Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59120 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59120 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
My heart scrapes the inside of my chest. I keep going, and going, and going, as if one more block, one more mile, and I’ll finally outrun the parts of me that still belong to him.
“Mom,” I say, voice trembling as I rush through the front door to my apartment, slamming the door behind me. “Did you see the news? Travis is in hospital. It’s bad.”
She freezes, shirt halfway into her suitcase. She has been visiting for the last week and is leaving tomorrow to go home. After Gran passed, she purchased a house a few hours away, but often comes into the city to stay with me.
Her breath catches as she straightens. “What happened?”
I sink onto the edge of the bed. “There was a fire, he went in to save some people. I don’t know if he was burned, or what has happened, all I saw was that he is in critical condition.”
“Oh honey,” she says, sitting down beside me. “Can we find out more information? I can call your dad?”
I nod, turning to her. “Would you do that?”
She nods and pulls her phone from her back pocket, hands already shaking, tapping Chief’s number with a look on her face that makes me feel bad for asking. The line rings once, twice, and I can see her swallowing repeatedly. I am quite certain in her mind, she is praying it will go to voicemail, but on the third ring, a voice picks up, sandpapered and cautious, like it’s never forgotten how familiar they once were.
“Mandy,” he rasps. Not Amanda. Never Amanda.
She exhales, tries to find her footing. “It’s me.” The words are too raw. She takes a moment to find her composure. “I saw the news about Travis. Is he...” She lets the question hang, and I hold my breath, scared that the next words might be ones I really don’t want to hear.
Chief is quiet for a long, long time. “He’s alive. They found him on the second floor. Smoke inhalation, but that wasn’t what caused the problem. The floor collapsed. He went through it. Internal injuries, bleeding. He’s in surgery now.”
“Oh, no.”
“Is she there, Mandy?”
I know he’s talking about me.
I hold my breath, meeting my mom’s gaze. I shake my head.
I can’t.
I just can’t.
“Not right now, but she took it hard.”
Chief is silent again. “Tell her she should come home, they said depending on the injuries, it could be serious enough to pose a risk to his life. The past is one thing, but if he ever mattered, she should see him.”
Then, just like that, he’s gone.
Mom turns to me, her eyes welling with unshed tears. “He’s right, honey. If...”
“If he dies,” I finish for her, my voice tight.
She nods. “You should go.”
“I don’t know,” I hesitate, “I don’t know if I can face them all.”
She takes my hand. “I understand, I do, but you’ve buried it too long. It’s time for you to face this.”
Tears fill my eyes. “I don’t know if I am strong enough.”
She cups my chin. “You’re stronger than you know. This is your chance. Go home, see Travis—even if it’s just to say goodbye. Face your father. Close this chapter. You will never truly be whole until you do.”
“I know you’re right, but I am terrified.”
She pulls me into a hug. “You are a fighter, my girl. You’ll do it because you’re better than all of us combined.”
I swallow hard. “Okay.”
She nods, standing. “Call your work, take some time off. If they won’t give it to you, then you quit. Your job is replaceable. Travis is not. Take Reagan. Go home. Figure it out from there...”
“She might not be able to come,” I say, hesitant.
I’m wrong.
Twenty minutes later, Reagan is busting through my front door with a suitcase dragging behind her. She won’t take any chance to miss a road trip, and she just quit her job so right now, she’s as free as a bird. I own my apartment; after Gran died, Mom made sure I had something I could own, so I can just lock it up for now and leave it.
I called my boss; she was happy for me to take a month and then let her know what I want to do.
It’s all falling into place, a little too easily.
I try not to see that as any kind of sign.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Reagan asks, leaning against the doorframe.
I exhale. “No. But I will never forgive myself if something happens to him and I don’t go...”
She slides a hand onto mine. “We’ll do it, for Travis.”
I nod. “For all of it.”
Within an hour, we are in the car, my hands curled around the wheel, staring at the closed garage. Mom has left, and now it’s just Reagan and me, ready to face something I honestly thought I wouldn’t have to face again.