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24
MARGOT
It’s notuntil I’m ass deep in moving boxes and trying to figure out when I accumulated so much shit that I realize my version of romantic is very different than anyone else’s. Or even remotely normal, for that matter.
My idiotic idea of doing something romantic was to move all my stuff to Jake’s in a show of me being all in.
That was before I realized that it would take me too long to do it all myself.
“Maya, will you meet me at the house and help me move the last of my things over to Jake’s house?” I say into the phone as soon as the other woman picks up.
“You do realize that normal people are not up this early,” Maya says. If it were any other day, she would be right. We both have the day off, and getting up at the ass crack of dawn is part of who we are now; there’s no stopping it.
“Yeah, but I know you were up anyway. And since you don’t have to work, just come help me get this done, and we’ll go get pedicures after.”
I really underestimated how much stuff I’ve accumulated since coming home, and Ireallydon’t want to have to admit to Jake that I was trying to be sneaky and romantic and do something sweet and failed epically at it.
“Okay, okay. I’ll meet you there in a half hour,” she finally relents. “Jesus, is it really only seven in the morning?”
“Yeah. See you soon.” I say it cheerfully, then open the door to go get more moving boxes from the car.
It takes me almost twenty minutes, but I have all my books packed and in the living room, waiting to be moved, before I take a break. Packing up the small house is giving me bittersweet memories and vibes. Of course I want to live with Jake, but this house? It saved me when I didn’t know I needed to be saved. It gave me somewhere to hide when I needed to escape. When I needed to come home and justbe.
Taking a deep breath as I step outside, I start coughing as something heavy fills my lungs. Oxygen won’t come, and soon I’m dry heaving, leaning forward and unable to control the hacking that’s rising through my chest as fast as the panic coursing through my veins. Burnt ash fills the air, and it’s like I’m stuck in a fireplace with the way it’s coating my lungs.
My house can’t be on fire. I would have felt it before opening the door.
Then I turn and look across the street and terror worse than the pain I’m feeling replaces everything else. There’s smoke rising from the tall two-story building I’m staring at and it doesn’t make sense. It’s an elementary school.
No one would light an elementary school on fire.
Before I know what I’m doing, I’m running across the street, my feet pounding against asphalt. My instincts are screaming that the building is on fire, and Iknowthere are kids in the building already. I heard them when I was making trips outside to my car with boxes earlier. Fumbling for my phone without breaking stride, I call it in.
“9-1-1, what is the address of the emergency?” Poppy’s voice breaks through the silence.
“Poppy, it’s Margot. Birch Elementary is on fire.”
“Okay, Margot. I’m dispatching the fire department now. Do not go into the building. Just call for everyone to leave.” She’s reading from the protocols but fuck that.
“Sorry, I’m goin’ in.” I hang up. Sliding my phone into my pocket, I run into the building. The doors are unlocked for the morning, thankfully, making it easier to get inside. Taking a deep breath, I pull the inner doors open and step into the secure building, unsure of what I’m going to find.
Silence.
Of course it’s not going to be easy.
“You need to get everyone out now,” I say to the first person I find. “The school is on fire. I called the fire department, but you need to go.” Smoke is beginning to fill the halls already. “How many kids are here?”
“I have ten signed in.” The other woman’s voice is starting to tremble as panic begins to seep in. “They should all be in the cafeteria getting ready for breakfast.” Her face is turning pale, and shock is replacing the panic.
“What’s your name?” I ask, knowing that if this woman breaks down, there won’t be anyone to help.
“Avery. My name is Avery.” Although her voice is shaking, there’s an evident strength underneath, and I hope that she’s up for what I’m about to ask.
“Okay, Avery, I need your help. Can you help me?” I watch the other woman’s resolve strengthen, and it’s like a flip switches right there in front of me.
“Yeah. Yes. What do you need me to do?” But I can see the wheels turning and the glances she’s shooting to the cafeteria.
“I need you to get as many of the kids as you can and get out.” I speak with an authority that defies the emotions welling up inside me. “Don’t come back in the building once you’re out.”
