Page 6 of When It Burns

THEO

It’s almost 7 o’clock by the time I get out of practice, drive the twenty minutes to my new house, and grab a quick shower. I am just stepping out of the room-sized walk-in shower when I see my phone lighting up with a text.

Margaret: WHY do you have to be such an asshole???

Margaret: We’ve barely been here twenty-four hours. You’ve shown your tail, AND screamed at the closest thing I have to a friend here in town.

Margaret: When I get home you better be ready to figure out a way to make this right.

Sighing I throw my phone on the bed and glance at my chocolate Labrador, Bear, as he stretches across my pillow. “Well bud, what a crappy day. You aren’t mad at me are you?” It was supposed to be a joke but it feels like a slap in the face when he stands up and lays back down, this time with his back to me.

Great. Even my dog thinks I’m an ass.

Grabbing a pair of boxers and old gym shorts out of the top of the box closest to me, I throw them on and start to take inventory of what I have in my room. I planned to tackle a good bit of the unpacking tonight when I got home from work but that was before I’d been assigned to football duty. I enjoyed the practice more than I thought I would. Watching the team work together to complete passes and learn plays made me feel closer to my brother than I have in years.

Leaving Bear stretched across my pillow, I make my way back down the hall and look into the mostly bare refrigerator. Right. In my haste to get away, I also hadn’t gone to the grocery store. Damn it, today really did not go how I planned. I run back to my room and pick up my phone to text my sister.

Me: Yeah, yeah I know I’m the worst.

Me: Where are you?

Me: If you’re coming home from town, would you please bring me something to eat?

I wait for a second and see the dots that signify she’s typing.

Margaret: Are you for real?

Me: Please. I’m hungry and I’ve had a shit day.

Margaret: I don’t have any sympathy for you. All everyone is talking about is how much they hate the new fire chief.

Me: Yeah, yeah. I get it. I’m an asshole. You know, we can’t be liked by everyone.

Margaret: Fine, I hope Bear is willing to share his kibble with you because that sounds like it's as close as you’re gonna get to supper.

Sighing, I take a breath and try not to lose my temper. The worst part is I know she’s right. I never should’ve lost my cool the way I did this morning.

Me: Okay you’re right. I'm sorry. I want to figure out a way to make this right, and I’ll talk to you whenever you get here. But there really isn’t anything to eat at home. Would you please consider bringing me something to keep me from starving?

Margaret: I know there’s nothing at home. Why do you think I came into town? And I’ll bring you something. But you better hope that I don’t put laxatives in it. It’s what you deserve after making us the talk of the town.

Blowing out a breath, I decide to sit on the only piece of furniture and search through the listings of farm animals for sale that Brian acquired for me when I took the job. When I saw the farm property for sale, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Since I’d started with a fire station when I was eighteen, I’d managed to save enough for the down payment on the fifty-acre property.

When Brian offered me the job and the property fell into place, I started feeling like my life might be starting to take a turn for the better. I should have known that it wouldn’t take long for me to screw it up. Lo and behold, after barely twenty-four hours in Springside, at least five thousand of the six thousand residents currently hate me.

Sighing, I wait for Margaret to make her appearance. I should have known in a town as small as this one that she would make friends with the woman I yelled at earlier today. As I wait, I scroll through Instagram trying to decide how to apologize for my behavior. Coming into this job with my age and new status in town, I’d thought coming on strong was my best option for proving I was serious, but I can see now where that was a major mistake.

Finally, I see headlights coming up our long driveway. After a minute, Margaret makes her way into the house. “Have I mentioned you are a major ass?”

Sighing and running my hand through my hair, I reply, “You think I don’t already know that? Are you gonna help me fix it?”

Margaret looks at me with a sneer before softening her facial expression. “I really should leave you to clean up the mess you made but since I know how seriously you take your job, and the fact I’m sort of tied to the town dickface at the moment, I guess I will help you figure something out.”

She takes out her phone and starts typing away. Getting frustrated I snap at her, “I thought you were helping me. What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m inviting my new friends over for dinner tomorrow night. You better figure out how to grovel between now and then.”

CHAPTER FIVE

---