THEO
He was already reaching for his phone as I bolted from the car.
I unlocked mine while running up the sidewalk and hit Nora’s name.
It rang.
And rang.
Come on, Nora.
Lucy was safe across town. I’d just checked.
But Nora’s Jeep was here.
Smoke curled thicker along the back of the house, dark against the night sky.
Voicemail.
I hung up and called again.
Maybe her phone was on Do Not Disturb. Sometimes it would push through on the second call.
I took the steps two at a time and pounded on the door with my free hand.
“Nora!” I shouted. “Open the door!”
The phone kept ringing.
No answer.
I hit the door harder. “If anyone’s inside, get out!”
But there was nothing.
I looked over my shoulder.
Her Jeep was still parked at the curb.
No, no, no.
Please don’t leave me. The thought came sharp and uninvited.
I could not have another person I cared about—another person Charlotte cared about—taken in a single, senseless moment.
Not again.
My hands shook as I switched my phone to speaker mode and opened my Notes app.
Front door code for Lucy’s home: 4344.
The door wasn’t hot to the touch. The smoke looked denser toward the back.
Was it in the upstairs apartment?
Or the attic?
Please don’t let it be between her and the stairs. Hopefully, Nora could get out in time.
My phone was still ringing as I typed in the code.
The lock clicked.
I shoved the door open.
Smoke hung low in the air. Thick but not yet choking. No visible flames.
“Nora!” I called again.
Still nothing.
I ran up the stairs, but the apartment door was locked, too.
I pounded on it. “Nora!”
Silence.
I tried the handle again.
Please.
4344.
The lock disengaged. Thank you!
I pushed inside, stepping into heavier smoke. It stung my eyes immediately.
Where was she?
I scanned the living room, but it was empty. Just the loud sound of their decrepit air conditioner blowing in from the window.
No wonder she hadn’t heard me pounding on the door.
Was she already asleep then?
Her bedroom was down the hall on the right.
I passed Lucy’s room on the way. The door was open. Bed made. No one there.
I reached Nora’s door and shoved it open.
And there she was, under the covers.
Completely still.
Too still.
Had she passed out from the smoke? From invisible gas?
Please don’t leave me.
The words filled my mind like déjà vu.
I crossed the room in three strides. “Wake up, Nora,” I said, grabbing her shoulders. “Your house is on fire. Wake up.”
There was a sudden gasp as her eyes flew open. And then she screamed.
“It’s me,” I said quickly, holding her steady when she tried to bolt away. “It’s Theo. Your house is on fire. We have to go. Now.”
She blinked hard, trying to understand.
I tugged her arm again, readying to lift her if she didn’t move in the next instant.
But then her eyes seemed to focus, and she scrambled out of bed, barefoot, following me without arguing.
We ran down the stairs. The smoke was thicker now, biting deeper in my lungs than it had a moment ago.
“We need to tell your neighbors,” I said, looking behind me to make sure she was right there.
“They’re out of town.” She coughed. “They asked us to take in their packages.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said. “They won’t be back ’til Tuesday.”
We made it to the landing and ran through the front door, down the steps, and across the street. Only when we reached the opposite curb did I stop and turn back, hearing the sirens wailing in the distance.
Then a crack split the night. A deep, splintering sound from above before the roof of the old Victorian home sagged inward.
A second later, a concussive boom tore through the air as part of the structure gave way, sparks shooting up into the dark sky.
Heat rolled across the street, and I stepped back, instinctively pulling Nora with me.
She stumbled into my chest, hands gripping my shirt.
If we’d been thirty seconds later—
I swallowed hard, my arms tightening around her as that familiar, helpless, sick feeling clawed up my throat.
But unlike that horrific night two years ago, Nora was still here.
Her heart was pounding against my chest.
She was breathing.
I wasn’t imagining it this time.
I pressed my lips against the top of her head without thinking.
She was okay.
She was still here.
I hadn’t been too late.