Surge : A Stepbrother Romance (7 page)

Chapter
12 Mick - Firetrucks

        “911 what’s your emergency?”

        “My house is on fire! My fucking house is on
fire!”

        “Calm down, sir. Please give me your address.”

        “Holy shit! Calm down? You’re telling me to
calm down?! My fucking house is on fire!”

        “Sir, please give me your address so we can
send firetrucks.”

        “I am at 546 Blue Terrace.”

        “Stay out of the house, we are sending help
now.”

        I watch in terror as my house is engulfed in
flames. The fire emerges from the window at the front of my house and wraps
itself around the roof, licking the treetops. Running to the garage, I take the
hose and pull it as far as I can. I begin trying to quell the fire. It seems
hopeless, but I am not going to let my house go up in flames. The tiny hose doesn’t
do much, but it is better than nothing.
Where the fuck is the firetruck? Why
do I pay for extra service?

       
Sirens blare in
the distance. It is deeply disturbing to watch helplessly as my personal
belongings and the place I live in goes up in smoke. Finally, the firetrucks
pull in. When the firemen come out, they cast me sidelong glances upon realizing
I have been trying to put the fire out with a hose. The supervisor comes over
to me and begins peppering me with questions.

        “I think we can take it from here. Is anyone
inside?”

        “No.”

        “Are there any animals inside?”

        “No.”

        “Is there anything combustible—explosives, gasoline,
or a high-pressure vessel of some type?”

        “No.”

        “All right. Do not leave the property. We have
some more questions to ask you.”

        I feel numb. This is one of the most surreal
moments of my life. I broke up with my girlfriend, I lost my opportunity with
Sam, and now it seems the fire department thinks I set my own house on fire. That’s
the only reason I can think I was asked to remain here. It seems like he is
telling me that this is my fault.
Fuck him!

        I walk around the driveway, apprehension
slithering through my veins as the fire crews extinguish the fire. It doesn’t take
them that long. The damage, however, looks extensive. The front room of my
house is now exposed to the open air; you can see through the gaping hole that
the walls are now black. I cannot believe it. I walk over to my steps, sit down,
and put my head in my hands, only to be rudely interrupted by the supervisor.

        “Tell me what happened.”

        I tell him everything that I know, all the way
down to the Molotov cocktail. I hear one of the firemen call out.

        “Found it.”

        The fireman brings over the remains of the
bottle with a rag in it.
Who would do this to me? Why would anyone want to
do this to my house?
Delia came to mind, but that would be just too much,
even for her
. Is this something Sam would do? Nah, she doesn’t even know
where I live.

        “Do you have any idea who would want to do
this to you?”

        “No.”

        A police car pulls onto my driveway and stops
right in front of me. With his window open, the officer begins to speak.

        “Are you Mick Anderson?”

        “Yes, sir.”

        I notice Delia in the back of the car.

        “Do you recognize this woman?”

        Delia avoids my gaze, looking straight ahead,
tears streaming from her eyes. Her blonde hair is all dishevelled and makeup is
running in lines down her face.

        “Yes, that is my ex-girlfriend. Did she do
this?”

        “Well, we found her walking around outside of
your property with burn marks on her hands. We don’t know for sure, but we are
pretty sure. We are going to need you to come down to the station to give us a
statement.”

        “Of course.”

        How could someone be so angry with me that
they chose to do this? I knew she was crazy, but this took it to a whole new
level. She destroyed my house. I am going to be sure to nail her to the wall.

        “Do you need a ride to the police station?”
the officer asks me.

        “No I have my own car, I will meet you there.”

        I immediately get into my car and drive to the
police station. When I arrive, I have built up such a head of steam that I’m ready
to rip her head off. Storming out of my car, I almost push a police officer
over, rushing into the station. At this point, I couldn’t care less. I want to
be sure that Delia is not going to get away with this. She is a menace and
always has been. I see it now more clearly than I have ever seen anything
before.

As I enter the building,
there is a long desk was in front of me with two officers behind it.

        “How can I help you?” one of them asks.

        “My girlfriend just set my house on fire. I am
here to see her go down!”

        “How do you know she set your house on fire?”

        “The police arrested her,
that’s how
.”

        “Okay, sir, I know this is a pretty emotional
time. Do me a favor: go sit over there and we will get the report from the
officer on duty, then take your statement.”

        I turn and storm away as the front doors of
the police station burst open. The police are trying to control someone in
handcuffs. He is thrashing and kicking around, trying to get free. I watch as
the melee ensues and they wrestle the man to the ground. It takes five officers,
one at each limb and one on his back, to contain him. Once they establish
control, they place cuffs on his legs and arms and carry him into the station.

        I sit, waiting impatiently on the
uncomfortable, long bench. My leg shakes uncontrollably, which just makes me
more antsy. Watching the police take down that guy distracted me a little and
reminded me of the power the police had. The doors of the police station open
again.

As I look over my
shoulder, I am shocked. It’s Sam.

Chapter
13 Samantha – Vindication

        “You little whore, you haven’t changed one
bit. Now you are going to get it.”

        John starts to take off his belt as I cower on
the floor, awaiting my fate. A loud bang rings through my ears and then mayhem.
I’m very confused by all the commotion, but realize that it’s the cavalry
coming to save me. There are a band of police officers standing, shouting, guns
drawn.

        “Freeze! Put down the belt!”

        With John’s hands already over his head, he
has no choice but to let the belt drop to the floor. His pants fall down to his
ankles, revealing his tighty whities. A smile forms on my face as this somehow
seems like just desserts for him. As soon as his pants fall down, the officers
jump in, tackling John to the ground. I am shocked by the violence of the act,
but secretly glad to see it.
Now he will know what it is like to be on the
other end of a beating
.

An officer looks over to
me. “Ma’am, are you okay?”

        I am okay. Better than okay. Finally,
something has gone right. Finally, John has been caught red-handed with no
chance of ducking out. “I guess so,” I reply. “Thank you.”

        “Just glad we got here in time. That text
message really did the trick.” John looks over to me, as if to say, what the
hell is he talking about? “We will need you to come with us to the station, to
make a report. You may also want to apply for a restraining order against him.”

        “I understand.”

        “We can drive you, if you like, and have
someone bring you home later on.”

        “That would be appreciated.”

        I am so shaken up, the last thing that I want
to do is drive around and find the police station. The officer brings over a
blanket and puts it over my shoulders. There is something very comforting about
it, perhaps the warmth. He leads me to the car and helps me inside.

        Out of the corner of my eye, I see John being
led into the car and driven away. I hate him. I hate him with the whole of my
being. Yet somehow, I felt guilty for getting him in trouble.

        As I sit in the police car, tired from the
long day, my eyes begin to close. Drifting off to sleep, my thoughts float to
Mick’s comforting arms. I think about him holding me, keeping me close. Keeping
me safe. I had not thought of it until now, but I think I’m in love with Mick.

        Disturbing images of John rush into my mind. He’s
standing over me, holding a belt and whipping me hard with it. No one else is near;
in fact, there’s nothing around us at all. We exist on some blank plane, just
John and I.  He is repeatedly beating me. I am immobilized.

All at once, a huge wave comes
out of nowhere and crashes down on John’s head, knocking him away. When the
wave recedes, Mick appears, standing tall and proud. I grab his hand as he helps
me up and pulls me close to his lips. His lips are drawing me in, like the
first time we kissed. Slowly I move in, part my lips, and wait for the sweet
taste of his mouth. But rather than kiss me, he began shaking me.

        “Ma’am? Ma’am!”

        Why was he calling me ma’am?

        “Ma’am, wake up. We’re here. “

        I am surreptitiously brought back to the land
of the living by the officer. He wakes me from my dream kiss, rudely. I look at
him with unintentional disdain.

        “Sorry to wake you. You looked uncomfortable,
like you were having a bad dream.”

        “Oh, yeah. Thank you…” I turn my head so he
will not see my disappointment as my thoughts return to Mick.

        I long to feel Mick’s lips upon mine, even
though my feelings about him are still so conflicted. Not only is he my
stepbrother, but he may have been cheating on his girlfriend. I have to stop
going around in these circles and just decide on a plan of action.

        “Here we are, ma’am. If you will come with me,
we will make this as quick as possible.”

        “Okay, thank you.”

        The officer hurries over to my side of the car,
opening the door before I can. He holds out his hand graciously and helps me
out. I am so tired and just want to go home, but I realize the importance of
protecting myself from John. We walk into the police station and go right over
to a long desk.

        “This is Officer Davies. She will help you
from here.”

        “Hi, Sam. Come in and sit down. I will take
your statement.”

        I tell the officer all of the details as best
I can remember. I truly hope that this will be enough to keep John away from me.
I was scared of him before he knew where I lived, and now I am just a sitting
duck.

        “I will get someone to take you home. Just go
back out and wait on the bench.”

        “Thank you again.”

        Walking out to the front of the police station,
I notice someone else sitting on the bench. Oh, my God. It’s Mick.

        His jaw drops. “Sam?! What are you doing
here?”

        I stare right back at him. “What am I doing
here? What are
you
doing here?”

        “Long story,” he mutters.

        I sigh. “Seems like we have both had
interesting nights.”

        “Listen, Sam, I am sorry about all of this. I
truly am. I want to get to know you, I want to have time with you. Sure, I was in
a relationship, but that was—”

        I cut him off before he can finish. Though I
promised I would be sympathetic to his cause, I can’t help but think he is a
cheater. “Mick. You have a girlfriend, and what you did to her was wrong.”

        As I hear the words fall from my lips, I wish
they hadn’t. Truly, though, what chance did we have? Our courtship has been a
passionate one, but at this point, that’s all it was. I still don’t know what
his status is with his ex. It’s too bad that reality has to get in the way of
true passion.

        “Tell me that your feelings for me are gone,
and I will leave you alone forever. Tell me that all we are to each other is
objects of desire, and I will be gone. This is more than that—you know it, and
so do I.”

        Mick stands up, walking over to me. He grabs my
elbows and looks deep into my eyes. “I can’t be the only one who feels these
things.”

        My heart pounds. His touch is so gentle, yet
so firm. His gaze forces me to avert mine, but I can still see those lips—they are
calling to me. My body aches for him. I want nothing more than to kiss him, but
it’s not our time. I am filled with a sense of sadness at the futility of our
love. A tear rolls down my cheek as I push away from Mick.

        “I have to go.”

I don’t even turn to look
at him. I just give up and walk away.