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Chapter Sixteen
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Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Seventeen
Flames devoured the trees as they imploded from the inside. Nests abandoned to the heat blazed in a short glory. Young green leaves wilted and browned before succumbing to the fire's will. The landscape shuddered with the heat, the trees groaning for mercy. But the fire showed no lenience.***Andrew held my hand as we both stared out the window, watching the world zoom past. It was quiet in the car as Audrey maneuvered us toward the city. We were on our way to Elitch Gardens, an amusement park in Denver, courtesy of Ray and Audrey. The park had only been open for a week, but Ray had gotten discounted tickets from a customer and invited us all to go. Luke turned down the opportunity to come with us. He was still avoiding us, so it was just Andrew, Audrey, Ray, and me.Sprigs of green were starting to appear on the trees as we approached the city, the tiny leaves struggling to grow under a bright blue sky. It hadn't rained in weeks, but the grass was attempting to turn a pale yellow-gr
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Eighteen
The fire roared, asserting its dominance as it threw its greedy hand skyward with triumph. Light and shadow danced as the fire pressed forward, never stopping, never ceasing. Its hunger grew with every tree it consumed and with every blade of grass it devoured.***I sat under the shade of a tree for I don't even know how long. Time lost meaning, my world ticking by on the regular interval of screams emitted from the happy people on the coaster. I watched happy couples stroll by, hand in hand. Families with children skipped by. Teenagers giggled with friends. Laughter was everywhere but in my dark little corner."Holly?" Ray's voice cut through the fog in my head like headlights. I looked up, knowing my face was tear-stained and miserable. Mascara lined the collar of my shirt from me wiping my eyes. "Holly, are you okay?"I shook my head no, not trusting my voice. My throat hurt from crying. I didn't think I had any more tears left in me. Ray came and sat next to me on the grass, clos
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Nineteen
I'm sorry. Please call me.I sighed. I had sent him that message every day for the past week and a half. He hadn't responded yet. I wanted to cry."You texting him again?" Luke leaned against the door frame to my back porch, sunlight streaming around him. My lips scrunched to the side as I nodded. I couldn't help the bitter expression. Luke crossed his arms. "You just have to give him some time. You dropped a bomb on him, and he is still trying to figure out what just happened. He'll come around.""That's what you said last week. I just wish he would at least let me explain," I said with a pout, flipping my phone around in my hands."Holly, just give him time. He is hurting too," Luke said quietly. I put my phone in my pocket and walked outside. Luke's eyes followed me as I walked past him through the door, his arms still crossed.It was beautiful outside. A perfect spring day in the beginning of May. The news ran stories every night about how little snow we had received this year, bu
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Twenty
The growing flames made the air visible. Shimmering heat rose from the parched ground as the flames approached. The ground burned with embers, coals bright like eyes staring into the souls of the men who tried to stop it. The firefighters gave up ground reluctantly to the hungry flames.***I woke up thinking a storm was rolling in from the lack of sunshine, the glowing clock casting strange shadows in my darkened room. The sky outside was black with smoke, gray ash falling like desecrated snow. The smell of smoke permeated everything, even when I closed the windows and stuffed a towel under the front door. I stared out the window into the dark sky, wondering where the fire was. The fire danger had been marked extreme for over a month, but even then it was still early in the season for a fire this size. The dry winter and abnormally warm spring had made the entire area a tinderbox ready to burn.I started a pot of coffee as I checked my cell phone and the home phone to make sure there
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Twenty-One
Andrew looked around the high school. It seemed like everyone he had ever known was there, milling around the gymnasium and talking in hushed tones. He looked around for Holly, wondering what he was going to say when he saw her. There was no way she was going to leave him alone if she saw him first. She had texted him the same thing everyday: I'm sorry. Please call me. He had ignored every single one.Andrew felt a little guilty at ignoring her. The initial anger of finding out that she wasn’t who he thought she was had finally faded, but it was left with a cold apathy. The girl he loved was sweet and innocent, not some tramp who would sleep with anything that had a penis. She had changed in his eyes, and he didn't like the new girl he saw.Andrew sat down with his back against the gym wall and watched as people moved and greeted one another. Ray waved to him as he sat down at a table and began talking with the other locals. Despite Audrey and Ray's fight, Andrew still liked Ray. He k
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Twenty-Two
It was an epic battle. Men verses flame, spirit against nature. Water poured from hoses like rain. Planes and helicopters poured red dust as though it had no end. Masked yellow uniforms felled trees and dug trenches, giving the flames no place to run to. The flames screamed in defiance, casting embers to the sky. The fire chief called for more. It had to be enough.***My voice didn't seem to carry in the smoke, and I quickly grew hoarse. I knew I was going to have to leave with or without my dog soon if I wanted to make it off the mountain at all. I called out frantically, hating the idea of leaving her to smoke and flame because I couldn't find her.I headed deeper into the pine trees, down toward the tree fort Andrew and I had made as kids. Luke's dad had given us scrap wood, and we had made a fort one summer long ago. Shadow loved it in the trees by the fort. There was a family of squirrels that lived in it now, and whenever the fence went down, Shadow would try and escape to the
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Twenty-Three
It was easier to breathe down low to the ground, but the smoke still made my lungs hurt. I pulled my shirt up over my nose, but I still had to concentrate on not coughing, breathing only through my nose. My eyes watered with the soot, and I could feel tears tracking down my face. Shadow kept with me, whining gently and pulling me toward the house. I just had to get to the garage.I was so tired. It didn't seem like crawling would be that much more effort, but the incline, the rocks, the slip of the pine needles and the pain in my ankle were taking their toll. I pulled myself to a tree and leaned my back against it. It hurt to breathe, but my lungs begged for oxygen.Shadow whimpered and pulled softly, her eyes looking past me. I followed her line of sight to the edge of our property. A faint glow was starting to creep into the trees. The fire was coming. I felt a surge of adrenaline push through me, my ankle and the pain forgotten. I had to get to the garage. My pink bicycle. If I cou
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Twenty-Four
The flames died slow, painful deaths as they starved for more. But there was no more. The trees were gone, the grass was gone, the bushes were gone. The fire had nowhere left to go. The firefighters pressed on, determined to never to let the flames rise again. They searched for any hint of flame. No glowing ember was left alive to burn. Shovels buried, water quenched, and eyes hunted. No quarter was given, no mercy to the flames. The fire must not be allowed to continue, too much was at stake to let it start again.***Andrew brushed the hair out of my face, peering down at me. His blue eyes stood out against the soot on his cheeks. His hair was a mess with streaks of black from where his dirty hands had brushed through it. The truck engine roared as Ray sped down the road. Andrew smiled down at me and kissed my forehead."You came for me," I whispered. It was easier to breathe now, but my throat still felt like I had swallowed lit charcoal."Of course I came for you. I will always co
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Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Twenty-Six
The flames were long since gone. The trees lay scarred and bare, their branches burnt and blackened. The world was made of ash. Yet hope remained. A thin green tendril of life, forged in the heat of flame, emerged from a tiny seed. Another followed quickly. Life sprung from the fertile ground, ready to start the cycle anew. The circle of fire and life continued.***I stood staring at the ruined remnants of West Hardware. The fire was finally contained, and we were allowed to return to the ashes to start rebuilding. My dad was a few feet away talking with Audrey and Ray. I could hear them laughing about something, their voices melding together in the warm summer wind.Audrey's hand rested comfortably on Ray's forearm, a diamond ring glinting in the sun. The wedding had been four days after the fire started in an intimate ceremony at the local chapel. The town had celebrated their wedding, throwing a party in the hotel where most of the evacuees were staying. Everyone said it was the b
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Twenty-Five
A cheer went up. The fire was retreating, forced to consume itself instead of the landscape. Tears of joy from the townspeople mixed with the ash still raining from the sky. The fire wasn't defeated, but hope glowed in the eyes of the people. A renewed energy, a promise of success gave energy where there was none before, powered the hoses and shovels. They would be victorious.***"Thanks, Aunt Heather, we'll be there soon," Andrew said into his phone. He turned and smiled at me, pushing the wheelchair toward the exit. "Aunt Heather is all ready for us to come stay with her. She has a bed made up for you on the ground floor so you don't have to go up the stairs."I smiled as he pushed through the doors and out toward the car. Andrew helped me hop into the passenger's seat, gently guiding my leg into the car. The doctor had put a cast on my ankle and I had to check with an orthopedic specialist in a week, but I was able to go home with pain medication. Since I no longer had a house to
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Twenty-Four
The flames died slow, painful deaths as they starved for more. But there was no more. The trees were gone, the grass was gone, the bushes were gone. The fire had nowhere left to go. The firefighters pressed on, determined to never to let the flames rise again. They searched for any hint of flame. No glowing ember was left alive to burn. Shovels buried, water quenched, and eyes hunted. No quarter was given, no mercy to the flames. The fire must not be allowed to continue, too much was at stake to let it start again.***Andrew brushed the hair out of my face, peering down at me. His blue eyes stood out against the soot on his cheeks. His hair was a mess with streaks of black from where his dirty hands had brushed through it. The truck engine roared as Ray sped down the road. Andrew smiled down at me and kissed my forehead."You came for me," I whispered. It was easier to breathe now, but my throat still felt like I had swallowed lit charcoal."Of course I came for you. I will always co
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Twenty-Three
It was easier to breathe down low to the ground, but the smoke still made my lungs hurt. I pulled my shirt up over my nose, but I still had to concentrate on not coughing, breathing only through my nose. My eyes watered with the soot, and I could feel tears tracking down my face. Shadow kept with me, whining gently and pulling me toward the house. I just had to get to the garage.I was so tired. It didn't seem like crawling would be that much more effort, but the incline, the rocks, the slip of the pine needles and the pain in my ankle were taking their toll. I pulled myself to a tree and leaned my back against it. It hurt to breathe, but my lungs begged for oxygen.Shadow whimpered and pulled softly, her eyes looking past me. I followed her line of sight to the edge of our property. A faint glow was starting to creep into the trees. The fire was coming. I felt a surge of adrenaline push through me, my ankle and the pain forgotten. I had to get to the garage. My pink bicycle. If I cou
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Twenty-Two
It was an epic battle. Men verses flame, spirit against nature. Water poured from hoses like rain. Planes and helicopters poured red dust as though it had no end. Masked yellow uniforms felled trees and dug trenches, giving the flames no place to run to. The flames screamed in defiance, casting embers to the sky. The fire chief called for more. It had to be enough.***My voice didn't seem to carry in the smoke, and I quickly grew hoarse. I knew I was going to have to leave with or without my dog soon if I wanted to make it off the mountain at all. I called out frantically, hating the idea of leaving her to smoke and flame because I couldn't find her.I headed deeper into the pine trees, down toward the tree fort Andrew and I had made as kids. Luke's dad had given us scrap wood, and we had made a fort one summer long ago. Shadow loved it in the trees by the fort. There was a family of squirrels that lived in it now, and whenever the fence went down, Shadow would try and escape to the
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Twenty-One
Andrew looked around the high school. It seemed like everyone he had ever known was there, milling around the gymnasium and talking in hushed tones. He looked around for Holly, wondering what he was going to say when he saw her. There was no way she was going to leave him alone if she saw him first. She had texted him the same thing everyday: I'm sorry. Please call me. He had ignored every single one.Andrew felt a little guilty at ignoring her. The initial anger of finding out that she wasn’t who he thought she was had finally faded, but it was left with a cold apathy. The girl he loved was sweet and innocent, not some tramp who would sleep with anything that had a penis. She had changed in his eyes, and he didn't like the new girl he saw.Andrew sat down with his back against the gym wall and watched as people moved and greeted one another. Ray waved to him as he sat down at a table and began talking with the other locals. Despite Audrey and Ray's fight, Andrew still liked Ray. He k
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Twenty
The growing flames made the air visible. Shimmering heat rose from the parched ground as the flames approached. The ground burned with embers, coals bright like eyes staring into the souls of the men who tried to stop it. The firefighters gave up ground reluctantly to the hungry flames.***I woke up thinking a storm was rolling in from the lack of sunshine, the glowing clock casting strange shadows in my darkened room. The sky outside was black with smoke, gray ash falling like desecrated snow. The smell of smoke permeated everything, even when I closed the windows and stuffed a towel under the front door. I stared out the window into the dark sky, wondering where the fire was. The fire danger had been marked extreme for over a month, but even then it was still early in the season for a fire this size. The dry winter and abnormally warm spring had made the entire area a tinderbox ready to burn.I started a pot of coffee as I checked my cell phone and the home phone to make sure there
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Nineteen
I'm sorry. Please call me.I sighed. I had sent him that message every day for the past week and a half. He hadn't responded yet. I wanted to cry."You texting him again?" Luke leaned against the door frame to my back porch, sunlight streaming around him. My lips scrunched to the side as I nodded. I couldn't help the bitter expression. Luke crossed his arms. "You just have to give him some time. You dropped a bomb on him, and he is still trying to figure out what just happened. He'll come around.""That's what you said last week. I just wish he would at least let me explain," I said with a pout, flipping my phone around in my hands."Holly, just give him time. He is hurting too," Luke said quietly. I put my phone in my pocket and walked outside. Luke's eyes followed me as I walked past him through the door, his arms still crossed.It was beautiful outside. A perfect spring day in the beginning of May. The news ran stories every night about how little snow we had received this year, bu
Burned (New Adult Romance) Chapter Eighteen
The fire roared, asserting its dominance as it threw its greedy hand skyward with triumph. Light and shadow danced as the fire pressed forward, never stopping, never ceasing. Its hunger grew with every tree it consumed and with every blade of grass it devoured.***I sat under the shade of a tree for I don't even know how long. Time lost meaning, my world ticking by on the regular interval of screams emitted from the happy people on the coaster. I watched happy couples stroll by, hand in hand. Families with children skipped by. Teenagers giggled with friends. Laughter was everywhere but in my dark little corner."Holly?" Ray's voice cut through the fog in my head like headlights. I looked up, knowing my face was tear-stained and miserable. Mascara lined the collar of my shirt from me wiping my eyes. "Holly, are you okay?"I shook my head no, not trusting my voice. My throat hurt from crying. I didn't think I had any more tears left in me. Ray came and sat next to me on the grass, clos
