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Authors: Ellie Ferguson
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quick
check of the rear view mirror and I eased away from the curb. Might as
well get away from there before Janie decided to call the cops and
complain that I was stalking her or something.
"Yeah. What?"
"Jess, I need you to get to your place right away."
What? That wasn't what I expected him to say. "Why? What's
going on, Colton?"
"Jess, just do it. I'll meet you there."
With that, the line went dead. Damn. That was just like him.
Give
me an ultimatum and ignore my request for an explanation. He hadn't
changed. He still thought he could just snap his fingers and I'd come
running. I ought to show him how wrong he was. But then, I'd never
dropped everything and come running, and that had been one of our
problems. He'd believed I wasn't committed enough to him, and I wasn't
about to give up my independence just to soothe his male ego.
Still, there'd been something in his voice that warned me not
to
ignore him. Maybe he had information about what happened at Manny's.
Hoping that was all it was, I reminded myself not to risk another
speeding ticket - I couldn't afford a jump in insurance premiums - and
headed home.
Then I remembered my parents. Without taking my eyes off of
traffic, I reached for the cell phone where I'd dropped it on the
passenger seat and programmed in their phone number by feel. Might as
well let them know what had happened and that I wouldn't be returning
right away. Hopefully, Mom wouldn't mind me keeping her car a bit
longer.
I frowned when the phone continued to ring and ring on the
other
end. Well, maybe they'd taken Maryanne back to Brett's and were making
sure both of them were all right. That would make sense, and it would
be just like my parents.
Still, it worried me that they hadn't
let me know they were going anywhere. If I weren't so close to home by
then, I'd have called Dad's cell phone. But, slowing as I entered my
neighborhood, I decided the call could wait the few minutes it would
take me to get home. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to try to put my anger
with Janie aside so it didn't bleed over onto Colton. I was screwed up
enough emotionally where he was concerned without anything adding to it.
As I neared the street I'd lived on for the last eleven
years, the
sounds of sirens, faint at first and gradually growing louder, reached
me. Without thinking, I rolled down my window, listening closely in an
attempt to figure out where they were coming from. My stomach did a
slow roll and my mouth went dry as I did. The closer to home I got, the
louder the sirens became.
Heart thudding, my breath coming more rapidly, I pressed the
accelerator down, no longer caring how fast I was going. A curse was
torn from my lips as I skidded around the corner, the rear of Mom's
Cadillac fishtailing in the process. My hands tightened on the steering
wheel, and I fought to control the skid. Then, as the car straightened,
I once more sped forward, fear almost choking me.
"No!"
Fire trucks and police cars clogged the road in front of my
house.
Neighbors and passersby stood around, drawn by the flashing lights, the
sirens and - Dear God, no - the flames leaping through the roof of the
house I'd scrimped and saved just to put together the down payment on
and that I'd made into a home.
I slammed on the brakes and was out of the car almost before
it
came to a complete halt. I think I ran forward. I don't really
remember. One moment I was beside the car, the next I was racing across
my neighbor's front yard, determined to get to my house, to find out
what had happened.
"Jessica!" Colton's voice called as if from a great distance.
I
barely heard him over the roaring in my ears, the fear and anger all
but choking me. "Jessie!"
He grabbed me, pulling me to a stop. Where had he come from?
Why
wouldn't he let me go? I had to see my house. I had to get inside, save
as much as I could.
"Let me go!" I struggled against him but he held me firm.
"Damn it, Colton, let me go!"
"Jessie, there's nothing you can do." He
quick
check of the rear view mirror and I eased away from the curb. Might as
well get away from there before Janie decided to call the cops and
complain that I was stalking her or something.
"Yeah. What?"
"Jess, I need you to get to your place right away."
What? That wasn't what I expected him to say. "Why? What's
going on, Colton?"
"Jess, just do it. I'll meet you there."
With that, the line went dead. Damn. That was just like him.
Give
me an ultimatum and ignore my request for an explanation. He hadn't
changed. He still thought he could just snap his fingers and I'd come
running. I ought to show him how wrong he was. But then, I'd never
dropped everything and come running, and that had been one of our
problems. He'd believed I wasn't committed enough to him, and I wasn't
about to give up my independence just to soothe his male ego.
Still, there'd been something in his voice that warned me not
to
ignore him. Maybe he had information about what happened at Manny's.
Hoping that was all it was, I reminded myself not to risk another
speeding ticket - I couldn't afford a jump in insurance premiums - and
headed home.
Then I remembered my parents. Without taking my eyes off of
traffic, I reached for the cell phone where I'd dropped it on the
passenger seat and programmed in their phone number by feel. Might as
well let them know what had happened and that I wouldn't be returning
right away. Hopefully, Mom wouldn't mind me keeping her car a bit
longer.
I frowned when the phone continued to ring and ring on the
other
end. Well, maybe they'd taken Maryanne back to Brett's and were making
sure both of them were all right. That would make sense, and it would
be just like my parents.
Still, it worried me that they hadn't
let me know they were going anywhere. If I weren't so close to home by
then, I'd have called Dad's cell phone. But, slowing as I entered my
neighborhood, I decided the call could wait the few minutes it would
take me to get home. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to try to put my anger
with Janie aside so it didn't bleed over onto Colton. I was screwed up
enough emotionally where he was concerned without anything adding to it.
As I neared the street I'd lived on for the last eleven
years, the
sounds of sirens, faint at first and gradually growing louder, reached
me. Without thinking, I rolled down my window, listening closely in an
attempt to figure out where they were coming from. My stomach did a
slow roll and my mouth went dry as I did. The closer to home I got, the
louder the sirens became.
Heart thudding, my breath coming more rapidly, I pressed the
accelerator down, no longer caring how fast I was going. A curse was
torn from my lips as I skidded around the corner, the rear of Mom's
Cadillac fishtailing in the process. My hands tightened on the steering
wheel, and I fought to control the skid. Then, as the car straightened,
I once more sped forward, fear almost choking me.
"No!"
Fire trucks and police cars clogged the road in front of my
house.
Neighbors and passersby stood around, drawn by the flashing lights, the
sirens and - Dear God, no - the flames leaping through the roof of the
house I'd scrimped and saved just to put together the down payment on
and that I'd made into a home.
I slammed on the brakes and was out of the car almost before
it
came to a complete halt. I think I ran forward. I don't really
remember. One moment I was beside the car, the next I was racing across
my neighbor's front yard, determined to get to my house, to find out
what had happened.
"Jessica!" Colton's voice called as if from a great distance.
I
barely heard him over the roaring in my ears, the fear and anger all
but choking me. "Jessie!"
He grabbed me, pulling me to a stop. Where had he come from?
Why
wouldn't he let me go? I had to see my house. I had to get inside, save
as much as I could.
"Let me go!" I struggled against him but he held me firm.
"Damn it, Colton, let me go!"
"Jessie, there's nothing you can do." He
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