Jules hit Faye's number, praying she was awake. Adam usually left early for the garage, so maybe?—
"Jules?" Faye's voice was groggy but concerned. "What's wrong? It's not even six yet."
"My house is flooding!" The words came out in a sob. "A pipe burst and I can't shut it off and everything is ruined and?—"
"Oh my God, hang on. Adam! ADAM!" She heard Faye's feet hit the floor, heard her calling for her boyfriend. "Adam, Jules needs help. Her house is flooding!"
Muffled conversation, then Faye was back. "He's on his way. Ten minutes, maybe less. He's grabbing his tools."
"Faye, I'm so sorry to wake you?—"
"Don't you dare apologize. That's what friends are for. And you know Adam loves being the hero." Despite everything, Faye's familiar warmth made Jules feel less alone. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
She looked down at her bloody fingers, her skin cracked from the cold and trying to hang onto the tools. "I'm fine. Just... everything's destroyed. My parents' things..."
"Oh, honey. Adam will fix it. He's amazing at this stuff. I swear the man can fix anything. It's kind of annoying actually." Faye was clearly trying to make her laugh. "Just hold on. Try to move important stuff up high if you can."
"Okay. Okay. Thank you."
"Jules? It'll be okay. I promise."
They hung up, and Jules spent the next few minutes in frantic salvage mode, throwing her mother's books onto high shelves, shoving her laptop and work files onto counters, dragging any furniture that was dry and would fit through the doorway into the spare bedroom that used to be hers.
Adam didn't knock. He just walked in, took one look at the disaster—and at her, soaked and shivering in transparent pajamas—and headed straight for the basement.
"Faye's in the truck," he called over his shoulder. "She's calling around to find you a place to stay."
Relief flooded through her. Faye was here. Her best friend who'd helped her through her parents' deaths, who understood about trying to save family homes, and who'd shown up even though it was barely dawn.
Jules followed Adam anyway, watching him wade through the flood without hesitation. He grabbed the painted valve with bare hands and turned it with the kind of strength that made her wonder what Faye fed him. Metal screamed, and the water stopped.
The sudden silence felt deafening.
"Thank you," she breathed. "Thank you so much?—"
"Let's check the damage." He was already moving, and she had to jog through the water to keep up.
In the kitchen, Adam crouched under the sink, examining the burst pipe. His shoulders barely fit in the space her father had proudly built "custom."
"This is really bad." He sat back on his heels. "This looks like it's been leaking for months, maybe years."
"I knew I should have had it all redone when I took over the house after Dad died..." She trailed off, throat tight.
"It's not your fault. Old houses like this, they hide problems until they can't anymore." Adam stood, towering over her. She'd never really noticed how big he was. "I'll check the walls."
He pulled out a moisture meter and ran it along the kitchen walls. The device shrieked warnings with every reading.
"Insulation's soaked. Has been for a long time." He moved to the living room with that same careful stride. "This wall too. And..." He checked between the kitchen and her childhood bedroom. "Yeah. This whole section."
"What does that mean?"
Adam turned to face her, and she recognized the expression. It was the same one he'd worn when he'd had to tell Faye her car needed a new engine. "You can't stay here. The water damage is too extensive. There's mold risk, electrical hazards, structural problems. That basement ceiling could collapse. I'm sorry, Jules, but this place probably needs to be completely gutted and everything that got wet will need to be replaced."
Jules stared, thinking of three generations of memories soaking into nothing. "Gutted?"
"Kitchen stripped to studs. Flooring replaced. All insulation torn out. We're talking three weeks minimum, probably more for a house this age if you want to keep it around for a long time."
"Three weeks?" Her voice squeaked.
