An hour later, I was sitting in the waiting room. Owen sat sitting next to me, looking exhausted.
"You feeling okay?" I asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, I just know what's coming."
"What's coming?"
Just then, I heard the elevator door bing and open. On the elevator stood Ayden and Wendy, who looked to be having a discussion. Next to them was Ashley, and her eyes widened as she saw Owen. She was practically running and grabbed him.
"Are you okay? Have you been checked out? Jesus, I saw it on the news."
Owen smiled softly, leaning forward and placing his face against her chest. I looked away, taking in Ayden and Wendy.
"How is everything?" I asked.
Ayden shrugged. "The apartment is toast. They will have to remodel the entire top floor and the floor below it." He sighed, shaking his head. "Is everyone still being looked over?"
I nodded. "Yeah, they just brought back Lucas and Weslie. Thomas and Cayden were already looked over and left. Seeing how late it is now, I didn't think you wanted me to hold them."
Ayden nodded in agreement as Wendy wrapped her arms around him. "It's late. Thank you for making sure they all got here. Where is Miles?"
Miles was the first to go back, and he still hadn't come out. I was getting concerned.
Owen spoke up, Ashley sitting next to him, holding his hand. "He's still back there."
I watched Ayden's jaw clench, and Wendy tugged on him. "Ayden, yelling isn't going to help."
"If he would just fucking listen when I tell him to do something."
"You both need to go get checked," I said. "The nurses are waiting."
Ayden and Owen nodded, getting up and leaving me with the girls. I looked at them, knitting my fingers together. "So, is this normal?"
Wendy took a seat next to Ashley, nodding her head. "Yeah, they have to legally be checked after a fire."
"No, I meant…." I frowned. "The severity of it. I…” My mind traveled back to it. Everything was happening so quickly.
"It was…"
Ashley nodded. "It was a bad fire. I think that's the worst one I've seen."
My stomach dipped. "Do they know the cause?"
Wendy shook her head. "Ayden spoke with the sheriff, but they have to do more looking, and with how late it got, people needed to go home and rest."
I looked at the clock, seeing it was a little past nine now. I'd been sitting here waiting.
"You can go home. We can sit and wait and make sure everyone gets where they need to be."
I could. I should. My mind should have been on getting home to Michael, but I had already asked the neighbor to watch him. I called them when I was on my way to the hospital.
"Miles hasn't come out, and he was the first one back. Ayden had yelled at him because he took his helmet off."
Wendy frowned. "Ayden told me….this isn't the first time."
"How many times has he done that?"
"Only twice," Wendy said. "The other time was for an old lady. He gave her his helmet and shifted, getting them out of her house just before the roof fell."