Page 84 of Wild Mistake
“Ma’am. Are you still with me?”
“We’re here,” the person at my right says.
“Sarah!” Aiden’s head pokes out of the wreckage. “Everyone! Get back. Now.”
What?I don’t understand. Not until the spark flickers from the back end of the vehicle.
Someone shouts, “Fire!”
Someone else screams, “Get back!”
Arms pull me back.
This cannot be happening.
Aiden disappears again inside the car.
I want to step forward. To get closer and use my phone as a flashlight, but something in my gut causes me to obey Aiden’s warning.
Smoke swirls through the cold air, lifting and thickening with each passing second. It’s illuminated by the tree lights, the ones I used to believe held magic.
The approaching sirens do little to calm my nerves. They’re still too far away. My baby is in that car, and Aiden’s with him.
A snap, followed by popping sounds from the back of the car. The fire expands in a rush, taking over the entire back half of my car. The heat reaches me where I stand. Dread fills my stomach. They have to get out of there or they’ll both burn alive.
“Aiden! Aiden! You have to get out!”
His feet emerge first, the traction of his combat boots poking out of the broken windshield, swiftly followed by his body crawling backward, out the way he entered. My stomach sinks. Pain pierces my heart. For a second, I fear he’s alone.
But he’s not. He drags Gabe’s limp body out with him.
“Gabe! No!” A sob that doesn’t sound like my own rips through my throat.
Aiden pushes to his feet, lifting Gabe in his arms and holding him as if he weighs nothing.
I should stay back. The fire’s only growing. But I can’t, not for another second. I race to Aiden and Gabe.
The fire truck turns into the parking lot.
“Sarah! No!” Aiden shakes his head, his chest heaving. “Get back.”
There’s a loud whistle, so foreign to my ears I can’t process what it is until I lift my gaze to take in the fear on Aiden’s face.
“Sarah. Run!”
I turn and pump my legs.
BOOM!
Something explodes. I know it does, but I can’t bring myself to look back. Damn it. Tears stream down my cheeks. My chest tightens. I might pass out.
“Medic! Over here!” someone shouts, and only then can I bring myself to turn around.
Aiden is on his knees, surrounded by first responders. Gabe is next to him, limp and motionless. Everything moves so fast. There are too many sounds. Too many flashing lights. I can’t focus. I can’t move.
I don’t know if my son is alive.
His last words echo in my mind.I hate you.
