Chapter 26
BELLA
Itake back what I said about Halloween. The last few days of school before winter break suck donkey balls.
I don’t wish this hellscape on anyone. Just like Halloween, the kids are sticky, hyped up on way too much candy, and there are still costumes because every day is a different dress-up day.
I’m staring at way too many little elves and Santas as everyone runs around the room trying to burn off the sugar.
And because it’s snowing outside, recess is indoors, except the recess monitor is out sick today—and everything is set up in the gym for the Workshop this afternoon and evening, making it off-limits—so the kids have recess in their classrooms, and I lost the only thirty minutes of quiet I have built into my day.
But I love my job. I love my job.
“Miss Carlisle, can I use the bathroom?” Avery asks.
I glance at the clock. “Can you hold it for twenty more minutes when we go as a class?”
She shakes her head as she wiggles in place. She’s already doing the peepee dance. Fuck.
“Okay, take the hall pass and hurry back, okay?”
“I will!” she chirps as she rushes to grab the pass and bolts down the hall, leaving the door ajar.
I push up from my desk, dodging multiple elves as I walk over to close the door behind her, but before I can get there, an elf knocks over the tub of crayons and I silently curse to myself as I bend over to clean the mess.
I’m halfway through picking them up when the fire alarm goes off.
Who plans a fire drill this close to winter break? I guess it is ideal though, since kids won’t miss any instructional time. “Grab your coats and line up,” I shout over the chaos. We shouldn’t be outside long, but the snow is really starting to come down and I don’t need any student popsicles.
Grabbing the safety bag off the wall, I usher kids into the hallway, and they line up against the wall. I hope this doesn’t take too long. I want to go down and check on the Workshop one more time before kids start visiting.
“Do you smell smoke?” Lucy asks quietly as she walks next to me.
“Wait, is this real?” I whisper, careful not to draw any student attention.
“Probably just some burnt pizza in the cafeteria setting off a smoke detector,” she says, but looks uncertain.
We push through the doors at the end of the hallway, the bitter cold hitting our faces as we usher the kids away from the building.
Once we get to the parking lot, the kids line up, and I move down the row counting heads.
We’ve done this twice already this year, so they know the drill by now.
“Twenty-two. Twenty-three. Everyone’s here,” I say right as a fire truck turns into the parking lot, pulling close to the opposite end of the school near the gym.
When I look over at Lucy, there’s panic on her face. “Crap. This is real, and I’m short one.” She pulls out her roll and calls out each kid by name, and when she gets to Melissa, a tiny little blonde second-grader darts out of my line and into hers.
“Wait, now I’m missing one.” I pull out my roster when it hits me. “Avery!”
Panic claws at my chest as I walk up and down the line looking for her. I thought she came out with us. And there’s a fire truck here, which means this could be a real fire and not a drill.
Isaac’s class must be close by because he comes running up. “Did you say Avery? Where is she?” he asks, looking around.
“She went to the bathroom and then I was cleaning up crayons, and then the fire alarm went off. I forgot she was gone in all the confusion.”
“Avery! Butterfly! Where are you?” Isaac calls out.
I can see several of his classmates pointing at us and laughing, but their demeanors change when several of us start panicking, shouting her name.
“Avery! Avery Williams!” I call out, looking around the other nearby groups. When I turn back to Isaac, he’s gone. “Isaac?”
“Oh my God,” Lucy says as she points at the building, and I see Isaac slip into the doors as a plume of black smoke rises from the back of the building.
“Isaac!” I yell, tearing after him, but he’s too fast and the building is too far. When I get to the door, a firefighter blocks my path, holding up a hand to prevent me from entering.
“Mike?” I say, recognizing him under his gear as I pant, out of breath.
“Bella, sorry, I can’t let you in the building.”
“My son Isaac just ran inside,” I say, trying to gulp in air. I’m going to hyperventilate.
“He must’ve run past when I was clearing a classroom. I’ll call it in to the guys. What does he look like?”
“Almost my height, thin, floppy blond hair like an alpaca. He ran back in looking for Avery.”
“Hardy’s Avery?”
I nod as I try to get my breathing under control, but my heart is beating too fast and I can feel the rhythm in my ears. “She was in the bathroom and never came out. We couldn’t find her outside.”
“Shit.” He talks into the radio on his shoulder, and either he’s speaking in code or my head is getting lighter because I have trouble following what they’re saying.
He places a hand on my shoulder. “My guy at the front door says he has eyes on Avery. She must’ve gotten lost in the shuffle and went out the front.”
“Okay, okay, that’s good,” I say, bending over at the waist to grab my knees.
“Bella, are you okay?” His voice sounds distant and tinny.
“I’m going to need a medic over here. Female, early thirties, hyperventilating, possible panic attack, send a unit.” I hear bits and pieces of what he says into his radio as I start to wobble.
Two hands grip my biceps, steadying me. I think they’re Mike’s. Seconds or minutes go by, I can’t tell. The only word in my head and on my lips is “Isaac.”
I faintly hear Mike giving me instructions to control my breathing, but I can’t concentrate. My head feels so light and I’m having trouble holding it up when I feel him guide me to sit on the brick retaining wall.
“Bells? Baby, what’s wrong?”
Is that Hardy? I can’t open my eyes, and my entire scalp feels tingly.
“Hardy, I told you to stay back at the firehouse. I’m not letting you in this building.”
“I’m with the medical unit you called in,” Hardy says. Is he angry? He sounds angry.
“You still shouldn’t be here. We’ve got this.”
“Isaac,” I pant, still trying to get my breathing under control.
His warm arms wrap around me and I’m being lifted as he places me onto a stretcher. “Bells, I need you to breathe. Can you take a breath and hold it for me? Breathe in through your nose for five seconds. One, two, three, four, five. And out through your mouth.”
I follow his instructions, but I only last for three seconds before the breath comes rushing back out.
“I—I can’t—Isaac.”
“Where is he? Do you need me to get him?” he says, his voice laced with concern as I open my eyes and study his face. Does he not know? Did he not hear the call on the radio? Maybe they didn’t say Isaac by name?
“In—In the building.”
He blinks at me in confusion, and I see the moment it clicks for him. “Isaac’s in the building?”
I nod, and suddenly my head feels woozy.
“Take it easy. Breathe.”
“He went in for—for Avery.”
“Avery’s out front. She’s safe. Delilah has her.”
I nod as tears spill down my face. He grips my cheeks and swipes at my tears. It’s so cold outside, I’m surprised his fingers aren’t frozen to my face.
“I’m not supposed to be here for the fire call since it’s Avery’s school, but I was already headed this way when the call came in. Even though Avery’s out and safe, they’re not going to let me in the building. But I need you to understand that Isaac is safe, okay?
“You—you don’t—don’t know that.” I gulp for air.
“You’re right, I can’t promise with one hundred percent certainty. But I can tell you that the fire is isolated to only the gym. I doubt Isaac went in there. And this is a great crew. They’re going to find him.”
There’s chirping on his radio, and I catch the words. “Civilian located. Medical units are needed. Patient is unconscious. Meet on the east side of the building near the gym.”
My breathing picks up, and we lock eyes. His head shakes almost imperceptibly as if he’s trying to convince himself that they’re not talking about Isaac.
“Can you stand? I need to load this up so they can go to the gym. I can get another unit on the way for you.”
“I’m fine,” I rasp as he helps me off the stretcher and loads it into the back of the ambulance. He swings the doors shut and taps on the window, and it takes off to the other side of the building.
He walks back over to me, and I collapse into his arms. I should be embarrassed; my students are probably watching and I’m melting into his arms over here like a hot mess.
“Can—Can you hide me?”
He leans down like he’s confused about what I’m asking. I’m not even sure I understand myself.
“I don’t want my st–students to see—see me like this.”
“Oh. I got you,” he says, turning me so his body is shielding me as he rubs my arms like he’s trying to keep me warm.
“Now they just think you’re cold, and I’m warming you up.
” His face is so full of love, and I want to revel in this moment, this public declaration, but I can’t stop worrying about Isaac.
“They should’ve found him by now, right? Why haven’t they found him?”
There’s a commotion at the door and Mike walks out with Isaac behind him.
“Mom!” He runs over to me and throws his arms around me.
“Isaac! Oh, thank God. I was so worried about you.” My face burns as hot tears spill down my frozen cheeks.
“I’m sorry, I had to find her. I looked in all the bathrooms before a firefighter told me she was safe and walked me out.” His voice is wobbly, and I can hear the fear in it as he shakes in my arms. It could just be the cold, but I know it’s not. He’s grown to love Avery like she’s his sister.
“I know you did, but you cannot run into a burning building. You scared the crap out of me.”
“Your mom’s right,” Hardy says from behind me. “That was incredibly reckless and stupid.” He pulls Isaac out of my arms and hugs him against his body, clapping a hand on his back. “So stupid and brave. And stupid. Thank you,” he says, his voice breaking on the last couple words.
“Wait, if that call for a medic wasn’t for Isaac, then who did they find?” I ask, turning toward Mike.
“I can’t talk about an active investigation,” Mike says as he walks back to the building.
Just as the panic subsides and I breathe a sigh of relief that all my people are safe, Mike’s early words about the fire’s location hit me. “Oh my God, the Workshop!”