“The way he yelled for his mother, the terror on his face as he watched the fire eat up the house she was in...” I swallowed the lump in my throat.
Turmoil filled every muscle in my body but I willed myself to keep it together. I needed to remind myself that I wasn’t that fifteen-year-old boy anymore, yelling outside for my mother.
“I killed my mother.” The confession fell from my lips like a boulder. “Ever since the night of Corey’s accident, I’ve had more dreams of her, reminding me that I failed to save her. Just like…” I trailed off.
Jocelyn stepped forward, but I couldn’t look up at her. I didn’t want to see the look on her face. I wanted to be her hero, now and forever.
She wouldn’t let me keep my head bowed.
Inching closer, she placed her fingers under my chin, lifting my face to meet hers. “You told me your mother died of Alzheimer’s.”
I shook my head. “I said she had Alzheimer’s. Early-onset. She was diagnosed at only fifty years old. She lived with the disease for two years, before…”
I looked away.
Jocelyn sat down beside me. “How did she die?”
With a sigh, I admitted, “Fire. My father was working late on a case that night. Whenever that happened, he left me with my mom. She was in bed asleep. All I was supposed to do was check on her from time to time. I checked on her that night and made sure she went back to sleep before going up to my room. I played video games until I got a call from one of my friends. He wanted me to meet him at this spot in town where kids snuck out and went to hang late at night.”
I thought about how young and stupid I was then.
“I told him I couldn’t, but he begged. He told me a girl I liked was going to be there. Eventually, I agreed. I figured that the sleeping pills my mom took at night would keep her sleeping through the night like usual. What I didn’t know was my father had forgotten to give her the pills that night.”
“I planned to hang out for only an hour, but I ended up staying over two hours. By the time I got back home, the house was in flames. The fire department struggled to put it out.”
“Baby,” Jocelyn whispered, running her hand through my hair. “I’m so sorry.”
“The fire investigator determined that she must’ve woken up in the middle of the night and wandered into the kitchen. She turned on the stove and accidentally lit a towel. Not even realizing what she’d done, she went back to bed.”
“As soon as I turned the corner on my street, I saw my home on fire. I raced down the block on my bike and tried to run in and get her. My neighbors had to hold me back.“You can’t save her, son,”one of them kept saying in my ear.“You can’t save her, son.”
That sentence, more than anything anyone else said to me that night, had stuck with me.
I held Jocelyn’s face between my hands. “I failed my mother, Jocelyn. And Corey. I can’t fail you. I wouldn’t live through that.”
“You didn’t fail her, Don. You were fifteen. And you didn’t fail my brother.” She wrapped her hands around my wrists, squeezing. “If there’s one thing I know about Corey, it’s how much he loves being a firefighter. And how much he loves and respects you. As messed up as he is, mentally, about losing his leg, I know he would say that he doesn’t regret walking into that fire with you.”
Her words landed center mass—right on its intended target. Even when my mind tried to tell me that I’d failed, I knew what she’d said to be true. It was the truth because it was what I would have felt if had situation been reversed.
I stood, wrapped my arms around Jocelyn, and pulled her to me. “You’re mine,” I said against her lips. “I protect what’s mine. For better or for worse.”
Then, I kissed her deeper than I ever had before.
Jocelyn
He kissed the life out of me.
As if he’d yearned for this feeling the same way I had over the past few weeks.
I melted into the kiss, and my body overheated as he traced up and down my sides. Raising my arms, I allowed him to pull my tank top off over my head, and the movement knocked my silk bonnet to the ground.
I could only imagine how crazy my hair looked, but Don didn’t notice.
He bent low, peeling me out of my boy shorts, and spun me to face my bed. He moved behind me, and with his hand at the center of my back, bent me at my waist then sank to his knees behind me. My legs wobbled when he spread my cheeks. I arched my back and threw my head back as he used his tongue to coat my pussy from behind.
“Don.” I whispered his name on a shudder and gasped when a harsh smack sounded against my ass cheek.
“You can sing louder than that, baby.”
