Page 25 of Autumn Leaves and Pumpkins Please

“I’m guessing he told you about his past,” Teaganne comments.

I nod my head. “Yes, about Bradee, Sam, and the fire. I can’t even imagine how that must have felt. Getting the backstory definitely helped me make sense and understand him better.”

“I’m glad you two found each other,” Warbee comments.

“Me, too.”

As we finish eating, the sounds of sirens flood into the bar with us, drowning out the music. Everyone falls silent. Cooper, one of the local cops jumps up and rushes to the door. Timber hollers, “What happened?”

“Fire at Clark’s building.” Cooper’s eyes swing to mine. “Capri, don’t you live there?”

Everything in my body freezes. The only thing I can manage to do is nod. I hear the commotion around me as Teaganne rushes to pay Timber and Warbee pulls me from my chair and ushers me to Teaganne’s car. I can’t make sense of anything as the tears painfully clog my throat. The smoke flows into the night sky. I feel like it’s clogging my very own lungs even though I’m nowhere near it. Everything I own is in that apartment. Thora is in that apartment. My heart pounds erratically.

As we pull up, there are so many onlookers, fire trucks, and police cars that we have to park blocks away. We jog towards the alley where even more commotion is taking place. I rush towards Cooper. “My cat is in the apartment.”

He nods. “I’ll notify them. Do you know if Ella Mae was home?”

I shake my head. “I haven’t been here all day, but her car isn’t here.”

My eyes roam as the firefighters rush inside. I can hear them yelling. “He just ran in there. He grabbed my mask and took off. I didn’t even have time to try and stop him.”

Confusion and panic as the sinking feeling of who they could be talking about takes over. Warbee and Teaganne have caught up to me. Both of them rub soothing circles on my back. I continue to scan the area and that’s when I notice Whitney and Everett standing off to the side watching the flames dance against the night sky. Whitney is sobbing. I rush forward. “Where’s Jayse?”

Everett’s eyes go wide. Whitney stutters unable to say anything. “He’s inside. He went after you.”

“What? Why?” I scream.

“Your car was here; your phone was off. He thought you were trapped,” Everett says.

My phone had died while at the spa. I spin around and take off as fast as I can towards the building. Screaming his name over and over. A pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist to hold me back. They’re wrong. They’re not his arms. The skin is too smooth as I try to push him away. I scream Jayse’s name until my voice goes hoarse and finally, I collapse onto the ground. Cooper, the one who stopped me, goes to the ground with me. Broody, tortured, afraid of fire Jayse ran into the burning building because of me, for me. In this moment, I know my heart found its home, but I don’t know if it’ll still be there when the flames die out.

TWENTY-TWO

Jayse

Brightness tries to break through my sleep, the light trying to break through my eyelids. My head pounds, body aches from something I can’t remember. Taking a deep breath, my chest feels tight and I begin to cough. The smell of antiseptic and cleaner fills my nose. Definitely not my house. No, this place smells like a medical facility. Something heavy and warm is on my right hand. I lift my eyelid slightly and peek through. Capri.

Everything floods back at one time.

Arriving home to the smell of smoke. Everett pulling in behind me after hearing a fire being called in on the scanner for Clark’s building. My heart stopping completely because it felt like the whole world had stopped spinning on its axis. As I rushed around my house with Everett on my heels, the flames were on the bottom floor of Capri’s building. Whitney jogged down the alley. I heard her say something about being on her way home and heard about the fire, so she came in case they needed help.

I scan the area and easily notice Capri’s car sitting in its parking space. I’m just about to dart across the alley, when Everett grabs my arm, yanking me back. I spin around to face him, my hands balled into fists. Just as I’m about to let them fly, the ear-piercing sounds of fire truck sirens fill the quiet night. That sound used to be second nature to me, but right now it feels completely foreign. I watch as the fire truck parks and my previous co-workers begin to file out, dressed in gear and rushing to handle their given tasks. Something twists in my gut. A familiarity, a yearning to be part of that formation once more. Some part of me knows they are moving as fast as they can, but it feels like they move in slow motion.

Everett and Whitney's heads are close together, obviously discussing something. My heart feels like it’s trapped inside that building. My eyes roam once more trying to find Capri, but I don't spot her anywhere. Without another thought I grab a discarded mask and rush forward. I hear people hollering for me, but I just move faster. I’m breaking every safety protocol I’ve ever been taught, but it doesn’t matter. I can’t let what happened to Bradee and Sam happen to Capri. I just can’t.

The heat from the fire hits me immediately. My skin burns and aches, sweat covers every part of my body within a moment's time. I rush forward carefully to avoid the biggest of flames. I take the stairs two at a time as I head up to Capri’s apartment. It’s smoky on the second floor but the flames haven’t reached this high yet. Her front door is locked so I stand back and kick at it until it starts to give. Finally, the wood cracks. Movement from downstairs is heard but I don’t know if the building is caving to the fire’s anger or if it’s the firefighters, I used to call brothers. Once I’m inside, I pull the mask off my face. The smoke chokes me instantly. If Capri is up here, there’s a good chance she’s unconscious from smoke inhalation. Inside my chest my heart slams around erratically. Something orange darts across the floor towards me. Thora. I scoop her into my arms and move further into the apartment. There’s no sign of Capri. The heat has become more predominant which means the fire is closer to the top floor now. In Capri’s art corner I see a picture. The colors draw me closer because they mimic that of a fire. In the middle is a faceless man, shirtless, and scarred with huge bird wings coming out from behind him. Longer hair dances around the missing face. It’s a Phoenix rising from the flames of the fire. It’s me as a Phoenix. That’s how she sees me. This woman has my heart, but I may never get the chance to tell her. She’s clearly not here so I rush back towards the front door with Thora in my arms, but the stairwell is consumed by the flames as they dance the deadly dance, as they make their way up the stairs. Quickly, I move back towards the window. The heat is insane. My lungs and eyes burn, but I dropped the mask somewhere and I have no clue where it is.

I drop to my knees and crawl towards the window. I’m almost there when I see a ladder appear. Thora is barely moving in my arms, but I still cling to her. My body is growing heavy with exhaustion and lack of oxygen. My mind swims until I can’t take it anymore. I collapse on the floor. Apologizing to Capri and Thora.

As I open my eyes, I take in the room around me. I’m definitely in the hospital. Capri is here so she’s alive. My body sags in relief. Slowly, my free hand moves to stroke the silky strands of her hair. Capri stirs and her large seafoam green eyes look up at me. Moisture instantly builds, cascading down her cheeks. “Jayse,” she says, in a hoarse whisper.

“Hey there, Bright Eyes.” My voice is as hoarse as hers. I give her a smile and she stands up, launching herself into my arms. Her arms wrap around my neck as the sobs wrack her body. I pull her closer, never wanting to let her go again.

“I thought we lost you. When they pulled you out of the window you weren’t moving.” Her voice hiccups and I hate myself for scaring her so badly.

I pull her back and cup her face with my hands. “I’m here. I’m okay.”

“Why’d you run in there? You could have gotten killed.”

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