Chapter Seventeen – Harper
Harper
The flash of people running by in my peripheral vision caused me to turn, glancing down the sidewalk. It was Declan, Gavin, and James, all running as fast as they could toward their patrol cars.
“What’s going on?” Cadie asked as she walked toward me from the direction of the bakery.
“I’m not sure. They all just started running.” Turning to look at her, I smiled. “Please tell me that’s some of your banana bread.”
“It is,” she replied, handing me a basket holding loaves of the delicious bread. “I made a special batch just for you.”
I wanted to kiss her. Cadie’s banana nut bread was sought after by everyone in town.
“Is it three already?” I asked as I wound up my hose and turned off the water.
“Yep, three-thirty, to be exact.” Cadie glanced around, then started to sniff the air. “Do you smell smoke?”
I breathed in deeply through my nose. “Smoke?”
“Yeah…I smell smoke.”
Suddenly, the sounds of sirens went off. There was a fire station just around the corner.
“Must be a fire somewhere,” I said. “Maybe that’s why the guys ran to their cars.”
Cadie walked into the street and looked around—then put a hand to her throat. “Oh my God. It’s black smoke billowing into the air.”
“What?” I jogged out to the road…and the moment I saw the smoke, I nearly fell to my knees. “Is that near Liam and Hope’s house?”
Cadie gasped.
“What’s going on?” Aurora asked, joining us in the middle of the road. “Is that smoke?”
I grabbed Aurora’s arm. “We need to call Liam and make sure they’re okay.”
Her face went white.
“Do you have your phone?”
“I’ve got mine,” Cadie said, holding up her cell, “but I only have Hope’s number.”
Seeming to snap out of it, Aurora pulled out her phone. She put it on speaker.
“Hello?”
“Liam, this is Aurora. Are you guys okay? We smell smoke, and it looks like it’s coming from your neighborhood.”
“ What ? I’m not home. Hope is home sleeping while Brystol took Winnie for a walk.”
I grabbed Cadie’s arm. “Don’t worry, Liam, we’re heading there now. I just saw Brystol not that long ago.”
“I’m…I’m on my way home from The Muddled Moose.”
Cadie and I took off running down Main Street as Aurora continued talking to Liam while trying to keep up with us.
“Someone call Brystol!” I cried out.
“On it!” Cadie said, stopping to look up her number. I stopped, as well, and leaned my hands on my knees.
Aurora gasped as she did the same. “Holy. Crap. I’m out of shape.”
“Brystol, thank God! Where are you?”
Cadie looked at us—and relief washed over her face. “You’re with Hope at her house? Everything is okay? Great!”
Aurora instantly called Liam back to let him know.
“There’s a fire somewhere, and we thought it was coming from that way. You do? Can you see what’s on fire?”
“Liam says it’s Oak Street,” Aurora interjected. “That’s all he knows.”
I racked my brain trying to figure out what was on Oak Street. “There’s the Methodist church, the Wash and Go, some restaurants…and houses.”
“Isn’t there a school, also?” Aurora asked. She must have hung up with Liam since her cell was no longer in her hand.
“A school? But no one should be there, school hasn’t started yet, right?” Cadie asked, a look of shock back on her face.
“Come on! We’re just two blocks away,” I said, and the three of us started running again.
When we turned the corner, I stopped abruptly, only to have Cadie and Aurora run into me.
“Oh my God,” Cadie whispered. “It’s the preschool next to the elementary school.”
Firetrucks and police cars were surrounding the area. Declan, Gavin, and James were somewhere over there.
“Oh no,” I said, taking off running again.
“Harper! What are you doing?” Cadie shouted from behind me.
When I got to the edge of the sidewalk in front of the preschool, I was met by people blocking the way.
“Declan!” I cried.
“Ma’am, do you have a child in the preschool?” a woman asked. Turning to look at her, confused, I was taken aback by how kind her soft brown eyes were. She was calm, and in turn, that instantly calmed me.
“Um, no, I’m sorry. My boyfriend is a police officer. He, um, he ran this way when they saw the smoke.”
Her understanding smile put me at ease. “I can’t let anyone over by the barricades, but let me ask my boss about you looking for your guy. Stay here.”
I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Thank you!”
“Of course.”
Watching her walk away, I felt Cadie come up on my left and Aurora on my right.
“You don’t think they’d go in there?” Aurora asked. “I mean, they’re cops, not firefighters.”
My hand was rubbing at my chest, and I had an uneasy feeling. “I don’t think they would.”
I didn’t honestly believe my words, but I couldn’t think about Declan running into a burning building. The woman walked back over. “Are you Harper Browning?”
“Yes! That’s me!” Had Declan seen me and asked for them to let me in? An instant wave of relief swept over me. “I’m Harper Browning.”
She lifted the tape that was stretched across the road. “Your father is over there talking to Chief Watson. He said to head over that way.”
Reaching for Cadie and Aurora’s hands, I tugged them under the tape, and the three of us walked as calmly as we could toward my father. Once I was there, I could feel the heat coming from the fire. It was a three-story building and the third floor was on fire.
My hand flew up to my mouth. “Holy shit.”
“What happened?” Cadie asked.
“We’re not sure yet,” my father said. “But they’re trying to get some kids out who are still in the building. The top floor was being used for a summer school camp, and the fire started up there. Not sure how, though.”
I spun around. “Who? The firefighters?”
My father reached for my hand and squeezed it gently. “Declan, Gavin, and James were first on the scene. All three of them ran in and have been bringing kids out. Once the firefighters arrived, they ordered them out of the building. Gavin and James came out but…they lost Declan and ran back in to find him.”
I felt my stomach lurch. “Are they still in there?”
Cadie grabbed my other hand while Aurora put her arm around my waist.
“Yes.”
“But they don’t have gear like the firefighters have, Dad! Make them come out! Chief, you have to demand that they come out!”
Chief Watson put a hand on my shoulder. “I did give the order for them to come out, Harper. Just stay calm; they’ll be out any second now.”
Turning back to the building, I watched the doors as the seconds ticked by. Firefighters ran in and out…but I saw no sign of Declan, James, or Gavin.
“Don’t worry, Harp, they’ll be fine.”
Someone’s phone rang, and I barely heard Aurora speaking. I could only focus on those front doors, waiting to see Declan walk out.
“How long have they been in there?” I asked my father.
“I’m not sure, sweetheart.”
I started to chew on my thumbnail. With each passing minute, I felt more terrified. My legs grew shaky, my eyes stung, and my stomach felt like someone had dumped lead into it.
“He should be out. Why isn’t he coming out?!”
A loud explosion caused me to scream and jump back. Stumbling over something, I fell to the ground.
“Harper!” my father yelled, reaching down to help me.
“What was that?” Cadie asked. She was on her ass, as well, and Aurora was helping her up.
Suddenly, I saw a flurry of activity by the front door. Firefighters were carrying people out.
“Are those kids?” Aurora asked, moving farther up near the barricade holding us back.
My hand covered my mouth when I finally saw Declan. Two firefighters were carrying him out. Next to them was James, holding a small child in his arms.
“Where’s Gavin?” Aurora shouted. “I don’t see Gavin!”
“I need to get to him!” I said, as I tried to get over the barricade, only to have someone pull me back.
“Harper, you can’t go over there! You have to let the paramedics do their job.”
It was my father speaking. Turning to him, I pleaded, “Dad, he needs me! Please let me go!”
He glanced over my shoulder, then a look passed over his face. One I’d never seen before…and it scared me.
“Daddy?”
He slowly shook his head. “I can’t let you go, Pumpkin. I’m sorry. I can’t.”
When I turned again, my eyes widened at the sight before me.
James, on his knees, with Declan lying on the ground. So many people were blocking my view I couldn’t see anything.
I opened my mouth to scream but nothing would come out. My legs grew weak, and a strange darkness started in my peripheral vision and swept over my eyes until I saw nothing. Everything went black.
“I brought you some coffee.”
Looking up, I attempted a smile for Brystol as I reached for the cup. “Thank you, Bry.”
She sat down next to me and slowly let out a breath. “Why is it taking so long to hear something?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
We’d been at the hospital just under two hours, but it felt like an eternity. Declan and Gavin had both been brought in by ambulances, and we hadn’t seen James.
“I’m sure they’re both okay. Don’t you think?” she asked tentatively.
“I hope so.”
She jumped up and started to pace. She’d always done that when she was nervous. I watched her walk from one end of the waiting room to the other. She wrung her hands while she marched back and forth, and a part of me wanted to scream for her to just sit the hell down, but I knew this was how she dealt with anxiety.
Pulling my gaze off Brystol, I glanced toward the nurses’ station. We hadn’t been given an update since we got here, and I wondered if they had anything new to share, even the tiniest bit of information. I was about to get up and walk over there when I heard the elevator door ding.
James and my father walked out, with my mother shoving past them to get to me. I practically ran into her open arms.
“Shhh, it’s okay, darling. Everything’s going to be okay.”
After hugging me tightly, my mom pushed me back at arm’s length and gave me a once-over before looking at Brystol. “Have you girls eaten?”
“No,” I weakly replied. “I couldn’t eat, even if I was hungry.”
Mom looked at Brystol, who simply shook her head.
“Have you heard anything?” I asked James.
“No, no updates yet.”
“Are you okay?” Brystol asked. “You weren’t hurt or anything?”
James sat down in a seat, a far-off expression on his face. “I’m fine.”
“Would you like some coffee, James?” my mother asked.
Without looking at her, he replied, “No, thank you, ma’am.”
I looked at my father, who gave me a weak smile as he motioned for my mother to sit. Brystol started pacing again.
“Have you told your parents?” Mom asked James.
“Yes, but they’re in Florida.”
“Oh my gosh, has anyone told Sean, Maddie, or Matt?” I asked.
My father put his hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me into a chair next to James. “I called them,” he said, before sitting next to Mom.
I glanced around the waiting room. “Where are they?”
“On their way back from Albany.”
I screwed up my face. “Why were they in Albany?”
My father shrugged. “I didn’t ask.”
“Shouldn’t we have gotten an update by now?!” Brystol snapped as she stopped and looked at the nurses’ station. “They wouldn’t tell me or Harper anything because we’re not related to them.”
Dad stood. “Brystol, sweetheart, sit down and stop pacing. You’re making me feel queasy.”
Brystol hugged my father, then did as he asked. She sat down next to me.
James whispered something, but I couldn’t hear what it was.
I turned to him. “What did you say?”
“He loves you.”
I looked at my mom. I was positive her concerned expression matched my own. Focusing back on James, I took his hand in mine. “James, did you have someone check you out? Make sure you’re okay?”
He smiled faintly. “I’m okay, Harp. I wasn’t where Gavin and Declan were. I’d just walked a few of the day-camp students down to the first floor and handed them off to a firefighter when the explosion happened. I ran back up and found Gavin trying to pull Declan toward the steps with one hand. There was so much smoke, and it was so hot.”
My mother sniffled.
“I don’t know what happened to Declan, but he was unconscious. There was a little girl in Gavin’s other arm, and he was coughing. I think one of the firefighters took her from Gavin. I knew he was okay because he was walking and coughing, so I focused on Declan. By the time we got outside, he…”
His voice trailed off as he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he turned to me.
“Right before we saw you this afternoon, he told us he loved you. He was going to tell you. Didn’t want to wait any longer.”
I felt tears streaming down my face as I stared at James.
“And he will tell her,” Brystol declared, standing once again. “He’ll tell her because nothing’s going to happen to him.”
James looked up at her, and he swallowed audibly and nodded.
“What happened to Gavin?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I was busy with Declan, and the next thing I heard was a paramedic saying it might be a heart attack.”
Brystol stopped pacing and turned to us. “ Gavin? ”
“I don’t know. I can’t be sure. I just know they were both taken away in ambulances, and no one would tell me a damn thing until I went and got some oxygen.”
My head was spinning. There was too much information being given to me at once.
“He said he loved me?” I heard myself asking.
James nodded. “Said he thought it might be too soon to tell you, but he didn’t care. And now…well, I wanted you to know. Not because I don’t think he’ll be okay, but…”
I squeezed his hand. “I know.”
We all sat in silence for a bit before I looked at Brystol. “Where’s Cadie and Aurora?”
“They went back to close up the toy store and the floral shop.”
I closed my eyes. I hadn’t even thought about how I just ran and left the shop.
“Thank goodness for friends,” my mother said.
My father stood. “I’m going to see if I can find out some information.”
James followed him. “I’ll go with you.”
The elevator doors opened once again, and Declan’s parents stepped out, along with Sean. Without so much as looking in our direction, the three of them walked over to the nurses’ station.
My mother moved over to the chair James had been in and took my hand. “Maybe now we can get some information.”
All I could do was nod and watch Maddie closely while the nurse spoke with her and James.
I closed my eyes and thought back to this morning. The way Declan had smiled at me when I handed him his coffee. The way his sweatpants hung on his hips, and my fingers had itched to touch his body, but we were both running late.
James’s voice played on repeat in my mind. He loves you.
“Wake up, Declan Gallagher…and tell me that yourself.”