Well, I’m not completely alone.
She grabbed her phone and picked it up. She went to her contacts and found who she was looking for. Her finger hovered over the name and she considered not dialing it at all. If she did dial it, she wouldn’t have enough self-control not to talk about how she’d just lost her job, and the last thing she needed right now was pity…
She dialed the number and put the phone up to her ear. It had barely rang twice before a cheerful voice on the other end said, “Good evening, honey! Enjoying the weather?”
“I lost my job, Mom,” was all she said.
There was the briefest of pauses and then her mom was crying on the other line, saying, “Oh, no, honey! What happened?”
“It was just a temp position. It’s not a big deal,” Brooke said. “The principal, she gave me a good review. I’ll find a job in no time.”
“But it’s the middle of winter, won’t you need to wait until the next school year?” her mom asked, voicing her worst fear again.
“Yeah, but…”
“And you know that with those temp jobs, you can’t file for unemployment,” she continued. Brooke felt her heart falling further in her chest.
I never should have called her…
“I know,” she lied. It had been what she was hoping on until she found another job.
“Your apartment?”
“I can pay for it,” she lied.
“Your father and I can help if you need,” her mom said. Brooke looked down at the phone and grimaced. Even across the phone line, her mother could always tell when she was lying. It was something Brooke had picked up on as a young kid and something she’d never forgotten, though she often tried to get away with it.
“No, Mom, that’s okay, thanks. I just wanted to let you know.”
“You need help.”
“No. I just wanted to let you know what was going on in my life, is all,” Brooke told her. “How are you and Dad?”
“We’ll be there first thing in the morning.”
“No! What? Why?”
“To help you pack things up. That apartment is awfully expensive, living over on that side of town.”
“But the money I save… It’s so close to work…”
“It’s close to your old job, honey,” her mom said in her soft voice.
“Mom, I really don’t need help. Trust me. I’ll get things under control.”
“Try to pack up as much as you can. We’ll get the rest packed up when we get there. Bright and early. We’ll be there at 7.”
“Mom, no!”
But her mom said, “Goodnight, honey! See you tomorrow! Goodbye.”
And then the line went dead and Brooke sat there completely alone.
She had known calling her mom would be a mistake. She always wanted to help, no matter what. She knew she would want to swoop in and save her only daughter. It was natural. She’d been trying to do it for years.
And I knew if I called, this would happen. Deep in my heart, I called because I need a little help. Just a little.
She hadn’t expected her parents to be driving to her apartment to pack it up and then… Then what?
When we pack up all of my stuff and I move out, where am I going?
Recognition dawned in the pit of her stomach. For a moment, she felt her heart leap and then a sick feeling settled over her.
No…
If they’re trying to move me out of my apartment, I know exactly where I’m going after this. I have to call my mom back and tell her that I won’t. Tell her that I refuse. Tell her thank you, but I can’t let her do that. I can’t.
I can’t.
She knew in her heart that she couldn’t. But she also knew, in the logical part of her brain, that she had no other choice. She couldn’t afford the apartment any longer. She could maybe squeak by on one or two extra months, and that wasn’t including her bills and all of the food she’d need to survive. For a fleeting moment, she thought maybe she could survive on TV dinners and Ramen noodles. She could get rid of cable. She could disconnect the internet. Not run the furnace, for one. Keep all the electricity off until absolutely necessary. Take quick, lukewarm showers.
It wouldn’t be a good life, but it would be life.
And I wouldn’t have to move back in with my parents. They’ve been waiting for this for… For how long? Since I left for college?
I can’t.
And Brooke grimaced. She knew that no matter how much she told herself she couldn’t, she would.
She was moving back in with her parents.
Sam woke slowly. It was still dark outside, so he rolled over and pulled the covers up around his neck, trying to shut out the cold from his freezing apartment. He was resistant to the cold; that didn’t mean he liked it, though.
He opened one eye and glanced at the clock. His phone alarm hadn’t went off yet but he knew it must be about time for him to wake up. In the dark, he couldn’t see it.
Fumbling, one of his hands found his phone. He grabbed it, pulled it off the charger, and brought it to his face. He hit the button on the side to light up the screen – but nothing happened. Confused but suddenly awake, he hit the button again and again. Nothing.
“What…” he asked himself. He looked at the charger, following it, and with dawning horror, he realized somehow, sometime, it had been pulled from the wall outlet. His phone – and his alarm with it – hadn’t been on all night. He jumped to his feet, ignoring the cold, and ran to the clock on the wall. He grabbed it and pulled it down, holding it in front of his face.
It was 6:43. He had only seventeen minutes to make it to the fire department. It was a 30 minute walk. He looked out the window to see darkness. But he could see enough to know that it was still sleeting and it would be a wet and slippery morning.
If I leave now…
Sam ran to his bathroom and grabbed the jeans he’d worn yesterday out of the hamper. He pulled them on as quickly as he could, stopping by the table to grab his keys and wallet. He ignored his cellphone and ran to the door as fast as possible.
As he undid every chain – cursing himself for using so many – he grabbed his coat off the counter next to him. Finally, the door was unlocked and he ran through it, slamming it behind him but not bothering to lock it. After all, the only thing he had in his room was a dead cell phone. If someone wanted to break in, they could have it.
He had to get to the fire department.
He took the stairs two or three at a time, almost stumbling as he did so. But then he was outside and into the cold, the real cold, and the sleet. Sam pulled his coat on as best as he could at a dead sprint. His feet slipped in the ice but he managed to keep his footing.
There were cars going down the street, though they weren’t many. Thankfully, at this time of morning and in this weather, he had the streets mostly to himself. He stretched his legs as fast as he could. A car came barreling past and he barely had enough time to jump out of the icy spray it kicked up.
Splashing in a puddle, Sam came around the corner and saw the fire department. He wasn’t sure what time it was so he put on a fresh burst of speed and ran through the front door.
He glanced at the clock. It was only 6:57. He’d made it with time to spare.
“Where’s your uniform, recruit?” a voice asked from in front of him. The relief that had flooded through him instantly dissipated.
“Uniform?” Sam asked and he already knew just how stupid of a question it was. The other recruits were standing in front of him and they were all wearing their uniforms. With dawning dread, he realized he’d left it sitting there on the table. He remembered grabbing his keys and wallet – they had been sitting right next to the uniform.
“You think we gave it to you so you could leave it at home?”
“No, sir,” Sam immediately answered. McCready looked at him with something that Sam couldn’t fathom. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest wildly. He was sure those standing closest to him could hear it, too, and
sweat poured down his brow.
He heard a door open behind him and felt a rush of cold air. He didn’t dare glance behind him; McCready’s eyes were still boring into his own.
And then McCready said, “I didn’t tell you to bring your uniform in, though it should have been obvious,” and then he turned to whoever was behind him. “But I did tell you to be here at 7. And it’s 7:02.”
“Sorry, sir!” one of the Shifters behind him said. Sam still didn’t turn around even though the Sergeant’s eyes were no longer on his.
“Hand over your uniforms,” McCready ordered.
“What? Sir?”
“Both of you,” McCready growled. And suddenly, Sam felt himself recoiling against the other Shifter. He knew McCready was no-nonsense – he had to be – but he was finally seeing it for the first time.
Sam couldn’t help it. He finally tilted his head ever so slowly to the side to see that two of the other recruits were standing there, swaying slightly.
“And you’re drunk?” McCready hissed, and suddenly he was deadly. He crossed the space between him and the two other Shifters in a few short steps, somehow weaving between the other recruits and passing right by Sam without touching him.
“We were just out celebrating, sir,” the man said. Now all of the recruits were turning to watch the exchange, Sam included. There were two men that he recognized from the day before. They were swaying, red eyed, and though Sam didn’t know if they were still drunk, it was undeniable that they’d been out late having a good time. He couldn’t blame them. He knew that if he had had money, he probably would have done the same thing.
“Celebrating is fine. Coming in here still drunk is not. And coming in late is definitely not.”
“We were only two minutes late, sir. You said it yourself,” the man that was speaking said.
“Two minutes late? Not that big of a deal, right?”
“No, sir.”
“So when you’re on your way to a burning house and there’s a family inside, and they’re trapped, and you’re two minutes late, what happens?”
“Sir?”
“The fire is spreading. They don’t have long to live. They’re trapped upstairs and the smoke is growing thick. They’re thinking about jumping, but it’s a long ways down. And there’s no help. What do they do?”
“Sir, I don’t –”
“They die, or they get hurt, and it’s only two minutes.”
There was silence for a few moments and then the recruit took off his coat and then peeled his recruit shirt off and handed it to McCready.
McCready said, “Keep the pants,” as the recruit started to unbutton them. “And you,” he added to the other Shifter. This man’s eyes blazed like golden fury, yet he ripped off his shirt without a word and then they were both gone through the door, another cold breeze blowing in.
“Then there were ten,” one of the other guys muttered under his breath. McCready shot him a look but didn’t say anything.
“You may think that was harsh,” the Sergeant said, moving back to stand in front of them. “But here at the Forest, we don’t take anyone that takes any of this for granted.” He shot Sam a glare but his gaze moved around to the rest of the recruits. “Coming in here after celebrating wasn’t their problem. Everyone celebrates, and when we do celebrate, we celebrate hard. But we – I – won’t tolerate anyone who doesn’t take other’s time seriously. Two minutes may seem like nothing but it’s often the difference between life and death. If you can’t appreciate that, then hand over your uniform now and get out of here.”
No one moved. Sam barely even breathed and those around him were doing the same.
“The only reason you’re still here is because you respected that time,” McCready said, looking straight at Sam. Sam nodded slightly. “But if it happens again, you will be gone.” Sam nodded again, more firmly this time.
“So there’s only ten of you left,” McCready was saying, continuing on like crushing the dreams of two men was nothing to him. “As I’m sure you know, we have no qualms with cutting anyone who doesn’t meet our standards. The Forest is legendary and we have a status to uphold. Anyone who can’t meet that will be gone just as fast as the other two.”
“Yes, sir,” some of the recruits muttered.
“So, you may be wondering why you’re here at 7 in the morning. We have a sort of test for new recruits around here. It’s nothing serious – you won’t be cut if you fail. Follow me.”
Sam followed the others, still in his coat. He hadn’t had time to change out of it. He was last in line and they walked down another hallway, one he hadn’t recognized. The early morning light of a cloudy, rainy, horribly cold January morning shone through the windows.
Then they were outside, breathing the harsh cold air, and Sam was thankful he still had his coat on. They were in the back of the fire department. An old basketball court was in front of them, complete with an ice covered basketball goal.
That wasn’t what drew Sam’s eyes, though. The court itself had been scraped clean. There was no ice and no snow on it besides the sleet that was coming down.
“This is a sort of… endurance event. To see how well you can handle the weather, see how long you can go. Some years are better than others, of course. This year, not so much.”
Sam saw that there were little lanes drawn onto the court with chalk. He counted twelve total.
“All you have to do is run from one end to the other. You don’t have to go fast – you don’t need to go fast. You just need to go for as long as you can. As long as you can go without letting the cold seep into your bones. As long as you can draw breath. Let’s see what you’re made of.”
One of the men ribbed another guy in the ribs and said, “Easy.”
McCready, if he heard him, didn’t say anything.
“Hand over that coat,” he said to Sam. Sam peeled it off and handed it to him. The other recruits were in their uniforms: perfect for this kind of quick action. He was in a ratty t-shirt and a pair of worn jeans. The other recruits were all wearing nice, new boots. He was wearing old shoes, half of their soles falling off. His toes were already wet and frozen.
But he wasn’t going to quit.
Sam was the first to take a lane and start running. He had reached the other end of the court – to be fair, it wasn’t far – before he heard McCready say, “You’re going to let him show you up?” and then the others were running along with him.
He set a slow but steady pace, increasing it only when another recruit was pulled from moving in a fast walk. Others around him blew past him, finishing two complete lengths of the court to his one. He didn’t care. He just kept running, ignoring the cold that was creeping in over him. Sweat was truly pouring down his face and almost freezing. He kept wiping it away before it could.
Sleet was still coming down ever so lightly. It was cold. The early morning sunlight did nothing to pierce the gloom over them.
“Another down!” McCready yelled and then there were only eight. Sam ignored who it was. He kept running, unsure of how long he was going for.
He knew he wasn’t the fastest, or the strongest, or the smarter Shifter there. But he kept reminding himself that he was the most determined, so he kept running, and running, and running until he knew nothing else.
Brooke woke up to a knock at her front door. She moaned and rolled over. She felt as if she’d just gotten to sleep and already she was being woken up.
“Hol’ on!” she yelled at another light knock. It wasn’t a thundering boom, or even an insistent knock, it was just – a light knock, almost polite in its urgency.
She got up, rubbing bleary eyes, and opened the front door. Her mom was standing there, absolutely beaming at her.
“My little girl, all grown up and coming to live with her mom! The stories we have to catch up on!” she said, grabbing Brooke and pulling her into a tight embrace. Brooke knew that her mom hated living in the house without her around. After all, once her two older brothers
and she had left, it was just her mom and dad left at home.
“You say that like it’s a good thing...” Brooke told her, pulling away and trudging over to the coffeepot. She eyed it with one eye and hit the button before collapsing in a chair at the table.
Her mom was already at the fridge, looking for something to cook for breakfast. Brooke watched her, unsure of how anyone could be this cheerful this early in the morning after everything had went so badly. Her mom grabbed some eggs and some bacon and headed towards the stove.
“Where’s Dad?” she managed to ask around a yawn.
“He was called into work today. One of the men he works with passed away unexpectedly in the night. He had to go in early and help keep everything moving forward smoothly.”
“That’s terrible,” Brooke said – and though it was terrible, she didn’t feel as much sadness as she would have expected. For a moment, she wondered if she was a horrible person.
Brooke sat there and watched as her mother cooked for her, something she hadn’t done in years. The smell of frying bacon and eggs filled the apartment. Once the coffee finished, Brooke got to her feet and poured two cups for her and her mother. She sat back down, sipping hers, and looked around the apartment.
She’d been there for around a half of a year. She had rented it just before the start of the school year, anticipating a new life for herself.
How quickly that changed.
Looking around the apartment, Brooke felt a sense of detachment. It was nice – it was really nice – and fully furnished just how she’d wanted it. But it had never felt like home. She wasn’t sure if that was because she’d spent so little time here or if it was because she had been all alone, but she would be lying if she said she would terribly miss it.
But that doesn’t mean I want to move back in with my parents. I said I would never go back. I said that I would always be independent, but here I am, moving back in with my parents.
What has my life come to?
Bear Heat: BBW Fireman Bear Shifter Romance (Firefighter Bears Book 1) Page 2
