Page 34

Micah

I grab my playbook and slip out the doors with offensive plays running through my mind. The home game this weekend is a big one for us. We need to beat the Tigers to move up in our division.

Slipping my phone from my pocket, I check to see if I have any messages from Raeann. None. I send her one instead. Hey, want company tonight?

A hand rests on my shoulder, and I peer to my left to find Levi. “Hey, how’s Raeann doing?”

“She’s good,” I tell him. “We’re moving in together.”

His eyes widen. “No shit.”

The skepticism in his eyes burns bright, and it makes me want to laugh. “You’ll get there someday.”

He grimaces. “Honestly, man, I just don’t get it. I’m happy for you, though. But settling down isn’t for me.”

He says that… Maybe we’ve all said it at some point until we find the person who turns our whole world upside down in an instant. Levi’s not ready to hear it yet, though. “Well, hey, Raeann has a friend…”

“Yeah?” His grin widens.

“She’s expressed some interest in your dumbass. I’ve yet to see the appeal.”

“It’s my chiseled good looks, old man.”

“Fuck off.”

“You’re about to be tied down. You’re an old man like Tipper and Parker. I need to find some new friends.”

“We’ve all been hoping you would.”

Levi chuckles. “So, who’s the girl? Is she pretty?”

“You saw her briefly already. She was at the studio with Raeann.”

“Oh, the chick who drove us back to the gym?”

“That chick runs a rapidly growing business with my girl and is a major part of her life.”

“Oh, I see where this is going. No.” He shakes his head. “No.”

“What?”

“She’s going to fall for me, and I’m going to be myself, living my carefree, single life, like a bird that’s left its nest to fly solo, and you and Rae are going to get pissed.”

“Don’t call her Rae.”

“What’s wrong with Rae?”

“She doesn’t use it.”

He holds his hands up. “Noted. But the rest still stands.”

“If you’re going to treat her like one of your jersey chasers, then yes, let’s skip the intro.”

“You’d deny her me?”

We stop just outside the Wildcats building. “Man, forget I said anything.”

“Bro.”

I wave him away. “I temporarily overlooked how immature you are,” I call over my shoulder as I make my way to my car.

“Sounds like something an old man would say.” I pull out my keys, and I’m about to get in when Levi shouts, “I know what it is. You’re worried if we double date that Rae will be all about me.” He does a stupid little dance. “I’m about to steal your girl…”

For a second, I flash red, nothing but rage filtering through me. Parker comes up behind him and slaps him on the back of the head. Luckily, the whole scene wrenches me out of the need to pummel Levi’s face into the cement. I unclench my fingers.

“Don’t be fucking stupid,” Parker snaps.

“Dude.” Levi rubs the back of his head.

Parker walks backward. “Just be grateful I saved your life right now.”

Levi points to us individually. “Old man number one. Old man number two.”

Parker and I share a look, and I shrug. “Kids.”

He gives me a grin and a knowing nod.

When I get in my car, I check my phone again and see nothing from Raeann. Worry churns in my gut. What if our moment this morning didn’t change anything? What if she was just going to walk away the entire time?

No. That’s not what she said. She’s moving in. She’s going to wear my last name. I didn’t pry any of those things out of her.

But I also understand how Raeann’s mind works, and I wouldn’t put it past it to start telling her lies again. I pull up Tab’s number and call her. Another no answer. I also pull up the video feed of her room, but it won’t connect.

“Fuck,” I growl. This time, I’m not going to give her space. I throw the car in Drive and squeal out of the lot, the concern spreading through me making my heart pound.

At every corner, it feels like fate places roadblocks in my way. The signals take forever to turn green. The people in the crosswalk shuffle along like they don’t have a care in the world. And of course, everyone forgets how to drive.

I honk my horn at someone who doesn’t understand the idea of using the left lane only for passing. He gives me a one-finger salute when I speed past him on the shoulder, but I don’t care.

It’s probably nothing , I tell myself, despite my rising fear. They’re probably watching a show, and they’ll check their phones during the commercial … But I can’t shake the feeling that something is up.

I try Raeann’s phone again.

Nothing.

I get off the exit, pointing my car once again down a congested street. Taking a quick left, I decide to bypass the main roads and take the side roads. A siren sounds in the distance. Not unusual for Nashville. It’s a big city. Things happen.

My brain ties it all together, though. Instead of the warning fading away as I get closer to the store, it gets louder. The sound echoes right through my rib cage and throttles my heart. When I turn down the last side street, a huge red fire truck blocks my view.

No, no, no.

I speed down the road, coming to an abrupt stop. Throwing the car in Park, I jump out and run toward their building. The sliver of hope I held like a candle in the wind gets snuffed out as soon as I round the corner of the building. Flames shoot from the window of the apartment.

“No!”

I run forward, but several firemen surround me. Their mouths move, but I don’t hear them. “Are they okay? Did anyone make it out?”

My hands close into fists. I search their faces for any answer. What greets me makes bile rise in my throat.

“Do you know who lives here?”

I grab one of the guys by the lapels. “Are they out?” I growl.

“Sir,” another man says, pulling me away. “Who lives here?”

“Two women and a dog.”

“Do you know if they were home?”

“I don’t! They’re not answering their phones. They also run the store below.”

The black singe marks, the smoke billowing out. All of Raeann’s dreams gone in an instant.

“Is anyone inside? Are you searching?”

The fireman blinks at me, so I lower my shoulder, pushing him aside like I do on the field. I dodge and misdirect, plowing my way to the door. “Raeann!”

Several hands grab for me, but they’re not equipped to deal with a star running back. A commotion sounds behind me as I start up the stairs. There’s not as much smoke down here. It isn’t until I get to the top that I have to lower myself to the ground to avoid inhaling the ashy clouds.

I pull my shirt over my face. The apartment door is ajar. “Raeann! Tab! Athena!” The smoke makes my eyes water, and I cough into my shirt. Flames billow to my left, crawling along the ceiling like a living, breathing thing until they reach the windows where they curl up toward the sky.

All of the football drills I’ve practiced over the years kick in. I scramble low to the ground for Raeann’s bedroom, my hands searching along the way. My lungs feel like they’re going to explode.

I explore the space in front of me blindly and come up with nothing. Instead, my knee hits something, and I back up, feeling my hands along the floor until they enclose around…fur.

Oh, poor Athena.

I grab whatever I can and pull toward me.

She would never leave Raeann’s side, so she has to be in here.

Maybe only steps away. But if I leave Athena, Raeann will never forgive me.

I tug Athena’s lifeless body along while I move back to the stairs, finding the opening like a light in a dark tunnel.

Lungs screaming, I get there, coughing and sputtering as I heave her into my arms and make my way down the stairs.

Firemen greet me at the mouth of the apartment, reaching out for Athena. Two others grip the end of a long hose as they shoot past me to trudge up the stairs. I turn around to go back up, but strong arms grip me.

My lungs wheeze, and I cough. “She’s probably in the bedroom!” I choke out.

“Where are the rooms?” the fireman asks.

Two police officers sprint toward me, and I stare down the entrance, the smoke even thicker now. “One is straight and to the right. To the right of the couch and forward. The other is to the left. Just to the right of the kitchen.”

I wheeze again, my body working to expel the toxins I inhaled. The fireman forces me to the ground while police officers surround us. “I’ll tell them, okay? I’ll tell them.”

He runs off toward the apartment, and I turn to find another fireman working on Athena.

Her red coat dark. I crawl forward, putting my hands in her fur.

“Hey, hey, hey.” Tears stream down my face.

Raeann has to be up there. Athena never would’ve left her side, and Raeann wouldn’t have left her either. “Come on, girl.”

The fireman affixes oxygen as well as he can to her muzzle. A slight fog fills the plastic.

I sit up straighter. She’s alive. “Athena!”

“She needs a vet,” the fireman says.

I don’t even know who her vet is. How could I have overlooked something so important? I slip out my phone and call Joey. He answers on the first ring. “Boss.”

“Joey, I need a vet for Athena. There’s…

” I choke back emotion. I can’t even find the words that won’t dissolve into crying.

“I need one now. There’s been a—” My mind doesn’t want to say the word.

My love—my life—is still up in that apartment.

If I think about it too long, I will rage.

But the best I can do for her right now is find help for Athena. “There’s been a fire.”

Joey, as usual, is all business, just with zero snark. “Are you at the store?”

“Yes.”

“I got it taken care of.”

“Okay.”

“Boss?”

“Yeah?” I clear my throat to keep the sob at bay.

“Raeann and Tab?”

My grip on the phone tightens. “We don’t know yet.”

He takes several seconds to answer. So unlike him. “Okay.”

The line goes dead, and I cuddle up next to Athena, working my hands through her fur. Little by little, she becomes more alert. I stare at the mouth of the empty staircase that the now-round, full hose travels up.

Two men place a ladder against the building in front of Raeann’s window.

I watch while they ascend the rungs and lift the window molding with a crowbar.

A breath holds in my chest. Athena paws me, and a deep whine expels from her chest. I squeeze her paw and let out the rush of air in my lungs.

“I’m okay, girl.” This dog. Damn. “I got someone coming for you, okay? I promise.”

“We got one!” a voice yells.

I whip my head around to stare at the window. A coif of blonde hair tinged with black emerges. I jump to my feet, walking that way. Legs come out next, the fireman somehow holding her horizontally as he descends the ladder. Paramedics push forward, and I follow them, dodging people. “Raeann!”

The paramedics immediately start giving her chest compressions. I kneel next to her, grabbing her hand, squeezing it. She’s covered from head-to-toe in dark ash. I watch helplessly while they work on her, my brain relieved and terrified at the same time.

“What about Tab?” I ask.

No one must hear me because no one answers.

“Hey, Athena’s alive,” I whisper to Raeann, hoping that’ll help stir her. “I have a vet coming right now. Joey’s on it.”

“There’s a pulse,” someone says.

An inhuman noise erupts from my throat. Behind me, the fireman assisting Athena says, “Hey, hey.” Suddenly, Athena is beside me, placing her head on Raeann’s leg. These two have lived through things like this before. They’re survivors.

“Clear the area. Let’s get her to the hospital.”

I pull Athena back, giving the paramedics room. “Who are you?” one of them asks.

“Her husband.”

The word flies from my mouth as easily as uttering my own name.

“We’re taking her to Vandy.”

“Is she going to be okay?”

My heart hangs in the air, as if one word from this stranger will be a lifeline or the reason for my demise.

“It’s looking good, sir.” Her gaze narrows on me, and a spark of recognition hits there. She nods without saying anything.

“Freeman! Freeman!”

I spin in a circle until I find Davis running toward me. He takes in the scene with horror, watching as they transfer Raeann to a stretcher and wheel her away. “Joey put out the word…” His voice fades. He puts a hand on my shoulder. “Where are they taking her?”

“Vandy.”

“Her roommate?”

I shrug. “Did Joey find a vet?”

Davis crouches down. “I’ll get in touch with him. Listen, I’ll take care of Athena. You go be with Raeann.”

I shake my head, remembering vividly the conversation I had with Raeann about saving Athena. One that seems so poignant now. It goes against every fiber of my being, but Athena means so much to her. If she knew I’d abandoned her, she’d be furious.

“I will treat this dog like my own kid. I promise you.” He shakes my shoulder, and I finally look up at him. His gaze is pleading. “I promise.”

Another voice breaks through the chaos. “Freeman!”

I peer up to find Farmer and his girlfriend weaving through the bedlam.

Davis points at me. “Get him to the hospital. Vandy.”

Athena whimpers, and I lay my head on hers. “I’m going to make sure she’s okay. Okay? You’re such a good girl. She’ll want to know that you’re fine.”

“If anything changes with her condition,” I start to warn Davis.

“Updates every ten minutes.”

“And if you hear anything about Tab?—.”

“I’m on it,” Davis states.

Cade pushes me through the crowd toward his vehicle.

I can still remember the glee in his eyes when he bought it.

Right now, it’s all business as he steps on the gas.

He and Charley hold hands in the front seats, and I stare where they connect.

Right now, I don’t have that other half of me.

The yang to my soul. My reason for being here.

I take out my phone and press on Pawpaw’s number. He answers the phone, “Y-ello?”

“Pawpaw, it’s Micah Freeman.” I clear my throat when it catches.

“Raeann…” I cut myself off again, emotion welling up.

I dribble my fingers over my knees. This is so fucking hard.

I feel like I’m going to detonate at any moment.

“There was a fire at her apartment. She’s being taken by ambulance to the hospital right now. ”

The line goes mute.

“Pawpaw?”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“I’m going to send you that plane again. Can Granny make it this time?”

He’s silent for a beat before he asks, “How bad is it, boy?”

“She’s unconscious. I don’t—I don’t really know, but I’ll call you as soon as I find out. I’m on my way to the hospital now, so hopefully I’ll have answers soon.”

Waiting for him to answer is excruciating. I’m about ready to ask if he’s there again when he says, “Raeann’s a fighter.”

“I know.”