Page 26 of The Problem with Fire
He couldn’t be serious.
There’sno wayhe could be serious.
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, not masking my shock at all.
“I said-” Both our phones chimed with notifications, and our eyes locked. It could be a complete coincidence, but there was only one reason both our phones would chime at the same time.
I dove into my car to grab my phone out of my purse as Thomas pulled his out of his back pocket. When I looked at the screen, my heart dropped. Opening my text messages, there was a notice and attached link.
Oh, God.
“There’s been a fire at the high school,” Thomas read, his voice tight.
I looked up at him and nothing else mattered in this moment. No matter how horrible he was to me, and no matter that he had dumped me like last week’s trash, I knew Thomas loved Leta. He adored her and I knew that.
He raced towards his car as I got back into mine. Doing my best to fight off the panic, I followed him towards Granger High School. With God blessing us the entire way, there’d been no red lights and minimal traffic. My heart felt like it was going to thump right out of my chest, my palms were sweaty, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. It didn’t matter that I knew she was probably okay. If she were hurt somehow, we would have gotten a personal phone call and not a text. But as a parent, none of that logic mattered right now. I had to see Leta with my own two eyes for my brain, heart, and soul to compute that she was okay.
When we pulled up to the school, there were cars everywhere and I could see two firetrucks taking up all the parking in front of the school. I found the first available spot, which wasn’t a spot at all with how there were cars, kids, teachers, and parents littered everywhere, and barely had the car in park before I was jumping out, calling Leta’s name.
I was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack when Thomas’ hand grabbed me by the arm. When I looked up, he already had his phone pressed to his ear. “I’m calling her now.” I gave him a shaky nod and did my best to pull oxygen into my lungs.
My eyes darted around, and I was searching for my child with the desperation I’ve never felt before. “Oh, God…” I uttered, feeling the fear threatening to close in on me.
“We’re near the marker statue, Leta,” Thomas said into his phone, and my knees buckled. Thomas’ arm came around me and pulled me close.
She was okay.
Once that registered, I pulled back and looked around, and that’s when I saw Leta weaving her way through the throng of people. I raced towards her, not caring who I was mowing down, and I didn’t stop until I had her in my arms.“Oh, God.”
“Mom, it’s okay,” she said, hugging me back. “I’m okay. Everyone is okay.”
“What happened?” Thomas asked, and that’s when I realized he was right behind me.
Leta stepped back and looked up at her father. “Some kids were dicking around in the chemistry labs, and a fire broke out. The fire extinguisher was faulty, though. And while everyone got out safely, the fire went out the windows or something, and torched the left side of the building.” She shook her head. “That’s all I’ve heard.”
“No one was injured?” Thomas asked.
“No,” she answered. “But the boys who started this probably will be once their parents get a hold of them.” Thomas chuckled, and then pulled our daughter into his arms.
As Thomas was having his moment with Leta, I looked around and saw a lot of familiar faces, and some new ones. Even though no one was hurt, the panic and relief were both real and I knew it’d take the rest of the day for everyone to calm down.
Adrenaline was a real sonofabitch.
As I took in the scene, I saw a couple of firefighters by one of the firetrucks, while a few other were scattered on the grass on the east side of the Science building. My heart skipped a beat as I wondered if Sayer was among the firefighters that had been called out.
Then I mentally slapped myself because I was supposed to be a grown ass woman, not some lovesick teenage girl, scribbling Monroe Hayes in her notebook.
It wasn’t until one of the firefighters made his way to the first truck and took off his hat that I saw it was, indeed, Sayer Hayes.
I looked back at Thomas and Leta, and said, “I’ll be right back.” Thomas tensed, but I ignored him, and headed towards the firetruck. Because, apparently, Iwasa lovesick teenage girl who was scribbling Monroe Hayes in her notebook.
Chapter 14
Sayer~
Iwas really starting to hate Wednesdays. Or, at least, this Wednesday. It was the first day of my work stretch, and I wasn’t going to see Monroe for three fucking days. Never mind when I hit my four-day rotation.
And I really wanted to hate on the Wednesday when Monroe’s ex-husband had shown up at her door, ready for a fight, but had it not been for that Wednesday, Monroe might not be mine now. But just when I had been about to give Wednesday the benefit of the doubt, the alarm at the firehouse had gone off and the second we’d been told there was a fire at Granger High, the importance of my job had taken on a whole new meaning.
