Those blue eyes haunted me. Whenever things were quiet, that moment replayed in my head.
Ezra was my responsibility. I was supposed to train him, make him into a great firefighter. There were so many mistakes made that night. So many things were out of our control. He was my responsibility, and I couldn’t get to him in time. Ezra was young, and he reminded me so much of myself. He had stars in his eyes; being a firefighter was his calling. His life was cut too soon. They said there was nothing that I could’ve done. Wefollowed protocol, our team worked together like a well-oiled machine, but that day the universe had other plans.
The nightmares always kept me up. It was rare that I could return to sleep. Some nights I stared at the ceiling, wishing for rest, other nights the nightmares chased me from my bed. My feet would lead me to the track at Prospect Park, where I ran until my legs were numb and it was time to go to work. My nightmares stemmed from guilt and the impossible desire to save everyone—but Evelyn’s held memories. It seemed like they haunted her at all times.
Hesitantly, I knocked on the door. It was faint, but I heard Evelyn’s call to come in. When I opened the door, she was sitting cross-legged on a king-sized bed, staring at her phone.
“You okay, Ev? I came to get you for breakfast. You must be starving. You barely ate on the ride here.”
Evelyn shook her head as if she was shaking herself out of a fog. She opened the bedside table drawer and dropped her phone inside.
Whatever she was looking at, she clearly didn’t want to deal with. I wanted to ask her about it, but she was still so closed off. I had the instinct not to push too much before she was ready.
“Yeah, I’m okay, and I’d love to get some food. Your sisters gave me some clothes, some of which even had tags on them still. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay them. This is too much.” Evelyn sighed as she went through the door and out into the hall.
From her actions, it was clear Evelyn hadn’t had anyone show her kindness in a while. She had been on her own, and now that she had to rely on a stranger, she had no choice but to accept the help.
”Oh, those two love shopping. They do it any chance they get.” I chuckled. “My sisters have more than enough clothes, andthey truly don't mind. I hope they didn’t talk your ear off. Once they get going, they don’t stop.”
A small smile appeared on Evelyn’s face before it disappeared. “No, they were great. You’re lucky to have them."
We walked in silence the rest of the way to the house and into the kitchen, where my mother was preparing breakfast.
The kitchen was swarming with action when we arrived. My mother was taking fresh biscuits out of the oven while the twins set the table and chatted animatedly with Ma. My father was seated at the head of the table with his coffee mug and the Oakland Ridge Gazette in hand. All movement stopped, and everyone turned their focus to Evelyn once we walked in. Her skin flushed with red as my family turned their attention to her.
I cleared my throat, hoping to dispel the uncomfortable moment, and all eyes turned towards me. “This is my friend Willow Norris. She is going to be staying with us for a while until we go back to New York.” I turned to Evelyn and pointed out my parents. “These are my parents, Rejoice and Jonathan Woods.”
My mother smiled warmly while wiping her hands on the kitchen towel before walking over and enveloping Evelyn in a hug, one that totally caught her off guard. “It is so great to meet you, Willow. I hope you enjoy your stay here,” she said as she clasped Evelyn's hands in hers.
My father raised his head from reading the paper to glance at Evelyn. “Ms. Norris, I hope my son filled you in on how this family operates andmyexpectations.” My mother scoffs but doesn’t say anything.Typical. The twins only give each other a confused look before bringing their attention back to me. They’re probably waiting for an explanation, for me to blow up. But I won't—at least not on the first day.
Evelyn looks as if she wants the ground to open up and swallow her whole. She nods her head at my father, then looks at me. I grab her hand and lead her to the kitchen table.
Once she’s seated, I lean over and whisper in her ear, “You don’t have to worry about that. You’re safe here with us.” before passing her the plate of eggs, “dig in.”
Chapter 14
Evelyn
Breakfast had been awkward.
Mr. Woods gave me the side eye the entire meal while Aja and Janae continued to talk over one another about some gala that was being held next week. Their mother only smiled and nodded throughout their jabbering. Mr. Woods looked thoroughly bored, though. Once he finished reading his paper, he rose from his seat and tucked the newspaper under his arm. Before turning to leave, he reminded Parker that he was to meet him at the country club tomorrow. Parker rolled his eyes but agreed to be ready at noon.
I was in a strange place. The room Aja and Janae took me to was nice. With its eggshell walls and white glossy furniture, the room felt void of personality. It was clean with no dust in sight. Only one photo of a beach landscape adorned the wall. I felt like I was in a luxury hotel. I wasn’t accustomed to this type of opulence. This place, they called the pool house, was almost as big as my own home in Pelham. I even had my own bathroom fully equipped with a standing shower and a clawfoot tub. This definitely wasn’t what I expected when I agreed to leave New York with Parker.
I had no idea what I was meant to do for the rest of the day. Overwhelming anxiety started to set in as I quickly walked back to my room at the pool house after breakfast had concluded. The more my thoughts raced, the more I wanted to retreat within myself. I sent up a little prayer, hoping that Charles would never discover where I was. Mr. Woods' subtle warning rang clear in my mind. I didn’t know the Woods family that well, but they had invited me into their home, and the last thing I wanted to do was bring trouble to their door.
That night I was too wired to sleep, and I didn’t feel comfortable enough to leave the room to take a walk around the estate. Parker must have sensed that I needed some time alone because he only knocked on my door to say goodnight, but didn’t try to come in.
I slept a total of three hours. Morning had come, and once it had set in that I wasn’t going to get any more sleep, I decided to start sending out emails to Marcie to help her with the transition. Again, I was thankful I still had my phone with me as I powered it up and logged into my email.
I was clearing out my inbox when a knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Parker walked in. I checked the clock on the bedside table, and it showed just thirty minutes after twelve.
“Aren’t you supposed to be meeting your dad?” I reminded him.
