After catching her fiance cheating with his realtor partner, Aubrey Peters decides to sell everything and move cross country to LA. With the help of her cousin and self-proclaimed influencer, Eloise, Aubrey slowly starts to rebuild the shambles of h...
"It's Christopher's teacher." He whispers a little too loud. My ears are bright red, my breathing too erratic. I know I should be calm, but I'm not.
Time slows.
I don't know what hits me first. The sound of kids screaming for their lives, or the thundering of a massive explosion.
I can't hold back my tears.
"Ms. Peters!" They flow freely down my face. "Hello?" I've trained my whole life for situations like this. I'm supposed to be calm. Reassuring. But my kid- "Talk to me!" It's a prayer. If I will her enough, she'll respond. "What's-" I choke out the word, I'm crumbling. Everything is on fire. The room warps.
Christopher.
I kissed him goodbye this morning. I let him out of the car, waved at him. Bre smiled at me, I didn't know- didn't know-
"Eddie-" Nash's voice is low and concerned. I can't look at him. I'm too focused on the chaos on the other end of the phone. The screams- the screams!
The children...
Underneath the shuffling, I can hear her. Directing with authority and certainty. All I can do is pray that's enough.
"Eddie, what's going on?"
I'm only vaguely aware of Buck at my side. I can't meet his gaze, all that matters is what's happening on the other end of this phone- the phone that he's prying and lifting away from me. I'm too weak to fight him.
"Nash..." the horror that escapes Buck's lips reflect the state of my unraveling mind. He hands my phone off to the captain and takes up residency next to me.
"They're just kids." Buck whispers latching his hand on my shoulder. He squeezes tight. "What the fuck is wrong with people?"
In a matter of seconds Howie and Hen are clued in. My brain can only grasp fragments of the conversation. Multiple phone calls are being made at once. Buck slips away, Hen on his heels.
"At the school." Howie barely finishes before turning to leave. I can see the pain on his face as he looks at me and shakes his head. "You've got to sit this one out."
It's a statement I already know, and I allow his voice to fade to white noise.
I feel drunk with sorrow.
I want so badly to be the hero my son expects me to be, but I'm utterly and completely useless.
Strangers I've risked my life for. People who I owed nothing to. And yet- and yet-
My own son? I've failed.
The siren echos around my head.
My body is lead. It melts into the seat.
Why can't I move?
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Author's Notes:
Hi, friends! Sorry it's been a while. You may not have notice, but I decided to go back and redo the last chapter (it doesn't exist anymore). The reason for this is because so much time had passed between when I started this story and now that I was kind of unsure of where I was going. I went back and re-read what I had written and what you were commenting and decided to (for lack of better phrasing) give you what you wanted.
And I'm so glad I did!
From here on out, I'll be giving you the POVs of the other charcters as I try to figure out the original ending I was hoping for. I'll also be taking a poll soon of who you think Bre should end up with and what other pairings you want (if you want it).
Thank you for sticking around after I fell off the deepend. You guys seriously rock!
Peace, love, and happy endings,
Rachel of freehugproductions
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