Page 91 of This I Know
She takes the phone from me and dials the emergency number, then holds it to her ear. “Yes, this is an emergency. I need the fire department. No, I don’t know what happened. Everyone in the house is safe.”
As Avery talks to the operator, I scan the area, looking for any sign of the people I had heard only moments ago. It’s only been a few minutes – they can’t have gone far. I walk back to where I last heard them, even though that area is now covered in flames.
Avery places her hand against the phone’s speaker. “Ethan!” she calls. “Where are you going?”
“I’ll be right back.”
She looks like she wants to say more, probably to force me not to go anywhere she can’t see, but the operator demands her attention.
“Yes,” she says, drawing away from me to return to the call. “I’m still here.”
I rush out of her sight. I can no longer peer around that same corner; the flames are too high, and the heat keeps me back a good ways. I shield my eyes from the bright, raging fire with the back of my hand. Then I turn my attention to the opposite side of the house, the side that’s still perfectly safe and untouched by the fire.
There, I find what I’m looking for. From a cluster of bushes, a face peers back at me.
I squint. I can’t make out who it is in the darkness and panic, and the reflection of the flickering flames doesn’t help, but I know it must be one of the culprits. It has to be.
The figure runs the second we make eye contact.
“Hey!” I shout.
I run, too. I reach the corner of the yard where they had been and I see nothing. Whoever it was has slipped away into the shadows.
Avery’s standing where I left her, my phone still to hear ear, talking away to the operator. Her mother is beside her, her arm wrapped around her in comfort. The fire department should be here any minute.
Reassured by this, I take off. I won’t be gone long, but I need to see if I can find these people. Which shouldn’t be too hard, considering I have a pretty good idea of who it might be.
I hurry through the neighboring homes and find myself in the middle of a strange street. As I stop there, panting for air, another movement stands out in the darkness – a thin figure rushing through another yard, not stopping.
I follow as fast as I can.
When I turn the corner, I can almost make out who it is. And as I continue chasing them, I’m certain. But no matter how fast I run, I can’t quite catch them.
So I yell, “Go to hell, Julia!”
And Julia stops, turning back to me so fast in the darkness that I almost run into her. We’re in someone’s backyard, and so far it appears we’ve been undetected.
“Go to hell?” she spits. “That wasn’t me back there!”
Despite all I know of the girl, and how bold and furious she may be, I still can’t believe she had the nerve to stop running and let me catch her.
Because I’m pissed, and she should be afraid.
I thought I was angry at her before … that was nothing compared to now. The anger flows through my veins like a burning fuel, ignited and hot like Avery’s former home.
Julia crosses her arms in front of me. She’s dressed in a black shirt and leggings, and her hair is done up in a tight bun at base of her neck. That bun sticks out from the bottom of a black baseball cap, and she has no shoes on. No heels today, ladies and gentlemen. Turns out she’s a quick little thing without them.
However this turns out, we’re going to have to do it quietly. I shout-whisper, “What thehelldo you mean it wasn’t you?” I take a few steps forward, invading her space.
Her upper body leans back into unbalanced space, then she steps back to balance herself. Her mouth hangs open and she scans my face.
“I mean it wasn’t only me,” she says.
“Right, it wasn’t only you. I know exactly who else it was. Why don’t you tell me where he is? Or did he leave you here as the distraction? Is that it? Is he making his getaway right now?”
“He didn’t,” she answers, her voice high.
I look around. “Shh. Keep your voice down.”
