Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
NORTH
Easton comes into the station around noon. I think everyone’s surprised to see him except me, and the only reason I’m not is because he’s been texting me updates about Leo all day.
So far, no more seizures. Leo’s neurologist came to see him, and they’re trying a new medication. His burns are doing okay. No infections, and apart from the pain, he’s feeling like himself.
I also didn’t get fired. I had to sit through a forty-minute lecture from Camilo about how protocol works, how much danger I could have been in, how much danger everyone else could have been in, and how lucky I was that it all went right instead of wrong.
I forced myself to listen to every word without tuning out because it’s only fair to Camilo, who stuck his neck out for me. Who always sticks his neck out for everyone.
Camilo also knew that this was personal, which meant he didn’t go too hard on me.
And it’s why my punishment is washing the trucks and the ambulances all week, which isn’t really a punishment at all.
Apart from cooking, it’s one of my favorite tasks.
It’s mindless, gets me sweating, and it gives me something to focus on for a while that isn’t work, or my mother, or—in the most recent case—Leo.
And that’s where I’m at, scrubbing down engine four with Ozzie, who’s doing details on the rims when Easton pulls up.
He grimaces and leans against a dry spot of the truck. “Wash wench for the week?”
I shrug. “Could be worse.” Pushing my shades up onto my forehead, I squint. He looks a little worse for wear. “Why are you here? Didn’t Cam give you time off?”
Easton rolls his eyes. “Mm. And I’d be at the hospital, but Leo kicked me out. He said he was sick of me staring at him.”
“Kind of your thing,” I joke, but it’s clear from the look on his face that he’s not ready for humor.
He swallows heavily. “He really scared me. This is the second time he tried to fucking die on me.”
“I don’t think he was trying,” I say quietly, leaning next to him.
Easton lets out a heavy puff of air. “Don’t tell anyone this,” he says, then glances over his shoulder, but Ozzie’s nowhere near us.
“He was in a really dark place after his Incident happened, and for a while, I was starting to worry that he wasn’t going to be okay. That he was going to just give up.”
My heart hurts for the pain Easton is in and for what Leo has gone through. I reach over and squeeze his wrist. “He didn’t though. He’s not the same unhappy person you brought here.”
“I know, but sometimes I worry he’s just hiding it better.”
“I get that, but I really don’t think that’s the case.”
Easton eyes me with suspicion, and I realize I’m on the verge of giving myself away.
“I mean, he’s seemed a lot better, you know? Taking care of himself. Going grocery shopping instead of letting me cook.”
Easton bursts into sudden laughter. “Oh my god, yeah. Yesterday, he told me to tell you to stop making him food. He said he was taking cooking lessons.”
My eyes go wide, and I have no idea why it hurts, but it does. I swallow it back for Easton’s sake. “That’s something, right?”
He looks a little better now. “Yeah. It is. All I want is for him to understand that he’s too fucking young to give up on life.
He doesn’t need to wither away and die because his first marriage wasn’t his forever.
” He hesitates, then adds, “I don’t want to speak ill of the dead or whatever, but Liam wasn’t a very nice guy.
And I don’t think Leo was happy with him. ”
I say nothing. There’s nothing I can say. I met Easton and Leo well after the whole hiking accident, and Liam’s nothing more than the few stories Easton has told me.
He heaves a breath, then shrugs. “Anyway, I’m going to spend the afternoon trying to find Leo a place to live.
He won’t be able to get back into his house for god knows how long, and my place is way too small for him to recover in.
I could ask around here.” He bites his lip in thought.
“I bet one of the guys could take him in. Maybe Axel. I think he’s single and has an extra room. ”
“I have room,” I blurt. I can’t help it. I don’t want Leo staying with someone like Axel, who is objectively hotter and better than me in almost every conceivable way.
Easton frowns. “Uh…”
“I mean,” I stutter.
I technically have room, but the second bedroom in my house has fucked-up floorboards, and I still need to fix them before it can hold furniture. The third room is set up for storage and is wall-to-wall boxes.
“You sure, man?” Easton asks with a frown.
“Yeah,” I add after an awkward silence. “He can take my bed, and I can crash in the living room. That way, he doesn’t have to give up the neighborhood, and you come over all the time anyway, so you can see him whenever you want.”
Easton grimaces. “That’s a good point. But are you sure sure? I mean, you two haven’t always been the best of friends.”
That’s putting it mildly, but things have most definitely changed, and my offer is very, very selfish. If I were a better person, I’d feel bad about it, but I’m not. So I don’t.
“It’s totally fine, man. We can do this until he finds out if his place is salvageable or not.”
“Ah, shit, that reminds me. Do you want to go over there with me this afternoon? Teddy’s doing his assessment of the scene, and I need to see if I can grab anything for Leo to wear.”
“Count me in,” I say. Anything to help Leo feel better.
Easton drags me into a hug. “Thanks, bud.”
“Oh. Are we doing hugs?” Ozzie asks.
Easton rolls his eyes, but he opens his arm. “Get in here, rookie.”
Ozzie does, fitting his body against ours, and hums. He smells like tires and motor oil. “Mm. This is nice.”
“You’re weird, rookie,” Easton says, giving his shoulder a shake. “Never change.”
Ozzie smiles at him. “Don’t worry. I don’t plan to.
Well…I don’t know. I mean, my boyfriend says I smile too much, which is probably true.
And that I talk too much. And that I don’t do a great job at cleaning up, which I blame on my ADHD, but I am trying.
Anyway, I’m working on changing those things, and maybe then I’ll—”
“Your boyfriend sounds like a dick,” Easton cuts in. He looks Ozzie up and down. “Don’t try and tear yourself into pieces for someone who will never be satisfied with the shape you’re in.”
Ozzie says nothing as Easton walks away, and then he turns to me. “Do you think Easton’s right?”
“I think Easton’s right about most things,” I tell him. “And if your boyfriend can’t see what a catch you are, he’s not the one. Because you’re great.”
Ozzie smiles, but there’s something in his eyes that tells me he’s not happy. I can’t think about that now though. There’s too much on my plate, but I hope Ozzie realizes that if he needs help, any one of us would be there for him.
No matter what.
Leo’s house is a mess. It’s not often that any of us go back to the scene of a fire we put out, and seeing Leo’s place like this is a special kind of awful.
Teddy’s walking around, taking notes with the certified fire investigator, but there’s no arson here, so I don’t feel even a lick of anxiety over it. Easton’s watching them like a hawk though, like he’s ready to throw hands with one of his best friends if he even looks sideways at the scene.
Standing on the porch, I can see through the mostly missing living room wall to the soot and puddles of black water that cover the floor. Leo’s furniture in that room is gone—nothing but char left behind, and the smell is both moldy and burnt.
I hate it.
Squeezing my arms around my middle, I turn toward the railing of the porch on the side that didn’t take damage, and I see a single black crow feather sitting on the railing.
I haven’t seen my birds in a while. Russell’s been off in the wind, probably learning to live his best bird life with only one foot, though I don’t think he’s gone for good. The rest have been anywhere but in my yard.
It’s not migration season yet, so I know they haven’t gone, but they do this from time to time. They investigate other yards, maybe make friends with other people. I have no claim over them, but it makes my chest ache a little at the thought that they’d just move on.
Which is silly.
They’re wild birds. Why am I getting all worked up?
BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!
I jump half a foot, then dig my hand into my pocket, and my heart hammers when I see it’s the hospital, which means it’s either Leo or about Leo.
“Hello?” I say softly.
“Easton says you’re at the house with him.” Leo’s voice is less hoarse after a night of rest, but it’s still weak from the pain I know he’s in. “How bad is it?”
“He didn’t tell you?” I frown, turning back toward the house again. I don’t see Easton anywhere, but I think he might be loading up Leo’s fishtank, which miraculously survived both the fire hose and the heat.
“I think he’s trying to protect me,” Leo answers. “It must be awful.”
“Teddy’s assessing the damage with the CFI, and I’m pretty sure an insurance guy will be over this week to—”
“Decide if I did this on purpose?” he asks.
“No one’s going to think that.” Running a hand over my face, I step off the porch and head down toward the street. From that view, I can see where the damage starts and where it ends. “Everyone knows this was an accident, and your insurance should cover the repairs.”
He sighs into the phone. “Maybe I should tear it down.”
“Leo—”
“Seriously.” He stops for a second, then clears his throat. I hear sheets shifting, and then he sucks in a sharp breath of pain. “I was rotting there. I love the house. I love that neighborhood. But I wasn’t happy. Maybe this is a sign from the universe that it’s time to change.”
“I don’t think the universe would set you and your house on fire to tell you it was time to move.”
He laughs, which makes my chest go warm. “I wasn’t set on fire. I was just too close to the flames. And I also don’t really believe in all that. I’m just saying that I’m not freaking out, okay? Whatever happens now, I can handle it.”