I stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling and frowned as I leaned over to grab my phone off of the side table, then realized it wasn't there... neither was the side table. My house was gone. Everything was gone. I turned over in the bed and gripped the blanket tight. Lincoln hadn't contacted me, neither had Riane or Irene, or Ann, or anyone. Lincoln probably didn't even care. I felt like my heart had been burnt to ashes.
"Arg! Why are girls so damn sensitive!" I screamed at the wall. Then shrunk back. Woops, I wasn't supposed to cuss. Oh well.
It'd been a week since the fire, and Mae had already forgotten about it, because that's just how she is; but I tried to forget... and failed. It just never left my mind. The moment when I woke up and heard Mae's unearthly screaming and saw the flames all around me, roasting me like a sacrifice to some made up god plagued me.
It felt like it was on replay in my mind and the recorder was hiding somewhere. I just couldn't find it to hit stop. I wanted it to stop. "Stop. Please."
"Dawn? Are you okay?" Mae lifted the blanket off my head and raised her eyebrows. "Are you talking to yourself? You just said stop please and no one did anything."
"I did?" Darn, I must have accidently said that out loud. That's funny. I started laughing. "I thought I said that in my head!" I giggled and she giggled then we burst out laughing.
Mae started slapping her knee. That's when things got wild. We laughed so hard that my stomach started hurting and we couldn't hear our laughs anymore.
"Heeheheee." Mae wheezed and stood up, brushing the dust off of her pants after she'd fallen on the floor. "Ok, well I have to go." She smiled and giggled a little more, then handed me a phone. "Troy said you could have this since its his old one. He left for work. Just activate it and then make sure you call me. I'll just be at the bakery." She left the room and I watched her car drive away.
I guess she'd finally gotten a copy of her car key. We hadn't been able to drive the whole week we'd been here and Mae had saved her phone from the fire. I'd gotten another bank card already, but I was still working on stocking my wardrobe.... I'd been wearing the same two outfits for a while. (Mae and I alternated outfits every other day.)
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"Ohhh, I'm gonna love you, like I'm gonna lose you..."
"Riane, this is a photo shoot, not a recording studio."
"Mmm... sorry. I've had that song stuck in my head for days. It is a really good song, I mean, it gets you thinking. You could lose someone anyday. You're never promised tomorrow."
"Hm, true... Oh my gosh wait, did you see that house fire the other day? It was right across the street from my house. The condo? They lost everything."
"Wow, that sounds baddd, wonder whose house."
"I think it was two girls. I know one's a baker... oh my gosh, wait don't you work at Dags diner? The other girl worked there. I saw the interview they had on the news!"
"Wait- WHAT?!!?! Dawn and Mae!?? Are they dead or injured?!!?!?"
"No, they're fine, oh my gosh yes, keep that pose."
I froze where I was and Michelle snapped a picture.
"Alright, that's enough for this photoshoot. You'll have to get some pics with Trojan though.. and Bob will be taking those."
I was still shocked that Dawns house burnt down. Holy cow. And no one told me!? What the heck!? Well now I knew why she hadn't been at work for a few days. I just assumed she was skipping again.
