Keepers: A Timeless Novella (7 page)

“
There is no conversation
to be had. Dad and I already had the birds and the bees talk,
surely you don’t need to lecture me on how to make said
grandbabies?”

Mom was flabbergasted for a
few seconds, which made me smile. Then she changed the subject. “Do
you know who called me today?”

“
George
Clooney?”

“
This isn’t a joking
matter,” my mom scolded. “Actually, I’m quite disappointed in
you.”

“
Why? What did I do this
time?” I asked, exasperated.

“
It was Sara.”

At the sound of her name, I
groaned. “Really? She showed up today too. Trust me, it wasn’t
pretty.”

“
Sweetie, she thinks you
two are going to get married and have tons of babies,” she
explained.

I held in another groan.
The image of Sara and me doing anything that could make babies made
me sick to my stomach. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

My mother huffed once
again, something she did a lot when upset with me. “Don’t be
ridiculous! I want you to have babies with Jenna.”

“
Oh really?” I asked,
trying not to laugh. “It’s funny you say that, Mom. A few months
ago you were singing Sara’s praises, even after I told you how
psychotic she was.”

“
Well . . .” She paused. “I
was beginning to think you’d never find someone, and with your age,
I thought Sara was your last hope. You were always so distant
around women. For a while there—and don’t you dare tell your father
I said this—I thought you might’ve been . . . gay.” She whispered
“gay” as if the word were dirty.

I closed my eyes in
frustration. There was a reason my mom didn’t know much about my
dating life. Every girl I’d introduced to her, she immediately
loved and demanded I marry them and start populating the world with
mini-Josephs.

“
Mom, I am not gay.” I
couldn’t stress that enough. Actually, I couldn’t believe I would
ever have to clarify this to anyone—especially my own
mother.

“
Clearly!” she exclaimed,
as if my preference for women was never in question.

“
Can I please call you
back? This isn’t a good time,” I breathed when Jenna stirred. I was
trying desperately to get off the phone with her before I woke
Jenna.

“
Fine,” she relented. “But
I expect a call back. I don’t want to hear news about you on the TV
again without hearing it from you first. No more surprises. I’m
old, and my heart can’t handle the stress.”

“
Yes, Mom,” I said. “I
understand, but you need to back off a little bit here. I’m a grown
man.”

“
No! I will
not
back off.”

“
Course you won’t,” I
grumbled under my breath.

“
What was that?” my mom
insisted.

I sighed. “Nothing. I’ll
try to keep you informed—but remember, I’ve got a lot going on
between the media and protestors. I’ve got angels in my house, for
crying out loud.”

She squealed in shock.
“They’re in your house?”

“
Yes.”

“
Angels?”

“
Yes.”

“
Oh my.”

Oh my indeed, I thought
wearily.

“
Maybe I should come up for
a visit?” my mom suggested.

“
Mother! No.” God forbid my
mother come see what a disaster I’d made of everything. I’d never
hear the end of it. “Please, we’re about to have dinner, so I need
to get off the phone,” I lied.

“
It’s a little late for
dinner, isn’t it?” she reprimanded.

I moaned. “Mom, please stop
trying to dictate my life when you’re several states
away.”

“
I’m sorry, sweetie. Just
remember that you’re my son, and I worry about you all the time, no
matter what.” She’d never let me forget that I was her son. She
once threatened me with what she called “the raising you
bill.”

“
I know,” I cajoled. “I
love you.”

“
I love you too, son. You’d
better call me.”

“
Yes, Mom.” I ended the
call before she could start lecturing me on another aspect of my
life.

Relieved the conversation
was over with, I fell asleep with Jenna curled against my body,
both of us content and wildly in love. I thought nothing could ruin
that night. Thought things were finally calming down and going my
way.

I was wrong.

CHAPTER 8: GO OUT ON A
LIMB

Lately I’d been having
these wild and vivid dreams about the angels battling, causing me
to be overly exhausted during the day. However, tonight I had been
at peace when I’d gone to bed and slept like the dead. I should
have expected everything to go to shit—should have prepared for
it.

I’d only ever heard my
smoke detectors go off during their yearly testing. I was thankful
for my diligence, because the deafening wails of the detectors woke
me—suddenly and startlingly. My heart thumped a menacing beat as I
hurled the covers away from Jenna and me. She was bleary-eyed and
confused, not understanding the sound that had awoken her were the
smoke detector’s desperate cries, warning us.

“
Get up!” I shouted, though
Jenna had a hard time understanding me.

I pulled on a T-shirt, glad
I wore my pajama bottoms that night. I ran to the door and
cautiously placed my hand on the wood. It was hot, and I jerked
back. Smoke spilled in from under the door, and I coughed at the
onslaught. My heart lodged in my throat, thinking of Jules and
Firen just down the hall. I’d made sure to put her in a room with
no windows. I swallowed thickly—holy shit, I’d made a huge mistake.
I tried not to panic. I had to hold it together for Jenna. I
whipped back around and ran to Jenna, who had finally grasped what
was going on. In her face, I could see the same thoughts I’d just
had cross her mind.

“
Jules!” she screamed in
utter terror as she tossed my robe over her head and ran for the
door.

I blocked her path, which
was a lot harder than one would think. She fought against me,
yelling and beating on me to move. It broke my heart, but I
couldn’t let her go into the hallway. I couldn’t lose her. The
alarms changed their tune, squealed, and abruptly stopped their
wails, though I heard a faint echo from the alarms on the other
side of the house. That wasn’t good.

“
I have to get to Jules,”
Jenna cried as I yanked her toward the bedroom window, though she
dug her feet in the whole way. I grabbed my cell phone from the
bedside table as I passed and pushed it into Jenna’s
hands.

“
I know,” I said, voice
rough. “Get out of here and call Gabby. I’ll get Jules.” She
started to argue with me, but I silenced her with a quick kiss.
“Trust me. I won’t let anything happen to her,” I swore. “I love
you.”

“
Love you too. Now go!” she
demanded as she tore open the window. “Hurry!”

Grabbing a heavy coat, a
shirt, and boots from the closet, I raced to the door. I slipped
into the boots and pulled the coat on, zipping it up to cover my
nose. I wrapped the shirt around my fist and reached for the door
handle. Behind me, Jenna had kicked the screen from the window and
was crawling out. She looked back at me, tears littering her
freckled cheeks. I knew in that moment that she loved and trusted
me more than anyone. She trusted that I would get to Jules—that I
would save her. Then Jenna disappeared from view. Relieved that she
was safe, I was able to fully focus on Jules.

I opened the door, and a
blast of heat hit me. My first reaction was to slam the door shut,
but all I could think about was tiny Jules. I hunkered down into
the coat as I entered the hostile hallway. Barely able to see due
to my squinting through the shroud of black smoke, I had to feel my
way down the hall with my feet. Flames licked their way up the wall
to my left, though the right side of the hallway appeared
undamaged. In an attempt to get away from the intense fire, I
hugged the right wall. With each step, my body protested against
the heat. As soon as a bead of sweat escaped, it evaporated. It
felt as if my insides were cooking with each painful breath. It
didn’t matter, though. Only Jules mattered, and Jenna believed in
me. I had to get to Jules, no matter what, my lungs be damned, I
could only hope that Firen was doing all she could to keep my
little girl safe.

What were probably only
minutes felt like a lifetime, and I eventually had to close my
eyes. The heat and smoke had become unbearable. I used my right
hand to guide me forward, though I kept it covered in the T-shirt
just in case. The house creaked, and something crashed in front of
me. My hands automatically went up to protect my face. Blinking
rapidly, trying to figure out what had happened, I saw that part of
the ceiling had collapsed and blocked my path. I tried to step
around the pile of debris, but my pants caught fire. I gritted my
teeth and sucked in a breath of pure heat, like I’d engulfed a ball
of fire. I immediately patted at the flames on my pants until they
went out. I wanted to turn around, desperately needing fresh air.
My lungs were horribly seared, my eyes begged for water that was
entirely absent from the air, and my skin blistered under the
coat.

Refusing to let this
prevent me from getting to Jules, I tried to step over the rubble
again, and again my pants caught fire. I’d like to think myself
manly, but in that moment, I cried out in agony, sucking even more
heat into my already scorched lungs. It was like I was cooking. My
body shook, and I knew it was a sign of shock. Still, I wouldn’t
let it stop me. With my clothes catching fire, I made it over the
debris. I swatted at my clothes in different places, putting out
various fires. Through squinted eyes, I saw the end of the hall
where Jules’s bedroom was located. I cried out in relief, racing
toward it.

I abruptly stopped when it
came into focus, and my stomach dropped. The door was wide open.
The inferno was closing in around me, and part of the ceiling
barely missed me as I slid forward into Jules’s room. I slammed the
door shut between the fire and me and twisted around. I couldn’t
see anything in the dark.

“
Jules? Firen?” I called
out, coughing up a storm.

After several moments of
feeling around for them, I came to the conclusion they weren’t
there. Then it hit me: I was trapped in a windowless room, and my
house was burning down. My body automatically went into survival
mode as I dropped to the floor, desperately sucking in the
less-toxic air. There was no way I’d be able to go back the way I’d
come. Being completely in the dark, the first thing I did was
search for the dresser. In every room, I made sure there was a
flashlight in case of a power outage. In this room, there was one
in the top drawer of the dresser. Each movement I made was
agonizing as my burned skin rubbed against what remained of my
clothing and the floor.

Finding the dresser, I felt
around for the flashlight. For several terrifying seconds, I
thought it was missing, but then my fingers came in contact with
it. I could have rejoiced as I flipped it on. The first thing I did
was confirm that I was the only one in the room—I even checked the
closet. The air was thick with smoke, so the second thing I did was
yank clothes from their hangers and shove them under the door,
hoping to stop the flow of smoke. I tried to stay as low as I
could, but every once in a while I’d have to raise up. I was
honestly surprised I hadn’t passed out already due to lack of
oxygen.

I pushed the dresser
against the door—the weakest part of the wall—then I ripped the
sheets and comforter from the bed and tossed them against the
outside wall. Gagging and coughing, partially blind from smoke, I
was finally able to yank the mattress off the box springs. Though
I’d never been trained to deal with fires, I hoped wrapping myself
in the blanket and sheets and using the mattress as a shield would
protect me as much as possible against the raging inferno just on
the other side of the door.

My lungs started to
protest, and I coughed to the point of getting sick. I inventoried
my wounds, a tortured gasp leaving me when I saw the damage. Some
of my skin was raw and looked like boiled meat, while other places
were blackened. I bit my lip as I checked my feet, which had me
crying out. Even my lips were burned. My mind couldn’t stop from
thinking about Jules, hoping she’d made it out okay. And then there
was Jenna. If I didn’t make it, she would be devastated. She’d
blame herself. But what was I supposed to do?

Adrenaline, probably the
only thing that had kept me going, dissipated, and my body shook
uncontrollably. I was in serious shit, I knew, as my body went into
all-embracing shock. Then I was light-headed and knew at any minute
I would pass out. My entire body throbbed, and the thought of being
unconscious was welcoming. The last thing I remembered was the
flashlight dropping from my hand and rolling away, lighting the
comforter in crimson, the sound of something crashing faintly
registering with my psyche.

<>

When I came to, I was
splayed on the cold ground and, from behind my lids, lights flashed
from every direction. It took me a few seconds to grasp my
surroundings, which I wasn’t sure were actually real or not. I
sucked in a breath, and my lungs weren’t pained from the simple
action.