Page 32 of Life as She Knows It

We haul ass, but it’s not fast enough. Every minute I’m not looking at Aria and Hadley’s faces because they’re safe in my arms, I grow more panicked.

I’ve saved lives. I’ve run into many burning buildings. I’ve witnessed countless tragedies over the years, and nothing has ever affected me quite like this other than the day we got the call that Jace had been hit by a bomb and was injured. Helpless. I feel helpless.

I have all of one minute until we’re there facing some unknown horror and it’s not enough time to get myself together, but I have to because my girls need me. Knowing Jace and Cooper, they probably need me too. So I shove it all down and prepare for the worst.

Even that doesn’t help when I see the force of the fire. It looks like an accelerant has been used and if we don’t stop it soon, it’ll spread to our house and beyond. There’s expansive plots of land; fields, and forests beyond our houses, leaving little to nothing that won’t burn if lit.

My bigger concern lies in that Aria’s house is entirely up in flames and I don’t see her as I’m getting out of the truck. The guys all get to work setting up the hoses, but I see Coop and Jace, both with grave looks on their faces as they pump water through our hoses onto the house, trying to make a spot to get in. They’d risk everything to save them. So will I.

“We have to get in!” Jace yells at me as I run up to them.

“Let me do this! I’ll get them out!” I scream back and then I burst through the door, looking everywhere to try and see if I’ll be able to get up the stairs. They aren’t touched yet. It’s mostly still burning from the outside in, so I run up and break down Aria’s door, seeing her holding Hadley close while trying to crawl along the floor, coughing as the smoke infiltrates the room and sucks the oxygen from the air.

“Aria!”

“Ethan?”

“We have to get you out right now, let me carry you!”

“It’s Benji! He’s here! You have to save Hadley!” She yells, climbing to her knees and thrusting Hadley into my arms before coughing again and collapsing.

Throwing her over my shoulder, I tighten my hold on Hadley then I make a run for it and I almost make it back down the stairs when the fire wins out and they all cave in beneath the weight of the three of us about three stairs up from the bottom floor.

We fall far enough that I lose my balance. Aria tumbles to the ground and Hadley loosens from my grip. That’s when I see an unknown man in a mask waiting at the bottom. He sees his opportunity when I reach for Aria and he takes it. He rips Hadley from my arms and I have to make the choice between her and Aria.

Aria’s weak but she knows Hadley’s in danger so she makes the choice for me. Her words are hoarse as she chokes them out, cutting into me like a jagged piece of glass all the way down to my soul. “Save my baby. Leave me. Save her. Never let her forget how much I loved her, and always will…”

To Be Continued....