“I’ll... er... see you soon?”
Why do I sound so nervous?
“Yeah. I’ll be down in a bit.”
I nod as I stand up, still waiting on her to look at me, but she doesn’t. Her eyes stay fixed ahead, so I leave, warily glancing at her several more times before disappearing into the secret hole.
She’s just confused the shit out of me. I swear that’s not really Bora out there.
Chapter 9
JAX
Something tickles my throat and burns my nose, causing me to wake up in a coughing fit. A toxic haze burns my eyes, and I gasp for a clean breath that I can’t find.
A blaring-red three looks at me from a blinking clock, but it’s so foggy. I cough harder, still struggling to breathe, and screams echo through the house. People are screaming my name, but I have no idea what’s going on.
“Jax!” Dad yells, sounding real damn close, but this thick, burning fog hinders me from seeing him.
I feel a strong tugging at my arm, just as glass shatters, and suddenly I’m being shoved hard.
My stomach tilts like I’m falling… I’m falling?
My breath leaves in a painful rush when I hit the rock beneath me. No… That’s sand. It’s not so soft when you land on it. It always seems so soft between your toes.
Toes. Sand. Air. What the hell?
“Jax!” Mom yells, and suddenly a clean breath of air catches me, and I cough harder, feeling a ripping sensation at my chest like it’s being clawed and knifed from the inside.
Mom falls to my side, clutching my arms.
“We couldn’t find you. Oh my goodness. I was so worried,” she sobs.
Why is she sobbing?
Everything is still so blurry, and nothing is making sense. It’s like being jarred awake in the middle of a dream, stuck between dreamland and reality, but you’re not sure which place you’re in.
Drunkenly shrugging her off, I stagger to my feet, aching and disoriented. I turn just in time to see the house ablaze as Dad lands on the ground, grunting and groaning as he hits the merciless sand as hard as I did.
“What the hell?” I say through a cough, slowly finding some clarity.
“Where’s Bora?” Dad shouts.
He looks like he’s taken a bath in charcoal.
I’m still confused when suddenly his words resonate.
My heart sinks to my toes as I look at the house that’s now in raging flames, the fire only growing stronger by the second.
“Bo!” Helen screams, panicking as she races toward the house for the girl she doesn’t even know.
“No!” Dad yells, catching the woman by the waist. “It’s too late.”
“The roof! She was on the roof when I left her!” I yell, feeling my chest caving in on itself.
Viv and Mom gasp when the house creaks and cracks, groaning as though it’s about to fall apart at any minute.
I start running toward it, only to be blocked by flames. Just as I’m about to attempt climbing up the side, I see a shadow sliding down a pole like a fireman.