Page 65 of Forged Forever

Zander steps up beside us. “It looks to me like they tossed any place someone could hide. You were the target, and when they didn’t find you, they took their anger out on your belongings. I’m so sorry,” Zander sighs, running a hand down his face wearily.

“Not your fault, Dad,” I reply, giving him a side hug. Tears are still slowly dripping onto my cheeks at the destruction. As unsettling as this is, I need to remember I’ve been through much worse, and we are finally safe. Taking a deep breath, I turn to my family. “What’s first?”

“We have two options. Have a cleaning crew followed by a construction company to fix all this, which will take time, or we can do the work ourselves.”

“If you guys are willing, I say we get to work.” The sooner we settle, the better it will be.

“Let’s go,” Seb responds.

Zander and I pull out cleaning supplies, garbage bags, and gloves and put them on the dining table for everyone to use. We need to take pictures of anything broken we find, but otherwise we are free to do what we want. Gabby and Seb offer to join me in my bedroom, so we start there. I pick items off the floor, handing salvageable items to Gabby and broken items to Seb to snap a pic of and put in garbage bags.

I make it through the bookshelves before Seb and I have to leave. Gabby promises to keep going and to text if she has questions, and I check in with Zander before we head out.

Ray and Jake are on the patio when we arrive at their condo. We take a seat as I tell them the full story of what happened, and Ray grills some burgers and veggies for lunch. They’re both completely shocked.

“Are you finally safe now? No bullies, other family members, or mean girls around?” Jake asks, worry etching his tone.

I lean over and grab his hand, squeezing gently. “I think so, handsome. I’d like you to meet Nick when things settle down. He’s the last of our friend group, but he doesn’t say much.”

Seb chuckles. “Yeah, he’ll probably just stare at you, grumpy bastard, or grunt.”

We visit for a few hours before leaving. Jake still seems unsettled, but I promise to call him later. Seb drives us back to my house, where everyone is still working hard. I see a few Finn employees moving around, and there’s a pile of broken stuff in the open garage door.

Entering the house, I see the living room looks put back together. Alex is sorting through the pantry items, and I can hear the washer and dryer going. Walking right, I check on Zander’s room. The bed frame and dresser are together and the closet cleaned up, but there’s no box spring or mattress.

Nick’s room is tidied up, and someone cleaned the glass from my shower door. The furniture in my room is in place, with Gabby sitting on the floor going through my clothes. “Hey Gabs.”

“Hi Summer. Your mattress and box spring were slashed. Zander left to buy new ones and a tv. A lot of your clothes were damaged, too. I’m just checking to see if I can salvage them,” she tells me, holding up a sweater before dropping it in a pile to her left.

“So, which is the keep pile?” Grabbing the desk chair, I pull it near her and take a seat.

“The smallest one, but I think I can repair a few of these. Mind if I take the clothes home?”

“No, go ahead and thanks, Gabby.” I sort through the small pile, finding t-shirts, a few tank tops, and shorts.

“Your underwear is in the washer, but most of the rest of the items from your dresser are damaged. What you see on your bookshelves is all that’s left.”

I get up to check the shelves. One bookshelf’s top edge has a crack, and several shelves are missing. The other bookshelf looks okay. Photos of Mara and Philip, Jake and Mal, and the guys are sitting without their frames. Also, one corner of my photo album is crushed. Several bags of dried herbs are okay along with jars and oils, but not all of what I had. All my books are on another shelf, some damaged or ripped.

Looking around, my dresser seems in good shape except for the gouge in the top, probably where the tv hit. The desk and chair look okay, too. The nightstands are gone, and there are several pillows sitting on the desk that were on my bed.

The closet is mostly empty except for a few jackets and dresses hanging up. My smaller suitcase is in the corner with my backpack, and my shoes are neatly lined along the right wall, most looking scuffed or pretty banged up. Unzipping the backpack, I check inside. Seems it wasn’t opened. My school things are still inside along with my laptop. Padded bags for the win.

Seb is helping Gabby bag up my clothes, so I grab the small pile and set it on top of the dresser. “Where’s the damaged lists?” I ask.

“Alex has them in the kitchen,” Gabby replies. “Seb, put that bag in the Jeep for me? I’m going to fix those for Summer.”

“You got it, Gabs,” he replies, kissing my cheek before walking out.

I follow Gabby down the hall to the kitchen. E is cleaning the counters and Alex is wiping the pantry shelves when we enter. “Thanks, guys,” I smile, noticing lists on the island. Sitting on a stool, I read through them. The kitchen list is mostly food items, along with the corner cupboard, one island stool, and the dining room chair. Zander’s room is just the bed. Nothing for Nick’s room, it seems. The freezer was left open in the laundry room, so we lost all of those items. The coffee table, picture frames, and a few ornaments are lost in the living room.

My list is the longest. The damaged furniture I already saw, plus most of my clothes, the large suitcase, lamps, bedding, and smaller items. The three patio doors and my shower door are listed separately. Damn, what a mess. “What else needs to be cleaned?”

“We've just started cleaning,” E tells me. “So everything.”

“I’ll grab the broom,” Seb offers, while Gabby offers to wipe down furniture and continue the laundry. I decide to tackle the bathrooms.

Zander returns as I’m helping Gabby clean my bedroom furniture. The guys help carry in the two box springs and mattresses. He has a new tv for my room as well. We get the beds unwrapped and made with the sheets Gabby washed earlier. Zander also picked up dinner, so we stop to eat, and then call it a night, going back to Alex’s house.