Travis ran his hand over the stubble on his scalp, shaking his head. “He didn’t get out,” he whispered. “He didn’t get out, Pidge.”
My breath caught as I watched the soot on his cheeks streak with tears. He fell to his knees, and I fell with him.
“Trent’s smart, Trav. He got out. He had to have found a different way,” I said, trying to convince myself as well.
Travis collapsed into my lap, gripping my shirt with both fists. I held him. I didn’t know what else to do.
An hour passed. The cries and wailing from the survivors and spectators outside the building had grown to an eerie quiet. We watched with waning hope as the firefighters brought out two people, and then continuously came out empty-handed. As the paramedics tended to the injured and ambulances tore into night with burn victims, we waited. Half an hour later, the bodies they returned with were those who were beyond saving. The ground was lined with casualties, far outnumbering those of us that had escaped. Travis’s eyes didn’t leave the door, waiting for them to pull his brother from the ashes.
“Travis?”
We turned at the same time to see Adam standing beside us. Travis stood up, pulling me along with him.
“I’m glad to see you guys made it out,” Adam said,
looking stunned and bewildered. “Where’s Trent?”
Travis didn’t answer.
Our eyes returned to the charred remains of Keaton Hall, the thick black smoke still billowing from the windows. I buried my face into Travis’s chest, shutting my eyes tight, hoping at any moment I would wake up.
“I have to uh … I have to call my dad,” Travis said, his eyebrows pulling together as he opened his cell phone.
I took a breath, hoping my voice would sound stronger than I felt. “Maybe you should wait, Travis. We don’t know anything, yet.”
His eyes didn’t leave the number pad, and his lip quivered. “This ain’t fucking right. He shoulda never been there.”
“It was an accident, Travis. You couldn’t have known something like this was going to happen,” I said, touching his cheek.
His face compressed, his eyes shutting tight. He took in a deep breath and began to dial his father’s number.
Chapter Twenty-Two
JET PLANE
The numbers on the screen were replaced with a name as the phone began to ring, and Travis’s eyes widened when he read the display.
“Trent?” A surprised laugh escaped his lips, and a smile broke out on his face as he looked at me. “It’s Trent!” I gasped and squeezed his arm as he spoke. “Where are you? What do you mean you’re at Morgan? I’ll be there in a second, don’t you fucking move!”
I surged forward, my feet struggling to keep up with Travis as he sprinted across the campus, dragging me behind him. When we reached Morgan, my lungs were screaming for air. Trent ran down the steps, crashing into both of us.
“Jesus H. Christ, brother! I thought you were toast!” Trent said, squeezing us so tightly I couldn’t breathe.
“You asshole!” Travis screamed, shoving his brother away. “I thought you were fucking dead! I’ve been waiting for the firefighters to carry your charred body from Keaton!”
Travis frowned at Trent for a moment, and then pulled him into a hug. His arm shot out, fumbling around until he felt my shirt, and then pulled me into a hug as well. After several moments, Travis released Trent, keeping me close beside him.
Trent looked at me with an apologetic frown. “I’m sorry, Abby. I panicked.”
I shook my head. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“Me? I would have been better off dead if Travis had seen me come out of that building without you. I tried to find you after you ran off, but then I got lost and had to find another way. I walked along the building looking for that window, but I ran into some cops and they made me leave. I’ve been flippin’ the fuck out over here!” he said, running his hand over his short hair.
Travis wiped my cheeks with his thumbs, and then pulled up his shirt, using it to wipe the soot from his face. “Let’s get out of here. The cops are going to be crawling all over the place soon.”
After hugging his brother once more, we walked to America’s Honda. Travis watched me buckle my seat belt and then frowned when I coughed.
“Maybe I should take you to the hospital. Get you checked out.”