Something I never thought would happen, but in the back of my mind, I knew he was capable of horrible things, and he’s finally done it.
He’s trying to burn the bakery down with Sloane and me in it.
Swiping my phone from the table, I dial 911 while I scream for Sloane to get out.
“Sloane!Run!Go!”I yell, but she’s confused when I run into the kitchen, my phone to my ear.
The operator comes on, and all I can do is shout the address down the phone.My thoughts are a mess, jumbled and confused, but I know I need the fire department, and Sloane and I need to get out.
“Hurry, there’s a fire!”I shout, the operator confused.
“Miss, calm down.Please repeat the address.”
“I can’t calm down!”Tears begin to stream down my face.My dream is about to be destroyed, and if Sloane and I don’t get out, we’re going to die in here.
I shove Sloane toward the back exit, but when we reach it, it’s engulfed in flames just like the front entrance.
“Daisy!”Sloane wails, clinging to me as the thick black smoke begins to pour in from under the door.
I’m still yelling the address to the operator, who finally seems to pick up on what I need and tells me she’s sending the fire department.
We race to the front of the bakery, but the deep orange flames surround the building, and as the smoke begins to billow into the space, stinging our eyes and making it hard to breathe, I know what I have to do.
Our exits are blocked, intentional and planned.Isaac is trying to kill me and burn the bakery to the ground.I feel helpless and sick, vomit rising up in my throat.
But I don’t have time to feel this way.We need to get out, and as much as I don’t want to do this, we need to break a window.
“Stand back!”I yell to Sloane, the sound of sirens filling the air, and as much as I want to breathe a sigh of relief, we aren’t there yet.
Picking up a chair, I throw it at the window, but nothing happens.It basically bounces off, and I can’t believe it.
Sloane and I are both screaming, the room growing hotter and hotter as the flames continue to grow, wrapping around the building, but still not covering the windows on the sides.
The sirens get louder, their red glow lighting the building as Sloane and I grow increasingly frantic.Gasping for air, but the room is filled with smoke, and my lungs feel like they’re on fire too.
There’s no way out, and the tears come quickly for both of us.It’s a horrible feeling, knowing rescue is coming, but will they make it in time?
“You nervous about the new shows?”Owen asks as we wait for our dinner.
I blow out a breath, shoving my hands in my pockets as I shrug and say, “Yeah, kinda.”
He smiles.“That’s pretty normal though, right?”he says, as his phone pings with an incoming text message.“It’s been a while since you guys played in front of people.”
“Nah, I mean, it’s not stage fright or whatever,” I tell him, knowing I never really suffered from that, even when we were on tour and opening for The Provocation, a Grammy Award-winning band.“It’s the whole music thing and stuff with Daze,” I continue.“I just don’t want everything to go to shit again.”
“It won’t,” he says confidently.“You guys are in a good place,” he adds as his phone pings again.
“Yeah, I know,” I reply as he pulls his phone from his pocket.
“It’s probably Sloane asking for extra guacamole,” he says with a grin as he opens up the message.“She loves this— Holy shit.”
“What, what is it?”
“We gotta go,” Owen says, grabbing my arm as he pulls me away from the taco stand.
“Owen, our food, we?—”
“Miles,” he says, my name catching in his throat as he turns his phone screen toward me.
