Chapter 2
Doone looked through the mess that had been her apartment. Nothing was savable. Not any of the things that she’d still had in boxes, nor the things that she cherished so much that had been given to her by her mom over the years. It was all gone. Everything.
“Did they tell you what started the fire?” Doone told her neighbor, who had lived below her, that no one had said.
“It was the place above yours that caught fire, and it burned right down to yours in a heartbeat. The Fire Marshall said that had you been home, you wouldn’t have been able to get out in time.
It’s a good thing you were at your mother’s. ”
“Yes, I did hear that.” All she could think about was that she’d been warned not to go home, that she wasn’t going to be safe.
She wanted to talk to the man who had told her that, but was fearful of something else he might tell her.
Like she wasn’t going to be able to keep her job or something like that.
“It was so late when I got off work that I decided to go to my mom’s house to hang out. I’m glad that I did.”
Her mom had been startled to see her there when she’d shown up around two in the morning.
She’d told her everything, of course, so when she’d been notified that the building had burnt to the ground, she and her mom had lived in fear of what would happen now.
She would have died had she been home, as the smoke would have killed her, and then the apartment above hers falling down onto hers had sealed the deal with her dying in the place.
The police had come to see her mom, thinking that she had been home, and they were telling her that they couldn’t find her in the rubble of the building.
Luckily for her, she’d been at her mom’s home, so she’d survived.
Doone had survived the fire when so many others hadn’t.
“They said that there are fourteen dead and three unaccounted for. Is that what you heard?” She knew Mr. Curtain was looking for information, but she just didn’t have it in her to tell him what she’d heard.
He did have it partially right. Nineteen were dead, and three were unaccounted for.
She shivered every time she thought about the man, Dixon, telling her not to go home.
“I hope they find those others who have stayed the night with their family and not been here. It was a nasty way to go.”
The fire had spread quickly. Going from the apartment above hers to the ones surrounding it.
By the time the alarm was going off, alerting everyone that there was a fire, nearly all of the third floor, along with the ones above it, were already engulfed in flames.
The reason for so many deaths was that once the fire started, it closed off the stairs so that no one could go up or down them to get away from the flames.
They’d found nine of the victims in the stairwell, burnt to death because of that.
And all because the apartment that had started it all had not turned off their oven while trying to keep their place warm the other night when the temperature got down to thirty degrees.
“Doonie honey, that man there is calling for you.” She turned to look where Mr. Curtain was pointing and couldn’t believe that it was Dallas Dixon.
He wasn’t alone but had a woman with him who looked like a goddess next to him.
Going to them, the first thing she did was slap the man.
And she didn’t know why she’d done that.
“I’m sorry.” He said he could understand. “How did you know? Did you know that it was going to be a fire? I could have gotten some of the others out of harm’s way had you just told me what was going on.”
“I only get bits and pieces of what’s going to happen when I touch someone.
I had no idea it was going to be a fire that would take the lives of so many.
Had I known, like you, I would have gotten some of them out.
” Doone nodded, then looked at the devastation again.
“Do you have a place to stay? That’s what we came here for. To see if we can help you in any way.”
“For now, I’m staying with my mom, but I can only do that for the next thirty days—less now, I guess.
They have rules about someone staying with people who are in subsidized homes.
She only just got into them, and I don’t want to mess it up for her.
She needs the place more than I do right now.
” Dallas said that he and his wife, Amy, were going to help the others, too, who had lost everything.
“The people on the first and second floors have had to move out as well. They don’t think that the building is structurally sound right now.
But they can at least get some clothing out of their places. ”
“Come and stay with us.” She turned to look at the other woman. “We have plenty of room, and it won’t be a problem for you to stay with us. You can come and go as you please. We’re really nice people.”
“I don’t think so, but thanks.” She thought it strange that they’d invite a stranger into their homes without anything to her name, but wasn’t going to do it anyway. “I’ll find something soon, and it’ll be just fine. Thanks, but no thanks.”
When Dallas put out his hand to no doubt shake her hand, she backed away from him.
He gave a short laugh and said that he didn’t blame her, but he promised her that nothing was going on.
She wanted to ask him how he knew that, but didn’t.
She was freaked out enough about him sharing whatever he had with her and her apartment.
Going to her mom’s place, she pulled her car into the garage and got out.
It was nice to have a garage to pull into; her mother didn’t drive, so she was free to use it anytime she was over.
When her mom came out of her home, she’d forgotten that they were going shopping to find her some clothing and a few things that she needed.
Doone had lost everything in the fire, and she couldn’t believe that she didn’t even own her own toothbrush.
“Are you ready, honey?” She said she just wanted to wash her hands as she’d been at the fire first. “Oh, good. I have thought of some things to put on your list while you were gone. You didn’t have shoes on the list. I know you have your work shoes, but I thought you’d need something for just walking around. And socks.”
Washing up, she was ready to go when her mom was, and they headed out of the house. Once they were on the road again, she told her mom that the Dixons had invited her to stay with them. When mom didn’t say anything, she asked her what she was thinking.
“Maybe you should go and stay with them.” Doone asked her mom what she meant.
“I know that the office told you that you could only stay for a month, but how are you going to get yourself a place to stay in that amount of time. Not to mention, I don’t want to mess this up for me.
I love where I’m living and don’t want to be kicked out just because you don’t have a place to stay. ”
“I can’t believe you’re saying that to me.
Especially right now when I’ve just lost everything that I own.
” Mom said she was just thinking about her place and how she didn’t want to lose it.
“I will be out in thirty days, Mom. You don’t have to worry about that.
Even if I have to live in a box in an alley someplace. ”
“Don’t be like that. I’m only saying that I don’t want to lose my place after it took you so long to get me in there. Now with the food card too that you helped me get, the food isn’t going to go as far as I had thought that it would either now that—”
“I do have a job, Mom. I don’t plan on losing that, too.
” She said that she was just thinking out loud.
“Well, you’ve pissed me off. I’m sorry if you don’t want to hear that right now, but I’m mad that you think that I’m going to be messing things up for you when I’ve just literally lost everything that I own. ”
“I’m sorry. Just forget it. But remember that you only have a month, less than that now, to find yourself a place to live.” She asked her how she was supposed to forget that. “You know what I mean, honey. I’m just worried that’s all.”
The rest of the trip was ruined with her mom’s worries.
Did she think that she wasn’t upset about losing everything, too?
That she would do anything to have a place of her own right now?
What was she supposed to do about furniture?
She did have renter’s insurance, but she didn’t know how long that was going to take before it kicked in, either.
Getting the things that she was going to need while living with her mom seemed sour now.
She decided that after two weeks, if she didn’t have a place, she’d find herself a hotel room.
Or perhaps live with the Dixons. She was so upset that she didn’t want to be with her mom, nor did she want to spend money on things that she’d lost. It was the little things that she thought of that upset her the most. She’d only just gotten herself new sheets for her bed.
As it was now, she didn’t have a bed to sleep in, just the couch in her mom’s place. It wasn’t fair that—
“I’m sorry, love.” She told her mom it was all right; she could understand her worry. “I shouldn’t have said anything. You’ve gone well beyond what any daughter would do for their mother about getting me well and helping me out. I should have remembered that.”
“It’s all right, Mom. I promise.” But it wasn’t, and she thought that they both knew it.
She had hurt her feelings, and there wasn’t any saying sorry going to fix that today.
She was overly stressed out, and she should have taken that into account.
“We’ll get this finished up and go back home and watch a movie.
I have to pick up a newspaper, too, that might have places in it to rent.
We’ll get this taken care of sooner rather than later, too. ”