Drew leaves me for what feels like five minutes but was probably no longer than thirty seconds, returning with another extinguisher clutched in his hands. He pulls the tab and starts spraying along with me, the both of us focusing on the bed. The flames are the worst there, and I wonder if that’s where it started.
I also wonder how it started. I haven’t smoked since I got here, so I know a discarded cigarette didn’t start this. That was always my fear when I was younger. Mom always fell asleep on the couch, a cigarette dangling from her fingers, from her mouth…
I hear sirens in the distance and realize a fire engine has arrived, thank God. What we’re doing isn’t going to put this out.
“Hey!” Drew nods toward the door that leads outside. “Go out there and tell them what’s going on.”
He trusts me enough to do that? “O-okay.” I do as he says, running outside to tell the firefighters, who are hopping off the engine, where the fire is, but someone is already there. Talking to them.
Squinting into the darkness, I can see it’s a girl. She’s tall and thin with long legs, and she has long hair that’s dyed bluish green. She turns to look at the house, our gazes catching, and my heart stops.
Is that…
Rylie?
What the hell?
I run over to the firefighters, ignoring Rylie completely as I tell them where the fire is. I can’t think about why she’s here right now, or why. We’ve got other shit to handle, like preventing the house from burning to the ground.
They hook their hoses to the side of the fire engine and then they’re following me to the door that leads to the guest room, one of them sending me a warning look as I was about to go inside with them.
“Stay here,” he says, his voice firm. “We’ve got it.”
I watch as Drew waves them over and takes over, and I try to catch his eye, get his attention so he’ll come talk to me, but he’s too busy talking to the guy who told me to wait outside.
Turning, I watch the house, my gaze scanning frantically, making sure it’s not on fire anywhere else. I’m breathing heavily, my chest aches, and when I try to clear my throat, that sends me into a coughing fit, most likely caused by the smoke I inhaled earlier.
“You all right?” A feminine voice asks me.
Nodding, I keep coughing, unable to answer her with words. Thank God the fire hasn’t spread. I think of Autumn, how I just left her room, and I’m so damn grateful she’s okay.
But where is she? No way can they all still be in the house.
“Looks like it’s contained to just the one room,” one of the firefighters says after she finishes speaking on the radio that’s hooked to her belt. She’s standing with Rylie, who has a thin blanket draped over her shoulders, and she’s visibly shivering. “Are you okay, hon?” the firefighter asks Rylie.
She nods, tears streaking down her cheeks. I stare at her incredulously, my mind trying to put together what she’s doing here. None of the answers are good.
“Rylie,” I start, and she lifts her head, her eyes going wide when she sees me, as if she didn’t notice me standing by her for the last couple of minutes.
Weird.
“Oh, thank God! There you are! I was so worried. Once the fire started and I couldn’t see you, I thought…I thought I lost you.” She fling herself at me, the blanket sliding off her body, and I realize she’s dressed for bed, wearing a thin nightshirt that hits her right at the knees.
I set her away from me, shaking my head. “What are you doing here?”
“You told me to come here. Remember? I was in your room. With you.” Her eyes are huge, and her expression is downright frantic.
“No, you weren’t in my room,” I say slowly, frowning at her. Something is way off with Rylie. Why is she saying I asked her to meet me in my room?
The firefighter is watching us, suspicion in her eyes. “You two know each other?”
“Yeah,” I say at the same time Rylie exclaims, “Yes! He’s my boyfriend!”
My head whips toward her at that. “No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are,” Rylie says, laughing like I’m making a joke. “Stop being silly.”
I glance over at the firefighter, who appears vaguely alarmed. “I’m not her boyfriend,” I tell her.
“Then what is she doing here? Does she live here?”
“No.” I glance over at Rylie, who’s started to cry. “What are you doing?” I ask her. “Are you okay?”
“No, Ash. No, I’m not okay. You keep ignoring me, you deny everything I say, and it really hurts. You didn’t believe me when I told you I was pregnant, and now I lost the baby. And it’s all your fault. You ruined everything. You ruined us. You ruined our baby. You ruined my life!”
The firefighter—the nameplate on her shirt says her last name is Ramirez—takes out a pen and a tiny notepad and flips it open, taking notes. Like she’s some sort of cop who wants to mention that Rylie’s behaving as if she’s unhinged.
Shit.
What the hell is going on right now? I feel like I’m living a dream. Or a nightmare. But I’m not waking up, which means it’s all real. This is actually happening.
The fire is put out quick, solely contained to my room, specifically my bed and the table beside it. The firefighters were efficient and the cleanup won’t be bad, though there’s a lot of smoke damage. An arson investigator shows up within twenty minutes of the fire being put out, picking over the charred and burned stuff in the room, and Drew and I stand outside in the hall, watching him move through the room silently.
“Were you smoking in there?” Drew asks, his voice low. “I won’t be mad if you were. Accidents happen.”
I believe him. He sounds sincere, though it’s hard to believe any adult when they tell you you won’t be in trouble. They always say that right before they call you out for doing something stupid.
“No. I haven’t smoked since the night I got my face punched in,” I tell him truthfully. My chest still hurts, and I start coughing again. The smoke damage in the room is bad, I can still smell it in the air. It was more destructive than the actual fire, and I just know all my shit is ruined.
And I have no money to replace any of it. Meaning I’m completely screwed. I’m also thinking that’s the least of my worries tonight.
“What’s this?” Drew stoops and grabs something off the floor, and when I spot the wadded up tissue in his hand, I want to snatch it from him and throw it as hard as I can.
Fuck me, he’s holding my used condom. The condom I used when I had sex with his freaking daughter.
“I’ll take it,” I offer but he doesn’t give it to me. He stares at the tissue, and I know when his lip curls that he’s realized what exactly was wrapped up in that Kleenex.
“Why is that girl still here?” Drew asks as he starts walking toward the open door that leads outside, his steps brisk.
I follow after him. “I don’t know.”
Drew stops right at the door, turning to face me. “Who is she? Do you know her?”
Swallowing hard, I nod once, looking away. Shame hits me hard, spreading over my skin, sinking deep inside me. I don’t want to tell him what happened. I don’t want to admit any of it. It’s embarrassing. Hell, I don’t even know if what Rylie says is true.
“Were you using this?” He holds out his hand, the tissue still resting there. “With her?” He nods toward Rylie.
She’s standing next to Ramirez the firefighter, the blanket still around her shoulders. Rylie looks very small, very pale, and very confused.
“No,” I tell Drew. “I don’t know why she’s here.”
“Ash! Asher!” Rylie’s shrill voice calls for me and I wince, glancing over my shoulder to see she’s running toward me, the blanket flying behind her. “There you are.”
“Ry—” I start but she cuts me off, throwing herself at me.
“I’m so glad you’re okay. I was so worried. The fire was so scary, I thought I lost you.” She clutches me tight and it feels like she’s suffocating me.
“Hey. It’s okay,” I tell her, trying to disengage myself from her hold. But every time I push her hand off me, she settles it somewhere else. I glance up to find Drew watching us, his dark brows pinched together and I feel…caught.
Trapped.
“Sir, could we have a word?” Ramirez asks Drew.