the end of this road. Look for an RV." You spoke to them and they nodded before pulling each other out of the small opening and embarking on their path to safety.
All of a sudden, a small voice ripped through your rushed silence.
Barrelling out from a fallen tree came a young girl, no older than six and covered in scrapes. Her blonde hair was matted to her face with sweat and dirt, and her small pink dress was torn at the edges.
"Hi, sweetie." You crouched down to her level as she bolted to you, immediately wrapping you in a hug as her shoulders shook from sobs. Your heart broke at the sight of her.
"Do you know where your mommy and daddy are?" You softly asked, at which she violently shook her head no.
"Well, let me take you back to my friends, then. We can get you some food and a nice blanket while I look for them."
"No! My sister!" You tried to dislodge from her grip to survey her injuries, but she was deadset on keeping you close. "What about your sister, sweetie? Is she stuck somewhere?"
She shook her head yes as her sobs got louder.
"Can you show me where your sister is?"
The girl finally let you pull away from her, and all of her injuries appeared to be surface level, though her tears streaked blood and dirt down her face. You reached up to wipe at her cheeks and tried to clear the grime from her.
"Take me to her." You rose to your full height and followed the young girl through the rubble. She gripped your hand so hard it turned white, but you didn't care. The only thing you cared about was saving her sister.
She walked under the tree she popped up from and through what looked to be a line of shops before stopping at a small red car. Inside of the car were small cries, and she dropped your hand to run to the backseat to the source of the noise.
You followed her quick pace, coming to see a baby still in her carseat through a broken window.
"She's gonna help." The young girl spoke as she tried to climb her way back through the broken window, but you grabbed her before she could slice herself up even more.
"Can you stay here for me, sweetheart? I don't want you getting hurt, okay? I need you to stay there and be brave for me." She nodded with newfound ambition, crossing her arms in concentration as she observed your every move.
"Hi, baby. I'm gonna get you out of here, I promise." She babbled up at you and your heart just about crumbled. Foregoing trying to pry open the smashed door, you reached through the broken window and attempted to unbuckle her carseat, but the buckles were jammed and bent from being thrown around.
You reached for the pocket knife in your pocket, quickly unsheathing it and keeping her little hands back while cutting through the thick material, freeing the girl and precariously moving her through the open window and cradling her against your chest.
She began to coo and squirm, but her sister came up and petted her back which calmed her right down.
"I'm gonna get you two out of here, okay? Take my hand, sweetie." The young girl grabbed onto your hand in another death grip as you navigated over the fallen branches and bricks.
Every step you took filled your heart with dread for the little girl and her exposed legs. There was broken glass everywhere, and, fearing for her safety, you bent down so she could jump onto your back for a ride, at which she laughed and took the opportunity to place her small hand on her sister's head that rested against your shoulder.
Lily spotted you first as you approached the RV.
A gasp ripped through her before she could stop it, catching the attention of Dexter and Dani who were delving out food to survivors.
She was on her feet running before you could see her.
"Where's Tyler?" You asked and looked around the RV, finding Lily to be the only one back from the crew in the truck.
"I don't know. I got separated from them when bringing people into cellars." She shook her head and began talking to the girl hanging off your back.
Your mind went blank. Tyler and Boone were still gone, and there was more than half of a town to still canvas. You let Lily lead you back to the RV and asked around the crowd if they knew who's children the little girls were, but no one could seem to locate their parents.
The sun was close to setting and there was still no sign of the girls' parents.
You swaddled the baby, now known to you as Nora, in a blanket from the camper and gave her older sister, Eliza, as she proudly declared, a tornado wrangler shirt to throw on over her dress. You handed out water bottles with your free hand as Eliza followed you everywhere, too afraid of losing you in the crowd.
As the sky got darker, Dexter broke out the emergency lanterns and lights he kept in the van, attaching them to the small tent they set up to attract others from the wreckage. The temperature was starting to drop, and noticing Eliza begin to shiver, you sent her inside to the bed in the camper to get warm, which she was all too happy about as long as you promised to stay right outside.
"They're not back yet." You rocked the baby loosely in your arms as you spoke to the wranglers, who were finally able to sit down for a second as the crowds dispersed back to their homes and settled on cleared patches of grass for the night.
"I know. They've never been gone this long before. Usually they would have been back to at least check in." Dexter shook his head and adjusted his hat.
"We need to go look for them."
"We need to stay here. We've had so many people come through that if Ty and Boone run into anyone they'll know where we are. Us stumbling around out there in the dark is just going to get us hurt." Dexter responded, and you sat down next to the man.
It was almost like the universe listened when you spoke.
In the vague distance, a voice began to yell. It was too far to decipher, and four figures started to appear in view of the industrial lights Dexter set up as a makeshift signal. Two of the figures were being supported by others, and one of the pairs was limping pretty badly through the disaster around them.
"We need help!"
Tyler.
You were bolting faster than you could process that it was him.
The little girl stirred in your arms, but she stayed silent as you threw caution to the wind as Tyler and Boone slowly approached. Dani and Lily passed you easily and made it to the pair before you did, taking the injured people from their arms easily and helping them a short distance back to the tent alongside the ambulances.
Tyler was all you cared to see in the dark.
He was bloody, but he was upright and moving, picking up speed when he saw your form emerge from the shining bright light, your hair mimicking the same halo he saw on the night you first met.
"Tyler." You called out to him, only for him to lurch forward and capture your lips in his.
The kiss was intense, and you felt him press himself as far against you as he could. One arm came up to cradle the back of your head, while the other wrapped around your middle to keep you close. You used your free hand to grab onto his shoulder, melting into him as he panted. It was everything you feared and everything he ever wanted, his nose roughly colliding with yours, not caring about how messy he was being; he just needed to feel you.
He pulled away and plastered his sweaty forehead to yours, staring you down like you were an angel leading him to the pearly gates.
"I thought you were dead."
"I couldn't die without doing that first." His smirk graced his face, and as he began to speak, he was interrupted by the babbling creature in your arms. He looked between you and the baby curiously.
"Do you have something you need to tell me, sugar?"
"Asshole. I found her and her sister. We can't find her parents."
"Well, I think I just did." Tyler nodded over your shoulder and you spun around. There in an ambulance was the man Tyler carried in with Eliza at his side, her arms thrown as much around her dad as she could manage. Her mother had tears in her eyes as she hugged her little girl from behind, checking her over to see if she was hurt.
Tyler grabbed you by the waist and pulled you back into his chest, both of you watching the family with smiles.
"I think it's time to bring little Nora back."
