Page 43 of Burn With Me

“Hey, Captain?” Asher turned in his direction of the voice.

“What’s up, Wheels?”

“You need to see this,” Wheels called back.

Asher turned in his direction, and I followed him out. There was not much I could do without my tools or more light. The moment we stepped outside, we could hear frantic screaming, and we both looked toward the noise. Another firefighter held up his phone and handed it over as we reached him.

I sucked in a sharp breath as I stared at the woman I’d seen at the beach on the small screen. Her wide eyes were filled with horror as she begged and pleaded. I had to look away as the fire spread across her body, her pain-filled screams loud in my ears. Even though my father and mother had succumbed to smoke inhalation before the blast, it didn’t stop my mind from picturing them trapped in the room with it on fire. It didn’t stop my mind from conjuring the sounds they would’ve made and how it lanced my heart.

My dad’s yells replaced the young woman in the video. I covered my mouth and closed my eyes as I fought not to cry. I’d never forget the look of hurt on their faces as I screamed that I hated them earlier that day. It was a loop that played like a terrifying rollercoaster going around in my mind, and each time, there was a new twist that made my stomach drop. I hated that I had thought they were trying to ruin my life, my fun. Why had it been so difficult for me to see the reality and that they were just looking out for me? So many times, I wondered if I could’ve saved them if I’d been home or if I would have perished alongside them.

I sniffed and quickly wiped away the lone tear traveling down my cheek. I wouldn’t cry. Tears were wasted on the dead. I’d cried so many times, and it never brought them back or helped me find the answers I was seeking.

A warm hand laid on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You, okay,” Asher asked, returning the gesture I’d given him a few moments ago.

“I’m going to get this son of a bitch,” I said and stood tall. I looked over my shoulder at Asher. “I will get him.”

“No, we will get him. He made this personal. We will get him together.”

Violet

“So let me get this straight.” Beck sat her fork down as she prepared herself for the dramatic scolding she was about to give. “You got up at three in the morning and snuck out of the house wearing practically nothing, and you didn’t get laid?”

“Shh, would you keep your voice down?” I looked around the little diner and was greeted with disgusted glares from a nearby set of parents.

Beck leaned across the booth, the old red leather squeaking as she did. “I’m not just worried about you now. I’m also worried about his guy. I mean, how did he not rape you in the parking lot?” she whispered, but the glares spoke louder.

“First, we were at the scene of a murder. Second, he was working. And third, maybe because he has morals.”

Beck made a snorting noise and sat back in the booth, crossing her arms. “You are reaching pathetic status, Vi, like seriously.”

“Are you going to eat those?” I pointed to her half-eaten waffles.

She shoved the plate at me. “Eat them. I can’t now.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one that is upset and having the dramatic moment here?” I poured a giant swirl of maple syrup on the waffles and dug in.

“And this is another thing. Do you know how much I hate you right now?” She glared at the waffles that I was stuffing into my mouth.

“Why now?” I mumbled around the chipmunk-sized mouthful.

“You eat like a horse and never gain an ounce, and then you waste that hot body by never getting any. We aren’t getting any younger, Vi. You need to find a man or woman. Honestly, at this point, I don’t care which. Just find one.”

I rolled my eyes at my best friend. “Unless I missed something, you don’t have a boyfriend either.”

“Actually…” She sighed and clasped her hands on the table. “There is something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

I wiped my mouth with a napkin and then prepared myself for what looked like horrible news. The look Beck was giving me, I was expecting an atomic bomb heading my way.

“I’ve been seeing someone for a few months now, and I really want you to meet him,” Beck said.

“Okay, great. Why do you look like I’m going to hate this news?” My girly senses told me I wasn’t getting ‘the whole truth and nothing but the truth.’ I really needed to watch A Few Good Men again.

Beck wouldn’t look me in the eyes, which wasn’t a good sign. “Because Brian asked me to move in with him as a trial run for, you know…maybe something more permanent, and I said yes.”

Her soft grey eyes looked into mine, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. “So this is why you’ve been pushing me so hard to find someone?”

She nodded. “Vi, I don’t want to see you alone. You spend all your time working or obsessing over your parents’ deaths, and you forget to live. I just want you to be happy—you deserve to be happy. Even if you don’t think so.” Beck reached across the table and took my hand in hers. “I can’t leave the apartment when I know you will turn into a hermit and block the world out, and don’t you say you won’t because we both know you will.”