(This is the second part of an ongoing story. I recommend reading part one first, which you can find in my profile.)
It's still raining by the time I finish with work, the skies the color of lead as I trudge to my car, exhausted and on edge. Puddles have formed inside the parking garage, water dripping and leaking everywhere. They say there could be flooding and power outages, downed trees and landslides; it's a real doozy of a storm that's hit us, a once-in-a-decade type event. It's worrisome, to be sure -- but it's not the reason I'm stressed the fuck out.
Nor is it the fact that I spent most of my day in meetings. To tell the truth, I was zoned out a lot of the time. I'm damn tired, and it's just so hard to focus.
No...what has me on edge, what has me freaked the fuck out is the fact that I fooled around with my stepdaughter last night. That I'd given into temptation; that I'd crossed a line.
*Goddamn. How could I let something like this happen?*
Fuck! I bang my fist against the hood of my car, watching the rain pour down outside.
Shakily I light up a cigarette, grinding my teeth. How the hell had I let things get so far out of control? She'd been so scared, so sweet and warm. I'd just wanted to protect her, to have her by my side. But then one thing had led to another, and I just couldn't tell her 'no', and then...
"Fuck!" I shout, my frustrated voice echoing off the cold cement of the garage. I don't even want to think about it...I don't even want to think about *her*. I've been avoiding checking my phone all day, and to be honest I'm afraid to go home. How do you go back after something like that, what do you say? What the hell kind of father am I? I'm a creep -- I'm a goddamn villain as far as I'm concerned.
I take a long drag, welcoming the uncomfortable burn in my lungs.
*You deserve it, you asshole.*
Things had been awkward in the morning when we woke up on the couch in each other's arms. She'd wanted to kiss, she'd wanted to cuddle...I'd needed to get away. I had doubts, regrets, reservations. I'd dropped her off at her campus without saying much, and the look on her face had been heartbreaking.
Fucking shit. What the hell do I do now?
I finish my cigarette and immediately start with another, numbly watching the puddles outside grow and grow. It's not til my work phone goes off that I stir, snatching it up and staring.
It's an emergency alert. I glance it over for a few seconds, half reading. Suddenly, something clicks, and I feel a shiver go up and down my spine.
'Broken levee...flooding all along Calabasas Canal, Little Bear Creek, Montalvo Road...Residents advised to evacuate immediately.'
*What? That's...that's where my house is.*
A cold sensation settles into my gut, and immediately I'm scrambling to find my cell, to pull out that very phone I'd been trying to avoid. My hand trembles as I unlock it; I've got missed messages, I've got missed calls...most of them from Viv.
'Daddy I'm really sorry if I made you mad...I never want to do that, I just want to make you happy. I'm out of class early today, I'll get a ride to the store and make us dinner, okay? You can just relax, I'll take care of things =)'
'Dad I just noticed the water in the creek out back is really high. I'm a little worried...when are you coming home?'
'Dad can you call me as soon as you can? It's getting into the back yard, im sorry I don't know where the sandbags are, im not sure what to do. Can you come home soon?'
'Dad where are you please come home im scared, its getting in the house I dont know what to do'
'Dad???'
*Oh my god, Vivian...*
I call her, and as it goes straight to voicemail I'm already jumping into the drivers seat, slamming the car into reverse, flooring it out of the parking garage and tearing off down the waterlogged road.
*
It's a harrowing drive back through the woods to my place; I take every turn at entirely unsafe speeds, whipping around corners, crunching fallen branches beneath my tires. Toppled trees almost block the way in a few places, with emergency crews out trying to clear them. The men wave me down, pointing frantically to their 'Road Closed' signs. I just ignore them, maneuvering my car around the debris, driving over and through it where I have to and speeding past.
All the while, I keep a wary eye on the canyon beside the road. Normally almost empty, it's now filled to the brim with swift-moving, turbulent brown water. Here and there it overruns the road and I splash through it as fast as I dare, my heart in my throat. Along the way I see some of my neighbors' houses -- those on the creek-side are flooded to the top of the first level. Knowing nothing but panic, I speed on.
When I round the last bend, I can't even breathe. My house is built at a curve in the creek, except now the water's topped the banks and submerged just about everything. The front yard, the backyard, most of the road...the river's running almost up to the eaves of the first floor, the current looking swift and dangerous. Viv's pink Volkswagen still sits in the driveway, just the top of it showing.