Page 30 of Shattered Dreams

He pauses a moment before saying, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I”m fucking sure. I’ve never been more sure of anything. But are you sure you’re okay to drive?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Talk soon.”

He ends the call, and I stare at my phone, wondering if I should believe him. There was no emotion in his voice. Obviously, he’s in shock. Was he in the apartment when it happened? Did he drive up to it happening? How bad is it? What the hell is going on?

Minutes pass like years.

I pace the foyer by the door, waiting for the headlights to flash across the windows, letting me know he’s here.

When they finally do, I bolt out the door and toward his car. I yank the driver’s side door open, needing to see him. He looks devastated, but he seems okay physically. I glance in the back. Maddox is asleep, leaning against the door.

“Hey, you good?” I ask.

He nods, but says nothing. I make room for him to get out, and he goes to the trunk to pull out the bags he had with him earlier. So he didn’t make it inside the apartment, so I take it.

Paul opens the back door and speaks to Maddox quietly. He climbs out of the car, wiping his eyes and yawning. We walk to the house, Maddox half asleep on his feet.

“He can take my room.”

Paul doesn’t argue, just nods as he leads Maddox to my room and gets him settled. I so badly want to help, but I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to overstep, but I feel like I need to do something. I just don’t know what that something is.

When he’s finished with Maddox, he walks out of my room without even looking at me. His shoulders are slumped, and his normally bright smile has been replaced with a vacant stare.

“Let’s get a drink,” I say, putting my hand on his back to guide him to the kitchen. He sits at the island, and I grab us both a beer. I pop the top on his and slide it over, then sit beside him.

“What happened?” I ask.

He shakes his head, staring at the beer bottle with a distant look in his eyes.

“I don’t know,” he says plainly. “We just got there and… everything was on fire. Like… really on fire. The flames were so high. I could hardly make out that it was a building. I thought maybe it was the wrong house, but… the bike. That was Maddox’s bike outside the window, beneath the burning curtains…. What the fuck.”

Paul rubs his eyes as he shakes his head, before opening them and glancing up at me.“Dre…” he breathes my name, and I hear the anxiety in it. “How the hell do I do this? What do I say? Where am I going to—”

“We’ll figure it out. You and Maddox can stay here as long as you need.”

“All of our stuff. It’s.. gone. All I have is… our bathing suits from earlier. I don’t even have my phone charger or his backpack or… fuck.” He leans forward, burying his face in his hands. All I can do is sit here and be a silent support.

“Have you called Amelia yet?”

“Fuck. No.” He pulls his phone from his back pocket. “I should call her. I should have called her, but I didn’t know—”

“Hey, it’s okay. You can call her now,” I say, keeping my voice even, though I can’t deny that seeing him like this hits me in the chest like a brick.

“Right,” he says, his voice despondent and distant. “I’ll be right back.”

He gets to his feet and heads toward the sliding glass doors.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m… I’m fine. I’ll just be a minute.”

“At least take your beer. Might make you feel better.”

He huffs out the smallest laugh, grabs the bottle, then disappears outside.

The automatic lights go on, and I watch as he brings the phone to his ear.