Page 2 of Family Bonds- Gabriela & Luca

“Fuck,” he breathed. He grabbed the phone and hit line three. “Carly?”

“Luca.” Carly’s voice broke. “It’s your house. It’s on fire.”

The room tilted, his stomach pitched. “What?”

“It’s—God—it’s completely engulfed. They’ve been fighting it for hours. You need to come home.”

“Is Zoe okay?” Luca demanded. “Is she out? Is she safe?”

“I—I don’t know.” Carly sobbed. “They won’t let anyone near it. I called the fire department when I saw the flames. The power was out. That’s what caught my eye.”

Luca hung up and immediately dialed Zoe.

It was ringing. Once. Twice. Voicemail.

“She’s not answering,” he said numbly, the words barely audible to anyone other than himself.

His hands were slick with sweat. His heart slammed against his ribs. He was pretty sure all the color escaped from his face.

“What’s wrong?” the nurse asked.

“My house is on fire,” he said, his eyes not focused on anything. “My wife isn’t answering her phone.”

Another attending was already stepping in. “Go. We’ve got this covered.”

He didn’t wait for anything else.

He ran.

The drive home was a blur, then red lights and sirens he barely registered a block away. When he got closer to his street, his stomach dropped.

Flames roared where his home once stood.

He slammed the car into park and bolted, leaving the engine running and the door hanging open.

“You can’t go past here,” a firefighter shouted, stepping into his path.

“It’s my house,” he said hoarsely. “My wife was inside. Where is she?”

The firefighter waved someone over. The assistant chief.

“No one has been able to enter,” the assistant chief said carefully. “It’s too unstable. When we arrived, the second floor was fully involved.”

“Our bedroom is upstairs,” he whispered.

The world went silent. Then there was a horrible echoing in his ears. A roaring. A sign that nothing was going to be right ever again.

“Luca.” He turned at the sound of his name. Carly stood nearby, her eyes red, her face gray. “Come sit with us,” she said gently.

He didn’t remember moving, only that suddenly he was waiting in their living room. Hours passed. The fire finally died.

Then they brought her out. On a gurney. In a black bag.

He surged forward, breaking away, his hand going for the zipper.

“Don’t,” the assistant chief said quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “There’s nothing you can see that will make this easier.”

Luca collapsed to his knees and the sound that tore from his chest wasn’t human at all.