Page 87 of Fight
From the corner of my peripheral, I spot the side by side carrying Xander and King creeping toward us. “Hey Teddy,” Xander says with a smirk aimed at my sister. She waves.
“Hey, you good?” King asks me, pulling my focus.
“Yeah. Need any help loading up the UTV?”
“Nah, just take care of yourself. Text us later,” Xander says.
My palm finds the back of my neck. “Will do. Thank you for saving our asses out on that mountain.” I mean it sincerely.
“Whatever, you could have made it back without us,” King adds. “But the guys are gonna have a heyday next fire season after word gets around.”
Oh good, I can’t wait to hear their version of it.
My sister laughs. “Alright, I’m going back. Call me later,” she says, pointing at me. She nods goodbye to everyone and continues on her way.
“Good to see you, Teddy,” Xander calls after her, his eyes lingering on the back of her head a little too long. My gaze bounces between Xander and my sister—my verymarried-with-two-kidssister. She casually lifts her hand in a wave, then looks down to her phone as she walks to her car. If Xander sees something in her, he missed his chance a long time ago. She and Logan were high school sweethearts and live a very happy life.
I shake it off. “All the same, I appreciate it.”
The guys drive the UTV toward the alternate access road that leads to the main base, where they likely parked the trailer, and we part ways.
“Thank you for making sure I didn’t die,” I yell out to my sister, walking backward toward my truck.
She opens her car door, yelling back, “What are baby sisters for?”
I fish my car keys out of my pack and hop in my truck, turning the ignition, but I can’t bring myself to leave. I remind myself she’s in good care with Matthew and the other EMT.
And Jonathan.
Shaking my head, I shift the truck in reverse. It’s time to go home, but as I back out of the parking spot, I can’t help but feel like I’ve left something behind.
Back home, I push aside one of the hanging tarps that blocks off the dining room from sawdust. This place has been in a constant state of construction for nearly five years, but there’s been a lot of progress made too. My footsteps echo through the unfinished space toward the stairs. The house sounds hollow.
Upstairs, I lumber to my bedroom, one of the first rooms I remodeled after I bought the place, and drop my pack in thecloset. Next, I plug in my phone, and it lights up with a charging battery symbol. I leave it to power up on the nightstand while I turn on the shower in the en-suite bathroom. I brush my teeth while I wait for the water to warm. As soon as those bristles hit my gums with that cool, minty toothpaste, I moan. “Oh, baby, I’ve missed you.” My words are muffled around the toothbrush.
I probably brush for a good five minutes straight, even scrubbing the inside of my cheeks. Then I floss. Then swish mouthwash around and delight in the brisk sensation. After stripping off my filthy hiking gear, I stand under the hot shower spray and release another groan of pleasure. I scrub my body with the same detail as my mouth and step out feeling fresher than ever. The whore baths at the lookout certainly helped, but there’s no substitute for the real thing. My thoughts wander to Scottie. Has she gotten home yet? Has she had her shower? Did she get the dirt out of her hair like she wanted?
With a towel wrapped around my waist, I exit the bathroom and sit on the edge of my bed. I pick up my partially charged phone, hoping to see a message from her, but instead, it’s a barrage of texts that have loaded from the last few days. Most from my group chat with Xander and King. The most recent one.
Xander
Hey asshole, are you coming out with us or not?
King
You better not be dead.
Xander
He said he made it back from Quell… probably balls deep in home remodeling.
King
Or pussy.
Xander
Did he mention going out of town?