Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Walking over to the door, I opened it and stood there. “Thank you for stopping by and getting your guilt off your chest.”
“No, Harmony, it wasn’t anything like that, we—”
“Please, I’m asking you nicely to leave.” Closing my eyes to keep the tears from falling, I whispered, “Please just leave.”
Opening my eyes, I stared at them. Anne and Dan looked at each other and slowly walked toward the door. Anne stopped in front of me and gave me a weak smile. “Harmony, we didn’t mean to upset you. We thought you deserved the truth.”
Pinching my eyebrows together, I shook my head. “I’m pretty sure I could have lived out the rest of my life not knowing that Trey was going to divorce me, Anne.”
Her mouth opened to speak but she quickly shut it and started for the stairs. Dan stopped in front of me but didn’t utter a word before he turned and walked away.
Closing the door, I counted to thirty and then slid down to the floor and cried.
I wasn’t sure how long I was on the floor crying before I jumped up and grabbed my purse.
Preston. I need to see Preston.
Racing out to Comm Avenue, I flagged down a cab. Jumping in, I said, “Firehouse 37 on Huntington.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Two minutes later we were stuck in traffic. “What’s going on? Is it a wreck?” I asked.
Shaking his head, the cab driver said, “Fire. Big fire in an apartment building. There are, like, four fire trucks there.”
My heart stopped. Preston would be there. “How far down is it? I see the smoke.”
No. Oh, dear God, please keep him safe.
“Two blocks.”
Reaching into my wallet, I pulled out a twenty and handed it to him. “I’ll get out here and walk. Thank you.”
As I made my way, I could see Engine 37 and Ladder 26. Firefighters were running everywhere.
“It’s going to go! Get those firefighters out of there now!”
Frantically looking around, I saw Captain Ryan. It was his voice shouting out the command.
Pushing my way through the crowd, I tried to get closer. “Excuse me, my boyfriend is in there. Please, excuse me!” I shouted as I made my way to the barricade. My face turned ashen as I saw firefighters rushing from the building. Some were carrying people as they ran out. My heart raced, nearly exploding as I felt a pain in my chest.
“Preston,” I whispered. “Please, don’t be in there.”
Captain Ryan walked up and I heard his call. “Sharp, Ward. You need to vacate now!”
I sucked in a breath when I heard Preston’s voice. “We’ve located the family, sir. One adult woman, three small children. Fourth floor east.”
“Ward, I’m ordering you out, now. The whole building is about to go.”
Nothing.
“Sharp, do you copy?”
Nothing. Placing my hands on my stomach, I felt like I was going to be sick. “Copy, sir, I’ve got the woman and one small child. The roof collapsed between me and Ward.”
No. Preston, no!
At that moment, Captain Ryan turned and saw me. Walking over to a police officer, he said something and quickly walked away. Looking back toward the door, I saw Sharp coming out helping a woman and holding a small child. The police officer walked over and motioned for me to go with him.
“Ma’am, it’s best if you wait in my car.”
I grabbed his arm. “What? I’m not waiting in your car. My boyfriend is in that building. I want to know what is happening!” I yelled out.
His eyes turned compassionate. He was about to say something when there was a loud explosion on the top floor of the building. Grabbing me, he pushed me down and covered me up. All I heard were screams coming from everywhere.
“It’s going. Get these people back!” someone yelled. Standing, the officer helped me up. “Are you okay, miss?”
Tears streamed down my face as I looked back to the building. The whole fourth floor was in flames. Wrapping his arm around me, he led me away as I yelled, “No! Please, no. Preston! Please don’t do this to me again!” I screamed out.
Just before he brought me over to an ambulance, I saw someone coming out of the building. He was carrying two small children. I instantly knew it was Preston.
Dragging the police officer to a halt, I screamed out, “Preston!”
Looking at me, his eyes caught mine. “It’s him! Thank you, God, thank you!”
Turning to the police officer, I threw myself at him as he patted my back. “See, I told you everything would be okay.”
Pulling back, I glared at him before turning back to where Preston was. He was carrying one of the kids to an ambulance as he coughed. An EMS worker took the child from Preston and told him to get oxygen. Walking toward me, Preston smiled and I broke down in tears and ran to him. Slamming my body into his, I held him as tightly as I could.