Chapter 34
MILES
Coop:
I’m on my way over to the firehouse if that still works for you two.
Pulling my phone out from under my pillow, I read the message through squinted eyelids.
I came to the bunkroom to catch a nap after we got called out to a late call last night.
Carter and I are currently on for the next forty–eight hours and our first twenty-four haven’t been a casual hangout.
There seems to be a string of arson related fires around the city, each one getting bigger than the last. Charleston PD and the fire investigation unit are trying to pin down who’s at fault but have yet to get any real leads leaving our firehouse with an uptick in activity.
It’s something I can talk about in therapy with Josh, the new doctor Hanna sent me to try out.
He’s cool, I’ve seen him once and will continue to see him again every other week.
Yeah, fine with me. I need to get up anyway.
Rubbing my eyes, I sit up in bed and look around the bunkroom, expecting to see Carter in one of the nearby beds. All of them are empty except for the one on the opposite side that’s currently occupied by a snoring Brooks. How his partner deals with that I’ll never understand.
Okay I’ll see you in twenty.
I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and pick my feet up when they hit the cold wooden floor.
We intentionally keep the bunkroom cold so that we get better sleep when we’re able to catch some on shift.
Once they acclimate to the cool hardwood, I stand and stretch my arms above me, hearing the sounds of tiny gas bubbles popping down my back.
My thirty-five years of life and years of working manually strenuous jobs sounding off in my joints.
As I stand, I scan the upper bunks to see if Carter chose a top bunk for once but even those are empty. Where the hell is he?
Once I’m dressed, I slip my sneakers on and head for the front of the firehouse.
Some of the other guys who share my shift with me are sitting outside with cups of coffee, enjoying the early January morning.
This is the best time of year in Charleston because it’s cool enough in the mornings to wear a fleece and shorts but you never have to worry about freezing your ass off.
I nod at the guys and look down the sidewalk, noting the calm quietness the city holds so early in the morning.
It’s just before seven which is right on time for when Coop usually comes by to workout with us when we’re both on duty for a two day stretch.
“Have you guys seen Carter?” I ask, looking at the other members of my squad. They shake their heads and shrug. I don’t have time to ask when the last time they saw him was because at the same time, Coop pulls up in his cruiser, parking it out of the way in the firehouse driveway.
“Morning, everyone,” he calls out to the group.
A melody of “hey” and “hey Coop” ring out as the group says hello. I take a step up and pull him into a hug, taking his hand in mine and pulling him into my chest.
“Morning, dude. Ready for another day protecting the city?” I ask.
“Don’t you know it.” He nods. He glances around then furrows his brows. “Where’s the child?”
I chuckle and start to walk towards the gym. “If by ‘child,’ do you mean Carter?”
“Yeah, you know, the one who watches cartoons, sings along to the radio, and steals food off people’s plates. The child,” he repeats.
“I have no idea where he is. I woke up expecting him to have taken a nap after our call last night but he wasn’t in the bunkroom when I woke up.”
“Let me call him and see if he answers.” Coop pulls his phone out and presses it to his ear. When we reach the gym, I wave at Billie who’s sitting at a rack with her headphones on. By the dark gray sweat stain on the back of her shirt, I guess that she’s been at it for awhile now.
While Coop waits for Carter to answer, I pull out my own phone and send off a text. The same text I send every morning if I’m not right next to her to say it to her face.
Good morning, beautiful.
I quickly scan and reread our messages from last night as I wait for her to reply.
Doc:
Look at my newest project.
She had sent me a picture of her most recent crochet project which was turning out to be an orange cat sitting down with a bow in one ear.
It’s so cute. It actually looks like what it’s supposed to look like too!
Oh be quiet, I managed to save the poor bunny’s ears eventually
You’re getting really good at that.
Thank you, thank you. It gives me something to do with my hands and helps me turn my brain off after a long day in the office.
I can give you something to do with your hands doc, all you gotta do is ask
You can’t see me but I’m shaking my head at you.
You could also give me something to do with my hands. Lady’s choice.
Says the guy who’s currently on duty.
A man can fantasize.
I’ll fantasize about you getting on your knees for me.
Now that’s not a fair image to put in my head.
You were the one who brought it up, fireman.
Beggars can’t be choosers
If you want me to beg, beautiful, I’ll get on my fucking knees and beg. I’d fucking bark if you asked me too.
We’ll see. Maybe if you’re good I’ll reward you once you’re off.
Then a few hours later I text her before heading out on our call like I promised her I would.
Hey baby, we’re heading out on a call. I’ll text you when we’re back.
Even though it was a little after one in the morning, she still responded before the truck pulled out.
Okay, be safe fireman. Be sure to come back to me
I promise I will.
As promised, I text her a few hours later when we finally make it back but she hasn’t replied. Can’t really blame her since it was the middle of the night. I figure waking up to both texts will be a nice way to start the day.
“He didn’t answer,” Cooper says, pulling my attention away from my phone. “He has to be here, right? He’s on the same shift as you and you still have another twenty-four on.”
“Yeah,” I say with confusion. He has to be here somewhere. Turning around, I wave my hand in the mirror so Billie can see me. Catching my eye, she slips her headphones off and turns around on the bench. “Hey, have you seen Carter around?”
She looks around the empty gym shaking her head. “He hasn’t been here since I got here, which was maybe an hour or so ago?”
“Where the hell is he?” I mumble.
Just then, hurried steps stomp into the room, echoing throughout the space. Carter is breathing heavily, almost like he had been running, and places his hands on his hips trying to catch his breath.
“Hey, guys,” he greets the two of us with a half-hearted wave. He looks towards Billie who’s watching from her bench, her face as confused as Coop and I are. “Hey, Billie.”
“Hey,” she replies softly with a small wave. She then affixes her headphones back to their rightful place and goes back to her workout.
“Where were you?” I ask, reaching over and smacking his shoulder. “I expected you to be asleep in the bunkroom but you weren’t.”
“Are you tracking my every movement now?” he chuckles, running his hands through his hair. He smirks at me but I can tell he’s hiding something. I can see it in his eyes.
“No, but when your brother isn’t where you expect him to be, you get concerned.”
“I went for a run, man. Sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going before leaving,” he scoffs, irritation clear in his tone.
“Since when do you run?” Coop adds, his brows knitted together in the center of his face.
“Since today,” Carter huffs. “Why are you two ganging up on me?”
“We aren’t ganging up on you, we’re merely curious about where you were. Why are you being so defensive about it?” I retaliate.
“Because I don’t need you two up my ass about my whereabouts.
I can take care of myself, I’ve been doing so my entire fucking life.
I don’t need you or anyone else trying to butt in where they’re not welcome.
” His tone shifts dramatically from when he first came in that he’s nearly shouting at us.
His nostrils flare as he glares at the two of us.
“Okay, dude, relax.” Coop raises his hands in front of him. “We’re glad you’re here now and are okay. We’ll butt out if that’s what you want, okay? We were just worried about you, that’s all.”
“I don’t need you to be worried about me. I don’t need anyone to be worried about me,” he sneers.
Without saying anything else, we move into our normal workout routine. Working in silence, we set up our rack and other equipment. We move through the three stations we set up a few times before Coop pulls his headphones off his ears and looks at us.
“I’m a little worried about Willow.”
“Why so?” I grunt, dropping my dumbbells to the floor and holding them down so they don’t roll away.
“Well, first off, I hate her stupid boyfriend. He’s a prick and whenever I talk to her about him she tells me how he made her feel bad about something she did.
Or didn’t do, which also pisses me off. And second, she seems really off lately.
We generally text a few times a day but now I only hear from her every few days. I don’t know, something feels weird.”
Carter snorts and shakes his head before using the bottom of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his forehead.
“What?” Coop asks, looking at him incredulously. “You know something?”
“What? No, I don’t know anything. Her boyfriend is prick, that’s all,” he answers.
“But we’ve always known her boyfriend is a prick. I thought we were all waiting for her to wise up and dump his ass,” I comment.
“Well she lives with him now so I don’t see that happening,” Cooper laments.
“What?” Carter barks, swinging his head around to look at our friend. “What the hell did you just say?”
Coop flashes me a confused glance before answering.
“Willow, she’s moving in with the prick.
She texted me that last night. He asked her to move in with him and her lease is ending at her place by the hospital so she said yes.
I guess they’re moving her in this weekend. She asked if I would come and help.”
“And are you?” he presses. A deep redness starts to creep up Carter’s neck as he glares at Coop.
“She’s my baby sister, so yeah, I’m going to go and help her move.”
“So you support her moving in with that jackoff?” Carter’s fists are balled up at his sides and I take a step forward in case he takes a swing. I’m not sure why he’s so riled up about this, especially more riled up than Coop seems to be about it.
“I’m not supporting it at all but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let her move on her own. I’m all the family she has,” Cooper explains somehow managing to keep his tone even.
“The only family she has, right,” Carter scoffs out a laugh. “Because you’re the only one who cares about her.”
“That’s not what I’m saying at all. What the hell is wrong with you?”
Something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye. It’s Carter’s phone lighting up that he has a new message. I bend down to pick it up from the bench and hand it to him when the label on the text message catches my eye.
“Who the hell is ‘Firefly’ and why are they texting you before 8:00 a.m.?” I ask, handing him his phone. He turns to look at me and snatches the phone out of my hand.
“Why the fuck are you touching my phone? Christ, you can’t seem to back off, can you?” He glares at me and scoffs. “I’m out of here.”
“Carter, what the hell, man?” I call out to his back as he storms out of the room. When he’s gone, I slowly turn to look towards Coop who’s standing next to me, completely stunned.
“What the hell was that about?” he asks.
“I have no idea,” I answer and look back towards the empty doorway where my brother once stood.
What the hell has gotten into him?