Page 84 of I Could Have Missed This
“We won’t say anything to anyone! We’ll—” I plead before Mr Bronze slaps my cheek.
“You can shut up as well. That’s enough talking,” he says before turning back to the brothers. “Get the petrol, will you?”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I say as a gasp escapes me.
“Idodare.”
The bronze family start pouring petrol all around the bookshop, laughing as they go. The pungent smell hits my nose, causing me to recoil.
“Stop! Please!” I beg, as tears begin to fall. I just got my life back. I fought so hard for this. And now they’re going to take it away from me.
“Save your tears, Noah. Keep them for when you reunite with your mother in hell,” Mr Bronze says, his eyes burning with hatred. He brings out a box of matches before a police siren sounds in the distance.
“Oh fuck,” Stanley gasps. Mr Bronze lights a match and drops it to the ground. The two boys run out the front door. Mr Bronze, however, leans into my face again.
“Just remember. I asked you politely to stay away. This isallyour fault,” he whispers. My eyes go wide as a fire erupts around us. Mr Bronze walks out, avoiding the flames. Orange light swarms the entire building as bookcases and furniture catch fire.
Is this how I die? I don’t want to go like this.
These past few months have been the greatest moments of my life. I felt like I was finally happy. I felt alive! Why is life cruel enough to give me everything I ever wanted, only to experience the pain of losing it all two seconds later? It’s all disintegrating in front of me, and I can’t stop it. I let out a scream as I try harder to break free.
My eyes catch the shimmer of Teddy’s switchblade on the floor. If I could just grab it I could cut myself free.
“Noah? Teddy?” Elijah coughs from the front of the store. I see him struggling to stand. I can barely see him through the flames.
“Get to the front, Eli! I’ve got Ted! Get help!” I shout to him over the sounds of the blaze. The heat prickles on my skin as it gets closer to us. I begin to cough as smoke fills my lungs. I look down at the blade.
This is really going to hurt.
I shift the chair over to the blade, each movement sending jolts of pain through my wrists. The rope burns, but I have to escape.
I can’t let them win.
I don’t want to die like this.
I push myself onto the floor. My shoulder hits the ground hard. I wince as pain jolts through my entire body, my face contorting into a grimace.
“Fuck,” I groan as I realise I’m just out of reach of the blade. I shuffle back a little, my whole body in agony. I can’t see the blade, but my fingertips brush against it. I struggle to reach itbefore it finally reaches my grasp. The blade springs out and I cut myself free.
I grab the chair and throw it across the room, molten rage filling my soul. I cut Teddy out of his restraints as groans come from his lips.
“C’mon, baby, we’re not dead yet,” I tell him, but he doesn’t stand. I grab him, even though my whole body screams at me. I put him up against my good shoulder as we struggle to the front of the shop. I hear wood groaning behind me as a bookshelf falls where we just were. It lights up the room as we continue onwards.
My legs start to give out, the weight causing them to flare up with pain. Each breath I take is filled with thick smoke. I cough a few times before covering my mouth.
I trip over something and we both fall to the ground. My body grows weak as I crawl to Teddy.
“We need to go, Teddy. We can’t die like this,” I plead with him, but he isn’t responding. My heart aches as I try my hardest to move him, but my body tells me to stay down and accept my fate.
“C’mon, honey, I’m not ready to die. I still have my whole life with you to live.”
I feel my eyes grow heavy as the smoke continues to fill my lungs. Why can’t I move? My whole body feels weighed down. Tears begin to spill out of my eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Teddy. This is all my fault,” I cry as my world starts to fade to black.
I struggle against the impending darkness.
But in the end, it wins.
