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He clenches his fists. “I lost everything, Mia, because of you.”
“You lost everything because of you. No one forced you to act like a dick. You did that all on your own, so why don’t you take some fucking responsibility!”
I watch his jaw tense the more I speak, waiting for him to explode, but I can’t stop the words. Everything that's happened hits me, and I'm pissed at people treating me like shit and taking advantage. I'm so tired of it.
Ignoring the alarm bells going off in my head, I turn on my heel, knowing I have seconds as I go for my phone, but just as my hand almost grazes it, I hear, “Bitch!” screamed behind me, and I am tackled to the ground.
I cry out in pain, feeling the crushing weight of Laurence on top of me, and I am already kicking and fighting to get out from underneath him. I hear him laugh as I feel his hands at the tops of my pants, working to pull them down, and I react, throwing my elbow back as hard as I can, feeling it connect with bone before he cries out and curses at me.
I flip over and push back to get further away from him, but he recovers, grabbing my ankle and pulling me back to him, dodging my kicks until he settles on top of me.
I cry out, hitting and fighting him, seeing the scary, unhinged look in his eyes as he manages to get my hands in his, quickly pinning them above my head.
He growls, forcing my legs open with his, until he is pushing himself against me, his weight almost crushing me as he growls, “You think you’re too good for me?”
My heart is beating out of my chest, panic taking hold, but I suddenly feel his weight shift on top of me, his hands going to the buttons on my shorts and my mind instantly flashes to that day in the boxing gym, to the words Riley had told me, the things the guys showed me for a moment like this.
Gritting my teeth, I push the fear down as much as I can, planting my feet and pushing up with everything I have inside of me. I scream as I think of all of my reasons to fight back and push until he loses his grip and starts to tumble over the side, letting go of my hands enough to slip out.
“Fuck,” he hisses as he falls on his ass, quickly trying to grab me, but I am up and moving toward the phone again.
I feel his hand at my ankle and scream as I fall, my head catching on something and the world descending into darkness as I am knocked unconscious.
I wake up,not knowing how long I was out for, realising quickly that I am still dressed and lying on the hard floor. I blink, a pain spreading throughout my head. I put my hand to my forehead and pull it back to reveal blood on my hands.
I blink again, hearing the sound of water or something spilling on the ground. I wince as I push myself up, the world spinning, and I fall to the ground again when I notice Laurence is still in the room, but he’s made no move to attack me.
I try to get up, the pain in my head hurting so much, the world spinning and my vision going blurry as I hear him say, “That was quite a fall, but luckily you weren’t out for long. But while you were out, I had a better idea. I’m not gonna fuck you because chances are that you’re probably tainted by the bar trash.” He sighs and I realise he is pouring a liquid I can’t decipher all over the couch, then the bookshelf on the far wall, creating a watery trail around the front door. I furrow my brow as he places the bottle down by his feet. “So I’ll do what I said. Destroy your life like you destroyed mine.” He shrugs. “I know it’s a bit extreme, but I figure you caused all of my problems, so maybe if you were gone, then it’ll solve everything.”
He finishes his sentence, pulling matches out of his hoodie pocket and all breath leaves me as I realise what he is planning to do, my eyes instantly going to the hallway where Charlie is. I grit my teeth, forcing myself to my feet, using a nearby counter for help. “You’re fucking crazy. If you do this, you will have people out for your head. There is a baby in the other room, and we both know that is something people don’t forgive.”
He continues to smile, cocking his head. “Well, there will be no one there to tell them it was me.” We hold each other’s eyes, and I swear it feels like the world has gone silent. “Will there?”
“No!” I scream as I watch the lit match fall, moving as if it's in slow motion, landing in the liquid and exploding into flame.
My mouth drops and my eyes widen as I finally get to standing, seeing only Laurence’s eyes as he opens the door, looking back with a gaze of fear and anger before turning and closing the door behind him, a wall of fire standing between myself and our way out.
Through my fear, I distantly hear Charlie screaming from the other room, and I force my legs to carry me forward, avoiding the flames that are quickly spreading and following the trail of liquid.
I stumble down the hall, opening the door to find Charlie wiggling on his back, his face creased as he cries. I take him in my arms, holding him to my chest to protect him from the smoke that’s filling up the small apartment space. I come back out and the living room is engulfed in flames. I hear screaming and banging from the hallway, but no one has opened the door, and even if they did, I couldn’t get through due to the wall of flame.
The room is hot, and I hold Charlie closer to me, whispering how everything will be okay as I feel my tears fall down my cheeks for the child in my arms. I was supposed to care for him and now this. He is only a baby; he doesn’t deserve this.
I choke on the smoke that is taking up the space, making it difficult to breathe and see. Unsure of what else I can do, I navigate through the flames, grabbing a bar stool with one hand, awkwardly swinging it towards the window.
The window shatters and glass falls out the window, some shards falling near my feet, but that only makes the flames grow faster, and I start to panic.
“Mia!” My breath stops for a moment when I hear Riley scream my name. I look around the apartment but see only flames. It isn’t until I look outside the broken window that I see his fear-filled eyes looking at me. I run to the window, careful to avoid the broken glass, reaching through the bars to feel him as he stands on the fire escape we never use.
He runs his hands through my hair, and I want to cry at his touch. “They’re working on getting you out of there. The fire's made it down the hall, but they have Laurence.” He forces my eyes to meet his. “You will get out of here. They’re gonna put the fire out, then come in and get you. I’m right here, Mia.”
I nod, taking in his words, feeling my fear grow because the fire is still spreading, and I can feel Charlie’s breath becoming laboured. My heart aches as I think of him in pain or struggling, so I take in the bars, assessing the width between them when my decision is made.
I look at Riley, trying to control my tears. “Take him.”
His brows furrow. “What?”
“He can fit through the bars. He needs to get out of here, Riley. He is struggling to breathe.” I am pleading, holding Charlie out to him, and I see the war inside, as he knows what I am doing. If I don’t make it out of here, I’ll make sure Charlie does.
