Shall We Dance?

Chapter 34 - Trauma

The fire spreads fast on Kevin's clothes and the cigarette on the floor has lit a trail that spreads towards me. The smell of burning diesel makes my stomach churn and twists reality. Ale's body is crumpled on his side of the car, blood running from his head to his neck. The dark red stain grows on my chest where a large piece of glass sticks out while a loud ring sounds in my ears. Breathing is hard as the car fills with smoke and the shouts from outside become louder.

"FER! You need to move! Use your legs! Mom, we need to clean him!"

Arms hold me tight around my chest and try to pull me back. My feet seem glued to the place I am and my legs are filled with lead. Suddenly, I feel a hard surface against my bottom and something cold runs down my skin. Water and not blood drips from me. What I see around me gets clearer and I'm not in a car, and Ale is not around. I'm now sitting on a driveway and Madison's mom points a garden hose at me while Bailey watches next to her. I examine my clothes and they are not burned, just wet. Madison joins me on the wet floor and checks on me.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Let's take this shirt off. We are far from the fire, but this can't be good for your skin."

"Where's Ale?"

Her expression changes from worry to puzzlement. "Ale is in the hospital."

I gaze around and see Cadence and her father pulling something or someone to the other side of the street while the neighbors come outside and watch.

"What are they doing?"

"Why is he talking like this?" Madison's mom gives the hose to Bailey and kneels at my side.

"He's been through trauma as a child. Some situations make it all come back."

Sirens seem to be approaching us. I cover my ears and shut my eyes to block the deafening noise. Hands pull my own away and I feel someone very close. 

"Look at me... Look at my eyes." 

Madison's soft voice makes me open my eyes again and I try to concentrate on her beautiful face.

"Count with me. One, two, three, inhale. Four, five, six, exhale."

My breathing pattern follows her counting, my heart slows down and my fuzzy head begins to understand what just happened. I was fighting Kevin over a fuel container before he could cover more of Madison's car. A piece of lit ash fell from his cigarette and onto his shirt, and the area caught fire immediately, probably wet from the gasoline he had been splashing.

Ambulances, the fire department and the police arrive and people spread around. A paramedic comes to check on me and Madison tells him that I got splashed with gasoline. I feel slightly embarrassed when I realize that I'm not wearing a shirt and he's touching my skin. He asks if I'm in pain or if it stings and I shake my head in negative. Cadence comes closer to us and lets out a deep sigh.

"He's alive, but it looks bad. We put his clothes out, but the damage was done already," I hear her say to her mother.

The paramedic advises me to take a shower as soon as possible to clean whatever gasoline residue is still on my skin and to immediately let anyone know if I feel unwell. Madison helps me up from the floor and as we enter the house I see my son who looks so scared.

"Things will be okay," I say to him before Madison escorts me to the shower.

I try as best as I can to clean the areas of my chest and legs where I got splashed with gasoline and have to convince myself to leave the safety of the shower. I feel grateful when I find a set of clean clothes that are slightly too big for me, probably from Madison's dad, and get dressed.