Page 237 of Ruin My Life
The words anchor in the smoke-heavy air. For a heartbeat, I want to say it doesn’t matter. That no one will remember me. That no one’s left to care.
But that’s a lie. Damon would care.
He would want to know what happened. He would tear this island apart for the truth.
“Brie,” I whisper. “My name’s... Brie.”
She nods. “I’m Hope.”
Hope.
Of course she is.
It’s exactly what she is.
She turns, grips the lamp’s brass stem like a sledgehammer. She squares her shoulders at the shattered glass, then swings back hard—
CRASH!
The lamp punches through. Shards explode outward in a glittering cascade. Winter air blasts into the inferno behind us, slamming cold against my fevered skin—an icy slap I can barely feel through the pain.
The flames roar in response, clawing higher, greedier.
“Go!” I scream. “Run!”
Hope shrugs off her jacket, wraps it around her arm, and sweeps the jagged edges away. She throws one last look over her shoulder—eyes fierce, unbroken. “I’ll get help!” she shouts. “Hold on, okay?”
“Okay,” I whisper, but the roar of the growing fire eats my voice whole.
She disappears through the window, swallowed by blinding winter light.
Cold rushes in for a breath—then drowns in the thick curtain of smoke closing behind her.
My body is trembling. My hand still pressed to my stomach, but the sticky warmth pooling beneath me says it all.
I’m losing too much. Too fast.
My vision fuzzes at the edges, pulsing in time with my heart. Frantic. Desperate.
The flames are closing in.
But I’m cold.Socold.
I close my eyes. Try to picture the sky beyond that broken window. The one Hope just slipped through. I try to see the setting sun, the way it glitters off the waves below.
But all I see is him.
Damon.
God, I wish I could see him. Touch him. Tell him I’m sorry.
Sorry for every lie.
Sorry for getting caught.
Sorry I wasn’t stronger.
My head tips back into the carpet. Soot whirls above me like black snow. The fire roars louder, swallowing the walls. My eyelids flutter—everything feels heavy.
