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TO SAY THAT DINNERwas cumbersome would have been the understatement of the century. It was difficult to believe there was any correlation between the Caleb who had commented about my lack of a date, and the man who commanded attention on the stage. His speech was moving, enthralling even, and had garnered the absolute attention of everyone in the room. Even the wait staff had paused their duties just to listen to him speak about the future he envisioned for the company his father had spent his life building from the ground up.

When his speech was over though, I went right back to being affronted by the pompous son of a bitch.

I engaged in conversation with Aaliyah, Macy and Annabelle, grateful that I had switched my seat with Jennifer’s after all. Watching her and Caleb’s date compete for his attention was entertaining, but it was the look Caleb kept shooting me from across the table that brought the greatest satisfaction.

It was a little past midnight when the last of the guests trickled out. I was exhausted, and my feet hurt, but after my first successful event, I was pretty thrilled too. I was on a high when I climbed into my car and headed towards my apartment, running through all the pluses of the evening that made it memorable.

That high only lasted until I pulled into the street alongside my apartment block. I felt everything inside me plummet at the sight of police cars, and fire trucks. Black smoke filled the sky, dimming the stars and the moon, and when I climbed out of my car to see what was going on, I saw the bright orange flames engulf the first ten floors of the building I lived in.

My apartment and all its contents were gone.

I snapped out of my daze, but as soon my brain registered the severity of the situation, and just how screwed I was, panic took hold of my lungs, making it hard to breath. I tried thinking of someone I could call, and when I couldn’t think of anyone, my eyes started burning, and my throat closed. I could have called my mother, but really, what could she do? She was in Matthews, North Carolina for crying out loud.

It was late, and I didn’t want to bother Aaliyah, especially because I knew she didn’t go home alone, and there was no way I could give Annabelle a call either.

I had no one.

Not a single person I could reach out to for help.

Unless…

No, don’t even go there, Kadence. I stopped that thought in its tracks, before I gave myself the time to consider calling him.

All I could do was stare, horrified and completely paralyzed, as police officers and fireman rushed around in a frenzy trying to control the angry blazes, and make sure all the tenants had evacuated in time.

I felt like I was watching a movie. A really bad one. And for the second time in my life, I watched it all fall apart.

It was only once the carnage had been cleared, and the streets stripped of all activity that I managed to come up with some semblance of a plan. It wasn’t ideal, and I had no idea whether or not it was going to work, but I had to give it my best shot. I may have been a little battered on the inside from life’s latest punch to the gut, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t go out swinging.

I opened the trunk of my car, and bit back tears of relief when I saw the small suitcase I kept there for emergencies. Obviously this qualified as just that.

Inside it I stashed two sets of clothes, some underwear, a pair of shoes, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and a comb. Beside it was a small fleece blanket that had seen better days for sure, but given my current situation, I wasn’t about to ignore its opportune existence.

I sent a silent thank you up to the heavens, grateful for this tiniest of silver linings. I’d completely forgotten about the contents in my trunk, having packed it for the few nights I did ever go out in college. My mother had always told me to be prepared for anything, and for once, I was glad I listened.

I hauled it out, and dropped it onto the passenger seat as I lowered myself back into my car. After checking my purse, I counted my change, and tallied what I had in the way of savings. I had ten more days before I got my first paycheck, and didn’t have enough to rent another apartment just yet. I didn’t even have enough for a hotel room for the night.

Resting my forehead on my steering wheel, I tried to rally some kind of will, some kind of resolution to get myself through this, even if it was just enough to get me through until the light of day.

I pulled away from the curb, and mindlessly drove back towards Callahan Industries. Their basement was still open and it was the only place I could think of that was safe enough to go to, at least until morning.

I might have had a plan, but fate? She had something else up her sleeve.

AFTER THE WORST night’s sleep imaginable, I woke up with a kink in my neck, and an imprint on my cheek from the hard, crusty material of my backseat. The only plus side was that I hadn’t overslept, and had enough time to sneak into the building to use the gym showers. It was my first decent hot shower in days, and even though I didn’t feel any more hopeful about my predicament, my sense of desolation evaporated after standing under the strong, hot spray. I stayed as long as I could, long enough to switch off the part of my brain that had me feeling sorry for myself. I wasn’t going to make it if I ended up drowning in self-pity. That just wouldn’t do. I was made of tougher stuff than that, and it was just a matter of showing my true grit.

I managed to go about my workday as if nothing was wrong, faking a smile when I spoke to my friends, and lying when they asked about the dark circles beneath my eyes. When my mother called, I told her everything was fine, and as much as I hated lying to her, I knew it was for the best. I didn’t want to ask her for more help than she’d already given me, especially after promising her that I could make it on my own, but most importantly, I didn’t want to steal her happiness by giving her reason to worry about me. If there was one thing I could do, it was pretend, and pretend I did. I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off for ten more days, but I had to try.

It was Thursday, and after a third night of sleeping in my car, I’d somehow convinced myself I could get away with doing it for another week. However, I had the sneaking suspicion that Aaliyah was onto me when I discovered that she’d left a small duffle bag under my desk, filled with a few more outfits for work. She never brought it up though, and neither did I, simply because I was too proud and possibly too ashamed.

Everyone had left for the day, so I went through my new nightly routine of waiting until well after nine p.m. before going downstairs to the basement. I was surprised when Macy didn’t question why I was staying so late, but was too exhausted to question it.

I should have.

I should have realized that between her and Aaliyah, my secret wasn’t as well hidden as I’d thought. I should have had the foresight to consider the flaws in my plan, and the possibility that I would slip up.

Walking through the dark basement, I headed towards my car, checking over my shoulder to make sure I was alone. With practiced silence, I climbed into the back of my car, and started changing. I’d just removed my bra, my ratty t-shirt held above my head, when my back door flung open.

I shrieked loudly, and scrambled closer to other side of the backseat to get away from whoever had found me. I was expecting the security guard, or maybe even a passer-by who might have seen me changing, but who I got instead was a severely pissed off Caleb.