Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
CHRISTINE
Once Fletcher left, Gracie and Liam jumped in to help finish the game. Liam was the only one to guess the killer right. Considering it was his girlfriend, he had a bit of an advantage. She was shocked when he figured it out, but he just laughed and said, “Gracie, I love you, but you have the worst poker face in the world.”
Everyone stayed around for about an hour once we were done to mingle and finish off the snacks, and by the time the house was empty, I was practically asleep on my feet. Casey was literally asleep, his little head slumped on the kitchen table, and I had to carry him upstairs.
It feels like I’ve just barely crawled into my bed, my brain already slipping in and out of consciousness, when a piercing shriek jars me fully awake. I roll over in bed and cover my ears. At first I think it’s the security system, but no.
What is that?
When I try to open my eyes, they burn. And when I suck in a surprised gasp, I cough.
Smoke.
Oh my God that’s smoke.
Fire.
Casey.
I trip over the sheets wrapped around my legs as I stumble out of bed and hit the ground on my knees. The air is already so thick it feels impossible to breathe. I pull up my shirt to cover my mouth and nose, but it does little to stop the coughing.
Casey. I have to get to Casey.
When I make it to the hall, the smoke is thicker, my surrounding visibility getting worse by the second. Where is it coming from?
Casey.
He must be awake. There’s no way he could sleep through this alarm.
I shove through his door.
The bed is empty.
No. No.
“Casey!”
I turn a full circle, looking for every place he could hide. I check under the bed, in the closet.
“Casey!” I scream, and it takes all of the air from my lungs and rips through my throat. I double over as the coughs turn violent.
Where is he?
I stumble into the hallway. The smoke is growing thicker by the second. I think it’s coming from somewhere downstairs.
I’m about to circle back and check Casey’s room again when the house makes a horrible groaning sound.
I barely have time to process what I’m hearing before the ceiling caves in.