Page 37 of Sweet Punk
Me:I’m so sorry.
Lux:Are you almost home?
Raven:We’re freaking out.
Raven:Are you okay?
Me:Crossing the bridge now.
Me:I don’t know how to answer the second question.
Lux:Oh. Shit.
Almost back to the dorm. Almost time to spill my dirty, dirty laundry and my guts and everything else all over the place. I can’t believe it’s come down to this, but it’s way past time that they knew. I’ll be beating myself up for a long time for not saying anything sooner. All I can do now is to admit to the shit show that’s likely to ensue from here and apologize.
Kellan squeezes my hand, his fingers laced with mine. “Are they okay?”
“Um, they’re freaked out. You’ll see why when we get up there.”
“Well, I can fuckin’ imagine, considering what you told me about his attack earlier.”
“Yeah. That’s exactly what this was.” I wince, then sigh heavily, wishing I could make all of this go away. “Why can’t my mother or his dad ever see him for what he is?”
We’ve only gotten halfway up the stairs to Duke Hall when the fire alarms blare, their angry wails piercing the quiet afternoon.
NINETEEN
STAR
I jump a mile at the shrill sounds, and my heart shoots up into my throat, leaving plenty of room in my chest cavity for the impending sense of dread and fear to fill me.No, no, no. Get me away from here.
Kellan tightens his arm around me and grits out, “What the fuck.” It’s not a question, simply a disgruntled statement. Because seriously.What the fuck.I don’t realize my body’s gone rigid until he tugs me forcefully away from the building. “Back up. Here they come.”
We continue to move in reverse, our eyes locked on the dorm as we stare in horror. This is no alarm pull. The main doors are flung open and smoke billows out. I can’t take my eyes from the uproar as Duke Hall residents come pouring out of the building in various states of dress. Granted it’s only like four in the afternoon, but some of them are already rocking their pajamas, staying in for the night. My breathing is shallow as my gaze latches onto the flicker of light visible through the haze of smoke. Wait, not light. I think it must be flames. Without a doubt, this is all my fault.
“This is effing insane,” one girl says as she passes by us, arm in arm with her friend.
Sirens fill the air once again—along with flashing lights and lots of action as the fire trucks and other emergency personnel pull up. I blink. He did this. I know he did. Is he watching? I whip my head frantically in one direction and then the other, while attempting to keep tabs on the door. We haven’t seen Lux, Maddox, or Raven. And I’m about ninety-nine percent sure they’re inside the building. At the very least I know Raven told Lux to wait downstairs for her. But did the three of them go upstairs? Are they trapped in there? My body quakes with fear.
Some guy practically snarls as he exits in a towel, completely covered in suds. “I swear to God, whoever keeps doing this shit, it’s not funny.”
I clutch Kellan’s hand, both of us staring at the doorway, waiting for our friends to emerge. But a minute or two later, there’s simply no one else coming out, and I begin to panic for real.
“They’re here somewhere. We just missed them,” Kellan murmurs. I didn’t have to say a damn word. He knows I’m freaking out in earnest now.
Another few students walk past us, their conversation plenty loud enough for us to overhear. “Some idiot threw a lit match in a trash can. It wentpoofand caught fast because there was a bunch of paper in there.”
“Seriously?” His friend whips his head toward him.
The first guy shrugs. “That’s what I heard.”
Yeah, sure. Some random idiot with a match… or one particular psycho. My phone buzzes in my hand, and I choke back a relieved sob when I see it’s Lux.
Lux:Are you here? There’s a fucking fire on the first floor.
Me:Where are you?”
Lux:We had to go down the back stairwell.
