The second I emerge from the building and the smoke around us clears, Stella comes rushing forward as a fire engine and an ambulance come racing down the street.
“Oh my God. Is she okay?”
My lips part and I’m about to assure her that Jodie was talking when her body suddenly gets heavier in my hold, and when I look down, her eyes are closed.
“No,” I cry. “Jodie, come back to me, baby. Jodie.”
A shadow falls over us and when I look up, I find a paramedic standing before me with his arms outstretched.
“Let me,” he says softly but firmly, and I have no choice but to hand my girl over to another man in the hope that he can bring her back to me.
I stumble forward and collide with Stella. Her arms wrap around me, her sweet scent finally overtaking the death that’s filled my nose since the building we were in earlier went up around us, and I finally break as I cling to her.
“I can’t lose her, Stel. I fucking can’t.”
“You won’t. This isn’t her time.”
And all I can do as we stand there, clinging to each other as chaos breaks out around us is pray that she’s right.