Chapter Thirty-Three
Cal
I could get used to Thanksgivings like this. Happy. Surrounded by friends and family. Usually, Thanksgiving consists of myself and my parents. This year, the crowd is bigger. Since Trey has been glued to my side, I invited Rose and Sonya. Of course Charlotte is here—right on my lap where she belongs—and so are Garrett, his ditzy girlfriend Elise, and Penny. The other Hornets—including Jace—have all joined Karen and Kelsey for the holiday. Mike and Roan, like any holiday, are on call, so they have to stay near the station. It’d be cool if everyone could come together, even if we did it over at Karen’s, but with Kelsey and Garrett seeing other people, it makes it awkward as fuck.
I toy with a strand of Charlotte’s hair while she tries to converse amicably with Elise. That chick is dumber than a box of rocks, though, making it hard as hell for my girl. Garrett has abandoned his dumb fuck toy to huddle with my dad somewhere in the house. I was pleasantly surprised when our dads hit it off. Garrett is a lot like Charlotte and Hollis, making friends with just about everyone everywhere they go. Penny is the black sheep in their family. The one who likes to dish out shit like it’s a full-time job.
“The snow is too heavy,” Mom says, perching on the edge of the couch beside me. “Everyone is enjoying themselves. I think it’d be best to stay and not have to drive in it.”
It’s pretty uncommon to get snow on Thanksgiving, but this year the cold came early and more brutal than usual. Winter is going to fucking suck.
“We wouldn’t want to put you out,” Elise says, her voice tight. It’s clear she’s been uncomfortable since Garrett left to go gossip with Dad.
“Oh, honey, it’s nothing and we have plenty of room in this big house.” Mom waves her hand in the air. “I keep telling David we should do like Cal and get a cute riverside cabin, but he’s stubborn.”
“Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Charlotte jokes, tilting her head up to kiss me.
I kiss my girl and then catch my mom watching us with pride in her eyes. It makes my heart squeeze inside my chest. I guess it’s pretty obvious I love this girl and Mom seems thrilled about it. Being the momma’s boy I am, happiness washes over me at having pleased my mother.
“We have the guest room right beside ours downstairs that Rose and Trey could take,” Mom suggests. “Penny and Sonya could take the guest room beside yours upstairs, Cal.” She lifts her brow. “Charlotte…”
“Is staying with me,” I confirm with a possessive growl that makes my mom laugh.
“And Elise, if it’s okay with you and Garrett, we have the pull-out sofa downstairs,” Mom offers.
Elise’s nostrils flare, but she forces a smile. “I doubt we’ll have to stay, but thanks for the offer.”
Dad and Garrett walk back into the room, both wearing matching stern expressions.
“Everyone needs to stay the night,” Dad booms, gesturing toward the window. “I wouldn’t feel right about letting anyone drive in that. We have the room.”
Mom winks at me. “What a great idea, hon. I’ll get the guest rooms ready.”
“I’ll help,” Charlotte says, climbing out of my lap.
Elise sighs as though it pains her to speak. “I guess I’ll help too.”
I wake with a start, realizing a naked body is sprawled out over me. Our bodies are sticky with sweat and it feels like it’s a thousand degrees in here. My palm slides to Charlotte’s perfect ass and I squeeze before slipping back into unconsciousness.
But I can’t sleep.
It’s too hot.
Unnaturally so.
Charlotte coughs. Then coughs again. I cough too.
It’s then I smell it. Thick and cloying. Smoke.
I jolt out of bed, fumbling for the light. Black smoke is clouding at the ceiling in my bedroom.
“Charlotte,” I bark out. “Get up. There’s smoke.”
She wakes up, sucking in air, and then starts coughing. Panic shines in her eyes. I roll out of bed and start throwing on clothes.
“What’s happening?” she croaks as she scrambles for her clothes.
“I think the house is on fire. Do you hear that?”
Yelling.
Downstairs.
I throw on my shoes and run over to my bedroom door. After I rush through it, I head toward the stairwell.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
I’m stunned to see huge flames licking up the steps. Mom. Dad. Trey. Oh God.
“What is it—Oh my God, Cal!” Charlotte shrieks. “How do we get out? Daddy!”
Spinning around, I grip her face. “Wake Penny and Sonya up. Make sure they’re dressed and meet me in my room.”
“What are you going to do?” she demands, her blue eyes wild.
“Just go!”
She runs off, away from the fire, while I stare down at it.
“Trey! Dad!”
Nothing.
Fuck.
I start to ready myself to go lower when Charlotte claws at my shirt.
“They’re outside. Everyone’s outside. Come on,” she rushes out. “Let’s get out of here.”
Relieved, I swivel around and chase her back into my room where Sonya and Penny are waiting, terrified expressions on their faces. I run over to the window and wrench it open. Sure enough, everyone’s outside.
“Tie your sheets together and get those girls out of there,” Dad yells at me.
I snap into action and rip the sheets off the bed. Quickly, I knot one end of the top sheet to the fitted sheet. There’s nowhere really to tie it to, so I wrap it around my forearm a couple of times and then grip it in my fist before tossing the excess out the window. It’ll still be an eight or nine-foot drop, but it should be fine. Sirens wail in the distance, letting us know help is on the way.
“Sonya, go,” I bark out.
She scrambles over the window ledge and then holds on to the sheet. Her body weight has me exerting my strength to keep her from dropping from the second-floor window.
“Penny, grab that towel and put it under the crack of the door,” Charlotte instructs. “Hurry.”
Trey and Garrett are waiting with arms open, ready to catch Sonya when she drops. She reaches the end of the rope, dangling, and shrieks.
“Let go,” I bark down at her.
She cries out, kicking. “I’m scared!”
Trey balls up some snow and whacks her with it. She screeches as she lets go. Garrett is there to catch her, pulling her safely into his arms.
“Penny, let’s go!” I yell over my shoulder.
Penny flies out the window, shimmying down the sheets in record speed. She reaches the end of the rope, and like Sonya, stalls. Maybe it’s a higher drop than I realize. Rather than waiting this time, Trey jumps, grabbing her ankle. She cries out, falling on top of him, both of them sinking into the snow.
“Hurry,” Charlotte whimpers. “That wall is bubbling.”
I turn to look at the bubbling wall. In slow motion, like something out of a horror movie, the wall opens, revealing flames as though it’s a portal to hell.
“Get the fuck over here,” I roar at her.
She starts my way but the wall starts to cave inward, toward her. I abandon my sheet and rush over to her, yanking her away from the collapsing wall. We fall back, both of us landing on our asses.
Fuck.
The sheet.
It’s gone.
We rush back over to the window. Lights flash, ricocheting off the trees below.
“They can’t get the truck over here,” Dad calls up. “Can you get to the guest bathroom window?”
“We’ll try,” I yell. “Come on.”
Charlotte takes my hand and I lead her to the bedroom door. Both of us are coughing now that the black smoke has thickened. The handle is hot to the touch when I grab it. Everything seems to be melting around us. I snag up the towel, using it to turn the knob. I expect to be blasted by flames, but my face burns from heat instead. Poking my head out, I realize the fire has spread, but the open door to the bathroom is untouched by flames.
“Go,” I instruct. “Don’t stop until you get into that bathroom.”
Charlotte runs ahead of me, coughing hard through the smoke. I follow after her, yanking on her hoodie when she gets disoriented and tries to open a linen closet door. With probably too much force, I shove her into the bathroom and slam the door shut behind us. I hurry over to the window. I unlock it, but it’s stuck.
Fuck.
I can see the red and blue lights through the tempered glass, but I can’t open it. I’m going to have to break it.
“It won’t open?” Charlotte shrieks. “We have to go back!”
“No,” I bellow. “Don’t you dare leave this bathroom. I need to break it.” I elbow the glass, but it’s easier said than done. Pain splinters through me. “We need something to break it with.”
Charlotte starts digging through the cabinets, looking for anything of use while I continue to try to break it. If I weren’t standing on a toilet, it’d be a lot easier because I could just kick it open.
Someone bangs on the window. I can’t see them through the glass, but I’m thankful as fuck for them to be on the other side.
“We can’t get the window open!” I yell.
“Stand back!” the voice responds.
I hop off the toilet and haul Charlotte into my arms, away from the heat billowing from the door. Glass shatters and then the window is being smashed away.
“Go,” I tell Charlotte, dragging her to the window. “Go with him.”
I meet familiar amber eyes through a mask and almost fucking cry in relief. It’s Roan. The fucking hero Hornet. He snags Charlotte when she gets close, pulling her through the window. I watch with terror clawing up inside of me as he precariously passes her down to another firefighter below him. I’m growing dizzy from the smoke, desperately sucking cold, fresh air into my lungs.
“Let’s go,” Roan says, once again at the window. “Quickly, but watch your step.”
I climb through the window, taking his gloved hand, and start down the ladder. He helps me past him and then guides me down to another firefighter. I’m dazed as they manhandle me down the rest of the way. Another fireman drags me away from the burning house toward an ambulance where the other hero Hornet is waiting.
“Charlotte,” I croak out when Hollis grabs onto me.
“She’s safe,” he says. “In the ambulance already getting looked over.”
He helps me into the back of the ambulance where my fucking girl is crying but alive. I yank her to me, kissing her smoky hair.
“Mom, Dad, uh, Garrett…” I close my eyes, thinking. “Did everyone get out?”
“They did. Sonya and Penny too,” Hollis assures me.
There were more people. Think. My brain is fuzzy.
“Trey and Rose?” Charlotte asks, filling in the blanks for me. “Elise?”
“Everyone got out,” Hollis says. “Now let’s get you two checked out.”
While he and the other EMT do their jobs, I stare out the small window, in shock that my childhood home is engulfed in flames. My poor parents. Dad will be heartbroken. Mom will be destroyed.
Charlotte reaches for my hand, clutching it. “I’m sorry about your parents’ home.”
I kiss the side of her head. “It’s just a place. They’re just things. The important parts made it out alive.”
Mom is in shock, I think. Dad just keeps staring at the charred house like it’s all a bad dream. The fire has been put out, but the house is ninety percent gone. My parents will have to start all over again. Everything was lost.
Roan pulls off his helmet and nods at me. I leave Charlotte with my parents to walk over to him. The snow hasn’t let up, which only makes this whole scene stranger. Soon, daylight will be upon us and we’ll see what we can salvage from the ruins.
“This…” He lets out a ragged, tired sigh. “This wasn’t an accident.”
My blood runs icy cold. “What?”
“We found gas cans. Probably why it spread so fast, cutting you guys off from coming downstairs.”
I blink at him. “You’re telling me this is fucking arson?”
Amber eyes blaze with fury. “I’ll do my best to get to the bottom of this, man. I swear to fucking God. Whoever did this won’t get away with it.”
“We know who did this,” I grind out, pinning him with a glare. “Question is, how do we prove it?”