I jumped up off of the couch.
"MARLEY!" I yelled.
No answer.
I ran into the kitchen.
There she was. She was passed out on the floor. I ran over to her and picked her up. I put her over my shoulder. on the way out of the house, I I grabbed the photo album on her hallway bookshelf. After being this close with her, I figured out that all those pictures were of her family, and that included us. The Band, i mean.
I got her on the grass and noticed she was burned very badly and her clothes had dozens of holes in them. I took my hoodie off and put it around her midsection to cover some holes.
The ambulance came and I noticed that the whole neighborhood was surrounded outside. The fire truck came and started hosing down the house that was completely burned by now.
The paramedics put Marley on a stretcher and put her in the ambulance and the walked me to the ambulance.
They put her on some oxygen and they did me as well.
When we got to the hospital, I was sat In a bed next to Marley's . I was still hooked up on the oxygen.
A police officer came in.
"Hi, I'm officer Anderson. Could you tell me what happened tonight?" he asked.
"Um, we had made a cake and forgot to turn off the stove," I said realizing it.
"What are your names and relationships to each other?" he asked as he wrote on a clipboard.
"I'm Tony Perry. She's Marley Hangling. We are friends, Previously dating. It was her house." I said to him.
"Okay, I hope you guys get better. Thank you," he said as he left.
Then, the guys came rushing in.
"Dude! are you okay?" the asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine." I said looking over at Marley's uncounoius body.
"Doctor said that she'll be fine. She inhaled too much Smoke. She does have third degree burns on her, though . Doctor said that they would heal with Time." Vic said.
"Okay. This is all my fault! I should have never recommended that we cook! What was I thinking! I can't cook!" I said.
Vic came around the bed
"Accidents happen. But we should probably focus on something a little more important," he said.
"Like the fact that I'm homeless?" she whispered next to me.
We turned our heads to her. She had tears running down her cheeks.
"No, you're not," Vic said.
"Vic. have you seen My house? It's burned to the ground. My possessions.
All the memories of my mom and my brother!" she said.
"You're going to live with us in San Diego." he said.
"What?" Marley and I said at the same time.
"Yeah, Mike and my uncle died and we inherited his house. It's paid off and everything. the only thing you would have to pay for is utilities." he said.
"No I can't do that to you guys!" she said.
"We are giving it to you," he said.
"And as far as your mom and your brother," I said as I handed her the photo album that I had clutched to me from the moment we entered the ambulance.
She took it gently. I suspect she didn't have much strength. Her voice was very raspy when she talked. almost as if it would go out at any second.
"Thank you," she said very quietly.
"No problem. I was going to get more but I could carry them," I told her.
"No this is perfect. You grabbed my favorite one. Thank you so much," she said as she leaned over the bed and gave me a lightly hug. She felt fragile.
"So your gonna come live with us?" Vic asked her.
"I guess I don't have much of a choice,"she said.
"What about the bar?" Mike asked.
"I have a friend who's more thank willing to buy it from me. So I'll have a lot of money and he'll have a bar," she said.
We nodded.
That night, the hospital released me but kept Marley over night due to her burns on her bad where pieces of the roof fell on her.That morning, I picked her up and we went back to what was let of her house because she wanted to see if she could salvage anything.
She went through what was previously the front door. Half of the house was gone and the other half was charred and falling. I'm pretty sure it's dangerous to be in here.
She went along what used to be her hallway of pictures. She gently touched the walls. Burned pieces would fall off and her figures would slightly flinch,then return to normal.
She came to the bookshelf where I retrieved the photo album. It wasn't really a bookshelf anymore and the photo albums weren't photo albums anymore. They were charred pieces of paper and bound books that were burned to a crisp.
She kneeled down and picked up an album. it Crumbles in her hands. She let out a slight cry.
I put my arms around her.
"These are my life. Mh memories. They're gone. Those were pictures from when I was a kid. Those were pictures of my brother and my mom. And they're gone," she said.
"It's okay, we have a few of them left." I said.
"It's not the same," she told me as she put the face into my chest.
I felt so sorry for her. I couldn't imagine losing everything that reminded you of your dead family. I met her mom a few times and her mom was such a vibrant person; she was always filled with jokes a laughter. Her brother was a typical 13 year old. His life revolved around video games and girls,but he was always in a good mood and his pranks were the best ideas ever thought of.
I held her as she cried. I pet her hair liked she liked me to do. She gripped the back of my shirt In her fists.
After the spreading visit to her house, we started to go to the hotel. She would be staying in my room for the next two days before we get back on the road.
"Hey can we stop by the music studio?" she asked.
"What music studio?"
"One of my friends own a music studio and that's where I kept most of my instruments unless I had two, then I kept one of the two in my music room, but given the circumstances..." she trailed off.
"Uh yeah, can we ship them to my house? they won't fit in the bus or carrying car," I told her.
"Yeah that's fine. Just turn left up here and the studio should be on the right side of the road. It's hard to miss," she said. I did as told and we ended up at a building with tinted windows.
"I'll need help. I've expanded my collection," she said.
I got out of the car and followed her down a series of hallways. Then we came to a room. she unlocked a door a turned on the light. The room illuminated to reveal a room full of instruments.
"How many of these are yours?" I asked.
She pointed to a sign on the door that said "MARKEY'S ROOM NO TOUCHIE TOUCHIE" in bold letters.
"All of them,"she said.
I nodded.
"How many trumpets do you need?" I asked pointing to three trumpet cases.
"You expected me not to get one in blue, purple,red AND silver?!" she asked.
I nodded in agreement.
"Fair enough," I stated.
Luckily, the car was just big enough to hold all the instruments and carry them back to the hotel.
In two days, the fun will begin.
