Hearts on Fire 1: Serefina(2)

She heard the rumbling, and heard people crying, screaming as they fell to the floor or tried to follow them.

He got her to the staircase. They both looked down.

“We need to get lower. There’s another exit door that leads to a fire escape to the right. See it?” He asked her, but she was shaking now. Even being the daughter of a firefighter, she couldn’t understand the fear, the uncertainty this situation was causing.

Matt shook her shoulders.

“Serefina, if we don’t get down there, we’re going to die.”

She understood.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now move your ass,” he commanded. She grabbed his hand and they headed down the stairs, closer to the fire below. It was getting hotter, and the flames were shooting up from the center. She didn’t want to look down there. She knew how crowded those dance floors were, and by the looks and sounds of the screams of terror she knew people were dead.

They made it to the small landing, and Matt let go of her hand to open the door. He shoved against it. There was something blocking the door.

“What the fuck?” he yelled as he banged.

The sirens were blaring now, a little too late. There was no warning, no way to let people know they needed to get out of there. “We have to get lower,” he told her. He looked to the side, at another door. It looked like a utility door or another exit. There was a sign over it. She was shaking now, the fear becoming too much for her body.

“Stay here and I’ll check it out.”

“No. Don’t leave me.” She grabbed onto his arm and Matt smiled. That sweet reassuring smile, that was firm and all knowing. He was in his zone. He was in firefighter mode and she needed to trust him.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Okay. Hurry.” As their hands separated, her heart ached from the loss of his nearness. She watched him head back up and then over toward the other door when she heard the banging on the door near the landing. She banged back as she pressed her ear against it. She heard the firefighters. They were looking for a way in. The banging grew louder. She saw a section in the metal door indent toward her. She knew they were using tools to break in. She called to Matt.

“Matt, they’re coming. Come back here, they’re coming. The firefighters.” She yelled to him but he seemed to not hear her. She started to climb back up the stairs, calling his name. “Matt!” she yelled. He turned to look at her and she waved him back. The fire erupted higher as she met him halfway up the staircase.

He reached for her, and as they headed back down the stairs, they both heard a rumbling sound. She turned to look at Matt, and his eyes widened and then he shoved her hard. So hard she went flying into the metal door and the small platform of concrete. She was stunned from the hit, and when she looked at him, the staircase collapsed, the floor caved in, and Matt disappeared into the flames below. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she reached for him when the platform gave and she fell, too. She felt the fire against her side, the pain as she landed on something hard, and then a throbbing in her head.

Matt! She cried out until there was nothing but darkness.

Serefina screamed out as she sat up in bed. She was sweating, her body shaking as she looked around her bedroom. She felt the nauseous sensation in her gut, but she didn’t get that urge to run to the bathroom and vomit.

She glanced at the clock. Seven a.m. It was time to get up. She needed to finish packing her things and getting the car ready. After nine months of fighting her parents and her brothers as they begged her to move back home after the fire, she finally gave in. Living out here without Matt just wasn’t the same. Twelve firefighters lost their lives in that fire. Never mind the one hundred and thirteen innocent people who died inside. It had been the largest number of casualties from a fire at a club in the state’s history.

She rolled out of bed and only felt the slight pinch of pain. Or maybe she didn’t. Maybe it was already disappearing and her need to hold on to to some pain, some effect of the fire was her own attempt at holding on to Matt. She stood up. Her broken ribs were fully healed. The collapsed lung, the severed spleen, and the third-degree burns were nearly invisible. But not to her. Every time she looked in the mirror, or ran her hands over her waist and hip bone, she felt the ridges of unsmooth skin. She swallowed hard as she walked into the bathroom to get ready. It was time to move on. Life was too depressing here, and if she stayed, she might consider trying to take her own life.

The phone rang, interrupting her morbid thoughts, and she walked back over to the nightstand and lifted her cell phone. It was her brother Eddie. He, Lance, and Tyler wanted to drive out here to get her and bring her back themselves, but she’d turned down their offer. She figured driving the ten or so hours in her Jeep wouldn’t be too bad. She had decided to leave the furniture behind as she sold the condo fully furnished. Most of her belongings, like clothing and mementos, she’d shipped out to home and they would arrive tomorrow.

“Hey, what’s up?” she asked Eddie as she answered the phone.

“There’s a storm coming in tonight. It should be finished by the time you leave tomorrow morning, but I just wanted to be sure to call you, so you’re careful driving.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m going to take my time. I might stop along the way, instead of driving right through. It depends on how I feel.”

“Well, don’t push it. When you’re tired, the last thing you should be doing is operating a motor vehicle.”

She chuckled. “Okay, Dad.”

He chuckled back. “Listen, you, we can’t wait until you’re back home. I’ve been worried about you.”

She could hear the speaker in the background. She knew he was at the firehouse and it brought on emotions she was trying to gain control of again. She grew up around the firehouse in New Jersey where her dad was now the chief.

She swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat.

“I’ll be home soon. This is tough, Eddie.”

“I know, angel. But you’ll have the crew here to help you get through it.”

“I’d better get moving. I want to get the Jeep packed, and take care of the final cleanup of the condo before I go.”

“Okay, keep us posted on where you are, but pull over to call us. No talking or texting on the phone.”

“Geez, how have I ever survived without you?” she teased.

“Listen, I’ve seen some seriously disturbing accidents because of texting and driving. I have to go. The bell just went off. Figures, an hour before my shift is through. Love you, angel.”

“Love you, too. Be safe,” she said as the call disconnected.

She felt the tightness in her chest, that fear she got when thinking about fires and even about her family of firefighters and the fact that they had to go on all kinds of calls to risk their lives to save others.

She stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. Heading home was a good thing, not something she should fear. She would have her own apartment over the garage, so her independence wasn’t taken away. She would find a job as soon as she felt up to writing and being creative, and then she would move on with her life.

Life. Why do I get to still have a life? Why didn’t the fire take me, like it took Matt and all the others? Why did I have to be that lone survivor buried under the rubble? The miracle the media referred to me as? Why me? Why didn’t I die, too?





Chapter 1




Angelina Martelli stood in the apartment above the garage. She fixed the comforter set, arranged the assorted throw pillows, and centered the seashell one, embellished with pale beige sequins. She hoped that Serefina liked it. She wanted her to feel at home but also as independent as possible. She ran the palm of her hand over the comforter and then looked around at the large space. It had been a small two-car garage and now was a full apartment, one bedroom up, a small room downstairs that would make a great office for Serefina, and a huge kitchen. There was an open floor plan so the kitchen flowed into the living room and the main entrance. She had a nice view toward the ocean, and a small balcony off sliders in the main bedroom to enjoy sunsets on.

She smiled to herself as she thought about having Serefina back home. The tightness in her chest had remained there for quite some time. Serefina was so set on going away for school, leaving her family to prove how independent she was, that it had been difficult to let her go.

The tears stung Angelina’s eyes. My poor baby has gone through so much. I’m so worried about her.

She thought about the tragedy, and about nearly losing her daughter. She also thought about the firefighter Serefina was seeing, and how serious it was. Although the family never had the opportunity to meet him in person, he sounded so wonderful over the phone. Serefina seemed in love, and as her mom, that frightened her. Being the wife of a firefighter, and now the mother of three sons who fell into the family profession, gave her a lot of sleepless nights, and put fear into her heart. Being married to a fireman was intense, and she worried a lot, fearing that Marty may not return from a call, and on top of it she feared for her three sons. They were wild and crazy. A lot crazier than her husband had been twenty years ago. But somehow she survived it. Somehow with the grace of God, the prayers and the faith had brought them all home safe and sound each and every night.