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Colton lets out a chuckle. Some things still have not changed from the Darkwood days. Colton is still all about observing and not as talkative as the other two.
“It was a good game,” Colton adds.
Way to add to it, man.
“Are you headed home?” Phoenix asks, turning back to me.
I nod. “Yeah. I’m tired. My arm needs to rest. Thankfully, Bower is pitching next game. But I will be over later to read to the little one.”
“No, you rest.” Phoenix levels a pointed look at me. “She will be there tomorrow, so you can come by and read to her then. I want you to rest and take care of that arm.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I give her a smile, and she grins back at me.
“Okay, we are headed out. Good game, Drew. Now, go home.” She leans in and gives me a kiss on the cheek, and she and the guys take off in the opposite direction.
I make it out to the parking lot and find my beautiful 1967 Mustang Shelby GT 500. Pewter exterior with a beautiful black interior. It’s not the original Elenor, but it’s an ‘Elenor’ tribute. She’s got a 5.0-litre V8 engine and automatic transmission, a ProCharger supercharger, and the correct body and body kit. She is perfection. Her name is Charlotte.
Don’t judge. You would have given her a name, too. She’s too pretty not to have a name.
Loserby 3 Doors Down blasts through the speakers as I start her up. The engine roars over the music, and I get chills down my spine and goosebumps along my skin. I love that sound. It sends a thrill through me.
I back out of my space and head out of the stadium parking lot. Fighting through the traffic of the Las Vegas Strip, I finallyfind myself on Interstate 215 and head up toward Summerlin, where my home is.
It’s a huge house tucked away in the mountains; it’s quiet, and I have a view of the Las Vegas Strip that is to die for. I mean, it cost me a pretty penny, don’t get me wrong, but it was worth every cent.
As I drive down the highway,Popular Monsterby Falling In Reverse screams through my speakers. I start bobbing my head and spitting out the lyrics as I release any stress I may have had in me.
One thing I learned from Phoenix is how therapeutic singing and belting out songs can be. I mean, I can’t sing for shit, but it definitely makes me feel better. Every now and then, we go out as a group to Ellis Island to do karaoke. While Phoenix blows them away, I make people cringe and cheer to get me off the stage. I love it.
As I pull off the highway, I notice thick black smoke coming from the subdivision I drive past to get to mine. Hair on the back of my neck stands up, and something is telling me to go toward it.
The pit in my stomach grows as I drive closer toward the subdivision. Do I turn in? Drive past? What if someone needs help? Surely the fire department has been called, right?
Fuck it. I need to put my mind at ease.
Quickly, I turn into the subdivision, and I drive down the streets, getting closer to the thick black smoke. It feels like I am driving for hours, but it’s a matter of minutes until I pull up in front of the source of the smoke.
It’s a house. And it’s definitely on fire.
A crowd has formed across the street, but everyone is filming the fire in front of them on their phone. No doubt there are even some live streamers. Because that’s what we do these days–we live stream.
“Hey!” I yell out to the crowd. “Has anyone called 9-1-1?” No one responds. “Hey! Has 9-1-1 been called?” I scream louder.
“Yeah, man. I did,” a younger kid, probably in his late teens, says. He runs a hand through his hair and goes back to filming. Maybe there is hope for people.
“Do you know if anyone is in there?” I ask him.
He shrugs. “No idea, dude.”
For fuck’s sake. I throw my phone in my car and my car keys in my pocket. Locking the door, I slam it shut and head toward the ranch. Flames are shooting up from the left side of the house where the garage sits. The other part of the house appears untouched from the outside, but looks can be deceiving.
As I try to dodge the flames, I see that the front door is completely inaccessible because of a security door installed at the entrance archway.
Fuck.
I quickly go around the side of the house and see the back gate. Running up to it, I see that it’s not locked, so I push it open and sprint to the nearest window. I look in and get a glimpse of a kitchen and a living room.
No one seems to be in there, though the smoke is making it a bit hard to see inside. I hurry over to another window on the far side and notice that there are bars on it.