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My phone rings. I check the screen. It’s my cousin, Talia. She’s probably the only person in the world I would answer the phone for right now. I swipe my screen. “Hey, girl.”
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you—”
“Yeah, thanks.” I cut in before she can finish singing the whole damn song.
She must catch the heaviness in my tone, because she immediately drops the chipper thing. “What’s wrong?”
“Ugh,” is all I can say.
“Is that a guy-relatedughor a job-relatedugh?”
“Kinda both.”
“So a captain-relatedugh.”
“You nailed it.”
“What happened?”
“Well, the douche took me off the schedule and signed me up for a two-month training to become a fire inspector—without asking.”
“Okaaaay.” My cousin draws out the last syllable, like she’s not sure what my problem is. Well, of course she doesn’t. Because she’s missing some key information. Information I wasn’t planning on sharing. Except I really need a friend right now.
“Here’s the thing. He signed me up because he thinks I have a problem. With fire. He’s been trying to fix me this whole time. I don’t even know if we were really dating. I mean we were having crazy kinky sex but—”
“But what?” she prompts when I stop.
“But it was like... punishment sex. Kinky shit. He offered to help me, um…” I break off, unsure how to go on. “Talia, I have to tell you something.” My voice breaks. “Something awful. Something I did that’s really unforgivable.”
“Okay, honey. Just tell me. Say it fast and get it over with.”
“I set the fire that burned my family’s house down.”
I hear her exhale through the phone, but her words stun me. “I know.”
My heartbeat seems to echo off the walls. Blood rushes in my ears. “You… know?”
“Everyone knows. You were always funky with matches. Squirrelling them away. Lighting them in your room. It was an accident, though. Right? You didn’t purposely—”
“Of course I didn’t!” I interrupt. My brain in still stuttering on her words. “What do you mean everyone knows?”
“I don’t know, it was sort of one of those family agreements to never mention it to you, because you probably felt bad enough. No one wanted you to think you were responsible for the house burning down. Even though the fire inspector found the fire started in your garbage can.”
I don’t realize I’m crying until tears drip down my chin. “They did?” I ask through my tight throat.
“It’s okay, Lia. No one blames you. But what does this have to do with your captain? You told him and now he wants you to be a fire inspector?”
I sniff and swipe at the tears on my face with the back of my hand. “Basically, yes. He knows about the fire and he knew I felt guilty. So he’s been…”
“He’s been what?”
“Punishing me.” This is really fucking embarrassing.
“Oh. Wow. Thatiskinky. Did you like it?”
“Um, yeah. Definitely. But then he signed me up for this job. And I found out about his last girlfriend—he jumped in to be her birth coach and the surrogate father to her baby. You see? He has a rescuer complex. And I’m just another project to be fixed.”
“Yeah, I see. That sucks. So did you tell him to back off?”
