Broken kingdom

Chapter 49 Bianca

Past…

The sound of my phone ringing jolts me out of my sleep. 

Oakley. 

My heart jumps out of my chest as I reach for my phone, but my hopes are dashed when I see Jace’s name flash across the screen. 

I quickly hit the ignore button and fall back into bed. 

It’s been two days since I’ve spoken to Oakley. 

Two days since he’s been home. 

Two days since I’ve fucked everything up. 

At this point, I don’t even care if he’s with another girl…I just hope he’s not off somewhere doing drugs. 

Bringing my phone to my ear, I dial his number for what has to be the millionth time, but as usual, it goes straight to voicemail. 

I groan when my phone rings and Jace’s name flashes across my screen again. Given he’s in New York with his girlfriend, you’d think he’d be off having fun instead of blowing up my phone. 

Frustrated, I take the call. 

 “What?” I snap. 

“Are you okay?” Jace questions. 

There’s no mistaking the worry in his tone. 

That’s…strange. 

I highly doubt Oakley told him about our argument. 

I sit up in bed. “Why wouldn’t I be?” 

“I don’t know,” he gripes. “How about the fucking fires? Why the hell do you think I’ve been trying to call you all afternoon?” 

“Fires?” I utter. “What fires?” 

The only thing I’ve lived and breathed for the last forty-eight hours is Oakley. 

Jace sighs. “There are wildfires spreading across the state.” 

“Seriously?”

I quickly find my remote and flick on the television. Sure enough, every local news station is covering the gigantic wildfire spreading through parts of California. 

“Shit.” 

“I know,” Jace says. “I’m trying to get a flight back there, but the earliest one I can find isn’t until later tonight, and even then, it’s still a six-hour flight.” There’s a long pause. “Bianca?” 

“Yeah?”

“The news just said it’s starting to spread through Ship’s Haven and…” His sentence trails off…as if he can’t bring himself to say the next words. 

But he doesn’t have to.

Ship’s Haven is only three towns over…which means it’s close. 

Too fucking close. 

“Oakley’s missing,” I whisper, realizing he could be anywhere. “I’ve been trying to call him, but it keeps going to voicemail.” 

“Fuck,” Jace mutters. “I was hoping he was home so you weren’t alone.” I can practically hear his teeth clench. “Dad’s still in Japan, but I’m go

“You really think Dad can summon a helicopter during a fire?” 

And even if he could…I wouldn’t get on it without knowing Oakley’s safe. 

“I don’t fucking know, Bianca. But I’m not go

“Hey,” Cole greets me a moment later. “So, I’ve been thinking and I’ve come up with a plan so you don’t get roasted.” 

“Gee thanks.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “What’s your plan?” 

“Get your ass in the swimming pool. This way when the fire passes over Royal Manor, you’ll be safe…because you know…water and shit.” 

All things considered, that’s not a horrible plan. “Yeah, that might—”

I don’t get to finish my sentence because Jace snatches the phone from him. “I’m go

“Okay,” I tell him, even though it’s pretty hopeless at this point. 

The only positive is that my family is out of harm's way. 

My stomach churns. Oakley, however, isn’t. 

“I love you,” Jace says and it’s all I can do not to lose it because we don’t say those words unless it’s serious. 

“I love you, too.” 

I’m ending the call when it occurs to me that I might not get the chance to tell Oakley the same. 

I draw my knees to my chest as terror ripples through me. 

The fire blazed through Ship’s Haven and is currently burning its way through the next town...which means it won’t be long before it reaches Royal Manor. 

If I close my eyes and concentrate…I can hear the sirens looming in the distance and smell the smoke in the air. 

I should pull myself together and try to escape, but I have nowhere to go. 

And even if I did, all the roads are congested due to people trying to evacuate. 

I’m literally trapped. 

But that’s still not the worst part about what’s happening. 

The worst part is that Oakley’s out there somewhere and I have no idea if he’s okay. 

And I’m probably going to die without ever making things right between us. 

I start rocking myself, desperately trying to ease my anxiety as tears fill my eyes.

I’d give anything to go back to that night at the bar and do things differently. 

Because despite us being a train wreck waiting to happen and me always feeling like I was one breath away from drowning every time he was near. 

I’ve never been happier in my whole life. 

I’m so lost in my thoughts, I barely register the sound of the front door opening and heavy footsteps rushing up the stairs. 

“Get up.” 

My head snaps up at the sound of Oakley’s voice, and for a moment I honestly think I’m hallucinating because how is he standing right in front of me?

Getting off my bed, I rush toward him. “Where the hell were you?” Tears clog my vision as fear and anger spiral through me like a boulder rolling downhill. Before I can stop myself, I shove him. “Do you have any idea how worried I was?” I shove him again, harder this time. “How hard I cried myself to sleep the past two nights because you abandoned me—”

I don’t have time to finish yelling at him because he scoops me up and tosses me over his shoulder…right before he starts charging down the staircase.

“What the actual fuck are you doing?” 

Ignoring me, he continues out the front door. 

“Where are we going?”

He doesn’t answer, but he does put me down when we reach the driveway. 

I’m puzzled when I notice a sleek, black motorcycle parked at the end of it. 

“Why is there a bike in the driveway?”

“It’s my dad’s.” Jaw clenched, he tosses me a helmet. “Get on.” 

He’s out of his mind. “Are you crazy? I’m not getting—”

“Christ,” he seethes as he straddles the bike. “Shut the fuck up and hop on so we can get out of here.” 

Shaking my head, I back away. I’ve never been on a motorcycle before and I don’t know much about them, but everything I do know isn’t good. “There’s no way in hell I’m getting on that thing.” 

Muttering a curse, he looks up at the night sky, like he’s trying his hardest not to reach over and throttle me. “Bianca.” 

He says my name like a threat and a promise. 

“What?” 

His glare grows glacial. “Get on the goddamn bike. Now.” 

Turns out riding a motorcycle through town was the smart thing to do because we were able to speed past all the bumper to bumper traffic. 

However, I’m confused when Oakley pulls into the parking lot of the beach. “Why are we here?”