“I’m here.”
I reach the window and shove upward.
It does not move.
My stomach drops.
I try again, harder this time.
Nothing.
“The window is stuck.”
“Keep low. Do not go into the hallway.”
I put the phone on speaker beside me and grip the frame with both hands.
It refuses to move.
“I can’t open it.”
“Firefighters are on the way. Stay with me.”
I cough into my shoulder.
Another crash explodes downstairs.
Closer.
My whole body stills.
“Tessa, someone is in the house.”
“What do you hear?”
I turn toward the bedroom door.
For a second, there is only the crackle of fire and the blood rushing in my ears.
Then a voice roars through the smoke.
“Kaia!”
My heart stops.
I know that voice even roughened by distance and smoke.
“Zain?”
Something slams against the bedroom door.
Once.
Twice.
The frame splinters.
Tessa is saying something through the phone, but I cannot make out the words because the door bursts inward and smoke rolls into the room.
