𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐘 → original

eighteen

"New developments have been revealed in the case of the devastating house fire that took place about 20 minutes outside of Milford, Pennsylvania. TMZ revealed this morning that Amory Moore, the rookie wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, was among the people inside the house. We have received word from sources close to the case that he is in stable condition. We are currently being told that officials have found one deceased amongst the ruins, and foul play has yet to be ruled out for the cause of the fire. More on this, after the break."

Nadia switched off the TV with a huff before leaning back in the motel bed. It had been three days since the fire, but police had asked the group to stay in town for a couple days. It was cutting into the portion of her vacation that she was meant to spend with her family, but she knew they were not complaining. They had called the phone in the motel nearly every hour, passing the phone around as they each sobbed about how grateful they were for her to be alive.

The police had been nice enough to put them up in rooms, because all of their credit cards and money were lost to the fire. Nadia couldn't stop thinking about how awful it was going to be to get everything back; credit cards, IDs, and so on. She had been smart enough to leave her passport in Amory's rental car, but they had lost the keys due to the fire, and Amory was currently working with the rental company to have a spare express shipped to the motel so that they would be able to get in and drive back when they needed to. Not that it would matter much, because Amory wouldn't be able to fly home without his ID or phone. Everything was a mess.

The group had been given three rooms with two beds in each. Without really thinking about it, they had split into the same pairs that they had gotten in one the night of Vallie's wedding: Amory and Nadia, Ophelia and Marc, and Lou and Caspar. Caspar was still in the hospital, though, having taken in much more of the fumes than the others, and Lou spent more time with him than she did in her motel room. 

Nadia had been released from the hospital shortly after she was admitted. They revealed that she had fractured her tibia and fibula and set her leg in a cast, telling her it would take anywhere from 3 to 6 months to heal. She knew that it was going to be a bitch flying 18 hours in it, though she had no other choice.

Amory had ran out to get them breakfast, because the police were giving them a daily stipend for their food. She knew he would be back soon, and she knew that he would be thankful that she didn't have the news on. She could only watch the updates when he was gone, otherwise he would get upset. Nadia didn't understand how he didn't want to know what was happening, because it was all she wanted to do. She kept waiting for some breaking news that either revealed that the police had found something that incriminated them, or that they had found Vallie's remains. Only Tyler's were found amongst the rubble, which was a relief in some ways, but a terror in many others. There was currently a search party going on in the mountains, though the group was forbidden from joining.

Nadia was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of a key jiggling in the door, and she sat up in her bed. Amory breezed in, granting her a smile before placing her breakfast in her hands. Nadia was not someone who typically ate in bed, but it was a struggle to move around now, so she had become resigned to do as much. She placed her iced tea aside and began to pick at the blueberry muffin he got her, the smallest of smiles on her face. The reminder that he hadn't forgotten that she didn't like coffee made her somewhat giddy.

"I stopped by the hospital before I grabbed our food." Amory took a seat on his bed, his body faced towards Nadia. "Lou says they're going to release him today or tomorrow."

"That's good." Nadia nodded, digging a blueberry out and popping it in her mouth. "Did the police question him at the hospital, or are they going to take him down to the station once he's released?"