Pandemonium.

The second I got into the city my phone started ringing. Over thirty voicemails on my phone and most of them were from my stepmother. I couldn’t bring myself to go on the internet for fear of what it said.

It’s been one week and it still hasn’t died down. I haven’t seen Blake or Max since we got back into the city. They both apologized for the mess but it wasn’t their fault.

It was mine.

I was too careless. Didn’t take the right precautions to make sure this didn’t happen. And because of my decisions, my father is going to have to pay for this. It’s so bad that my father has even distanced himself from me, at least for now.

“It’s going to be okay,” Alex says and throws a hand over my shoulder. She pulls me into her and I let myself give in. I close my eyes and try to wake myself from his horrible dream.

“It’s not going to be okay,” Meredith, my stepmother, spits out. “When will you learn that your decisions have consequences to this family?”

“It’s her family, not yours,” Alex shoots back and I can feel the heat from her. I’ve never seen Alex get this angry before, but I know that I don’t want to be on the receiving end of it.

Meredith walks across my small apartment and holds out her left hand in front of Alex’s face. She waves her hand in front of Alex. “This means that I’m part of the family. And I don’t care if neither of you like it.” She grabs her phone from her purse and starts texting.

Alex is about to her open her mouth to retaliate when I pull her into me and shake my head. This isn’t the time for all this. I know that I messed up and I can’t have Alex fighting all my battles.

Meredith walks into the kitchen and shakes her head, mumbling under her breath. She turns on the sink and looks at me. “Do you realize the damage that you’ve done to this family?” Meredith seethes, her tongue almost flicking out like a snake. “Your father’s rating has never been lower than this.”

She reaches over on the counter and grabs a newspaper from the pile. I’ve been reading through each and every one of the local newspapers. They’ve all been saying horrible things about me. Things that make me want to curl up in a hole and never come out. She holds out a newspaper in front of me but I don’t look at it.

I can’t do it. I don’t want to be reminded of my mistake. I don’t want to see what people are saying about my relationship with Max and Blake. I just hope that neither of them are bearing too much of the heat.

Meredith slams the paper on the counter and takes a gulp of water. “Why didn’t you just choose one of the folders that I sent to you? None of this would have happened if you just did that.”

And for the first time I agree with her. Maybe I should have chosen one of the Harvard graduates in the folders she sent me. It would have been safer and easier to go through with that.

Why didn’t I just do what she wanted?

I close my eyes and an image of Max and Blake comes to view in front of me. They’re the reason that I didn’t. And despite everything that’s happening right now, I still want to be with them. Although, I don’t think they want to be with me. Not after this shit storm. Not after their names have been dragged through the mud with mine.

“I’m going to make sure that those two get fired. We’ll say that they forced you to have sex with them.” She punches buttons on her phone. “This is Meredith Collins. I would like to speak to the Fire Chief of Station 69.”  

“No.” I rip the phone out of her hand and hang up. It instantly reminds me of the time Blake took my phone away in the elevator. The time he teased me at my door. “You’re not going to ruin their lives because of my mistake.”

“Young lady, you give me back that phone right now. I’ll do what I need to do to make sure your father wins.” She holds out her hand in front of her, curling her fingers and beckoning for her phone.

My hand trembles and I throw the phone over to Alex. I know that she won’t give the phone back to Meredith. Not until we come up with a resolution that she’ll agree with.

“I’ll do whatever you want me to do. Just leave them alone,” I plead. Everything might have gone to shit for me, but that doesn’t mean I should ruin their lives. I know how much being firefighters means to them. I know the adversities that they overcame to be where they are. I can’t let my stepmother ruin all of that.

I can’t ruin that for them.

Meredith takes a step forward and her eyebrow raises. She looks at me like a snake looks at its prey before it’s about to devour it. “Anything?”

The words send a chill down my spine, but I nod. “Anything,” I mumble.

“Rose, don’t do this.” Alex gets off from the couch and rubs my shoulders. “Nothing good will come from it. What about Blake and Max?” she mutters.

“Forget about them,” Meredith says. “They aren’t family. They aren’t involved in this.”

I look at them and bite down on my lip. I rack my brains for a couple minutes before I let out a sigh.

I turn to Alex and grab her hands. “I’m doing this for them. I just want them to be happy.”

“Good,” Meredith says and claps her hands. “Remember, you have to do everything that I say.” She holds her hand out in front of Alex. Alex looks at me.

“Are you sure about this, Ro?”

I nod.

She shakes her head and gives Meredith her phone. Meredith walks over to the other side of the room and immediately dials someone. Her voice is hushed and she looks over at me several times, but nods and hangs up.

I lean back and fall on the couch exhausted. I just hope that when this is all over, Max and Blake can just forgive me. I never meant for this to get so out of hand. I should have never given into them. I should have remained professional about it and kept them at a distance.

I should have fought the feelings inside of me, the urges, and never given in.

I close my eyes and let myself relax for a moment. Once Meredith tells me her plan, I doubt that I’ll have any time to relax anymore.

The small pond by the campsite pops into my head. The setting sun and the sound of crickets and birds. Blake and Max both by my side, their hands holding me close to them.

Whatever happens, those moments will be the best parts of my life. Meredith might be able to take them away from me, but she won’t be able to take the memories.

Laughing, sharing, and getting to know each other. I’ll always treasure and have those memories.