Girl On Fire

18

"Ahh yes, Florida's heat. I don't miss it." I said to myself as we stepped out of the Florida Airport, feeling the warm moist air cover our skin. It was different compared to Tennessee.

"Yup, it's going to make my curls shitty." He said while messing with his permed curls. I loved the curls.

After about 20 minutes of silence in search for a taxi, Josh was getting fed up.

"Why do you guys not have taxi's?" Josh asked me, irritated. I walked besides him, trying to keep up.

"We have ubers. We are not New York." I said to him. I never had to use uber until now since I had a truck. If anything, I took bus when I couldn't drive.

"That's ridiculous." Josh muttered as he kept walking through the crowds. Suddenly, he stopped, almost causing me to bump into him. He quickly placed his hand in mine before walking again like he was on a mission, making me smile.

Eventually we ordered an Uber and hopped in to the back seat, giving the driver the location. I stared out the window in a daze, staring at the ugly palm trees I hated so much. The whole state made me nauseous. Everywhere I looked was a reminder of all the bad memories I've tried to forget. Josh placed his hand gently on my knee, almost as if he knew I felt sick. I gave him a soft smile before taking his hand into mine as I continued to stare out the window.

————

This was it. This was my house.

"Well, at least some of it is still standing." I stated as I slammed the Uber door behind me. I stared at the charcoal colored house with sadness. As much as I hated the place, it was still the only home I had.

Josh stood next to me in silence. As the Uber drove away, I sighed heavily with my hands in my hair, spotting the melted blue tarp I placed over my truck before I left. Looks like that's what she went for first considering there was literally nothing left of the truck. Seems like it burned the longest. It made my heart heavy. I so desperately wanted to save it but there was nothing I could do now.

As Josh and I walked towards the house, a Honda came rolling into the yard. Instantly knowing who it was, I wasted no time heading straight for the car with pure rage. Josh watched my reaction to the vehicle, confused until it click who it could've been.

"Get out of the fucking car!" I screamed at Ashley who sat in the driver seat. I yanked the door handle off the car in attempt to throw open her door, throwing it into my yard before kicking the driver door in with my heavy docs, leaving a very large dent.

"Oh fuck, oh shit!" Josh yelled as he came running over to yank me away from the car before I could do more damage.

"You bitch!" I screamed, leaching forward. Josh pulled me to the ground, shoving my body in the gravel drive way as he sat on top of me. I squirmed in his grip, not realizing just how strong he actually was. Ashley came out of the car with a laugh, pointing a loaded gun at us.

"Hi Josh!" She screamed in excitement, almost putting the gun down, getting distracted. Josh and I stopped fighting, staring down at the gun in her hands. This could go wrong very very fast.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Josh yelled at her. She glanced at the two of us, thinking for a second.

"What?" She asked, acting innocent. She stared between Josh and I with a glare. "Are you two buddy buddy now?" She asked. "Where have you been hiding?" She questioned, staring at me with hate filled eyes.

"What is your problem?" I yelled back at her. "Let me go." I told Josh. He hesitated a second before getting off my body, letting me stand up. I walked towards Ashley.