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the very least, crumbled to dust
under the weight. It was probably a good thing I was Gabby’s Keeper
and had some kind of mystical protection, though I still didn’t
fully understand what that meant. I just hoped Jenna never had to
go through all the trials and pains I already had. If I could, I’d
go through them for her. Between the battles, the hospitals,
multiple deaths, the healing, and the wild, crazy media, I hadn’t
seriously considered the idea that things could get any worse, even
though all signs had been pointing that direction for some time.
What was that saying again? Everything that can go wrong will?
Yeah. That described my life a little too perfectly.
    And then—drum roll
please—my ex-girlfriend showed up. Sara’s visit was mild compared
to everything else, but I had yet to truly grasp how certifiable
she really was. How should I have known she would return to get
revenge on me—she was the one who’d forced herself into my home,
not the other way around. What was that other phrase? The one about
a woman scorned? Warning fully comprehended, acknowledged, and
memorized. I’d never make that mistake again.
    Everything I’d worked so
hard for was now ash. My home, my car . . . it was all gone. Hell,
I didn’t even have an extra pair of boxer-briefs. For some reason,
that last thought made it seem all the more devastating. As I
watched the flames devour what was left of my home, I thought of
all the things I was losing. I didn’t completely understand how
much stuff I’d amassed over the years until I started the inventory
in my head. The small things were what really got to me, like my
World’s Best Uncle mug, the boxes of birthday and Christmas cards,
or the stacks of photos sitting in the garage. I didn’t even have a
toothbrush. What kind of insanity was that?
    The frame of my house
crashed to the ground, shrinking with each second that passed, the
wild flames refusing to be tamed by the torrent of water.
Everything I’d known for years was disappearing before my eyes. I
was in shock, though that word didn’t adequately describe the
emotions I felt. Even through all of this, I was lucky. I
automatically sought out my family, releasing a sigh of relief that
they had made it out without a single burn or scorched lung. I
didn’t know when I’d started to think of Firen as family, but she
undoubtedly was. She’d woven her way into my life just as easily as
Gabby and Jenna had.
    Jules had fallen asleep in
my arms sometime between four and five in the morning. Even though
my arms were tired and sore from her weight, I couldn’t let her go.
A blanket covered her from head to toe, and her head was tucked
into my neck. She felt like my daughter, and I knew I couldn’t hold off on the
adoption conversation with Jenna any longer.
    At sunrise, the sky lit up
as orange and vibrant as last night’s fire. Seeing the damage in
daylight was like a punch in the gut. My car, once sleek and
beautiful, was now a skeleton poking through the remains of the
garage. I needed a more family-friendly vehicle anyway. The wooden
fence in the backyard was half gone, which I’m sure my nosy
neighbor would have appreciated if I still had a house he could
snoop around, and the shed in the backyard had crumpled in like a
soda can. Smoke rose hauntingly into the cold morning air. On
closer inspection, I realized nothing would be salvageable. The
water had turned the ashes into mush, mixing together and hardening
as it dried.
    Fire trucks, ambulances,
and police cruisers littered the street, and uniformed people were
everywhere. Through all the chaos, reporters had found their way
past the barricades, and they rushed me. For a moment, I thought
they might not stop and braced myself to be trampled, trying my
best to protect Jules with my body. Instead, microphones were
shoved in my face, and the media screamed at me as if their mad
dash in my direction hadn’t already gained my attention.
    “ Joseph Carter!