Page 54 of Rescued
Salem inhales a slow, deep breath. And then another. It takes me a second to realize he’s doing a breathing exercise. “Arlo’s not coming, is he? I don’t get it. He said he was. Hepromised.Why couldn’t he even tell me himself?”
My heart cracks right down the middle. How many times do you have to be let down by the adults in your life to feel like being let down is inevitable? Even after my mom basically cast me to the side, blaming me for Sarah’s death—which, okay, was my fault—I didn’t lose faith in adults.
I just worked hard to make sure I was a good one.
“Arlo’s in the hospital.”
There’s silence on the line. “Is he okay?”
“I think so. He’s asleep right now. His house caught on fire, and he suffered some smoke inhalation.”
Salem does the breathing thing again. “You saved him, though, right? Arlo told me about you. Said you were a firefighter.”
I squeeze my eyes closed. “We got him out. He’s just… asleep right now.”
“Asleep? What does that even mean?”
“He breathed in too much smoke, and he has some burns. They’re letting him sleep so his throat can heal some.”
Salem makes a small, choked-off sound. “How long will he be asleep? I want to talk to him.”
Tears burn my eyes. “I’m not sure yet. Hopefully he’ll be able to wake up soon, but…”
“He can’t get me and Nora today,” Salem finishes for me. “Or probably anytime soon, right?”
“Do you know your caseworker’s name?” I ask instead of answering.
“Maryanne.”
Maryanne.“I’m gonna call Maryanne as soon as we get off the phone, okay? I’m gonna figure something out.”
Salem snorts a humorless laugh. “It took Arlo almost a year to save up for that house. By the time he finds another, I’ll basically be eighteen, and what’s the point? Guess he could just get Nora.”
The resignation in his voice hurts my heart. So I do something really fucking stupid. I make him a promise I’m not sure I can keep.
“Can I tell you something? It’s maybe not appropriate to talk about to a teenager I don’t even know, but… I just want to be real with you.”
“Sure. Too many adults aren’t real with me. I’m not a dumb kid, y’know. I can handle shit.”
I nearly laugh at that.
“I love your brother. I want to build a life with him, and that life includes you and Nora. I’m going to call Maryanne, okay? And I’m gonna figure something out so I can get you all home and together where you belong.”
For a long minute, Salem is quiet. “What do you mean? Like you want us to come live with you or something?”
My heart thumps. “If you all want to. I haven’t even talked to Arlo about any of this yet, so maybe he’ll shut me down anyway. But I want to. For him and for you two.”
“What about you?” Salem asks quietly. “No offense, but I don’t wanna be another burden on some shitty, self-obsessed grown-up who wants brownie points for being a good person.”
Did I think my life would turn out this way? No. Was I even aware I wanted this for my life? Absolutely not. But it doesn’t change my answer.
“Yesterday, while Arlo was getting everything ready at home to come get you two, I was researching pools. Above ground vs. below ground. The merits of having a saltwater pool vs. chlorine. I was looking at deck designs.”
Salem snorts. “Good for you. Not sure what that has to do with anything.”
My lips curve into a smile. “I was researching it for you. Well, you and Nora. Arlo told me you like swimming. That when you guys were little, he’d take you to the community pool.”
“When he could afford it, yeah. It was five bucks to get in. He thought I didn’t know he had to pay, but I did. So, wait… you were—”
