shower. I flicked it once, then twice. It flared with a small orange flame.
I eyed the smoke detector. Years before Bic, the building had a small fire in the basement. The people who owned the building had to install an insane amount of fire detectors to be able to continue to keep the building open. Rumor was, these detectors were hardwired to the fire department. It was the only way that the building was allowed to continue to house people.
Mom used to warn me all the time, if I burned dinner, the smoke detector was rigged to sprinklers and the fire department. The landlord had told everyone that if they ever had him call the fire department again, he would evict them. It probably wasn’t an actual legal threat, but having an apartment we could afford came with sacrifices. Including our dick of a landlord.
I was counting on that lore now. I needed to get out.
I put the kitten carefully back into my bag, then put it on my shoulders. I took a few pieces of a fashion magazine on the toilet tank and lit them up. I stood on the toilet and held the flame under the detector. The plastic started to melt, but still nothing happened.
I had to drop the paper before it got to my fingers. I grabbed a roll of toilet paper, and that went up much quicker and made far more smoke.
I prayed to my mother, “Let this work. Let this work.”
And then the ear-shattering alarm pulsed through the apartment. I heard the corresponding alarms around the building echo the noise.
“You little bitch.” I heard Bic exclaim and the dragging sound from the other side was giving me hope. When he opened the door, I’d take off running. Whether it’s the front door, the fire escape, or the ramp, I was getting out.
He dwarfed the doorway after he swung it open. I dropped the toilet paper into the trash can.
“What the hell?”
I tried to run around him, but he grabbed my arm again. I gasped at his face as smoke billowed out around me. “The cops are coming, and so is the fire department. This place is shit, but the smoke detectors are top-of-the-line. My mother taught me that.”
I pulled on my arm to try to get away.
“Your mother was a bitch.” He snarled at me.
I leaned down and bit his hand as hard as I could. He let go of me, but then backhanded me across the face.
I stumbled into the doorframe and then into the hallway. The bathroom was orange and glowing.
“You stupid little shit. You’re gonna burn this whole place down.” Bic turned to the fire and I heard the water crank on in the tub.
Now was my moment. I had to run.
Bic had blocked my way into the living room with the TV stand. I didn’t want to mess with the fire escape, because I was pretty sure his bed blocked it. The quickest way out was my old window. I half-crawled, half-ran to the window that was still open. I didn’t let fear strike my heart this time. Instead, I was trying to escape. Before I could set both feet down, an explosion rocked the building. I turned to see a fireball rush down the hallway.
All the trash and crap that they had lying around fed the fire almost instantly. I heard Bic scream in pain.
The sirens in the distance bounced off the buildings. I stepped onto the ramp and started across.
When I was in the middle, I felt the ramp groan under my weight.
“You fucking asshole. How dare you?” Bic was on the ramp with me. I didn’t have to turn around to look. I could feel the added weight and his hate hit my back.
This was it. This was how I was going to die. I had a second of peace, because I was free. I had run. I was not in his control.
And then I tried to run the rest of the way. The ramp snapped and I began to fall. I saw Gaze’s horror-struck face as I started to scream.
Chapter 70
GAZE
WE ONLY SAW one college. The closest one because I had a nagging feeling. It was one I tried to ignore because this was such a big weekend for me. Austin was with me, illegally helping the Burathons tour the college via FaceTime. I didn’t ask the questions I wanted to. I wanted to get home. I wanted to get to Pixie. What started out as