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Tim’s fist came at me.
Someone shouted Tim’s name in a panicked, high-pitched voice, and both Tim and I twisted.
My. Foot. Slipped.
My fucking foot slipped on the broken floorboard.
Then I fell.
The floorboard snapped, wrenching my ankle around, and at the same time, Tim, already lunging at me, tripped, his jeans catching on a large, rusty nail that was sticking up from one of the boards.
I threw my body forwards, reaching for him, desperation giving me a speed I hadn’t known I possessed.
But it was too. Fucking. Late.
One second, he was there, and his gaze connected with mine, pure terror in his eyes like I’d never seen before.
The next second, he was gone.
Tumbling through the gaping opening in the wall.
Falling.
Until he hit the ground far below, his body crumpled and his neck at an unnatural angle.
Fallon’s scream chilled my blood, turning it to ice. She ran, and I was fucking frozen in place.
When I managed to climb to my feet, I raced after her, running headlong through the dark, praying I wouldn’t fall, ominous creaks sounding behind me. By the time I made it outside, the fire our guys had lit was a raging inferno.
Thick smoke billowed into the night sky, choking the light of the stars. Cries and shouts echoed all around, the noise rebounding off the walls, and the flames reflected expressions of horror and fear on the faces around me. But all I could focus on was Fallon on the dirty ground in front of Tim’s body, screaming over and over, her eyes wild and unseeing and her whole body shaking.
Sirens sounded in the distance as Fallon’s friend Hailey ran to her, throwing her arms around her. Tim’s best friend, Elijah, dropped to the ground next to them, taking Tim’s limp, lifeless hand in his, his eyes filling with tears that spilled down his cheeks.
Fallon’s screams turned to deep, racking sobs as she clung to Hailey. Seeing my girl in so much pain was like a knife to the chest. I couldn’t fucking breathe.
Before I was aware of what I was doing, I found myself crouching down next to them, reaching out for Fallon.
“Fallon?”
She raised her head, and there was a split second where everything was okay. Then it wasn’t. Her face twisted in hatred, and she flinched back from me like I’d struck her. “Get away from me!” she screamed. “Get away, get away, get away!” She spun away, throwing herself at Hailey, burying her face in her shoulder.
I fucking broke. Shattered, right there on the ground.
There was no coming back from what had happened tonight.
I sucked in a harsh breath, using every bit of control I possessed to lock everything down. My face settled into the blank mask I’d perfected. I was broken inside, but no one would see. No one would know that my entire fucking world had been torn apart.
“You need to leave,” Hailey said softly.
I was dimly aware of Caiden running over and dragging me away from Fallon. Caiden’s dad appeared, and then the police were there, and firefighters were dousing the flames that had broken out inside the house. Paramedics worked tirelessly, attending to Tim’s broken body, even though it was too late. Elijah wouldn’t let go of his hand, and Fallon was wild, shaking and screaming and hyperventilating.
“Fuck,” I whispered, slumping back in Caiden’s grip. “Fuck.”
“This ends tonight,” he said, low and resolute. “No more. No fucking more.”
I couldn’t even focus on Cade’s words as I watched the paramedics carry Fallon into one of the ambulances and a policeman forcibly removed Elijah from the scene. Then there was just the crumpled figure on the ground, the boy who’d been so full of life such a short time ago. My girl’s brother and best friend.
“Give me a minute,” I rasped out to Caiden. My unshakeable mask was fucking cracking, and I couldn’t let anyone see it break.
