Page 50 of Open Liner
I swallowed hard, a metallic fear lingering on my tongue. Yet, I wanted him anyway. I couldn’t turn off the feelings that erupted for him as much as I could stop breathing. If being with him meant worrying more or spiraling every now and again, he was worth it.
“You going to get out there or stare into space?” Rory said, his voice light.
“Right.” I nodded, balled my hands into fists, and then shook them out.
“Going to the apartments would be the best chance of seeing what’s going on.”
Rory wasn’t wrong. I just wasn’t sure if I was ready for what I’d see when I got there. Still, I couldn’t hang back. Not when Drake was out there and in danger, so close to me. My whole body was a taut string that could snap at any moment.
“I’ll text you,” I promised as I cleaned my brushes and put away my paints and the piece I was working on. That could be dealt with later.
“You’d better,” Rory called as he walked toward the waiting area again. I patted my pockets down for my keys and wallet, then headed for the door. Rory offered a nod as I passed by, one I returned before stepping outside.
The sun was bright, but it didn’t seep past my skin, not while my mind rioted. My legs grew numb as I quick-walked over to my car, barely able to register anything else. Fuck, what if Drake got trapped in the building? What if he got hurt?
This was something he did every day. Something he prepared for.
He had to make it out of this.
Because I needed to tell him that somehow, he’d become the person I thought of first when I woke up, and the one I lingered on when falling asleep. His presence dominated my attention, and being with him made hope blossom that those dreams of finding the right one for me might actually be fulfilled.
I turned on the ignition and set off down the street, clutching the steering wheel with enough force to take it off.
How bad was this fire? All I could see in my mind’s eye was the decimated hulk of a shopping center that had been ravaged by a fire when I was little. I’d seen the scorched beams, the guts that remained of what used to be a bustling strip, but the fire had destroyed it.
Imagining someone surviving that. Fuck.
Black smoke billowed into the air as I neared the apartments.
My stomach churned. That couldn’t be a good sign.
Sirens lit the air as I veered toward the apartment complex. Cops had arrived on the scene to help manage the crowds. I parked along the street instead of trying to get near the blockades already in place. Two fire trucks were stationed in the parking lot, and the glimmer of orange flames mingled with the plumes of choking black smoke that threatened to snuff out the horizon.
My heart accelerated as I parked and burst out of my car. The stench of the smoke was strong even here, adding to the churning in my stomach, and I loped up the grassy knoll leading to the parking lot for the apartment complex. The area by the road was being monitored by the cops, but I dodged in through the tree line, sneaking through.
The tenants were all clustered in groups across the parking lot, everyone giving the firefighters a wide berth. A woman was collapsed on the ground in tears with a few people surrounding her and trying to pat her on the back.
My heart squeezed tight. The crackle and groan of the timber sent bursts of panic through my system. Fuck. Where was Drake?
Two of the guys in turnout gear stood by the hose, sending volleys of foam to suppress the fire in the worst area.
Another of the guys raised the ladder to the second floor, and my heart snagged in my chest. Something deep in my gut told me Drake was in there. That he wasn’t any of the guys out here.
And that gut instinct was one I didn’t always listen to, even though it was always right.
The ladder stopped right by an open second-floor window. A minute later, a firefighter in turnout gear stepped up to it, someone hanging onto his back. He climbed onto the ladder with care and surety to his movements, a confidence I’d recognize anywhere.
Drake.
That had to be Drake.
Fuck.
He clutched the ladder, which began to slide back down, with him and an older woman on his back in tow.
“Oh my god!” A scream came from the crowd as the woman who’d been sobbing burst forward.
Another creak sounded, and part of the building behind them on the second floor crumbled. Just fucking fell away. My heart lodged in my throat. He’d been right there. So close to that.
