by Kayla Grey
Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
About The Author
This novella is dedicated to my amazing husband, who has supported me no matter what.
And to my friends and family, who I couldn’t have done this without.
Thank you to all who has supported me!
CHAPTER ONE
I JERK AWAKE to the sound of coughing, and the thick stench of smoke. A thunderous roar fills my ears as an ocean of black clouds cover the ceiling. Rolling out of bed, I stay low as I head to the silhouetted bedroom door. Warmth exudes from the cracks around the door. Placing the back of my hand along the wood, I feel the heat seep into my skin. Shit! Slamming the door, I bound for the bed and pull Autumn to my chest. I snatch a blanket off a nearby chair, dosing it in the water from my nightstand. Covering her with it, I race us out of the house. My heart constricts as I ignore the faint screams in the distance.
The moment we’re outside I cough and gasp, my lungs burning from the tinged air. The grass is cool beneath my feet as I run us away from the house. I stop at the edge of the property placing Autumn down and pulling the blanket away from her face. “Breathe. Baby, try and breathe.”
She coughs and gasps trying to clear her smoke filled lungs. “My family.” She chokes out.
“Stay here. I’ll get them.” Kissing her forehead, I run back to the house.
Dread fills my chest as the orange and yellow flames grow consuming the house. If I hadn’t heard the screaming from inside earlier, above the roaring flames, I would assume no one was alive. Heat burns my skin, the hair on my arms and chest curling as I reach the stoop. The porch bows under each hurried step I take. The sounds of banging and screaming ring through the fire urging my steps to be faster.
“Nathan! Janet!” I shout running back towards the master bedroom. My feet hurt from blisters, and my lungs burn. My skin feels too tight. It’s almost unbearable to move, but I don’t stop.
“Back here!” They scream in unison.
My gaze searches the living room and kitchen for anything I can use to help them, but I can’t focus. The floor heats beneath me, the ceiling caving in a mere feet in front of me. Their screams fade and choke out. Either from the pain searing in my head or… No, I it’s too early to think like that. Unable to run through the house, I propel myself back through the front door just before the floor collapses. Sounds of splintering wood and shattering glass fill my ears. My feet hit the grass just as the porch crumbles behind me. Silently, I pray that her family made it out the back, or through a window.
Orange and yellow billow out of the doors and windows. My eyes catch Autumn still at the edge of the property, and flashing lights in the distance. Knowing she’s safe, I launch myself toward the back of the house. Time seems to slow. The rapid dancing flames consuming our family’s home in a whirlwind of flashing color. I keep my focus on the hope that our family is still alive. My heart races. I bound around the house with a bit of hope they made it out alive, but come around the corner there’s nothing but emptiness. My gaze combs the backyard, then over the house again.
Suddenly, a hand slaps against an un-shattered window. I sprint towards the window only to get blown back. I have a split second to cover my face, before glass and flames launch toward me. Landing on my back, I jerk back to the flame engulfed home. The only pain I feel fills my chest. There are no screams. No cries. No movement beyond the fire. My mouth drops open as a darkness fills me. All she has left is me. How can I tell her I couldn’t save them?
Sounds of sirens and people gathering float through the air. I hear my name being yelled faintly in the distance. Dashing back around the house, I catch the sight of Autumn flailing her arms until they suddenly fall. Then a man is lifting my her into the ambulance.
Fear surges through me as the doors to the back of the truck begin to close. “Stop!” I shout sprinting in their direction. Firemen run past, trying to stop me and ask me if I’m okay, but I just ignore them and push them out of my way.
A man’s head pops out of the back of the ambulance, he thrusts his palm into my chest to stop me as I grip the handle of the truck. “Sorry sir, family only.”
“Bullshit! Get out of the way.” I snap, slapping his hand away from me.
“Family. Only.” He say’s more firmly, his voice a deep baritone.
Narrowing my gaze, I grit my teeth. “I’m her fiancé. Now get out of my way.”
The man’s gaze slits, the lines of his face are serious as he opens his mouth to say something, then snaps it shut.
“Luke, it’s fine.” A softer, male voice sounds from inside the truck. Luke rolls his eyes and huffs before opening the door, further allowing me to climb in.
Shoving Luke aside, I immediately take the seat next to Autumn. Taking her hand in mine, I kiss her forehead. Her eyes flutter open locking with mine, a tear trickling down her cheek. Leaning down, my lips brushing her ear I whisper. “I’m sorry, baby. I tried…” She sniffles as if sensing where I was going and kisses my knuckles.
“They won’t tell you anything once we get there. Family only.” Luke says with an arrogant tone.
I stare down into her beautiful, dark, green eyes, thankful I got her out in time. Damn this guy keeps pushing. “I’m the only family she has left.”
CHAPTER TWO
“WE’LL NEED YOU to fill some forms out when we get to the hospital, sir.” The man with the softer voice says.
Luke thrusts a clipboard at me. His gaze snaps to his partner, the corner of his lips curving down. His partner shrinks back shrugging.
Autumn’s eyes close, but the beeping on the machine speeds up. “Shut up? You’re stressing her out.”
They turn their attention to the monitors. Luke checks her pulse as the other man pulls out a small black case. I want to ask what’s going on, when her heart beat falls off. They spring into action.
“What’s happening?” I finally ask watching Luke’s partner pull paddles.
“She’s not getting enough oxygen.” Luke snaps as he tears the top of her shirt.
“I don’t understand.”
Luke places the paddles on her chest and yells “Clear.” Her chest pops up then collapses against the bed. The monitor spikes, then drops off again. They wait a second before jolting her again. I watch, my blood pumping, as her chest lifts then falls against the gurney.
Leaning down I whisper, “You can’t die on me. I need you too much.”
They hit her again. This time it sticks. The monitor beeps in a normal rhythm. “Keep an eye on her oxygen levels.” Luke’s partner says over his shoulder as he cranks the oxygen tank a bit higher.
Relief floods through me. Her eyes connect with mine and a soft smile curves her ashen lips. “I love you.” She whispers hoarsely through the oxygen mask.
We pull up to the hospital a few minutes later. The back of the ambulance flies open allowing a rush of cool air into the back. The nurses help Luke and his partner pull Autumn out safely, then quickly wheel her inside.
“Sir, you need to come with us!” A nurse urges grabbing my arm.
“I’m not leaving her!”
“We need to make sure you are okay! You have to come with us!” Another nurse says more forcefully, running next to us.
“Go away!” I snap, ripping my ar
m from her hold.
A few more nurses appear grabbing my arm, and trying to push me into my own room. I shove them aside. Ripping myself from their grasps, I run after Autumn, catching up a second later.
Running along side her, I hold her hand and the rail tight. The nurses continue their feeble attempts to pull me away as we race through the hall. I shove them aside and ignore their plea’s and commands to wait outside. I almost lost her tonight, I’m not leaving her.
They wheel her to a stop in front of a room. Lazily, she moves the mask down and away from her face. Luke’s partner jumps into action to put it back but she bats him away. She crooks her finger at me to lean forward. Straining her neck up, her lips connect with mine. I chuckle softly and wrap my arms around her pulling in for more.
“Sir, you shouldn’t do that.” Luke says pushing me away from her.
I glare at him, but the heat from her hand on my bare chest distracts me enough not to yell. Laying her back down, Luke places the mask back on her face and tells her to try and rest. The nurses and emergency doctors, wheel her into the room, blocking me from going inside.
“Sir, we will have to ask you to wait here. We have several tests to run. She will be a little while. Someone will be out to get you when we're finished. You should really be checked out yourself.” The doctor says eyeing me before disappearing behind the double doors.
I stand staring after the doctor a moment longer than I want. “Are you always this frustrating?” I ask Luke, who’s still standing with me, watching her through the little windows.
Luke’s mouth curves with an arrogant smirk, “Only with obstinate folk.”
I walk down the hall, my mind fuzzy. After a moment, I turn a corner and spot the nurses station, just beyond the doors we came through, and head their way. A petite blonde girl blushes as I approach. She must be doing her residency because she can’t be more than early twenties.
“How can I help you, sir?” Her eyes sparkle a pale blue.
“Do you have a phone I may use?”
“Of course!” Her cheeks turn a deep shade of red. She grabs the phone off the desk and places it on the counter. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
I nod, and turn my attention to the phone, quickly dialing Mark’s cell. It rings twice before he picks up. “Yes, sir?”
“I’m at Ronald Reagan UCLA. There was an incident.”
“I’ll be right there, sir. Do you need anything?”
“Clothes. But you can’t pick any up.” Not sure where he is going to find clothes this late.
“No worries, sir. I have a spare bag for you.” Mark says over the sudden noise, and a car door slamming shut. “I’ll be there shortly. Anything I need to know?”
I peer over my shoulder, catching the blonde and her red headed friend giggling, blushing, and stealing looks my direction. “Yes, we will discuss when you get here though.”
The call disconnects. Handing it back to the little blonde, I turn toward the double doors to find two large male nurses and two security guards waiting for me. Too spent to fight anymore, I follow them to my own room.
CHAPTER THREE
I’M ARGUING WITH the police when Mark finally shows up, a black leather duffle in hand. “Excuse me a moment.” I tell the police then turn my attention to Mark as he enters the room.
Mark hands me the duffle and before he has a chance to ask anything I take off towards the tiny restroom. I can’t wait to be rid of these clothes. A shower would be preferable, but not walking in nothing but lounge pants is good enough, especially since the stink of smoke and burnt flesh cling to me like cologne.
The moment I’m inside the restroom, I lock the door behind me tossing the bag on the counter. Ignoring my reflection, knowing my chestnut hair is disheveled, I splash water on my face feeling the stubble along my jaw. As the water cascades down, the sink turns a faded gray. Was there really that much smoke? Scrubbing my hands along my face, I can almost feel a layer of grit. Turning the water on full, I dunk my head under the faucet trying to let the smoke and shambles wash away.
When I look up I feel a little more like myself, minus the appearance of heart strickening grief. The fear that something could have happened to her makes my breath catch in my throat, but I can’t focus on that. Opening the bag, I find a small towel and dark jeans, an ice blue button down, and shoes. Grateful for Mark’s foresight, I dry my hair and dress quickly, eager to get back to the police.
Mark meets me as I emerge and hands me a phone. “When you called from the hospital, I figured you didn’t have yours.”
“Thank you Mark.” I squeeze his shoulder giving him a faint smile. Scrolling through the phone, I can see that its a complete clone of my last one. Something I had asked him to start doing, just in case.
“Should we discuss—”
“Not yet. I need to talk to the police first.” I say pocketing the new phone. Mark nods, and follows me back to the waiting room.
“Please excuse me for running off.”
“It’s not a problem, sir. I’m sure you weren’t comfortable the way you were dressed.” The policeman says over the giggling girls at the nurses station.
“Thank you for understanding.” I shut the door, blocking us from the blushing nurses so we can talk. “Can you tell me anything about the fire?”
“Well, sir, we are still looking into what caused it. But form what the fire department has determined so far it started in the kitchen. We won’t know anything else for at least a day or two, if not longer.” He says looking down at his notepad.
“That doesn’t make sense. How would it start in the kitchen?” I think back to before we went to bed, trying to think if anything was left on. But I can’t think of anything.
“We will hopefully know more in the morning.”
“Has the fire been taken care of?” I ask instead of the real question I need confirmed.
“Of course. Took a while, but it’s out.”
“Did they, did they find anyone else in the house?”
The officer’s eyes finally meet mine. The dark brown color bores into me filling me with the same dread I felt earlier. He doesn’t have to say anything, but I know he will. “I am sorry, sir. They did recover four bodies. Two appear to be male, and two female. I’m not sure we will be able to identify them due to the damage they incurred. I know this is a lot to process, sir. But in the morning, would you help us identify them?”
I sink to the floor, no longer able to control my body. “Nathan and Janet, uh Autumn’s parents. The other, the other two are, were, her brother and sister, Jonah and Lena. I tried. I had hoped.”
“You did what you could. You got you and your fiancée out of the house. There is nothing wrong with that. You did the right thing, sir.”
I know the officer is trying to be comforting, but it’s just not working. I promised to protect her and her family. I failed. Her family lies among the ashes, their burned bodies scarring themselves across my mind. I focus on Autumn. I don’t know what kind of danger she could be in right now. I should have been faster. I should have smelled the smoke sooner. I should have checked the damn smoke detectors. I should have held on to her and went after her family as well.
“I know what you’re thinking, sir.” Mark says coming up next to me. “You can’t blame yourself. If the situation would have played out in any other way, you all would have been lost.”
“Thank you for your help officer. Please keep me informed with anything you find out. Mark can give you all my information.” I shake hands with the officer as the doctor appears near the nurses station.
“How is she?” I ask the moment I’m within earshot of him.
His hard light green brown connect with mine. “She will be all right. I’m not sure how long she had been inhaling the smoke but it really did some damage. Her oxygen levels are really low and she will need to remain here for observations.”
“Can I see her?”
“Soon. Right now she is still heavily sed
ated. She woke up in the middle of her MRI and had a panic attack. We had no choice.” He adds as if sensing my confusion. “She should be awake in just a bit and then you can see her. I just want you to be aware though that it is not uncommon for there to be severe repercussions from smoke inhalation.”
“I understand. I will do whatever is necessary to take care of her.”
I catch the faintest smirk crosses his lips before leveling back out. “That’s what we like to hear from loved ones.”
He grabs a chart from the blonde nurse and once again disappears behind the doors. A wave of unease surfaces. Something isn’t right. Turning back to where I left Mark and the officer, I’m met with an empty waiting room. The glass doors to the emergency room slide open as Mark walks back in.
“Mark,” I walk over, veering him away from the nurses station. “I need you to start looking into the fire. The officer said that it started in the kitchen. Make sure it’s true.”
“Yes, sir. Anything else?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know. For now, start there.” I want to look into this hospital along with the staff, but I’m not sure that is justified at the moment. Something tells me there is more going on here than what’s being led on, but I have no proof.
“She will be okay.” Mark says placing his hand on my arm. “I will start looking into this, but I’m not leaving until you are ready to go.”
I nod, but stay silent. Nausea filling my belly as my mind runs through all the horrific things that have happened. Mark settles into one of the corners and gets to work. I resume my rhythmic pacing attempting to convince myself that I’m being paranoid and everything will be fine. She is safe and alive. That is all that matters to me.
CHAPTER FOUR
“SIR,” A SOFT female voice rings in my ears drawing me out of my sleep. “Dr. Morris is ready to see you.”
My gaze follows her back to the station where the doctor from earlier waits patiently. Shaking the sleep and crick in my neck away, I walk over to the doctor. “Dr. Morris, my apologies.”