Insane is what I'd have to be if I took him back.
Delete.
Only an hour into my own homework, my eyes grow heavy. I didn't sleep a lot at my dad's. I give in to fatigue, peel back the blankets, and collapse into my bed. I dream of standing on the football field. The Brotherhood is there. They build a giant fire on the fifty-yard line. I want to watch them, but the smoke is too strong. It burns my eyes.
Coach Dallas yells at each player. He blows his whistle. “Run through the bonfire! Show your allegiance to the Brotherhood.”
I can feel Matt Sparks's fear from where I am. His pulse accelerates. His skin sweats from the heat.
One by one, the football players run through the flames. They come out unharmed, unscathed.
Then it's Matt's turn. He walks away, only to turn around, get the fire in his sights, and sprint toward his target.
I have to stop him. Some way. Somehow.
“Nooooo!” I burst through the dream, my voice dragging me back to consciousness.
Sitting up, I wipe my hands over my face, my heart pounding in fear.
What is that noise?
Our fire alarm!
That smell.
I shoot out of bed. I have to get to Robbie. Throwing my door open, I'm nearly knocked over by the smoke. The alarm screams. Or maybe it's me. Everything's a blur as I run to his room.
“Robbie!” I yell his name over and over.
“What's going on?” His eyes are wide as tractor wheels. He clutches his sheet to his chin.
“I don't know. We need to get downstairs and go outside though, okay?” I force myself to slow down and talk calmly. We can't both be flipping out. I'm in charge here. There's no one else.
“It's going to be okay.” I throw out other useless words of comfort as we hurry down the hall to the stairs.
Robbie points ahead. “The stairs are on fire!”
How in the world could the stairs be on fire? I stand motionless and just watch the flames. Thinking. Praying.
“There's no other way out, Bella!” Tears streak Robbie's face, and he clings to my leg. I pick him up.
“I need you to be very brave, okay?” He nods against my shoulder. “You're my superhero, right? It's time to put those powers to use and save us.”
Holding my stepbrother, I run back into my bedroom and grab my phone. “I need you to hold this for me, Robbie. It's a very important job. Can you do that?”
His red head bobs.
I set him down long enough to fling open the window and pop out the screen. “We're going to my secret hiding place, okay? You and I are going to crawl out on a big limb and climb down.”
“It's too high.” He backs away, but I grab his wrist.
“Robbie”—I bend down to his level—“we have to do this.” I hear a loud pop from downstairs. “And we need to hurry.”
I don't even wait for his response. “God, help us. God, help us.” I recite it like a mantra as I hoist Robbie onto my back and find my balance on the window ledge. “Hang on. Whatever you do, don't let go of me.”
I climb out onto the roof, my hands flattened to the shingles so I won't topple over. I scoot closer to the edge where the tree meets the roof, then stand to my feet, grabbing the thickest branch I can find.
“Here we go.” I step onto a limb bigger than Jake's arm and test it with my foot. Finding it secure, I put both feet onto it and reach above us for another limb to hold on to.
Stopping every little bit to hoist a slippery Robbie tighter to my back, I walk us around the oak, moving as far away from the roof as possible.
Now. Time to descend.
Please, God. Please, God. Please, God.
Don't let me drop him. Keep my feet steady.
The moon shines on the ground below—the cold, hard, faraway ground. Look at the branches, not any lower.
My hair clings to my face in wet strands, and I swish it away. But there's no time. I get us farther down the tree. One limb at a time.
Low enough to brave a look down, I estimate how many more feet until we're safely on land. At least six, maybe seven more branches—
My foot slips.
My world tilts.
And Robbie and I go sailing through the tree. Down, down. I twist and somehow pull him to me, desperate to shield his body from the blows of the limbs.
Falling. Hurting. Crashing.
Land.
My back absorbs most of the hit as I connect full-body with the ground. My head bounces once then is thrown back as the force of Robbie's frame hits me. His elbow, knees, head—every bit of him falls into me.
I struggle to catch my breath as everything in my vision spins. Robbie rolls off of me, shaking out the kinks. Not quite ready to move, I suck in the night air, grateful my stepbrother is safe. Stars swim before my eyes.
“Robbie, my phone. Still got it?” I manage to keep one eye open. Pain shoots through my head.
“Yup.”
“Call 9-1-1.”
'Last time I called them I got in trouble. They said I couldn't call anymore unless I had a real problem.” He mumbles something about giving his goldfish mouth-to-mouth.
“Call them now.”
He punches in the number with one stubby finger. “Yeah, I have an emergency. My house is on fire.” I close my eyes and try to hear the dispatcher on the other end. “My stepsister, Bella, just saved me. But you need to hurry up because I don't want to lose any of my action figures.”
I rub my brow bone, the recipient of a mean elbow jab from Robbie. “This night could not get any worse.”
“Oh yeah?” He points upward into the tree and giggles.
There, five branches above us, hang my pajama bottoms, swaying in the breeze like a sign of surrender.
And that's how I met the Truman Fire Department.
chapter thrity-seven
Is she gonna die?”
“No, Robbie. She'll just have the black eye for a while.” My mother sits on the bed beside me. Mom and Jake came home not too long after the fire trucks showed up last night. After a quick trip to the emergency room, the entire family camped out at Dolly's house.
Robbie squints as he studies my face. “She could get a glass eye. That'd be cool.”
“There's nothing wrong with me. You gave me a shiner when we fell out of the tree. Nobody's getting any body parts removed.”
But my eye looks hideous. It's a lovely blend of purple, blue, and swollen, and Sephora doesn't sell anything that could cover this up. But the doctor said I was lucky that's all I suffered. I didn't even have a concussion. Just some leaf burns. Some limb lacerations. Bark bruises.
Mom let all of us stay home from school. Budge went with Jake to the house this morning, and Robbie chose to stay with us at Dolly's, not knowing when he would have another opportunity to watch the cartoon channel on her satellite.
We sit in the living room, Robbie inches from the giant TV, while Mom and I lounge on one of Dolly's leather couches.
When Jake and Budge walk into the room, I'm instantly on alert. Jake's eyes dart to me, then to my mother. Budge stands back, looking at no one.
“What's the matter?” Mom asks.
Jake inhales deeply, his frown severe. “The fire chief said the fire was started by a candle left on in the kitchen.”
I stop breathing.
“He said it burned until it spread on a plate then caught a nearby towel on fire. It shot right up the wall and eventually caught the stairs behind it.”
Mom's face is grave. “Bella, did you burn a candle last night?”
Robbie pipes up. “No, she didn't burn a candle. She burned a lot of them.”
My stomach twists, and I have to fight a wave of nausea. “I snuffed them out—all of them. I know I did.” Didn't I? It had been a crazy night. A fight with Luke. The pizza burning. Robbie's homework, then mine. What if I had forgotten and left one candle burning?
Mom grabs Jake's hand, and he sits on the arm of the couch. I feel like I've committed a
crime. And it's them against me. They think I set the fire.
My vision blurs with tears. “I did put out the candle. I know it. At least I'm pretty sure ...”
“Bella, you could've burned the entire house down.” The edge in my mom's voice is like a thousand paper cuts.
I stand up, desperate to get far away from all of them. “I'm telling you, I didn't do it.”
“How bad is it?” Mom asks.
Jake studies their joined hands. “Could've been a lot worse. We'll have to redo the back wall of the kitchen, the stairs, part of the ceiling. The important thing is that everyone's okay. Bella, I know I told you this last night, but looking at the house today, I want to say it again. Thank you for your quick thinking. You and Robbie are alive today because you climbed onto that tree.” He watches his son, who has gone back to Scooby-Doo, totally uninterested in any near-death talk. “You saved my son.”
But killed your house.
“What did the insurance guy say?” Mom asks Jake. He shakes his head and speaks to my mom in a hushed whisper.
I take myself into the kitchen, desperate for some aspirin and caffeine. Instead I find Budge.
I jerk one cabinet open then another, searching for a glass.
“Here.” He holds out a blue cup. “You know I—”
“Save it,” I snap. “Whatever jerk thing you have to say, just keep it to yourself. I know you're mad at the world, and now I've given you one more reason to be miserable—I apparently just burned down part of your house. So I'm sorry we're stuck here for a few weeks. And—”
“I just wanted to say thanks.” He clears his throat. Studies his feet.
Shaking my head, I try to reengage my ears, which obviously cannot be working.
“It sucks that we're kicked out of the house for a while, but Dolly does have a killer pool.”
“Did you just thank me?”
“Yeah.” He stabs his hands into his pockets. “The whole saving my-brother thing you did was pretty cool.” And he walks past me, where I stand in mute shock at his freakish kindness. “Nice eye, by the way. You look like a Cyclops.”
Now that's more like it.
“Tell me again why you dragged me to football practice?” I sit down beside Lindy on the warm bleacher.
“Your mom said you needed to get out of the house. She's worried about you.”
I have spent the whole afternoon in my temporary bedroom, hugging a trash can, afraid I was going to hurl at any moment. Setting a house on fire can do that to a girl.
Accidents happen, Bella.”
My stomach clenches. “Thanks for bringing it up. I love the subject of the fire. I could talk about it all day.”
“I just mean that it wasn't your fault.”
Apparently it was. I'm the one who lit the match that lit the candle, so therefore, it's my fault. I've tried to think of at least ten other people to blame, such as my cheating liar of an ex-boyfriend or my loser ex-BFF, but logic prevails, and it all points back to me once again. I started the fire.”
“But you didn't mean to. That's the important thing. Your parents know that.”
“Pretty soon the euphoric feeling that their children are alive and well will wear off, and they will begin to look at me as the arsonist I must be.”
But if there's one thing I did get out of this, besides a serious need for a manicure, it's that life is short. And I'm going to take the Brotherhood situation by the horns and talk to Jared. I think I've earned his trust by now. Surely he'll open up to me about what he knows.
My head still throbs, and the shouting of Coach Lambourn and Coach Dallas does nothing to help.
Coach Dallas butts up to Dante, his face inches from his star player's. “When I was in school, we were winners. A state championship was a given. And why? Because we worked hard! Because we were a team.”He moves on to his stepbrother. “Your team makes me sick. You have a heritage here, and you're destroying it game by game. We barely pulled it out last week. Uphold the legacy at all costs.” His gaze travels to every starter.
I can't wait to blow the lid on this guy's craziness and send him up the river. To the big house. The pokey. The slammer. If he continues killing off all his players, there won't be anyone left to uphold a football, let alone a stupid legacy.
“Well, look at that.”
I follow Lindy's stare and see Luke walking toward us. With Kelsey Anderson.
“Hey, ladies.” Luke addresses us both, but he watches me.
“Kelsey, it's good to see you out here. You look great.” Lindy lies through her teeth. Kelsey looks like a strong wind could pick her up and deposit her in Arkansas with one gust.
“I ran into Kelsey at the home today and thought some fresh air might be nice,” Luke says. “How are you?” He turns his attention toward me as Lindy pulls Kelsey in with some small talk.
“I'm fine.” And still mad, thank you very much. “Couldn't be better.”
He lifts his hands toward my face and eases off my oversized sunglasses. And scowls. “That doesn't look fine. You could've been seriously hurt.”
I grab my shades back. “Well, I wasn't.”
Luke clasps my wrist and pulls me a few steps away from the girls. “Budge said that the fire department claimed you left a candle burning. He said you swore you snuffed out all the candles.”
“I guess I was wrong.” And the house is short a few walls to prove it.
Luke casts a glance over his shoulder. He steps closer to me. “What if you're not wrong? What if someone else started the fire?”
“Who, Robbie? I put out the candles after he went to bed.”
“Not Robbie.” A warm breeze blows between us, ruffling Luke's dark hair. “Bella, how hard would it be to get into your house? I'm guessing the windows are fairly old. And if your stepdad is like half the people in this town, the doors probably aren't locked much.”
It's true. Jake does not believe in locking doors. Whenever I ask him about it. be just makes a joke about his attack cows.
“But I locked the doors that night. That place is so isolated it kind of creeps me out sometimes.”
“Dead bolts?”
“No.”
Luke watches the team, his jaw set. “You need to stay away from the football players. No more asking questions. No parties. Nothing.”
“No! We've already been through this. I have an in with Jared Campbell, and you know it. There is no reason not to take advantage of that.”
Any of those players could have been in your house last night. We have to play it safe from this point on. The closer we get to the truth, the more dangerous it could get.”
“I have to go to the parties. We have no other options. It's our best resource for information. Unless you want me to enlighten Lindy and see if Matt will tell her anything.”
“I said no, Bella.” His voice is as hard as an oak tree. “Thursday night I'm going with Kelsey to Zach Epps's house.”
“What? Why?”
“We're going to search his bedroom. Check his computer. See if we can find anything at all.”
“You weren't at least going to ask me to go?”
He shakes his head. “She trusts me. We've known each other since kindergarten. This is kind of a delicate situation.”
“I knew you would take over! I knew it. That's what this is about. You want to be the hero here. Spare me your fake concern over my safety, Chief. I'm not backing off this story—and we'll see who gets to the finish line first.”
He clutches my arm and pulls me to him, his voice a whisper in my ear. “You're off the article, Bella. You were warned. I can't risk the story,” Anger swims in his deep blue eyes. “Or you.”
“I'm not your responsibility.” I take my arm back. “I don't need your permission or your protection.”
“Need I remind you of the very first party?”
“And if I need you and your birdcalls again, I'll say the word.” My eye throbs like a football's trying to sprout out of the socket. “Good-bye, L
uke Sullivan.”
“I'll have your new assignment on your desk tomorrow.”
“An exposéon the poor quality of toilet paper at Truman High?” And I'll know exactly where to stick it.
I say good-bye to Kelsey Anderson and walk toward Lindy's car, hoping she'll get the hint that I'm more than ready to leave.
“Bella!” A sweaty Jared Campbell intercepts me as I reach her Mustang. “Hey.” His face is red from the heat, but it doesn't hide his concern. “How are you? I heard about the fire today.”
I smile and push my sunglasses farther up my nose. “I'm fine. Really.” It is kind of cool how I have people caring about me—the same people who last month wouldn't have minded if the whole house caved in on me.
“I'm so glad.” He wipes at his dripping forehead. “We're playing our rival Friday night. You should come.”
“I'll be there this week.” Even though Luke, spawn of Satan, has removed me from the story, he didn't remove me from manager duty with Lindy. I'm totally going to break this case before he does.
Are we still on for the party Thursday night? I understand if you don't feel like it.”
“No, I definitely feel like it!” Okay, right now I feel like some Ben and Jerry's and an ice pack, but I'm sure I'll be in the mood in a few days.
“I saw you guys talking to Kelsey Anderson.” His eyes travel across the field to where she still stands deep in conversation with Luke and Lindy. “What did she have to say?”
“We were just talking about Zach—the night of the accident.”
“I don't think that's something we'll ever get over.”
I rest my hand on his forearm. Which is also sweaty. “I know it's still tough. It's good that Kelsey's getting out some though, right? She needs a break from her vigil at the nursing home. That place is so depressing.”
“You've been there?”
“Yeah, I went with Luke once. Just to visit.” And to dig up some information. “Do you go?”
He shakes his head. “Can't.” He bites his top lip as he thinks on this. “It's hard ... you know? It's nice that you're spending time with her though.”
“Jared—“ Tell me everything you know about the Brotherhood.Where are the videos? Help me stop your stepbrother. “I, um ... I'll see you at school tomorrow.”
So Not Happening (2009) Page 24