“There’s a few boxes in the back,” Jared said. “Would you grab one?”
I took wide steps and hopped until I was clear of the debris, and then went to the Escalade, opening the back door. I brought back a large, cardboard box. There were two more, but it was overly optimistic to bother with them, we couldn’t fill up the first one. Silverware, a few brittle-edged pictures, and the monitor of my laptop were among partially intact documents, and a set of throwing knives. Yellow tape surrounded most of the carnage.
My hands turned black as I dug slowly, but surely through the black mess under our feet.
“What are you looking so ambitiously for?” Jared asked.
“I was hoping we’d find at least pieces of your journal, but I haven’t even seen the binding. Have you come across it?”
He smiled. “I keep it in the Escalade. It’s safe and sound.”
“Good,” I said, overwhelmed at the mountain of rubble.
“We should go. The Fire Marshall has already interviewed me twice. If anyone sees us poking around, it’s going to attract attention.”
“I guess.” I stood up from my squatted position, throwing down a charred piece of the frame that the last picture of my father was in.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Jared said. “I should have tried to get that out, too.”
“It’s not your fault. They did this to get a reaction, to see if we’d retaliate, or if it would cause dissension between us. The last thing I’m going to do is give them what they want. It’s just stuff.”
Jared walked over to me, tenderly wiping my face. “You’re covered in soot. Let’s go home.”
“That’s not home, Jared. This was home, and it's gone.” I was surprised at the tears that welled up in my eyes. Crying hadn't crossed my mind until that very moment.
“Maybe we should start looking for a place?” he smiled.
“So they can torch it again? No, thank you.”
Jared’s expression was pained. “It won’t happen again.”
“You don’t know that,” I said, tugging on his hand, leading him to the Escalade. “We have no idea what they’ll do next.”
Chapter Ten
New
Summer wound down, and Beth and I undertook the process of delegation. Our schedule at Brown would make it impossible to maintain the hours we’d been keeping at Titan.
Jared made frequent calls to Claire to check on Ryan’s progress, which steadily improved. At times faster than Claire would have liked. To all of our surprise, Ryan wasn't fighting the decision to decommission him. He was focused on getting well and getting back to the States—something none of us had anticipated.
As promised, Jared didn’t try another ambush on Shax, or Donovan and Isaac. Instead, he became obsessed with constructing a fail-safe plan, one that included a Plan B, and help. He refused to let the book get away from him a second time.
Bex grew two more inches, which was a good thing. His inflated ego needed all the room he could give it.
Jared and I spent my last day of Summer Break at our Oak Tree. We stretched out across a blanket Jared had spread over the grass, just inside the shade of the tree. I kept my eyes closed, quiet and lazy, listening to the bugs buzzing and the grass dancing in the wind.
“You’re officially a college junior tomorrow,” he said with a proud smile, brushing the petals of a wildflower down the line of my jaw.
“I am,” I said. “Another summer gone by. Just one more left before I graduate.”
Jared squeezed my hand, turning his attention to the carving above us. “Hmmm…where do you see yourself this time next year?”
I breathed out a laugh. “I have no idea. Why don’t we make this an annual event? We spend the day at our Oak tree the last day of Summer Break next year, too.” Jared grimaced, and my expression mimicked his. “What?”
He worked to smooth out the deepening line between his brows. “Nothing.”
“Jared,” I warned. I became impatient very quickly when he kept things from me, and he seemed to be taking that risk more frequently.
He sighed. “I was hoping your answer would be different, that’s all.”
“Different how?” I asked.
“I was hoping that you would say you saw yourself married this time next year,” he said quietly.
“Oh,” I said, sheepish.
“I’m trying very hard to be patient about this,” he said, his voice suddenly strained. “I don’t understand why you’re putting it off.” He chuckled nervously. “I thought we’d be married by now.” His eyes were still bright, but I could hear the edge of worry in his voice.
“We’ve discussed this, Jared. A lot. I don’t have time to plan a wedding right now. It’s not that I’m putting it off, I’ve just got a lot on my plate is all,” I said, twisting my ring around my finger.
Jared rested his hand on mine. “I know you do. But it doesn’t have to be an elaborate event. We’re engaged, we’re living together…is there a problem I should be aware of?”