Page 18 of Beautiful Storm

“Did you plan this?”

“Are you staying or going?” He ignores my question, making me nauseous.

“Staying.” I drop down to the wooden flooring, securing my arms around my chest, unsure whether I should be angry or embarrassed. “Were you part of this?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“No, I mean…is thisyourdare as well?” I want to ask if someone dared him to kiss me, but I can’t bring myself to say it.

Luke opens his mouth to answer just as someone screams in the distance.

“Answer me. Is that part of your—”

“Shh.” Luke cuts me off as he steps closer, seemingly on alert, and it’s then the smell of smoke permeates the air.

“Luke?”

“That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“What?” I wait for him to laugh.Prayfor him to laugh but he doesn’t. “Luke, please tell me this is a joke.”

“It’s not.”

Oh God.

“We have to go. Jesus! Why didn’t we leave?” I race back to the door of the attic as Luke peers out the window, frustratingly taking his time. “What are you doing? Come on.” I pull on thehandle but it doesn’t budge. “Oh God. Did they lock us in? Luke, are we locked in?”

My panic rises as I violently shake on the handle. “Help! Someonehelp!”

No one answers, so I turn to yell at Luke, but the sound of sirens echoes through the air, cutting me off.

Luke curses under his breath while my heart stops.It’s real.

“Oh God, oh God. Are we going to die? This is all your fault.”

Luke’s eyes flash to mine, his expression full of anger. “No one forced you to be here, Amelia. And your freak-out isn’t helping. I need to think.”

To think? Shit. We’re stuck.

The door rattles from the other side and we both freeze. “We have to go,” David calls out. “The police are here.” He opens the door and we both rush to climb down, but the second we’re at the bottom of the ladder, Luke takes off in the opposite direction.

“Luke, wait,” I call out, but he doesn’t slow.

"Stay with David," he yells back at me. "He’ll get you out.” And then he’s gone.

He set me up, made me feel alive, and then left me.

How could I be so stupid? Nothing has changed.

CHAPTER FIVE

Amelia - Present day

I did it. I finally made it. And this time, I did it on my own. Now let’s hope I don’t mess it up.

“Everything okay?” Hayley asks when I meet her inside our regular cafe, after I finished taking a phone call out front. I keep my lips sealed for as long as possible, but when her brows furrow, I can’t stop my giddy smile.

“Brighton Productions wants me to start on Monday instead of next month. They’ve got a new project they said I’d be perfect for.”

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