“What happened?”I gasped.
“That is confidential information for family members of the residence only.Please go back to your campground.”
“You don’t understand.That is my family’s house,” I said, asserting myself.
Sheriff Douglas kneaded his forehead.His eyes drooped with a predicament.“You are related to Mrs.Hartley and James Hartley?”
“Yes, I am James Hartley’s daughter.Now tell me what happened!”I screeched.
Sheriff Douglas turned around to grab a note out of his glove department.
“What is this for?”I asked, wanting to see my family.
“Lying to a police officer is a federal crime.You are lucky I am not going to write you or your friends up for speeding as well.You will have a lot on your plate now.Go ahead and read it.This was taped to that red truck’s window,” Sheriff Douglas said, disheartened when he transferred the note into my hands.Inside the envelope contained the picture of me on my birthday, and the keys to the pickup.The crumpled letter read:
Dear my beautiful wife and daughter,
I am sorry.This is not how I wanted this to go, but I couldn’t do it anymore.This house taunts me.My mother is ill, and I cannot save her.I cannot live up to my dad’s memory.I am a failure.I have failed in this life.I hope my Ma will take this as an opportunity to start something new instead of getting more stuff.
My job is unfulfilling.I love both of you, but I am not flawless.I have done bad things, and I know you will be better off without me.
Penny, you are so bright and such a fantastic writer.I know you will become a music critic.Don’t let this ruin your life.
April, find someone else to love in your lifetime.You are stronger than anyone I know, and you deserve the best.I love you.Good luck.
P.S.Give Penny my truck.
My legs shook as I fell to the gravel.The edged pellets dug into my kneecaps, ripping the skin off.My head was full of pressure, and the light blinded me.How could James do that to us?
Darren’s shoes crunched the gravel in front of me.“What’s wrong?”
“James is dead,” I said, making the situation confirmed with my words.
I pulled my legs into my chest, forming a ball.Firefighters were yelling at each other, but all I could think of wasJames is dead, James is dead, James is dead.James.Is.Dead.
Time froze and sped up at the same time.People talked to me.Nothing could break through my wall of consciousness.I think the Matches and Jesse held me while I cried, but I don’t know.Darren was there.I know that because he towered over me, trying to block me from seeing the firefighters bringing out James’s unidentifiable body and putting it in the ambulance.I still saw it.I saw the outline of his familiar gut that I used to hug.I saw his long legs and how his face wasn’t his anymore.His mustache was gone, along with his other recognizable features.The man that the firefighters were wheeling away was not James anymore.
“Mom, where is my mom?I need my mom,” I stuttered, unsure if my words could be heard.
I stayed still, hoping James would come and bear hug me if I didn’t move.He didn’t because he was gone.Another person left me.The one person who I thought would always be there was gone.
I jumped up when a high-pitched scream rang into the smoke.My mom was the only person other than me who could scream like that.Adrenaline rushed through my veins.My heart pounded; my hands shook.I had a purpose.I brushed off the bloody rocks stuck to my kneecaps and tried to find my mom in the chaos of the incident.
Darren and the gang kept a concerned eye on me as I staggered up.
The fire had been contained.Charcoal remains of the cabin were left.An outline, or ghost of the building structure, was all that prevailed from the fire.The ambulance wasn’t there, which meant that James’s body was gone too.I was grateful for the EMTs who took him away so I wouldn’t have to be around his lifeless body.Some of our neighbors gathered around to figure out what was happening.People’s faces sank with shock and horror at the tragedy.
Sheriff Douglas was talking to a woman with short, puffy blonde hair as he wrote information on his clipboard.The woman he was talking to was bouncing around as she wept.The situation required filling out more paperwork than Douglas was used to doing in an entire year.I knew Sheriff Douglas was genuinely upset about our loss by his glossed over eyes.The only time someone died in Moose Creek was retirees who lived long and fruitful lives.When the woman Douglas was talking to turned around to look at the house, I knew it was Momma.
I dashed toward her, collapsing in her arms.She held my head on her warm chest, running her fingers through my more intact curls as we both sobbed until our lungs were too tired to pump air, and we sounded like wisps in the wind.
