“You told me to come here. Remember? I was in your room. With you.” Her eyes are huge, and her expression is downright frantic.
“No, you weren’t in my room,” I say slowly, frowning at her. Something is way off with Rylie. Why is she saying I asked her to meet me in my room?
The firefighter is watching us, suspicion in her eyes. “You two know each other?”
“Yeah,” I say at the same time Rylie exclaims, “Yes! He’s my boyfriend!”
My head whips toward her at that. “No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are,” Rylie says, laughing like I’m making a joke. “Stop being silly.”
I glance over at the firefighter, who appears vaguely alarmed. “I’m not her boyfriend,” I tell her.
“Then what is she doing here? Does she live here?”
“No.” I glance over at Rylie, who’s started to cry. “What are you doing?” I ask her. “Are you okay?”
“No, Ash. No, I’m not okay. You keep ignoring me, you deny everything I say, and it really hurts. You didn’t believe me when I told you I was pregnant, and now I lost the baby. And it’s all your fault. You ruined everything. You ruined us. You ruined our baby. You ruined my life!”
The firefighter—the nameplate on her shirt says her last name is Ramirez—takes out a pen and a tiny notepad and flips it open, taking notes. Like she’s some sort of cop who wants to mention that Rylie’s behaving as if she’s unhinged.
Shit.
What the hell is going on right now? I feel like I’m living a dream. Or a nightmare. But I’m not waking up, which means it’s all real. This is actually happening.
The fire is put out quick, solely contained to my room, specifically my bed and the table beside it. The firefighters were efficient and the cleanup won’t be bad, though there’s a lot of smoke damage. An arson investigator shows up within twenty minutes of the fire being put out, picking over the charred and burned stuff in the room, and Drew and I stand outside in the hall, watching him move through the room silently.
“Were you smoking in there?” Drew asks, his voice low. “I won’t be mad if you were. Accidents happen.”
I believe him. He sounds sincere, though it’s hard to believe any adult when they tell you you won’t be in trouble. They always say that right before they call you out for doing something stupid.
“No. I haven’t smoked since the night I got my face punched in,” I tell him truthfully. My chest still hurts, and I start coughing again. The smoke damage in the room is bad, I can still smell it in the air. It was more destructive than the actual fire, and I just know all my shit is ruined.
And I have no money to replace any of it. Meaning I’m completely screwed. I’m also thinking that’s the least of my worries tonight.
“What’s this?” Drew stoops and grabs something off the floor, and when I spot the wadded up tissue in his hand, I want to snatch it from him and throw it as hard as I can.
Fuck me, he’s holding my used condom. The condom I used when I had sex with his freaking daughter.
“I’ll take it,” I offer but he doesn’t give it to me. He stares at the tissue, and I know when his lip curls that he’s realized what exactly was wrapped up in that Kleenex.
“Why is that girl still here?” Drew asks as he starts walking toward the open door that leads outside, his steps brisk.
I follow after him. “I don’t know.”
Drew stops right at the door, turning to face me. “Who is she? Do you know her?”
Swallowing hard, I nod once, looking away. Shame hits me hard, spreading over my skin, sinking deep inside me. I don’t want to tell him what happened. I don’t want to admit any of it. It’s embarrassing. Hell, I don’t even know if what Rylie says is true.
“Were you using this?” He holds out his hand, the tissue still resting there. “With her?” He nods toward Rylie.
She’s standing next to Ramirez the firefighter, the blanket still around her shoulders. Rylie looks very small, very pale, and very confused.
“No,” I tell Drew. “I don’t know why she’s here.”
“Ash! Asher!” Rylie’s shrill voice calls for me and I wince, glancing over my shoulder to see she’s running toward me, the blanket flying behind her. “There you are.”
“Ry—” I start but she cuts me off, throwing herself at me.
“I’m so glad you’re okay. I was so worried. The fire was so scary, I thought I lost you.” She clutches me tight and it feels like she’s suffocating me.
“Hey. It’s okay,” I tell her, trying to disengage myself from her hold. But every time I push her hand off me, she settles it somewhere else. I glance up to find Drew watching us, his dark brows pinched together and I feel…caught.
Trapped.
“Sir, could we have a word?” Ramirez asks Drew.
He sends me a look before he leaves with the firefighter, and I’m alone with Rylie. She finally lets go of me, her smile serene, her expression, her gaze blank. Like a doll’s.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask her, my voice tight.
“What are you talking about? I’m doing nothing. Just like you want me to do.” She blinks, her smile fading. “You don’t love me anymore.”
“I never did love you,” I say bluntly, trying my best to fight the panic that wants to take over. Where’s Autumn? Where’s Fable and the rest of the family?
What is Ramirez telling Drew about Rylie?
“My mom will be here any minute,” Rylie says, her voice hollow. “Maybe she’ll bring me back up here later so I can get my car and we can talk.”
“There’s nothing more we need to talk about, Rylie,” I tell her and her entire face turns red.
“You fucking coward!” She lunges toward me. Her hands curled into fists as she starts pummeling my chest. I grab hold of her wrists, holding her off as best as I can, but she’s stronger than she looks. She tries to kick at me, punch me, and I just take it, wincing when her foot makes connection with my shin, her fist socking me right in my still sore ribs making me double over.
That’s when Ramirez and Drew run over to us, pulling us apart. “Come on now, Rylie. Let’s go wait for your mother over here,” Ramirez tells her.
She leads Rylie away, who’s shaking and breathing heavily. I watch them go, curling my arm in front of my chest, trying to work past the pain that Rylie’s fist caused.
“The firefighter told me that girl said she was pregnant with your baby.”
I turn to find Drew studying me, his expression impassive. “What did you say?” I ask carefully.
“Ramirez said that girl admitted she was pregnant with your baby, but she lost it.” Drew tilts his head. “Yet I’m finding used condoms in the hall, so that doesn’t make much sense.”
I part my lips, unsure of what I should tell him. Do I clear myself and risk getting Autumn in trouble? “I don’t believe she was ever pregnant in the first place.”
The moment the words fall from my lips, a sheriff’s deputy car pulls into the driveway, no siren on but the yellow lights flashing.
Great.