Page 185 of Mad Love

“There’s another staircase, right?” I frowned, trying to remember the layout of Ryan’s house, but I’d been here only a handful of times, and the smoke was starting to disorient me.

Again, Cori nodded. “On the other side of the house. It goes to the lib’ary,” she told me, her voice muffled.

I pointed in the direction. “That way?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, stay with me. Hold on to my ankle the whole time, got it?” I shot her a look that I hoped seemed calm but was pretty sure was terrified.

“Got it,” she agreed, her head bobbing up and down so hard I worried that she’d hurt her neck.

It was awkward, but I covered my mouth with the towel and started moving forward, keeping as low to the floor as I could. The hallway was even hotter now, and when I turned to the right, flames licked through the opening of the stairwell. Black smoke writhed across the ceiling.

I turned the other way and went as fast as possible, but we’d made it only halfway when I realized the stairs that Cori told me about were also filled with flames and smoke. Ahead of us, the fire was already crawling across the ceiling, coming right for us.

We were trapped between the stairways with no way down.

Without knowing where we were, I pushed open the next door and pulled her inside. I slammed it shut and shoved my damp towel against the bottom, trying to block the smoke.

“M-Maddie?” Cori whispered, terror in her small voice.

I looked around and almost laughed.

Ryan’s bedroom.

Of course.

I ran to the window that overlooked the backyard. The pool glittered beneath us. There was a small overhang, but it was a hell of a jump. I wasn’t sure Cori could make it. Still, I shoved up the glass and looked around the backyard.

“Here!” I screamed, seeing a pair of firefighters.

One of them shouted something and pointed up at me, and the other took off at a dead sprint around the front of the house. The one who remained was still yelling at me, but I couldn’t hear him over the sound of cracking wood and the sounds of glass exploding as windows gave under the heat of the flames.

“Maddie!” Cori’s shriek made me turn. The door was glowing. I could hear the fire roaring on the other side as the towel started to smoke.

“Come on!” I pulled myself out of the window and onto the roof that hung over the back patio. It was barely five feet deep, but it ran the length of the back of the house. I turned back for Cori. “We’ve gotta go this way, Cor.”

She came to the window. “But there’s nowhere to go!”

“Be brave, remember?” I held out my hands. “The firefighters are out there.”

Her face tightened with determination, and she let me help her out the window as the door to Ryan’s room was engulfed in flames.

Using the overhang, I carefully guided us farther down the house, away from the flames that were now decimating Ryan’s bedroom and licking out his open window.

More firefighters ran around the side of the house, and I spotted Royal with them as they started to set up an inflatable bag we could jump onto.

“I’m scared,” Cori sobbed softly.

“Me, too,” I admitted, my heart in my throat.

Another window shattered behind me and the roof we were standing on shuddered under my feet with a terrifying pop as the wood started to give. My gaze shot to the half-inflated bag and then to Royal. He looked terrified, having reached the same conclusion as me: the bag wouldn’t be ready before the roof gave.

I turned to Cori. “Honey, we’ve gotta jump.”

“Into the pool?” she screeched, eyes huge. She tried to pull her hand out of mine.

I clamped down harder. “We’ll go in the deep end. I’ll hold your hand the whole time, but we’ve got to get off here.”

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