“Uh…yeah. You need to?—”
“Fuck.”
3
PARKER
Iblink, unable to believe what I’m seeing.
Sleep and alcohol make my vision blurry, but sadly, it’s not enough to make me think I’m dreaming.
I wish I was.
The street before us is clogged with fire engines and ambulances. Lights are flashing, and sirens are blaring. People are rushing around everywhere, either trying to help or to escape.
Ripping my eyes from the people, the knot in my stomach tightens as I take in my building.
Bright orange flames are licking up the sides, black smoke billowing into the sky.
“Oh my god,” I gawp, unable to process what I’m seeing.
“Your apartment is at the back, right?” Linc asks, his voice full of disbelief.
“Uh…y-yeah.”
Fear rips through me as I think about my neighbors. About the young family next door. The elderly man with the softest dog I’ve ever met who live opposite me.
I press my hand to my stomach as the food and drink I’ve overindulged in tonight threaten to make a reappearance.
“It’s going to be okay,” Linc assures me, although his voice is lacking conviction.
He can’t make me promises like that, and he knows it.
My gaze returns to the carnage before us, and the second I see a familiar face, I throw the door open and run for her.
“Maddie,” I cry as she watches her husband and a paramedic help her young son and daughter into the back of the ambulance.
They’re walking, so that’s a relief.
Maddie twists, and the second she sees me coming, she bursts into tears.
Instantly, I gather her up in my arms, my eyes locked on her husband, George, over her shoulder as he lowers his daughter to the gurney.
“It all happened so fast,” Maddie cries, clinging to me like a lifeline.
“You’re okay,” I assure her through my own tears. “You’re okay, and so are your babies.”
At the mention of them, she rips herself from my hold and races toward the ambulance.
Both of them sit there listening to every single word the paramedic says. Their cheeks are black with smoke, and their eyes are heavy and tired, but they’re okay.
George gathers Maddie in his arms, and they cling to each other.
Lifting my hands, I wipe my tears away, feeling utterly alone.
My world has just gone up in smoke—quite literally—and I’ve got no one to hold me like that.
I might be on the cusp of getting everything I’ve ever wanted career-wise, but what about everything else?
