Fire Girl Part 1

by Alivia Anderson

  “Maddie?”Grace reached out to me.

  Breathe in, through the nose, breathe out, through the lips.

  Zac ripped the picture away and stalked out of the room.

  Unwanted tears streamed down my face.

  “Are you okay?”

  I took another breath. “How—” I couldn’t get the words out.

  Grace frowned. “Your Grandpa gave it to him.”

  “Sit down.” Grace gestured to Zac’s bed.

  I held her kind, sad eyes for a moment.

  “It’s okay.” Grace smiled. “Maddie, it will be okay.”

  I stumbled forward. “I’m sorry, Grace. I have to go.”

  ***

  I pulled the four-wheeler to the side of the road and cut the engine. He would answer for this.

  Grandpa leaned back against the front of the truck and watched Bill. He held his pocketknife poised in front of a fingernail. “Hey, Madds, how did the study session go?”

  I rushed at him. I would burst. I would rage. I would get answers. “How could you?”

  Grandpa jerked his head to me. “What’s got you in such a tizzy?”

  “Why did you give him that picture?”

  Grandpa frowned. “Good heck, what are ya talking about? You teenagers and all these quizzical questions?”

  “I saw it. In Zac’s room.” I kept my voice controlled. I turned the sunflower in my hand until the chain began to choke me.

  Grandpa nodded stoically. “Oh.”

  “Why?”

  Grandpa flicked his knife shut. “Now hold on.”

  “How dare you!”

  Grandpa put up a hand and lifted an eyebrow. “Now you hold on there. You watch your tone.”

  I pushed my hair back and tried to stop the way every part of me seemed to quake.

  Grandpa softened. “Now listen, he was making money for his mission by making those fancy portraits. I gave it to him before . . .”

  Before.

  Grandpa reached out to me. His warm hand fluttered against my shoulder. “Maddie.”

  I didn’t move. I didn’t know why I didn’t move. I would have . . . before. Not before my parents, but before Aunt Sylvie had threatened to take me. Before, when my plan to leave had been so simple.

  The fluttering stopped and he pulled his hand back. “Sometimes a fire is good.”

  “What?”

  Grandpa gestured to Uncle Bill. He held a torch and moved slowly down the field. “It’s cleansing. It’s a chance for the nutrients to re-work themselves back into the ground. It’s a start over.”

  “I don’t know why you’re talking about this.”

  Grandpa looked down at me. His eyes were wet. “When you started that fire I was so angry, but I’ve watched a lot of fires in my life and the thing I know is that sometimes fires are the only thing that can give everything a fresh start.”

  I had kept my feelings for Grandpa at bay since the funeral. I had kept them bottled, stuffed, locked away. I couldn't let them loose now. Not now.

  “I want a fresh start, Madds. It’s been burned down, let’s rebuild.”

  I stared at him and my heart went on triple speed. I thought of how it used to be. Of how it had been between Grandpa and I.

  Before.

  Grandpa pulled me into his chest. “I miss them, too, Madds. I miss them so bad.”

  I shrugged out of his grasp. He didn’t understand. There were no fresh starts for me. Not here. I ran back to the four-wheeler. “I can't.”

  Chapter 15 The Game

  I sat on the charred camp quilt that I had helped Grandma put over the bleachers. It smelled of deer hunt and dirt and Grandma’s musty closet where she stored all the blankets.

  Grandma settled beside me. “Sweetie, you need to remember that a football game is a lot like life, it can be as interesting or as boring as each person wants to make it. The key is getting a good seat.”

  “What are you talking about, Star? Football is the nectar of the Gods.” Grandpa’s voice came from the other side of Grandma.

  I kept my gaze on the field. I hadn’t spoken to Grandpa since last night. In truth, I hadn’t really spoken much the whole day to anyone. I’d even gone to Chance’s truck at lunch to sit by myself. I’d almost texted Carrie. But I hadn’t. I hadn’t heard from her since last Sunday. Five days. That could be considered a record for her. The bottom of my stomach churned in worry. Zac Lockhart's picture had made one thing glaringly clear to me—I could never get away from the past while I lived here. It was too much. It was too hard. It—was not what I’d become.

  I stared down at my shiny, new cell phone.

  “Nice to see it’s getting some use.” Uncle Bill winked at me. He lifted a twenty dollar bill into the air.

  A concession worker ran up the steps to us.

  “Four waters and four bags of popcorn.”

  The concession boy expertly juggled the waters to us and stuffed the cash into his money apron.

  “Here, Mom.” Bill held them out.

  Grandma reached across me and took two popcorns and two waters. “Thank you, Bill.”

  Bill popped a handful of popcorn into his mouth. “Have to give Madds the whole experience, right? Nothing like the popcorn at a football game. And there’s nothing like a Sugar Valley football game, especially when her cousin is the star running back.” He lifted his water into the air like a soldier raising his sword for battle. “Go Rabbits!”

  Other people around us lifted their arm and affirmed his chant, “Go Rabbits.”

  I squashed the softness that tried to seep into me like an uninvited mosquito. I couldn’t let my emotions get in the way of getting out of here.

  Uncle Bill turned to me. “C’mon, Madds, you gotta cheer for the home team.”

  I shook my head. “No, I don’t.”

  He nudged me. “Okay, you gotta cheer for Chance.”

  I hesitated. Chance had always been my soft spot. I lifted my arm weakly. “Go Rabbits.”

  Uncle Bill laughed and stuffed another heap of popcorn into his mouth.

  Grandpa’s laugh came out soft. “See that, Star? Maddie can’t resist the Rabbits. We’re irresistible.”

  Our eyes connected.

  No. No. No.

  Grandpa nodded, his eyes were bloodshot and vulnerable.

  No. No. No. It wasn’t his fault. Well, not everything. I gave him a half smile.

  His lips widened and he winked at me.

  I searched the field. I spotted Shirley and Minnie. They both wore Sugar Valley red t-shirts and both burst into laughter at the same time. Their new found friendship seemed funny and repulsive to me at the same time. Principal Schmidt stood next to them, his coach pose on—legs shoulder width apart and arms crossed. He watched the players with the stern look of a military commander.

  The band drummed out the school fight song. The cheerleaders set up shop below the right side of the bleachers. Bonnie’s curls bounced ferociously into the air as her arms hit the beats of her cheer. “R. A. B . . .”

  And then I saw her. She made her way bumpily across the grass—by herself. I put my popcorn down and shot to my feet. I carefully picked my way across Grandma and Grandpa. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Don’t be too long,” Uncle Bill shouted after me, “you can’t miss the kickoff.”

  I jogged down the steel bleachers and dropped onto the row of cement that led to the concessions.

  Grace moved her chair onto the cement and plunged forward. She wore a thick, red ribbon as a headband and had a red Sugar Valley t-shirt on.

  I folded my arms and waited for her, mystified.

  When she saw me, a smile stole across her lips. “Hey.”

  A satisfied feeling spread through me. “What’s this?”

  Grace turned her chin into the air. “I’ve rethought my policy on public appearances.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  She beamed. “I’ve decided to be like you—do the hard thing.”

  A soft warmth spread th
rough my chest. No. No. No. I sniffed.

  Grace studied me. “I’m sorry about the picture.”

  I blinked and tried to change whatever look had crept across my face. “It’s fine.”

  Grace scoffed. “Death is never fine. It’s inevitable, but it’s not fine.”

  I blinked again, and put on a happy face. A happy face I didn’t even have to work at. “Well, you’re here. That’s what counts.”

  Trina jumped off the bleachers beside me. “And I’m here, that’s what really counts.”

  I bounced. “Geez!”

  Trina laughed and posed with a giant red finger stuck over her hand. Red bunny ears were painted on both cheeks. Red ribbons tied in two ponytails. “Go Sugar Valley!” She sounded all cheerleadery. “Hey, Grace!” She yelled out the same way.

  I cleared my throat. “Pick an identity—really.”

  Grace smiled like a kid keeping a secret present hidden. “I like it.”

  Trina flashed me a glare. “See, someone likes me. And, not to burst your bubble, but hanging out with the girl that almost burnt the school down doesn’t ever help my image.”

  I couldn’t stop myself. I started to giggle.

  Grace’s eyes met mine, she giggled too.

  Trina cocked her hip to the side and threw out a mock glare. “Ha, ha. I’m glad I can cause you two so much happiness.”

  “Ironically, you do.” I searched for a place we could watch the game with Grace. “Rabbit girl—where are we sitting?”

  Trina let out a long sigh and moved next to me. “See, you need me.” She pointed to a patch of grass next to the cheerleaders. “Over there.”

  I followed to where Trina pointed. Then I saw her—Carrie.

  Fast. Wild. Hysterical. I knew if I had high blood pressure, I’d be having a heart attack.

  I dashed toward her and called over my shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Hey!” Trina shouted.

  When Carrie saw me, she started to run. Her punked out, frizzy platinum hair and neon blue backpack jostled behind her.

  My legs went rubbery. I had to get her off the field and out of sight of all of Sugar Valley.

  She embraced me like a football player going for the tackle.

  I stumbled back. “Heeey.”

  She laughed and the scent of pink bubble gum and stale smoke clung to her. “What’s up, my Sista?”

  She always joked about how we were long lost sisters, separated at birth. She even went so far as to make up this ancient, medieval story about two princesses that finally found each other in a dark, lonely forest, and helped each other to the castle and married two hot princes.

  I tugged her toward the sideline. “What are you doing?”

  “Well, that reunion was anticlimactic.” She tugged her hand away. “Hold on.”

  I trigger laughed. Chance’s laugh. Except mine sounded completely fake. Because it was. I reached back for her hand. “They’re about to start a game.”

  She looked around like she only now noticed this. “Oh.” She moved with me to the sideline.

  We got to the concessions and bathrooms.

  Carrie frowned. “Where’s your family?”

  My heart did a skip then a beat. “Up on the bleachers, my cousin is full back and it’s kind of a big deal to all of them.”

  Carrie blew a bubble. Her face dropped to severe irritation. “But not to you, right? You don’t care about this stuff.”

  I shrugged.

  Carrie popped another bubble. “Haven’t heard from you.”

  I met her eyes. “I told you I needed time.”

  “Right. For Gramps.”

  “Right.”

  We faced off for a few seconds.

  A hand clamped down hard on my shoulder. “Maddie.”

  I bounced.

  Jimmy.

  He hesitated then crushed me into a stale smoke hug.

  I always hated his hug, but I endured it. “Hey.” Perfect. They were here. They were right here.

  “Sorry, I had to park the car. Man you’d think small towns wouldn’t have this kind of traffic?” He lounged back. He wore a black, worn leather jacket and combat boots.

  Suddenly, I saw Carrie and Jimmy with new eyes. Eyes that Sugar Valley would look at them through. Eyes I hadn’t been using the last year. Eyes that told me they would stick out—just a little bit—in Sugar Valley.

  Jimmy pinched Carrie in the side.

  “Jimmy!” Carrie batted at him and rolled her eyes. “Stop.”

  Instantly, it felt like I was seeing them for the first time.

  Jimmy laughed and widened his smile. “You’ve missed us, Madds, right?”

  I did my ‘on purpose’ fake smile. I glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching us. They had to leave. “Tons.”

  Jimmy reached out and touched my hair.

  I yanked back.

  Carrie laughed. “Jimmy, stop teasing her.”

  His face turned intense. “Your color looks exactly like that Bonnie from Bonnie and Clyde—the duo that went on that crime spree in the 1940s. Do you remember the picture I showed you of her?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut for a second. Random. Jimmy always had the random, useless information thing going for him.

  “Jimmy focus.” Carrie commanded.

  I opened my eyes.

  “I am focused.” Jimmy threw his hands into the air. “Seriously, Carrie, that insults me.”

  Carrie shook her head and got completely serious. “I know you’re hoping we would free you today, right?”

  I swallowed. Crap. Did they want me to leave now? Crap. Chance. Crap. Grace.

  Jimmy ran his tongue across the front of his teeth and seemed to sense my angst. “Today ain’t the day, Madds.”

  Confusion swirled through my brain. "What?"

  Carrie leaned closer. “Jimmy followed the cop that’s always harassing us and he met with some big shot private investigator.”

  My heart rate went back to overdrive. “What?”

  Jimmy leaned closer. “Someone knows something.” He pushed a thumb at his chest. “And they want to pin it on us.”

  “Wait—”

  “Madds, our phones have been tapped, that’s why we had to come and talk to you. We are leaving in ten days. Not this Sunday, but the next. Meet us at the Greyhound bus stop Sunday night. Jimmy will be driving, but the bus station is a good place to pick you up without being noticed.”

  I hedged. “I don’t know.”

  Carrie’s eyes went wild and she pumped a finger next to my face. “Jimmy can’t take the chance that you’ll be a loose end, you need to come with us.”

  Jimmy put an arm around Carrie. “I can speak for myself.”

  Carrie gave another eye roll.

  He pointed at me. “Ten days. We disappear. Forever. Be there.” His eyes hardened.

  A dark, nervous rope tied knots into the lower part of my gut. I’d seen what he’d done.

  My phone buzzed.

  I pulled it out. Trina. Who’s the weird chic?

  “Who’s that?” Carrie tried to spy my phone.

  “No one.”

  “Fancy phone.” Carrie leaned back.

  “Yeah,” Jimmy leaned forward. “You’ve gone all rich girl on us?”

  “Whatever.”

  Without warning, the crowd erupted in applause. Principle Schmidt moved onto the field and held up a microphone. “Go Rabbits!”

  The crowd yelled it back.

  My heart flip flopped. “I’ve gotta go, my cousin’s playing.”

  Principal Schmidt’s baritone voice continued. “Today, before the game, we wanted to publically thank the parents and families of our players. These players work so hard, but we know that’s not without a cost to our community. Many of you are trying to get the final cut of hay in and there’s a lot of time and sacrifice you give us by letting us have these boys. So come on down here parents and families, and let us see you. Come on down and stand by your player.”

/>   “Oh, he is cute!” Carrie blew a bubble.

  “Shut your trap, Carrie, before I shut it for you.” Jimmy growled.

  Most of the stands tromped down the bleachers.

  I spotted Chance trotting with the rest of the team onto the field. His eyes locked mine and he beckoned me to him.

  “You know you belong with us, right Madds?” Carrie’s voice whispered into my ear. “They don’t know you.”

  I flinched away from her and turned back to the field.

  The football players began to space out. And then I saw Grace. She bumpily moved across the grass with her chair. The divots shifted her like a canoe in the rapids.

  I went into a full sprint. Didn’t Grace see it?

  “Maddie!” Carrie yelled after me.

  I focused on Grace, her chin in the air, her hand on her controls at full throttle.

  Zac saw it too.

  But it was too late.

  Chapter 16 The Moment

  Grace’s chair hit the grass spot. She launched out like a cannon being shot at a circus.

  “Grace!” Zac was just out of reach when she hit the ground.

  Her body collapsed and her foot hooked on the side of the wheelchair. It pulled the chair half-way on top of her.

  “No!” Zac fell next to her, his eyes fierce, angry, the force of nature about to be moved.

  I would never forget them at this moment.

  Trina and I both arrived at the same time. Together, we pulled the back of the wheelchair and helped to untangled it from Grace’s bloody leg.

  “I’m fine.” Grace tried to prop herself up, but fell back to the grass.

  The blood.

  Zac took her by the shoulders. “You’re bleeding, Grace. Hold still.”

  “What happened?” Bonnie moved next to me.

  My heart pounded and I watched Grace try to sit up, her face radish red, her hair wild and electric, her eyes filled with the anger of a spurned mythical creature. “Just put me back in my chair!”

  She would hate this. All this attention. I poked Bonnie’s shoulder. “Have the cheerleaders circle us quick!”

  Bonnie gave me a confused look.

  Trina put two fingers in her mouth and blew out the loudest mouth whistle I had ever heard. “Spit, spot people! Cheer emergency! Huddle up!”