The One (Jaylor)

The One Part 92

Patricia POV:

At the end of the day, I walked home alone. I was nervous to come home in new clothes because then I would have to explain everything that happened to my mom or come up with a really good excuse. Alex would have walked me but he had a soccer game right after school that he couldn't miss. But as I got closer to my house I could see some fire trucks next to it, and smoke pouring from the top, it was on fire.

My jaw dropped and I inched forward, were my parents inside? I was just about to ask someone what was happening when I saw the triplets and Lily coming home from the other direction. They looked even more frightened than me and I rushed over to join them.

"Patricia, what's going on?" , Lil asked innocently. "Where are Mommy and Daddy?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure."

A moment later, a police officer came over to us and Lily inched closer to me, holding onto my hand.

"Where's our Mommy and Daddy?" , she asked.

"We're not sure, kids." , the police officer replied. "We haven't gotten the chance to get inside but we'll let you all know as soon as possible. Do any of you have a phone or know your Mom or Dad's phone number?"

I nodded, letting go of Lily's hand long enough to dig out my phone from my backpack. I decided to try and call my mom first. I felt like if there was ever a problem the first person I should call was my mom. But when I tried to call, no one replied. Next, I tried my dad's phone number, this time he picked up.

"Hi there Patricia." , he said. "How are you?"

"Our house is on fire." , I announced. "Where are you? Are you inside the house."

"No, honey. I'm safe." , I heard a loud sigh. Then, "I'm at the old house. There were some boxes we left here." , he explained. "Are your brothers and sisters with you?"

"Yes. But where is Mom? She didn't pick up her phone." , I explained worriedly. "Is she still in the house?"

There was no response. "Are there any adults around?" , Joe asked avoiding my question.

"Uh-huh. Lots of police officers. Dad, please come home."

"As soon as I can, sweetie." , he replied. "Until then...your godmother Karlie lives there. tell the police officer that. You'll have to spend the night there. I'll head home as soon as I can but watch over your siblings, okay?"

I nodded even though I knew he couldn't see. "Okay." , I said trying not to cry. "Bye Dad. I love you."

"Bye honey. I love you too." , he said then hung up.

Everyone was staring at me now and I knew I was supposed to say something. "Mom didn't pick up. But dad did. He's at the old house and he will come home tomorrow. Does that mean our mom is in the house?" , I asked staring at our burning house as some police officers tried spraying water at it.

"Did he tell you who you should stay with until then?" , the police officer asked.

I nodded. "With godmother Karlie." , I announced.

Afterward, I called our godmother. She picked up right away and said not to worry and that she would be over in a couple minutes.

"Hey everyone." , she said softly giving us all hugs. "Come on, you'll stay at my house tonight until your dad is home."

"But where's mommy!" , Lily shouted.

"We don't know." , I explained. "But we're going home with our godmother now."

"I'm not leaving without mommy!" , Lily said angrily then plopping on the ground with her arms crossed.

I could tell godmother didn't know what to do. Lily could be really stubborn but I didn't blame her. She just wanted to know if our Mom was alright.

"Lily, we have to go." , I said. "The police officer said he would tell us anything he knew."

"No!"

Karlie sighed, this time in frustration and finally opted to pick Lily up and carry her to the car as she screamed and kicked. Before I could get into the car, I heard my name being shouted at me. Turning around, I saw Alex running after me and finally stopping with a sigh.

"Hey." , he said breathlessly.

"Hey." , I replied glancing at me to see everyone in the car, but I doubt godmother would mind. "Don't you have a game today?"

"Yeah. But apparently, the other team thought the game was tomorrow so it was canceled. I saw your house and I wanted to make sure you and everyone else was okay."

I nodded, biting my lip to keep me from crying, I hated talking about this. "Me and my siblings are fine, our dad is at our old house but I don't know where my mom is."

I could tell he didn't know how to respond to this as he stuttered for a moment. "So who are you going to say with?" , he asked.

"My godmother lives in the area. We're going to be staying with her until our dad comes back." , I explained biting my lip hard

"Wow. I'm really sorry."

I shrugged. "Well, at least this way I won't have to explain to my mom why I have new clothes. I guess it could be worse."

Alex nodded understandably. "Come here." , he said softly pulling me into his arms as I let out a sigh of relief and wrapped my arms around him. "I'll be okay."

"I hope." , I mumbled.

"Patricia, are you coming, honey?" , Karlie called from the car.

I pulled away from Alex as she opened the door and came out. "Yeah." , I replied quickly wiping my eyes. "I'm coming."

"Oh, and I'm sorry. Who are you?" , she asked motioning to Alex.

"This is my friend Alex. He was just checking in on me."

"It's good to meet you, Alex.", she said. "You seem like a close friend. If it's okay with your parents, you're allowed to come over to the house."

"Thank you but-"

"Alex, please!", I begged all of a sudden feeling greedy. "We won't mind. It'll be fun."

He looked at me and sighed. I was giving him my puppy eyes, something that always worked when I was a kid. "Alright." , he finally said taking my hand. "I'll come over."

"Thank you." , I said giving him a hug.

"Any time."