Ashes

I'm sitting on the couch at Nate's house today when I get the call.

"Rachel, you need to come home immediately. There's been an emergency."

I grab my bag. "What's going on?"

"Dad's car is on fire in the garage."

"Okay, on my way."

I make my apologies to Mrs. Marriott ("I'm sorry, I have to go -- my house is on fire!") and look at Nate. "You can come with me if you want."

He jumps at the chance and we both run out the door. I leap into the driver's seat of my car; he takes the passenger seat. Shifting into drive, I gun the accelerator and zoom down the street. I'm going way too fast. And my gas light is on -- I intended to grab gas at the station right by Nate's house, but there's no time for that now.

I remember my EMT training as I reach for the buttons for lights and sirens and realize that I'm driving my own car. I had never appreciated how far away home could feel until that moment, when I couldn't go as fast as I needed to go.

Shaking from the adrenaline, I begin to list off valuables that I would like to get out of the house if possible. We're zooming along, going about 80 mph in a 45 mph zone. I'm being careful -- but I'm just referring to the speed limit as more of a guideline.

We get to my street in record time. Screeching to a stop in the middle of the street, I hit the hazards and leap out of the car. There's several big rig fire trucks and a ton of personnel on scene. I sprint to the house, just in time to grab the smaller of my two dogs from my brother's arms. He's standing still as if in disbelief, staring at the now-smoking car. My dog is shaking like a leaf, completely terrified of the smoke  that my brother is absentmindedly forcing him to inhale. I jog back up the street with the dog, passing him and the car keys off to Nate, who has just managed to exit the vehicle. Jogging back, I start to assess the scene.

My mom is standing off to the side, holding my other dog close to her on a leash that one of the neighbors kindly brought to her. They're out of range of the smoke, so I let them be. My dad is animatedly talking to one of the firefighters while the others comb the property and the car for any smoldering remains. As I watch, bits and pieces of the seat cushions are tossed carelessly over the fire fighters' shoulders onto the pavement below. My brother is still standing in the smoke, bemoaning the fate of his new jacket -- now lying in burned tatters on the ground where it was placed after being soaked by the hoses. My dad tells me to get him away from the car, so I try to lead him to my mother, but he fights me, swinging his fists at my face as I pull him out of the smoke. She takes charge of him, so I take the dog, bringing him over to Nate as well.

I walk back to the firefighters, who are muttering about how they've never seen such a case before. They were unable to find the cause of the fire -- all they know is that it's not suspicious. I talk to one of them for a few minutes about their findings, then go to my brother, who has escaped my mother and is once again standing next to his destroyed jacket. With a bit (or rather, a ton) of coaxing, I convince my brother to go with me to my grandpa's house. He goes inside briefly to grab a few things, but I make him hurry, as the house is filled with smoke and while technically cleared for re-entry, is not habitable. Nate grabs a cage for my bigger dog and loads both into the car. My brother re-emerges, clutching his iPod (apparently, he's glad it didn't burn like his jacket -- that would have been horrible!) and I push him into the car as well. Nate and I get in, and we're off, away from the fire.

---

That, in a nutshell, was my day. How lucky that I managed to get a free day to drive back home and visit Nate! I almost didn't go. How lucky that my dad found the fire when he did! The firefighters told him that if he had waited any longer, we would be lacking a home to return to.

But how awful. Simply put, we don't have the money to deal with this. If USC doesn't give me good financial aid this year, I will be faced with a difficult choice: take a break from college, or take out a ton of loans. I've already taken out some loans, so at this point, it's to be avoided at all costs. Even though insurance will cover most of the damage, there's still a ton of things to pay for. And our income is scant, the fledgling business not yet able to make end's meet.