Cold Fire

The beginning

Hi, I’m Paige Colley. Just your average teenager. I mean I guess I’m average. There isn’t anything particularly interesting about me. Well, at least there wasn’t until a couple weeks ago. July 7th to be exact…my 18th birthday. I grew up in a small town in rural Tennessee. There’s no point in naming it, you’ve never heard of it and it’s pretty irrelevant to my story. It was just me, mom, and the nightmare I call my dad. Cue eye roll. Momma’s name is Olivia. She’s also pretty basic as far as basic goes, down to her insufferable wardrobe of plain dark skirts, black leggings, and random plain colored shirts. No job to speak of other than mother and housewife. I get most of my features from her. The blonde hair, the pale skin, the blue eyes, thick chubby frame. The only thing I don’t get from her is my birthmark. It’s identical to my fathers located on our upper left thigh. It kinda looks like a lightning bolt. My dad, is Jack. I don’t even know where to start on this man. Jack Colley. He is literally anything but average. 6’5, curled and tousled coal black hair, built like a freight train, olive skin, and that ridiculous mustache. He won’t shave it, I’ve tried to talk him in to that for as long as I can remember. He’s a lawyer. At least that’s what they tell me. I’ve never seen him in action, but whatever. He’s a very serious man and if I’m completely honest, I’ve never been his biggest fan. He’s very unemotional and busy, cold and detached. He wasn’t the dad to hug you and tell you it would be ok. He was the dad to point out your flaws and tell you to work harder. Anytime I got hurt, he would tell me tho watch myself instead of kissing it to make it better. My mother is just the opposite. She laughs and smiles and jokes and is warm and loving. I’ve never really seen how the two have fit together so perfectly. My mother’s only true flaw is that she ignores any problems like they don’t exist. She’s always said that if we pay attention to our problems, we only give them power over us. Whatever. She couldn’t be serious if you paid her. That just leaves me. I guess I’m a good mix of their personalities if I’m truthful. I don’t particularly appreciate nonsense, but I can at least smile. I had a few friends in school. Ally, my best friend was always there when I needed her. She had long dark and straight brown hair and big bright hazel eyes. She looked like a model. I had not seen much of her this summer though, she was caught up with her new boyfriend Ben. I wasn’t your most popular, but I didn’t hang at the table with the kid that smells weird either. I had just finished my senior year of school, and I was planning to move out soon. And thank God too, because being stuck with these two all the time was torture.

Anyway enough of that, I have to tell you what’s happening! It was the night of my birthday….

“Mom! I can’t find the jacket you wanted me to wear to dinner!” I called from upstairs in my room knowing my mother could hear me perfectly well.

“That’s because, Paige, I already have it hung by the door for you. If you’d have listened to me when I was talking earlier silly girl you’d have known that!” she calls back. I sigh and roll my eyes. Why is she always doing that? Can’t she for once just leave my crap alone? How the heck am I supposed to know where it is if it keeps getting moved?! Whatever. “ yeah ok, thanks mom. And my boots?” I ask. “Right by your coat baby girl. I swear, did you hear anything I said earlier?” I stomp down the stairs. “Probably not mother since you were trying to talk to me while my nose was in a novel.” I retort. Just then my father walks in. “Are you women not ready? My reservation is in 15 minutes, and it takes 11 minutes to get there.” He says, glancing at his watch. How this man has everything down to an exact time I’ll never completely understand. I throw my plaid purple jacket on and slide my brown leather boots on to my feet in record time. “Ready!” I say, knowing I’ll aggravate him. “Dear lord girl!” My father exclaims. “No wonder we are always buying you new clothes, jumping in and out of them like a crazy person” he says with obvious distaste in his voice. I just roll my eyes. This man couldn’t remind me more of Snape with a mustache if he tried. That makes me smile to myself. I love Harry Potter. “Well are you wanting me ready or not?!” I ask with a smirk. “Just get in the car.” He says and opens the front door.

The ride to the restaurant was long and boring. Like I said, small town so anything of interest was bit of a drive. My mother sang along to a bunch of crap no one had listened to probably like…ever and my father drove quietly. Another birthday dinner. It’s something my family has always done. We always go to this tiny restaurant a couple towns over whenever someone has a birthday and order them whatever they want off the menu and spend entirely too long there. We pull up outside and I see a few familiar faces at the little ma and pa joint I’d eaten at many times before.

Dinner was uneventful, mom and I chattered as dad sat in silence looking over whatever the heck kind of “work paperwork” he was always buried in. I ordered the same thing I always did. The cheeseburger and fries. I have to admit, their food WAS pretty good. Their cheeseburger was one of my favorite foods. As much as I didn’t look forward to the “family time” I DID look forward to my burger.

The ride home was more of the same crap. Mom singing, dad driving, me wanting to put an ice pick in my eardrums-same ole same ole. Since it was July, it was pretty hot. Earlier in the day I had received my few gifts including my new favorite faux fur blanket. Mom knows how I dread winter. After that I had gone to the pool and got in some much needed tanning time. I love the sun and warm, and though I use tanning as an excuse, I don’t tan. I’m still one shade off of Michelin man. I knew what was coming though. Same thing that happened every year-rain. It didn’t let me down, either. As soon as I stepped out of the car at home, the sky opened up into a torrential downpour and that is when I noticed weird thing number one, I started steaming. I don’t mean like when you get your shower a little to hot and you step out and there’s a little steam, I mean STEAMING, like a sauna. Thankfully mom and dad had already ran inside. As I stood there trying to find out what in the chemical reaction was happening to me, I began to feel really warm inside. I took off for the house and went straight to my room. It took awhile, but it stopped. I couldn’t smell anything, but I decided to take a shower just in case. I grabbed a pair of black leggings, fresh underwear, and an oversized tshirt and headed for the bathroom. Cue weird thing number two.

As I stepped into the running water, the steam started up again. I quickly soaped up and tried to wash off whatever was causing this weird fog. Strangely, it didn’t help. I sighed and wrapped up my shower and got out, dressing myself looking in the mirror. My platinum blonde hair and blue eyes stared back at me, and I sighed again. I ran a brush through my hair, brushed my teeth and headed for bed.

Laying down I opened my book like I did every night and began to doze off as I read. I did that thing that everyone does several times in their life and jerked like I was falling and was right back awake. I looked at the book in my hands and that’s when the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to me happened. There was blue flame surrounding my hands. I dropped my book and jumped, shaking my hands. They didn’t hurt, and the fire didn’t seem to be going anywhere other than my hands. I shook them and shook them. I think I was still convinced I had some weird chemical on me. And just like that, the flames went out. My hands were like ice even though I know I just saw fire on them, and my insides were that pleasant warm again. “That’s it, I’m going to freaking bed and lets just hope I don’t spontaneously combust” I said aloud to no one but myself.

I woke to my mother in my room dancing around singing. She opened my curtains and let the morning light in. What little bit of it there was. “Uuuuugh mom what time is it?” I groaned. “Well it’s time for you to get a watch huh?!” Mom giggled and danced over to my bed, flopping down. “Real funny mom” I said, still groggy. “I thought so!” She said and smiled. “Mhm.” I said, and rolled over. “ I’m making pancakes buggy!” She said and shook me. I really don’t know why she thought that was going to get me up quicker. I hate breakfast food, and I can’t eat when I first wake up and my mother knows this. “And?” I ask. “Can’t you for once just get up and hang out with me? You’re going to be leaving in a few days and I want to spend every second I can with you!” She says. She was referring to the fact I had been a responsible child and saved basically every penny I’d ever earned and paid for an apartment near the city of Nashville. “Mom, for Pete’s sake waking me up at the butt crack of dawn is NOT a way to spend quality time.” I tell her. “Well I don’t know who Pete and Dawn are and I don’t care, but tell Dawn to pull up her britches and I’ll see you downstairs in 20” mom says. “Wha…………huh?” I say, still trying to process what in the hell she just said. I wrinkle my nose and sit up and look at her funny. She just smiles, starts singing again, and dances downstairs. What a freaking weirdo. I give up because I know mom is not going to let this go. I sit up on the edge of the bed and groan. “When I get moved into my apartment, I’m never getting up early” I say and kick my feet tantrum style before standing up to get dressed. I walk to my closet and stare. I decided on a navy blue sun dress with lace and a pair of white leather sandals. I change quickly and head downstairs. And that’s when it happened again. The blue flames were back, only this time they were on my arms too. I let out a little screech and mom turns to look at me. I start feeling warm inside again. “Mom help, put me out!” I squeal. “What are you talking about Paige?!” She asks. I know she can flipping see the flames, because she’s looking right at them. “The fire, mom!” I say. “Hunny I don’t see any fire” mom dares to say. Just then the fire receded, and is gone without a trace. “I uh…I’m gonna go back to bed” I say. Mom nods. Now I KNOW she saw the flames because there is no other reason she would accept me going to lie down. I snort because she was busted in her lie and storm out.

I wake up to birds singing and a nice cool breeze. It must just now be around noon I judged. I sighed. What the hell was going on with me?! I feel frustration mounting and kick over my bedside table. I drop to my knees and cry. Why wouldn’t mom help me?! She was just going to let me burn! I hear a soft knock at the door. “Come in” I say, expecting to hear my mother and her sing-song voice reply. It wasn’t. The voice I heard next belonged to my father. “Paige?” He asked quietly. “What?” I say looking up at him from my heap on the floor. “Your mother said over breakfast you were in hysterics about being on fire.” He said. His face was cold and his tone was lacking any emotion whatsoever. “Yeah, my arms were wrapped in blue flames and she acted like she couldn’t see it! She looked right at it dad!” I said. “I see. And do you have any burns or other injury?” He asked, still staring me down. “I…well…I … No…” I said. “Very interesting.” He said under his breath. “Then I fail to see the issue here.” He said raising an eyebrow. I didn’t know what to do or say. How could he be like this? This was serious! Without another word, he spun on his heel and left the room. I could hear his footsteps headed for his study.

I sat in silence staring at the empty spot where my father just stood for a long time. I guess we just aren’t going to acknowledge the issue of me bursting in to flames. My phone started ringing and snapped me out of my funk. The caller said “Ally” so I answered. “Hello gorgeous!” She said. “Hey Ally.” “Girl! Your birthday is over and I know your parents always keep you for your birthday so now it’s MY turn” she said. She always did this to me. Every year since kindergarten this girl has snagged me up the day after my birthday since I was never allowed to do anything with anyone but my parents on my birthday day. “Oh? And what does that mean for me?” I ask her, legitimately a bit worried. “Do I have to spell it out? It means get dressed in something nice and I’ll be there to get you in an hour.” She says and hangs up. That might be one of my favorite things about Ally. She knew I was the type to try to isolate, so she never gave me the chance or option to argue. She would show up in an hour and I would be leaving, ready or not because that’s just how my Ally was. I smiled to myself. She knew me better than anyone in the world without even trying.

Sighing, I went to my closet and stared at it again, taking a mental note to update my wardrobe when I get moved. Dressing for going out with Ally was going to take a bit more work. If I know Ally, and I do, I needed to dress up. Whatever she had in mind she’d be judging my dress for. I rolled my eyes at thought. I ultimately decided on a pair of designer jeans, a cute pale pink crop top and a white lace cardigan with a pair of white leather sandals. I put everything on and looked in the mirror. Not in too bad I guess. Just then Ally busted in my room. “You ready? Oh my goodness no you aren’t!” She said. “Your hair isn’t done and you haven’t even started on makeup!” She gasped. “It’s a good thing I came early pppfor heavens sake!” I raised my eyebrow at her as she started coming toward me. “ I hadn’t planned on hair and makeup” I told her. “Bull” she told me and started to do my