Page 77 of Under My Skin
“There may have been a small fire, but we’re managing.”
“What!” I jump to my feet. “A fire? How? What happened?”
Keeping her voice low, she says, “Try not to panic, okay?”
“Panic?” I walk the small space in front of my bed. “Who’s panicking? I just want to know what the hell happened.”
“Lucy, stop pacing.”
I frown. “How did you—I’m not pacing.”
“Mhm.” She doesn’t even pretend to sound convinced. After a loaded pause, she says, “Apparently, Jasmine was cooking in the middle of a game and got sidetracked. Well, she swears she didn’t get distracted and says it was only a minute, but when I came by with Dina tonight to repair some of the more minor things, I saw the damage.”
I let my head fall into my hand and collapse onto my bed again. “What’s the damage?”
“The worst of it?” There’s a slight draw to her voice that makes me think she’s still there, taking in the scene.
I groan in defeat. “Sure.”
Allison sucks in air through her teeth. “The wall and cabinet above the stove are pretty charred.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. “Okay.”
“And the place reeks of smoke.”
“Naturally.”
“You’ll need a new fire extinguisher.”
“I’m honestly impressed she found it,” I admit.
“And you’re out of Febreze.”
My eyebrows pull together. “I’m out of Febreze?” As soon as realization hits, my eyes widen. “Did she try to get rid of the smell with Febreze?”
“Uh, yeah. The windows were still open when I got here, and the empty bottle was lying on the floor by the stove.”
I stare at the wood floor of my bedroom hoping it might open and swallow me whole. “Where’s Jasmine now? Are you still there?”
“We are . . . Dina is talking to Jasmine now. I’m not sure what the best solution is, but I doubt you’re getting that security deposit back.”
“Shit.” I really need that money.
“I know. I’m sorry. But remember, you can stay with us while you sort things out. My door is always open, and Dina fucking owes you at this point.”
“I appreciate it.” I do, but I can’t impose on their newlywed bliss. They deserve to soak up this time together. It’s bad enough that they’re having to deal with my apartment at all, let alone have me invade their space on top of it. I haven’t exactly been keeping up with my apartment search either, though. I groan, my head falling back on my bed. “I’ll figure it out. Hopefully there’s a flight home I can take tomorrow.”
Lowering her voice more, she says, “I’m sorry. I hate to do thisto you. I just figured you’d probably want to be involved. I hate that this pulls you away from all the fun you’ve been having.”
I scoff. “I think that’s over.”
“What? No! Why?”
I don’t want to rehash everything that happened tonight. It’s all too fresh. I’ve held myself together by not crying, but I’m hanging by a thread. If I have to recount the night’s events aloud, I’ll fall apart. “I’ll tell you about it when I see you,” I say to buy myself some time.
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah.”
