"I'm so sorry," she said on a pained whisper. "I'm so, so sorry sweetheart."
"Daddy … " I dropped to my knees and sobbed through the line as my heart broke in two.
All it took was one phone call; that was it. One single phone call for my entire world to …
Just stop.
And the worst part was, the one person I wanted to seek comfort in was still so out of reach.
Quinn
I COULDN'T REMEMBER the last time I'd ever been so mentally and physically exhausted. The warehouse on the outskirts of town had been abandoned for years, and the county had been considering tearing it down for a while now, but with all the junk that had accumulated inside over the years, the goddamned place had gone up like a match.
It had been fully engulfed by the time we got there, and there was no chance any of us were getting inside. Cap had called for a defensive attack as soon as we got on scene, so we spent hours trying to keep it contained so it wouldn't spread to the other buildings around it.
By the time we put the son of a bitch out and got back to the station, it was shift change. We cleaned and restocked the engine and restacked the hose before heading for the showers, and when I finally made it to my truck, I was dead on my feet. I was thankful my mom was getting Sophia to school this morning, because I couldn't imagine anything but going home and collapsing face down in my bed and passing out for the next several hours.
Tossing my duffle bag into the passenger seat, I climbed in, slammed the door, and started the engine, ready to get home. Just as I pulled out of the parking lot, my phone pinged from inside my duffle. Keeping my eyes on the road, I unzipped the bag with one hand and fished around inside. The ping was an alert, letting me know I had a missed call.
I had expected the calls to be from my mom or Sophia, but something in my gut tightened at the sight of that little number 2 next to Lilly's name. We'd barely spoken five words to each other in the month that had passed since I ended things, so seeing that she had called twice in the span of just a few hours set me on edge. As I swiped my screen and thumbed to her contacts, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Her phone rang one time before going straight to voicemail and that knot in my stomach began to sour. I hung up and hit redial three more times to the exact same result. Suddenly, the idea of sleep no longer held any appeal. I needed to know where Lilly was, that she was safe.
Turning my truck in the opposite direction of my house, I headed for Main, going faster than the allotted speed limit. As soon as Lilly's dance school came into view, I whipped my truck into the first available space and jumped from the cab as soon as I pulled the key from the ignition.
The blinds were lifted, letting me know the school was open, but the main studio was empty. I shoved through the glass doors at a near run, my eyes scanning over every square inch of the lobby as a startled Kyle looked at me like I'd just grown a second head. "Quinn? Where's the fire, man?"
"Where is she?"
His head cocked to the side as his forehead creased in confusion. The tension in my gut tightened at his silence. "What?"
"Lilly," I snapped, quickly losing patience. "She called me but I was at work … " I dragged my hands through my hair as that feeling of helplessness grew. I knew something wasn't right. "I missed the calls. I tried calling her back this morning, but it's going straight to voicemail. Is she okay? Did something happen?"
A wave of sadness washed over Kyle's face. "She's not here, Quinn. She's in Jackson Hole." At that, my heart stopped, because I knew. "Her father passed away last night."
"Shit," I hissed as I began to pace. Her father had died, the one thing she'd feared for so long had finally happened … and she'd reached out to me. And I hadn't been there for her. "Thanks," I muttered quickly, as I turned and bolted out the door. As soon as I got into my truck, I pulled my phone from the cup holder and hit call on the number.
"Quinn?"
"Mom, I need a favor," I spoke quickly as I headed down Main back toward my house. "Do you think you could keep Sophia for a few more days? There's somewhere I need to be."
Lilly
IT WAS LIKE I was living in some sort of haze. Everyone around me was moving and talking, but I could barely make out the shapes and sounds over my own grief. My dad should have been there. He should have been playing host to all the extended family that was currently filling up my parents' house. He was always so good at making everyone feel welcome.