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Kindling, that was the word for that.
“How fast is this going to burn?” Jack asked. “I don’t think the rest of the neighborhood will like their houses going up in flames.”
Sebastian scoffed at him, like Jack’s question had offended him. “I’m setting up a slow burn, so the fire department will get here in time to stop it from spreading to other houses, but the house will be too destroyed to be able to save it. Come on, Jack. Who do you think I am?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Forgive me for forgetting you’re an absolute psychopath,” Jack drawled.
I snorted out a laugh and he shot me a wink. Like that had been his intention all along.
“The fire department is fifteen minutes away,” Carter commented, squinting at his phone.
Sebastian huffed and shook his head.
Carter shook his head in disgust.
Well then, I was never going to question Sebastian again when it came to burning things up.
“Ready?” he asked me a minute later, glancing up at me expectantly.
I took a deep breath, my gaze darting around the interior of the house, everything looking far more sinister in the dark of night.
“Ready,” I said firmly.
With a flick of his lighter, the flames erupted into life, dancing and licking at the air with a voracious hunger. The sound of crackling wood filled the silence, a soundtrack of destruction that echoed the turmoil raging within my own heart.
I watched the flames move for a second, before a hand slid into mine.
“Come on, princess,” Sebastian said. “We need to watch the show from farther away.” I nodded, ripping my gaze away from the fire as I followed him to the front door.
Once outside, I stood there for what felt like an eternity, watching through the doorway as the flames began to consume everything in their path, devouring the memories I no longer wanted to discover. It was a cathartic release, a cleansing fire that purged the darkness and left nothing but ash in its wake.
“Let’s go, pretty girl,” Jack said to me. “I’m sure someone has called the fire department by now.”
I nodded, although none of them seemed too worried about the thought of someone finding us here.
We piled into the car, and I stared as smoke poured from the doorway. I felt a sense of relief wash over me as we drove away, like a cool breeze on a sweltering day.
I was so lost in my thoughts and the memories I’d discovered that it took me a minute to realize that Jack, who’d taken over driving, wasn’t headed back the way we’d come.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Somewhere else that might bring back some memories,” Greyson answered for him, his voice subdued.
“I’m not sure I can take any more,” I told him, and that was the truth. I was having enough trouble trying to process the memories that that house had drudged up.
The car rolled to a halt outside a pair of heavy, wrought iron gates, the engine’s low hum cutting through the silence of the night...and I realized where we were.
The cemetery.
Jack’s hand clasped mine. “We don’t have to do this, but…”
I smiled at him. “It’s okay,” I whispered.
Carter opened my door and I slipped out, taking his hand as we stepped out onto the gravel path.
We walked together, the night enveloping us in its cool embrace as we made our way through the rows of headstones. Each step felt heavier than the last, unfamiliar grief pressing down on my chest like a leaden burden.
Moonlight cast eerie shadows among the tombstones, turning the serene landscape into a haunting tableau. I didn’t need anyone to show me the way, my footsteps echoed softly against the damp earth as we neared the spot where I now remembered my father lay.
