Never Be Alone Read online

  A minute later, Lulu and Skinner joined her. “You can’t stay out here. It’s too cold,” Lulu said.

  Joon chattered a response. “I kn…n…n…ow.”

  “Come on,” Lulu said. She grabbed her hand and led her into the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry, you guys,” Skinner said. “I didn’t mean for all of this to happen. Maybe I should try to stay at a shelter tonight. I mean,” he said with a brilliant smile and pulling his jean pockets inside out, “I don’t have anything to fucking steal.”

  “No. You’re not leaving,” Joon stated definitively. “You’re staying here with us. And we’ll figure something out. Let’s go back upstairs and sleep. We can make a plan tomorrow.”

  Chapter Seventy

  It was almost two in the morning when Joon started coughing. Her lungs felt like they were on fire and she sat up slowly. Seeing that everyone was coughing, she crawled outside the tent and lit her lighter. The room was filled with smoke.

  “Get up! Get up! Wake up! We have to get outta here!” She rushed into the tent, where the others were sitting up, coughing.

  “Move it!” she screamed. “I think the house is on fire.”

  Panic set in, but Joon pushed it down deep inside of her. She grabbed Lulu’s hand and pulled her out of the tent, Skinner following right behind, and then the others. All seven of them were holding hands, forming a human chain as Joon led them into the hallway.

  The smoke was thick and there was no visibility. Joon’s mind shifted back to first grade, when she’d learned fire safety. She yelled at the group. “Drop to your hands and knees. We need to stay below the smoke.”

  Joon sat on the first step and eased her way down, screaming instructions to the others. When they got to the first floor, she quickly assessed the situation. The kitchen and the room that was once the formal dining room were engulfed in flames. The sitting room, where they all were at the bottom of the stairs, was the only room that hadn’t caught fire yet.

  “We need to get over to the front windows,” she yelled. “Stay on your bellies. We have to keep low.”

  Joon crawled to the spot where she remembered the window being. It was impossible to see anything, and she also knew they had to contend with the plywood that covered it. “Lulu,” she said, reaching for her hand, but her friend didn’t respond.

  “Lulu!” she screamed, pulling on the girl’s limp arm. Still no response. “Skinner! We gotta get Lulu outta here. I think she passed out,” she yelled.

  For a moment, Joon was motionless, thinking of what to do next. It was only then that she could hear the wood burning around them, the crackling of the upper floors as the house shifted and the wind behind the boarded-up windows letting a little air through. The open back door was pulling the smoke through the first floor in a frantic rush, and she could hear the girls in her group crying, even though she couldn’t see them.

  “Skinner, we have to get the wood off of the front window…fast!”

  Skinner let go of Lulu and moved a few feet to be close to Joon. “Get your fingers under the wood,” Joon shouted.

  “Fuck, Joon. The fire is spreading,” he said.

  “Fingers. Wood. Pull,” she hollered. “Ready, pull. Pull! Pull!”

  The plywood gave an inch with the third pull. “Again,” she demanded.

  Less than a minute later, the plywood gave way from the rotted windowsill and they had a glimpse of the outside.

  “Fuck! We need to break the glass,” Joon roared.

  “I got this,” Skinner yelled, pulling off his boots and handing one to Joon. She held it in her hand and looked at him questioningly. “They’re steel tipped,” Skinner shouted.

  The two of them beat at the glass until it shattered, and the smoke inside the room was sucked out, bringing the raging fire quickly behind it. They hoisted Lulu from the floor and placed her outside. After climbing out, they grabbed her arms and legs, and moved her farther from the burning structure, the other girls following.

  Joon and Skinner were coughing and gagging, their faces and clothes covered with soot and ash. Fire engines were pulling up as the group sputtered and struggled to breathe, and Joon crawled over to Lulu.

  “Lulu?” Joon looked into her friend’s face and put her hand on her chest, feeling the shallow rise and fall of her chest. She staggered to her feet and ran to a fireman. “My friend, I think she’s dying.”

  The fireman ran with Joon over to Lulu and thrust an oxygen mask over Lulu’s face before he checked her vital signs. Before he was done, an ambulance pulled up to the curb. They got Lulu into the ambulance quickly as other first responders rushed around the group, checking everyone’s condition.

  Joon climbed into the ambulance with Lulu. “Is she gonna be okay?” she cried.

  The male paramedic met Joon’s sad eyes. “She’s breathing. The oxygen’s helping. Does she have any health issues?”

  “She only has one kidney. The other one got stolen,” Joon blurted.

  The paramedic looked toward the driver. “Call for another ambulance. We have to get this lady to the ER.” Then he turned to Joon. “We’re taking her to Penn,” he said dismissively.

  “I’m not leaving her. I’m coming with you,” she stated.

  “Fine,” he said. “But I need you to sit there and put that oxygen mask on. You’ve inhaled a lot of smoke.”

  Joon sat back and put the oxygen mask over her mouth as the sirens sliced through the cold night.

  Chapter Seventy-One

  Inside the emergency room, Joon refused treatment and insisted on staying with Lulu.

  “I’m fine,” she told the ER nurse, Becky, who made her sit in a wheelchair. “My friend hasn’t woken up since we got outta the house. I need to be with her.”

  Becky put her hand on Joon’s shoulder. “Honey, I understand you’re worried. But the doctor hasn’t seen her yet, and I want to get you cleaned up so we can take a look at you. Would that be all right?”

  Tears began to fall down her cheeks, and flesh-colored streaks appeared in the black soot on her face. “What if she needs me?”

  Becky sat down, so she could be eye level with Joon. “I want you to listen to me. You have some nasty burns on your face and arms.”

  Joon put her hand on her cheek and flinched. Then she looked down at the large, black blisters on her arms. She had felt nothing. Her eyes widened and her mouth went slack as she looked back at Becky.

  “Sometimes, when we’re in fight-or-flight mode, our adrenaline is so powerful that we can’t feel anything when we get hurt. Now, I want to get you cleaned up and checked out. I promise I’ll stay with your friend while you’re gone. If she wakes up, I’ll come and get you. Okay?”

  Joon nodded. Becky stood and guided the girl out into the open nurse’s area. “Candice? Can you take Joon down to bay eight? I want you to get her face and arms cleaned up. She has several burns, so be careful. Then we’ll get the doctor to take a look at her,” Becky instructed. “Oh, Candice, Joon is a priority. She needs to get back to her friend in bay three who is still unconscious.”

  Candice moved quickly, taking Joon to the assigned bay and cleaning the soot from her eyes, nose, mouth, and skin as the young nurse chatted away. Joon couldn’t focus on anything she was saying but welcomed the distraction. The doctor checked Joon over, bandaged her up, and left.

  Candice came back into the bay and asked, “Did the doctor explain everything to you?”

  Joon nodded. “How’s Lulu?”

  “Becky’s still with her and I’ll take you over there in a minute. Listen, you have second-degree burns on your face and arms. Now, it’s important you keep those areas clean and use the ointment we’re going to give you so that they don’t get infected. I’m gonna give you a tetanus shot,” she said, uncapping the needle tip.

  “What’s that for?”

  “Well, you said you haven’t seen a doctor since you were five, and that means you haven’t had a tetanus shot in a long time. I need to give you one to help p
revent you from getting tetanus,” she explained.

  Joon closed her eyes. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

  “Your wounds can make you really sick. It’s called tetanus. It’s a precaution, but one that is very important.”

  Joon opened her eyes. “So if you were me, then you’d get that needle?”

  “You bet,” Candice said. “Now, I’m going to put the needle into your arm. It’s going to hurt, and your shoulder may feel stiff and sore for a couple of days. That’s all normal.”

  Back in bay three, Joon pulled one of the extra chairs to the side of Lulu’s bed. She took her friends limp hand in her own and stroked it gently. Soon, a doctor came in and smiled. “You must be Joon.”

  She nodded.

  “Lulu told me about you at her last visit. I’m Dr. Becker. Her kidney doctor. I got to the hospital early this morning, and when they saw she was my patient, the ER doctor called me.”

  Joon gave him a small smile. “She told me about you too. Is Lulu gonna be okay?”

  “Yes, the ER doctor that checked her out said she’ll be okay.”

  “How come she isn’t waking up then?”

  Dr. Becker pulled the other chair up beside Joon. “With Lulu’s condition, she can have fluid buildup in her lungs, which makes it difficult for her to breathe. That combined with the smoke inhalation was too much for her.”

  Joon stared at her dirty fingernails and quickly curled her fingers into her palm to hide them. “She’s gonna be okay, right?”

  “Yes. We gave her some medication that’s making her sleep. We want to make sure she gets lots of oxygen in her system. We’re going to keep her here for a while.”

  Joon looked at her own bandaged arms and then at Lulu’s. “She burned her arms.”

  “Yes, she did.” Dr. Becker leaned forward in his chair. “Listen, they will admit her tonight. You can stay with her here. Once she’s assigned a room, I’ll ask the nurse to let you know where you can find her. Is it safe to assume you have nowhere to go tonight?”

  “Yes. We lost everything in the fire. One of my other friends, Skinner, is still out there somewhere.”

  “The paramedics brought seven of you in tonight. Which one is Skinner?”

  “The boy.”

  “I’ll let him know where to find you. Okay?”

  “Thank you,” Joon said. “Dr. Becker, if we’re real quiet, can Skinner stay in here with me too?”

  He smiled at Joon. “Yes, but only if you’re real quiet.”

  Only a short time had passed when Skinner entered bay three. Joon stood and gave him a hug. His hand was bandaged, but he didn’t have signs of any other injuries. She stared at the white gauze when they broke the embrace.

  Skinner followed her gaze. “I broke two fuckin’ fingers pulling that damn board off the window. I think that’s kinda manly,” he said with a cheesy smile. “And I have first-degree burns on the top of my hand.” He assessed the bandages on Joon’s face and arms. “Looks like I made out way better than you.”

  “Yeah, the nurse told me I have to keep the wounds clean. Looks like I’ll be in the library bathroom every day until this shit heals.”

  Skinner sat down. “You know, if it wasn’t for you, we all would be dead.”

  “Luck. I woke up in time. That’s all.”

  Skinner wiggled his finger at her. “No, it wasn’t all luck. You kept your cool. You made us do all the shit we learned when we were young. It was pretty fuckin’ fantastic. Thanks.”

  Joon flushed. “You’re welcome. I didn’t do it on purpose though…it just sorta happened. I didn’t think it all through, you know?”

  “Then I’m grateful for your instincts. Those other ugly bitches better kiss your ass from now on,” he joked.

  Joon rested her head on the side of Lulu’s gurney. “I’m done with them. We’ve lost everything we had, and when Lulu gets out of here, we won’t be staying with the other girls.”

  “Is that because of me?” Skinner asked.

  Joon considered before she answered. “It’s because I want to be around people who care. And even if it’s only Fipple that’s an asshole, the others aren’t disagreeing with her. It’s not because of you but because I got to see the kind of people they are—one bully and three cowards.”

  The curtain was pushed to the side and Becky walked into the bay. She was carrying two pillows and two blankets. “Here you go. I thought these would be useful.”

  “Thank you, Becky,” Joon said.

  The nurse turned to walk away. “Oh, and I ordered a pizza from a twenty-four-hour joint. It’s not the best, but it isn’t the worst either. It’ll be delivered within an hour. Dr. Becker thought you two might be hungry.”

  Joon and Skinner settled back into their chairs with the pillows and blankets. Joon focused on the rhythm of Lulu’s heartbeat on the monitor until her eyes slowly closed and her body relaxed into the softness of the fresh, comfortable pillow.

  Chapter Seventy-Two

  It was almost nine the next morning when they moved Lulu from the ER to a regular room. A different nurse, in for the day shift, shook Joon gently to wake her.

  “Hey, Joon. The night nurse asked me to wake you when we move your friend. Dr. Becker got her a room. We’re going to be moving her up as soon as transport gets here.”

  Joon stretched and stifled a yawn. “Can I go with her?”

  The nurse smiled and nodded. “You bet. We stopped giving her medication, so she’ll wake up soon enough, and I’m sure that she’ll want to see you.”

  When transport arrived, Joon grabbed her coat and moved out of the bay. Skinner was standing next to her. She grabbed his hand. “You need to find a place to stay tonight. After you figure it out, come back and tell me where you are, so I have somewhere to go when I leave here later.”

  Skinner nodded. “Okay, I’ll be back.” He moved forward and took Joon into his arms. “Everything’s gonna be okay. Lulu is going to be fine, and I’ll figure something out.”

  “You better. Otherwise, you’re worthless to me,” Joon teased.

  Skinner put his hand on his hip and flicked his wrist in her direction. “Oh hell, girl. I’ve been worthless my whole fuckin’ life. That ain’t nothing new for me.”

  Joon pulled him into her. “I know you’re trying to be funny, but from the look on your face, you believe that shit. You’re a good person. It doesn’t matter what people think. It took me a long time after I left Aron to find out that I wasn’t so bad. I believed everything she told me. I was raised on hate and anger. I thought I was stupid and ugly and a total piece of trash. Look,” Joon said, rubbing Skinner’s arm. “It doesn’t mean I don’t have bad days. You know, times when I think that I’m never gonna find a way outta this shit, and on those days, the only thing I got left is hope. My life has been pretty fucked up to this point. I met awesome people on the streets, but I’ve also been with some evil ones. There are plenty of assholes out there to bring ya down, so you have to raise yourself up as much as you can.”

  Skinner pushed Joon’s hair behind her shoulders. “You’re right. I’m gonna get going. Figure out where we’re staying tonight.” He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “Tell Lulu that I’m thinking of her.”

  Joon followed the transport person to the fourth floor of the children’s unit, the place where Dr. Becker had specifically requested for her. Inside the hospital room, Joon stared at Lulu’s roommate, a young girl sleeping in the other bed. Once Lulu was settled, Joon plopped down on the padded chair and turned on the television.

  “Hi,” a small voice said from across the room.

  “Hi,” Joon said. She stood and walked over to the young girl’s bedside.

  “My name is Molly. Is that your sister?” she said, pointing to Lulu.

  Joon nodded. “Yeah, something like that.”

  “Why is she here?” Molly asked.

  “Our house burned down last night. Lulu has some burns, but she’s here because she had a ha
rd time breathing.” Joon took in the girl’s almost-translucent skin and the dark circles under her eyes. “Why are you here?”

  “I’m always at the doctor or in the hospital. I’ve been sick for a lot of years. I have a bunch of different things wrong with me. Right now, my kidneys aren’t working the way they should, so the doctor decided to keep me here.”

  “Oh. Have you been sick since you were born?”

  Molly shook her head. “It all started after I turned eight. All of a sudden, I was sick all the time. I’ve had surgeries and take lots of different medicine, but the doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong with me. Sometimes, I even feel good, but then a few days later, I start feeling crappy again.”

  “That sounds awful. I’m really sorry that you don’t feel good.” Joon moved at the sound of Lulu waking and rushed to be at her side. “Hey, Lulu. It’s about time you woke up.”

  Lulu smiled weakly. “What happened?”

  “Remember the house caught on fire?”

  Lulu grimaced. “Oh yeah. What the hell died in my mouth?”

  Joon laughed and relief washed over her. “I think it’s from the smoke you breathed in.”

  “Can you get me a drink?”

  Joon filled a cup with water from the pitcher on Lulu’s table. “Drink slow.” She pressed the red call button for the nurse.

  A few minutes later, the nurse came into the room. “Well, hello, Lulu. I’m glad to see you’re awake. How do you feel?”

  “My throat is sore and my body hurts. Other than that, I can’t stand the smell of smoke in my hair.” Lulu looked Joon up and down. “And her hair too.”

  Joon smiled. “I’m sure it’s my clothes too. As soon as I go back to the penthouse, I’ll change and shower, Princess Lulu.”

  The nurse checked Lulu’s vital signs and left the room. She came back within ten minutes carrying several towels and two pairs of clean scrubs. She sat everything on one of the empty chairs and turned to Joon. “There’s a shower in the bathroom. You go first and then I’ll help Lulu.”