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“But he was on the first floor. Why didn’t he get out?” I cry, begging for answers while she squeezes my hand, trying to comfort me.
“I don’t know,” she confesses.
“And you’re sure?” I ask again, because my brain just doesn’t want to accept it.
“Yes,” she says softly. “I’m sure.”
Holy shit. Trent is really gone. How can this be? We were just sitting at the table eating dinner. Jordan was cranky, and I told him she had an ear infection. He pulled her into his arms and held her while we ate, and she lay against his chest, content for a little while.
After dinner, he excused himself to get some schoolwork done, kissing my cheek and thanking me for dinner, like he does every night. I did the dishes and then gave Jordan a bath. That was the last time we saw him.
I didn’t want to bug him, so I put Jordan to bed myself. I didn’t want to distract him, so I stayed in her room with her. And now, we’ll never see him again. Because he’s gone. Jordan and I made it. Trent didn’t.
In a single moment, Trent’s life ended.
I lost my boyfriend, the father of my daughter.
And Jordan… She lost her daddy.
Oh my God. Trent is gone.
“I need to see my daughter,” I tell the nurse, needing to hold my baby and comfort her. She’s going to ask for her dad. What will I say? How will I tell her that her daddy is gone? She’s too little. She won’t understand.
My heart aches at the thought of everything Trent will miss out on. Jordan growing up, going to school… And what about us? We never got to get married. We were waiting until we could afford a nice wedding.
“I can take you to see your daughter,” the nurse says. “Let me just grab a wheelchair.”
She wheels me to a room down the hall, where I find my precious baby lying in bed with Trent’s dad, Ron, sitting next to her. Her eyes are squinted, and even though she’s sleeping, I can tell from her facial expression that it’s a fitted sleep.
But she’s alive. Unlike Trent.
A sob breaks free, and Silvia and Ron turn their heads to look at me. Ron shoots me a sympathetic gaze, but Silvia is pissed.
“This is all your fault!” she hisses. “My son’s life is over because of you! I warned him he was making a mistake, but he didn’t listen. Now look what’s happened! He’s dead!” She stalks toward me, but the nurse steps in between us.
“Ma’am, if you can’t calm down, I will have to ask you to leave.”
Ron stands and pulls his wife into a hug. “Shh, Silvia, I know you’re hurting—everyone is—but it’s not Kelsie’s fault. You heard the fire marshal. The furnace was faulty. She and Jordan could have just as easily died.”
“Silvia, I’m so sorry,” I choke out. “I was upstairs with Jordan, and we couldn’t get out. I screamed for Trent, but—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Silvia says, glaring my way. “He’s gone. He was left to rot in the fire, and nothing will bring him back.”
Thankfully, Ron insists that he and Silvia go for a walk, claiming emotions are high right now and everyone needs to take a moment.
I climb into Jordan’s bed, needing to hold her and feel her beating heart. We spend the day there. And when she asks where her daddy is, I’m forced to tell her that he went to heaven. She doesn’t get it and ends up upset, wanting him. She cries herself to sleep while I hold her, thanking God that she’s alive. Promising Trent that I’ll make sure our little girl never forgets him. Praying that I can be both mom and dad to Jordan…
Later in the day, the doctor comes by and clears me, but because Jordan is only two, he insists on monitoring her a bit longer. Luckily, since I’m cleared, he’s able to discharge me so I can stay with her the entire time.
A few days later, she’s discharged with a clean bill of health, but as I pack up our stuff, it hits me that we have nowhere to go. I have no money or phone. No home or car… So, I call my parents on the phone at the nurse’s station, hoping for once, they’ll be understanding.
“Mom,” I choke out when she answers the phone. “There’s been an accident and—”
“We heard,” she says. “Silvia’s telling everyone you killed Trent.”
“What?” Oh my God. “That’s not true! There was a fire and—”
“I warned you what would happen if you chose to have that baby instead of focusing on your future. Now look what’s happened.”
“Mom!” I hiss. “Stop thinking about your reputation for one second, please,” I beg. “I’m your daughter, and Jordan is your granddaughter. We almost died in that same fire. I lost my boyfriend. Jordan lost her dad! We’ve lost everything.” I sniffle back a sob. “And now, we have nowhere to go.”
