Page 64 of Xactly What She Needs

The fire is loud, a roar that steals away my words, but she’s awake now, shaking, eyes wide but comprehending. She jumps up from the bed and grabs my hand. Together, we push through the worst of the fire. I keep us low to the ground, but the fire is everywhere. The smoke is blinding.

Tendrils of flame eat at our exposed skin. My lungs are burning with the smoke I’ve already inhaled, and screaming for more air. Bri stumbles. Like a snap, I reach out and grab her around the waist. She doesn’t fall into the fire, but we lose time getting back to our feet, and the shock of the near-fall has her choking on the air.

We’re blind, searching through the acrid smoke for the exit. Every second we spend feeling our way along burning walls is a minute closer to asphyxiation. I can’t believe I’m remembering the classes I had when I was a boy scout about what happens when you don’t put out a fire properly. But I never left a fire burning. I’m sure of it.

Bri is faltering. We’re low on air. I don’t know if she’s going to make it on her own, but I won’t leave her here. If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll bring her to safety.

Suddenly, there’s a rush of cold air, and we’re outside, running until we’re away from the smoke and then gulping air. There are fire engines, ambulances, and concerned neighbors fanned out around my house. Paramedics descend upon us like vultures, forcing oxygen masks over our face.

“You’re safe,” one of them is saying. “You’re safe now. You’re out. You’re okay. You’re out. You’re going to be fine.”

****

We wake up in the hospital hours later. Jax and Dani are dozing in the chairs beside our bed sides. I see Briella on a bed to my left, her face red and burned, but her breathing steady. She’s alive. Her hair is singed, and I think I might be in the same condition.

“Hey! Hey, you’re awake. God.” My brothers voice sounds so relieved.

Jax gets up in my face, hands hovering around my face, but never making contact.

“Fuck,” he forces out. “Fuck!” he says again, louder.

“Jax, bro, calm down.”

“Calm down?”

“Yes. Calm down,” I say, lowering my voice.

I glance over at Bri again, and find that her eyes are still closed, but when I turn back to Jax, I see Dani’s bright green eyes staring at me.

“Hey, Dani. You look particularly murderous this morning.”

“It’s afternoon,” she amends. “And considering someone tried to murder my sister, I’d sayyeah. I’m feeling pretty murderous.”

I blame it on whatever drugs the hospital has going into me that my initial response to her words is a slow smile and a nod. I think I must have fallen asleep, though, because when I open my eyes again, it’s to find Bri arguing in low tones with Dani, and a police officer waiting by the door looking bemused.

“How are you doing?” the officer asks, stepping forward. “I’m Detective Penn, and I’ve been assigned your case.”

“Case?”

“Yes. How much of last night do you remember?”

I look over at Briella and Dani. They’ve stopped bickering, but Bri looks torn up about something, and Dani looks more furious than she did before.

“I remember waking up and it was hot. Then I gave Bri a wet rag to cover her mouth with, and we ran. I don’t know what else there is to remember.”

“Did you hear anything unusual as you were going to bed? Did anything wake you up?”

I search through the memories of last night, but nothing stands out. We weren’t even cooking anything. I don’t have candles in my apartment, and when we went to bed, nothing of particular interest happened. We cuddled, we fell asleep, and then we woke up.

“It was a normal night, and then it wasn’t.”

I feel stupid. Slow. Like I can’t string a thought to the next, and I’m not saying I was Shakespeare beforehand, but I’m not better than a sleepy monkey right now. I think the police officer thinks so too.

“Okay. I understand this is news to you, and that you’ve just woken up. I’m going to leave my card, and if you have any thoughts, if you remember anything at all that seemed odd, give me a call.”

The officer drops a card on the rolling table at the side of the bed, and leaves.

“He tried to interview Bri, too, but she’s equally as doped up as you are. You’re lucky the burns will heal.”

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