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“Everything okay?” he asked, relaxing his arm and lowering the bat he was carrying.
“Sorry, Stan!” she said in a rush, grateful he hadn’t come out swinging. “Just my dumb lock.”
Slamming the door closed behind her, Jazz rushed to the remote. Without needing to change the station, the local news popped up.
“Breaking news tonight starts with a fire off Sixth Street in Lawrence’s older warehouse district. Trucks are on the scene, but so far, we have not been able to find out if any of the crew was inside at the time of collapse. Here now, is the witness who reported the blaze. Sir, can you tell us what you saw earlier this evening?”
“I was walking to the bus stop and heard a strange popping noise coming from the old Wally’s showroom. When I looked up at the windows, I saw a flickering light on the second floor and called 911.”
“Did you see any of the firefighters go into the building before it collapsed?”
“They all piled out of that truck and were moving real quick,” he said, turning to point behind them at the burning building. “Some of them walked around the back, but a few went in the front right there where the windows used to be.”
The news reporter turned back to the camera. The smoke now floating behind her was dense and black.
“We cannot verify if any firemen were inside the building, but, according to our witness, he did see some of them access the front. We will stay on the scene and bring you more as soon as we can. This is Angelina Franco for channel thirteen news.”
“Nononononono,” she whispered, sinking to the floor where she’d been standing in front of the screen.
This couldn’t be happening.
“Jazz!” Winter yelled as she ran into the apartment.
She looked up at her friend, her stomach twisting and churning with anxiousness that was so overwhelming she couldn’t keep it in any longer. Unable to stop herself, everything she’d eaten for lunch was involuntarily expelled from her gut and onto the floor next to her.
“Fuck!” Her best friend ran to the kitchen and grabbed the small trashcan they stored under the sink. Running back, she dropped down next to Jazz without even a wince at the mess she’d made. “Here, sweetie, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be just fine. Let it all out, okay?”
Jazz clutched the container to her chest and heaved in between trying to apologize.
“Shhhhh,” her friend soothed, rubbing her back. “There’s no need to say you’re sorry, babe. You’ve cleaned up my puke before, I’ll help clean up yours. That’s what best friends are for. I’m pretty sure Dion Warwick said it in that song.”
Jazz couldn’t help but snort at that, no matter how shitty she felt.
Winter stood and moved towards the kitchen. “You have any Sprite?”
“I don’t know,” she mumbled, standing up slowly. She moved to the couch and sank into her favorite spot. “Have you heard anything from Will?”
“He’s at the lake with his brothers.” Her friend poked her head around the small wall that divided the space and frowned. “I texted him, but his signal is always sketchy when they’re out on the boat.”
Jazz sighed heavily as she palmed her eyes. The pressure building inside her head made it feel as though it were about to pop. “How do you do this, Win?”
Winter sat down on the couch with her. “How do I handle when Will has a call, or everything in general?”
“Both, all of it, everything,” she said with a wave of her hand. “How do younotgo crazy every time there’s a call?”
“I trust Will,” Winter answered with a lift of her shoulders. “He’s not only good at his job, he’s great at it. I know there’s always a chance that something could go wrong but I try not to think about it. When Will tells me he’s coming home to me, I trust he’s going to do everything he can to follow through with that promise.”
“You just live like this?” she asked in disbelief.
“I do,” Winter said with a nod. She reached over and gripped Jazz’s hand. “The question is, can you?”
“I—” Jazz stopped when the news cut back to the live feed of the fire.
“Are you able to release the name the firefighter injured yet?”
The chief shook his head. “Not quite yet. We are still working on notifying his family but as I said, it was not a serious injury.”
“Did you hear that?” Winter squeezed Jazz’s hand excitedly. “Not a serious injury. That’s good.”
