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The smoke grew thicker in the time it took to find the bat.
The first swing of the bat put a dent in the door. The second punctured the outer layer of the hollow core door. The third went through.
When I reached through the hole to unlock the door, the splintered wood tore up the skin on my arm, but I ignored it as I twisted the lock, then nearly fell on my face as the door opened and I got caught in the hole in the door.
“Wake up!” I hollered, shaking Deidra’s father’s shoulder. My heart raced, because I was terrified I was too late. I was sure they were dead. Tripping over my own feet, I ran around the bed to her mom’s side and grabbed her arms. It took everything in me to pull her from the bed. Trying to plan in my head, I figured if I had to, I’d drag her down the stairs and hope for the best.
When she hit the floor with a thud, I whispered an apology. Then I did the same with her father. When he hit the floor, he blinked groggily, and I sobbed in relief. By the time they began to rouse, I was crying in desperation. The faint sound of approaching sirens barely registered as I helped him to his feet.
“Oh, thank God! Hurry, we have to get you out!” I cried out when they coughed.
Deidra’s mom seemed to understand the situation quicker than her husband as I saw panic well in her eyes. Not wanting to waste another second, I grabbed her hand and yelled at her father, “Let’s go!”
We all but flew down the steps while they coughed violently with tears trailing their cheeks.
At the bottom of the stairs we encountered the first fireman who helped us out of the house to the ambulances that had arrived. Deidra and her brothers were already wrapped in blankets and had oxygen masks on as they watched in worry.
“Keagan!” she cried as she ripped off her mask and pushed through the first responders to me. They tried to stop her, but she slipped under their attempts and hit me like a freight train. “You saved us!”
Adrenaline had pumped through my veins through the entire ordeal, and my legs shook as my panic began to ebb.
“Son, we need you to sit down so we can get you assessed,” one of the firemen said before focusing on Deidra. I recognized him as my father’s boss. “You too, young lady.”
Stunned by the evening’s events, I followed numbly. A glance over my shoulder revealed the house consumed in flames as firemen worked furiously to put out the raging fire. One of them had glanced my way, and my heart sank. My father’s intense gaze hit me, and guilt flooded through my veins. I’d snuck out of the house and was caught red-handed.
My mother then burst through the gathering crowd, something in her gaze that I didn’t fully understand. She was stopped briefly by my father, who said something to her I couldn’t make out. Their expressions worried me. Not only was there concern, but resignation flickered in their gazes.
The fire had been ruled an accident, with faulty wiring being the culprit. My dad’s friend was the arson investigator, and I overheard him when he stopped by to visit. It confused me at the time as I thought for sure it had been the candles in the media room.
Until my parents sat me down and explained.
That was two days before they announced we would be moving because my dad had a job offer he “couldn’t turn down.”
Once the decision was made, my parents wasted no time packing our belongings, and we were driving out of town before the enormity of the move had time to sink in. As we drove past the charred remains of my now ex-girlfriend’s home, I was sick to my stomach.
It was all my fault.
My brother was pissed as he stared out his window with his arms crossed.
Turns out we come from a long line of men who have the ability to manipulate and create fire. To get technical, pyrokinesis. In the emotional high during my first time, I lost control and started a fire in my ex’s house.
Fucking wonderful.
“Boys, you might not see it now, but this is for the best,” my father tried to explain as he looked at me in the rearview mirror—my brother, Keenan, wouldn’t so much as look at me. I shot a glance at my twin, hoping he’d acknowledge me, but to no avail. Disheartened, I returned my attention to the passing houses.
“I don’t see how,” I muttered. The thought of leaving behind all my friends to move to some small-ass town in Iowa sucked. I was in agreement with Keenan on this one. Our friends, Roman, Vince, and Gabriel were stunned to hear we were leaving.
“We need to take you somewhere safe until you learn how to control your ability. If we don’t, there’s the possibility people will find out. Or worse, you could accidentally burn down the entire town,” my father sagely told me.
“This is fucking bullshit,” Keenan grumbled under his breath. My parents may not have heard, but I did. Though I was a little relieved to be escaping the gossip and the heartbreak of having to leave Deidra behind, I couldn’t stand that it had punished my brother. That part I hated—that we were leaving behind everything and everyone we knew.
We never returned to Chicago.
