Page 87 of My Heart to Find

My heart flutters. I can’t leave them, I can’t—

“Get Phia out of here!” Jana bellows at me.

I feel her words like they slap into my face. My skin burns at their touch, and then Phia’s pulling at me again.

The keys.

I stoop and grab the car keys, and there’s movement, so much movement in the basement. Arms and legs—and grunts, shouts.

Damien.

My heart twists. I can’t process it, can’t work out what’s happening, can’t—

“This way,” Phia cries, and then it’s like my body’s unlocked, and I’m free to move, and we’re running. Running up the basement stairs and through Mr. Richards’ house, to the front door, where sunlight’s spilling in.

A policewoman appears in the doorway so suddenly, like in a cartoon or something. She’s shouting in her radio, and then she sees me and Phia. And Phia’s shouting at her, and then Jana’s behind us too.

Jana shouts more things, and my head pounds. Too many things are happening, and then...then we’re outside.

“They’ll be out soon,” Jana says.

Damien.

My heart squeezes tighter and tighter, a python around it.

I watch the door, waiting for him. My breathing gets faster. Faster and faster, and minutes are clawing by.

Where is he?

“Damien,” I whisper.

I wait and wait and wait.

More police go in. More shouting. And the first woman’s trying to talk to me and Jana and Phia. Asking us what’s going on. I hear Marnie’s name mentioned, but I can’t concentrate, I can’t speak. My vision’s swirling, and everything looks too small, too dark. My eyeballs feel gritty.

I wobble.

Jana grabs my arm. “Come on, sit down,” she says.

And then we’re sitting on the pavement. The dirty pavement. But I’m already contaminated... Can’t get worse. My head pounds.

I look up and—

“Damien!”

He’s out of the house. He’s here, safe. And he sweeps toward me, drops onto the pavement next to me.

“It’s okay,” Damien says. “You’re safe. We’re safe.”

I hug him. I just do it—it’s instinct.

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