“Thanks,” I said gratefully. “I really appreciate that.”
“No problem.”
I looked at him suspiciously suddenly, wondering if I should be wary of Seth too. It seemed odd that he would be the only one to cut me some slack when all his colleagues seemed hell-bent on hassling me.
“Is there a reason you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon?” I asked.
Seth smiled, and he seemed to understand what I was feeling. “Let’s just say… I was you not very long ago.”
I frowned. “What does that mean?” I asked. “You sold?”
“Nah… I mean I definitely considered it back before I became a firefighter,” Seth admitted. “But I smoked up quite a bit, and I was heading nowhere fast… if I had continued the way I was going, I might have ended up here… like you.”
“Well lucky you,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound too bitter. “You managed to avoid it.”
“My point is… you made a mistake, and you’re paying the price for it. You should get a chance to wipe the slate clean and start over. You’re not a write-off just because you made a few bad decisions.”
“Thanks, man,” I said. “I appreciate that.”
Seth nodded and led me to one of the fire engines. “She needs a good clean,” he told me. “Inside and out. You’ll find everything you need in those tool cabinets to your left. Make sure you clean up after yourself when you’re done.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll be around; you can come to me if you have any questions.”
I nodded and then Seth left me to it. I got to work and tried to set a plan for the rest of my day. Maybe I could squeeze in a couple of hours of painting before I slept but I realized that I didn’t really even want to paint. I was mentally drained already, and I knew that I needed to unwind and blow off some steam. Painting usually helped me sleep, but now that I couldn’t invest the kind of time and energy into my work as I usually did, the motivation to start painting was somehow almost non-existent.
I decided to finish up my four hours at the fire station and then head back to my apartment and call in the boys. A little party was just what I needed to relax and try and forget the nightmare my life had become.
4
Zoey
I rolled over in my sleep and nearly fell off the couch. I gasped as I realized I wasn’t in my bed. I was on my mother’s couch, and it didn’t leave me with a lot of room to stretch… or roll over apparently.
I pushed back the covering sheet I had used and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. It was almost eight o’clock, and I realized I had slept far longer than I had intended to. The plan had been to wake up early and head into campus so that I could get in a few hours of piano practice before class. My first class was at ten-thirty, so I still had time.
After I had brushed my teeth and changed into some fresh jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, I headed into the kitchen to grab something to eat before going to campus. I nearly screamed when I walked in to find a half-naked man standing in front of the open fridge.
“Oh my God,” I gasped. “Who are you?”
He turned to me, and I could tell I had startled him as well. He was young, probably in his mid- to late-thirties and he had a flat stomach and chiseled chest, but I had to look away. He was wearing short boxer shorts that left little to the imagination.
“I’m Cliff,” he replied. “You must be Margot’s daughter.”
“That’s me,” I said awkwardly. “Where is mom?”
Instead of answering me, he let out a little chuckle. I frowned. “Did I say something funny?”
“No, it’s nothing,” Cliff replied. “It’s just funny to hear you refer to Margot as ‘mom.’ She’s so young to have such an old daughter.”
“You think I’m old, you should see Seth,” I replied.
“Seth?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Uh… my brother.”
“Fucking hell,” Cliff said, and he sounded totally shocked by that. “You have a brother?”