“Are you ok?” I heard my dad ask, from the front of the house. I was hidden in the grass below my window and I was certain no one could see me.
“Yes,” my mother cried out, as I heard her feet shuffling on the sidewalk.
I wanted to yell out to them. To tell them I was safe before they worried or told someone I was still trapped inside the burning inferno.
Instead, what I heard was far worse.
“Is Elizabeth out here?” my mother asked, her voice sounding frantic.
“No, I don’t see her. Maybe she is still inside,” my dad stated, his voice breathless.
I found the will to drag my body to the corner of the house as sparks from the raging flames fell down on me. As my head peeked around the corner, I saw as my mom grabbed my dad by the arm and stopped him from going any closer to the house.
“Wait,” she said, as she looked around her. The fire engine had just pulled up and several men in heavy suits were running toward us carrying a hose with them. “She is probably already dead if she didn’t escape at this point,” she said, in a calm and steady voice.
Glancing from my mom and back to their smoke-infested house, my dad just nodded in agreement. Pure anger flooded my body as I watched my parents; the two people who should love me and want to save me more than anything, just accept my death.
I wanted to rush toward them and scream and cry and ask them why they hated me so much. I wanted to wave my arms in the air and shout to the entire world that I was alive and not burned dead inside. Instead, I slowly picked myself up off of the ground, took one last look at my parents, and began walking away from my house.
The flames had overtaken everything and there was nothing left inside to salvage. Tonight, Elizabeth died in those flames. However, I rose from the ashes and found the strength and belief in myself that this was my opportunity to have a life I always wanted.
As my feet shuffled on the ground, a small smile spread across my lips. The heat from the fire was still causing me to sweat, but I didn’t care. With my family thinking I was dead, I could leave here and become someone else. Not the girl who survived when everyone believed she should have died. I could be me. Lizzie. The girl who was born from the flames.
I walked and allowed my feet to carry me to my final destination. I had to be careful though. With the chaos building from the wreckage of my house, all of the neighborhood was out on the street watching the turmoil. Walking through the shadows, I spotted my best friend Avery standing with her parents. With her mother’s arm draped around her shoulders, she sobbed.
Part of me wanted to keep walking and leave everyone behind, but I couldn’t leave Avery. As my one and only friend, I couldn’t leave with my last image of her being one of anguish. Running behind a large tree, I picked up a small rock from the road and threw it at Avery.
Quickly turning, she spotted me just under a large oak tree lining the road. Offering me a bewildered glance, I placed my fingers to my lips in an effort to hush her. Slowly stepping back, Avery made her way over to me.
“What the hell are you doing?” Avery scolded me in a whisper. “Everyone thinks you are dead.”
“I woke up and the house was engulfed in flames. I almost didn’t make it out alive,” I cried, as I shook all over. The magnitude of the event wasn’t lost on me now.
“Lizzie, that's awful.” Shouldn't you be telling everyone you are alright?” she asked, with her eyes still wide from fright.
I watched my best friend closely. Her long, yellow blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her sparkling blue eyes were glittering even in the darkness of the night. Avery was beautiful and loved by everyone who knew her. For some odd reason, she chose me to be friends with in fifth grade. With my bland brown hair and brown eyes, I had envied her since the first day we met and she carried a Lisa Frank backpack. Avery was the only one who knew how terrible my parents were to me. She had witnessed their hatred of me multiple times but never told anyone when I begged her not to. Now, standing in front of me, I was waiting for her to understand what I was doing.
“Avery, this is my chance. I can get out of here and leave my horrible parents behind,” I said, my smile growing wider.
“Oh, Lizzie,” Avery cried, as she threw her arms around me. “This is great!”
“See, I can be whoever I want now. I’m not the evil twin anymore. I’m not the girl who isn't loved by her parents. I am Lizzie,” I finished.
Smiling, Avery reached for my hand. “Your mom always hated that nickname, Lizzie,” Avery said, with a smirk. Even through her tears, she was able to find a way to smile. That was just one of the things I loved and admired about my best friend. Glancing around at the chaos just up the street from where we stood, Avery turned serious again. So…What is your plan?”
Squeezing her hand, I offered Avery a comforting smile. “I am going to Las Vegas and I will find a way to get myself into that graphic design school I have always wanted to attend. You just wait and see, Avery. Tonight I feel like I was finally born and now I’m able to live the life I want. No one will ever control me again.”
CHAPTER 1
Three Years Later
All around me bright lights glowed throughout the large city I had just arrived in. Showers of reds, golds, and blues painted the scene before me as voices blended in with the sounds of honking cars and loud music. Each shining color tempted me to stay and find pleasure among the large buildings and crowds of people. There was something very enticing and alluring about a city that never sleeps. Almost like it held secrets and desires that could only be unlocked with one touch.
“This is it,” I sighed, as we stepped out of the cab and onto the busy sidewalk. It was past midnight but the city of Las Vegas was bursting at the seams like it was mid-day in any other city.
I squeezed through the crowd of people blocking my path on the sidewalk as I looked up at the large hotel and casino towering about me. Hard Rock Hotel and Casino was more than what I had ever expected or dreamed it to be.
We were on the most focal point of the strip, the boulevard where dreams came true and you could go from rags to riches overnight. Or, vice versa. My eyes darted from the fountains gushing vibrant colors as lights were synchronized to music playing from hidden locations. With one look, it was like you had somehow transported all the world's gems onto one four-mile stretch. I could see Egyptian pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, and Elvis Presley all in one city.