Page 43 of When It Burns

“Nope, none. What about you?” I ask, dropping a quick kiss to his lips.

“Sunshine if you change your mind you are gonna have to kick me out. I don't plan on going anywhere,” he says, kissing me again.

“Good,” I say, pulling away a bit and trying to make sure I don’t look too disheveled. “Now, I am going to go back and finish my margaritas. Give me a kiss, and I will text you when I get home tonight.”

“Yes ma’am,” he says before kissing me again and pulling back to straighten his cowboy hat. He reaches out and spanks my ass lightly before he says, “Go have fun, but later this week, you’re mine.”

“Yes, sir,” I say, shooting him a wink and racing back towards the restaurant before he can convince me to do anything else in this parking lot. That damn man.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

THEO

Like always, my first thought when I wake up is that it’s much hotter than it should be. In my groggy state, I first think that the air conditioner must have broken, but I quickly realize that this heat is way different from a normal Alabama night.

It's dark when I open my eyes, but I can feel the heat on my face. I look around and notice the gap under the door shows a bright light and smoke is billowing up through the gap. Coming to terms with what’s going on I scramble out of bed and start screaming for my siblings. Calling out for my parents. Looking for a way out of my bedroom. I grab for the door, but the knob burns my hand warning me not to open it. I cough and sputter still trying to yell out for anyone that could help me. But help isn’t coming. My heart races out of my chest and I continue screaming “MOM, DAD. HELP ME! JAKE!!!! MARGARET!!!”

All of a sudden, I hear a small voice screaming, “Theo, please help me. Theo! Theo!”

My panic reaches a new level when I recognize the voice. It’s Caroline.

“CAROLINE! Where are you?” I shout, coughing through the smoke filling the room.

“Help me, Theo!” Caroline screams again, and I see her form huddled on the floor across the room. I take a step to run after her, but as soon as I do, she and the rest of the house become engulfed in the flames, and I am in the dark.

“Theo! Theo! Wake up! Theo! I need you to wake up!” I hear as I jerk awake. As I come to my senses I realize Margaret is banging on my locked door.

I leap up and grab the door, and almost fall over when Margaret launches herself at me.

“Oh my gosh, Theo, are you okay? You’ve been screaming for forever! I thought I was going to have to break the door down,” my sister says, and when she looks at me I see that she has tears in her eyes.

I blow out a breath and wipe the sweat from my brow while she scrutinizes me. “You were yelling for Caroline. Was this dream different?” Margaret asks, examining my face to make sure I am okay.

“Yeah,” I say simply.

She nods at me and hugs me quickly before she says, “I am here if you need to talk.”

With that, she wipes the tears from her eyes and squeezes my hand before heading back to her room.

I walk to the bathroom, trying to even out my breathing, and throw some cold water on my face. My heart is still racing and no matter how many times I tell myself none of that dream is real, I can’t seem to calm down.

Feeling like I am out of options, I grab my phone, needing to hear Caroline’s voice. Nothing has gone right this week. I’ve been desperate for more of her since teasing her Monday night, but our schedules haven’t lined up thanks to me needing to make sure everything is ready for the new animals to come this weekend, and our sports schedules.

When I go to unlock the screen, I realize it’s 3 a.m. on Thursday. I don’t want to wake her, so instead I decide to go with another option. Without giving myself time to change my mind, I go to Huey’s number and send him a text knowing he won’t see it until after he gets up.

Me: Hey Huey, if the offer still stands, I will meet you tonight.

Part of me still craves Caroline’s voice, but the other part of me doesn’t want to share this broken part of myself with her. What if she hears about the group and thinks differently about me? What if she realizes she’s way too good for me? I know that she will come to that realization soon enough on her own, so she really doesn’t need the help from me.

I decide to take a shower and try to push the nightmare far from my mind. After standing in the hot spray for a while, I get out and lay in the bed, watching the fan turn since I am afraid I will have the same dream again. Around five, I give up and decide to go for a run around the property. As I am lacing up my running shoes, I hear my phone buzz with a text.

Huey: Sure. I’ll pick you up at 6 tonight.

I sigh and tuck my phone into my pocket deciding to try to outrun my past for a little while longer.

* * *

By the time5:30 rolls around, I have almost canceled on Huey six times. But every time I go to grab my phone, I remember why I am going to this group. I want to be the best version of myself that I can be for Caroline. She deserves a whole hell of a lot more than me, but I have to try.

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