“What?” I asked, smiling too, though not knowing why.
“Let’s go home,” was all he said.
Fifteen Years Ago
My butt had gone numb a long time ago. I couldn’t feel my toes and my cheeks stung from the wind.
The sun had come up several hours ago and still we sat on the curb watching the last of the firefighters extinguish the blaze that all but destroyed The Pit.
Bug still hadn’t shown.
I knew that he hadn’t made it out. My heart told me. My gut told me.
But Yoss refused to accept that our friend was dead.
His lips had turned blue and he shook violently from the cold. I was beginning to worry about hypothermia and frostbite. Yet he wouldn’t leave.
And if Yoss stayed, I stayed.
Smoke billowed up from the warehouse, polluting the sunrise.
“Yoss, I’m really cold,” I finally said when I couldn’t stand it any longer.
Yoss glanced down at me, almost as if he had forgotten I was there. He blinked exhausted green eyes and nodded. “You should find Di and the others. Get warm. I’m sure they’ve got a fire going down by the bridge.”
“You need to come too, Yoss. It’s too cold out here—”
“If Bug comes and no one’s here he’ll freak out. He won’t know what to do. His brain doesn’t work like everyone else’s. It doesn’t make the logical jump. I don’t want him to be upset. Not after everything he’s probably been through.”
“I don’t think Bug is going to come. If he were, he’d be here already,” I pointed out gently. I didn’t want Yoss to freeze to death holding onto the delusion that our friend would stumble out of the building all right.
“You don’t know that—”
“Yes, I do, Yoss!” I shouted, sucking in a deep breath. “Yes I do. The only people left over there are firefighters, a few police officers and…” I hesitated, looking back towards The Pit. “And the bodies they brought out,” I finished in hushed tones.
Yoss’s jaw tightened. He wouldn’t look at me. He was quiet for a long time then he slowly got to his feet. I scrambled to join him, my joints aching from the cold and from sitting for so long.
“I think we should go to the hospital. Maybe Bug was taken there,” Yoss said, taking my stiff fingers and lacing them with his.
“Okay,” I said, relieved that we were moving. Maybe Yoss was right. Perhaps Bughadbeen taken there and he was alive. I needed to be optimistic. For Yoss’s sake more than anything.
“Should we get the others?” I asked as we crossed the parking lot and headed to the main road.
“No. We’ll head over there first. Once we figure out where he is, we can let the guys know.” It felt good to be walking and even though I was tired and hungry, at least we would be getting out of the cold.
Snow was still falling but it wasn’t accumulating much. We’d have to find somewhere warm to sleep tonight. We couldn’t be out in the open. We’d die from exposure. At least The Pit had provided some form of shelter. Thenot knowingtwisted up my belly with dread.
We walked into the reception area of the hospital and I almost collapsed with relief at the feel of dry, comfortable heat. I could have curled up in one of the hard chairs and fallen asleep instantly. Yoss pulled me towards the nurse sitting behind the large desk. He pushed his damp hair out of his eyes and gave her a dazzling smile. The kind of smile meant to inflict serious harm…to the heart.
“Can I help you?” the older lady asked, smiling back, clearly charmed by Yoss.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m looking for my…” He cleared his throat. “My brother. He may have been brought in here last night. There was a fire in a warehouse downtown and I believe he was injured.”
The nurse, who wore a nametag that readLouise Robinson, RN, widened her eyes. “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. Such a shame. What did you say his name was?”
Oh crap.
I only knew him as Bug. I had no idea what his real name was.
