Page 101 of Sol
Lulu bent down to talk to her. “No sé, mija. Vamos a ayudarte buscarla.” She didn’t know, but she’d help her findher.
“Lu, while you help her, I’m going to go find Trent. He was supposed to meet me here.” I tried not to screech in panic, my stomach hard likegranite.
“Okay. Keep your phoneon.”
I wrapped her in a big hug. Lulu took off with the little girl, holding her hand, calling for hermother.
Turning down the street by my apartment, I glimpsedTrent.
Oh, thankGod.
My muscles weakened, and my walk got unsteady. He saw me and sprinted over, wrapping me in his arms. “Dani!”
“Trent!” I sobbed. “Oh my God, Trent. You are the best thing I could eversee!”
He held me up before my legs gave way, and I slumped in his arms. I hadn’t realized how fragile I felt in the confusion of smoke, debris, andpeople.
That turmoil continued around us, but I felt safer in his warm, comforting arms. His familiar clean smell, his soft clothes, his scratchy chin all meanthome.
“Are you okay?” he asked in his low voice against the top of myhead.
“Yeah. I think so. I’m scared, and I don’t know what’s goingon.”
“Me neither. I think we need to get out ofhere.”
He pulled away and gestured at my Band-Aid. “What happened to you? Do we need to see adoctor?”
“No. I just cut my forehead on someglass.”
“Do you needstitches?”
“I don’t think so. We can check when we gethome.”
Studying my head for a moment more as if evaluating whether he needed to load me in an ambulance, he seemed to satisfy himself that I was telling the truth. I wasn’t badly hurt. Not physically, anyway. “Okay,” was all hesaid.
“Let’s get out of here.” I tugged his hand. We started walking in the direction of my apartment, away from thesmoke.
Another siren went by. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, gripping me tight, but he didn’t flinch. It was like he was so focused on keeping me up that it overrode hisreactions.
“Did you come here with Lulu? Is sheokay?”
“Yes. She’s helping a little girl who lost hermother.”
“Fuck.”
“She’s going to text me when they’rereunited.”
He nodded. “Good,good.”
We kept walking toward my apartment, then turned the corner where we were shielded from the smoke. Fewer people were aroundus.
“What happened?” Iasked.
“I don’t know. Some sort of explosion. Let’s go to your place. Getinside.”
My phone buzzed with a text from Lulu.We found the little girl’s mother, and she’s all safe. I’m goinghome.
“Oh, thank God.” I showed the text to Trent. Relief registered across his face, the furrow in his brow smoothing and his jawloosening.
