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“Shit, Ever, what the hell do we do now?” Lila’s voice cracks and I turn to look at her. Her eyes—usually so bright with plans and laughter—are dull and scared.
I shake my head, lost for words. My phone is a dead weight in my hand, useless after the call. We’vedone all we can, and yet it feels like nothing at all. The house continues to burn, our lives turning to ash.
“Fuck!” I hiss, the anguish bubbling up. I fight it down, hard. There’s no space for breaking apart, not yet.
8
EVER
Watching as the firefighters shuffle in and out, I’m numb. Sasha and Cass joined us a few minutes ago, having already heard about the fire from the pub. Word travels fast around here; I didn’t even get a chance to call them before they barrelled over.
The lead firefighter, a stocky man with soot smeared across his cheek, approaches us.
“Good thing your landlord wasn’t skimping on safety,” he grunts, nodding towards the charred remains of what used to be our kitchen. “That fire door did its job. Kept it mostly contained.”
Lila’s fingers twitch beside me. Sasha’s brow is furrowed, lips pressed into a thin line. Cass stands a little apart, arms wrapped tight around herself like she could physically hold off the cold reality setting in.
“Unfortunately,” the firefighter continues, breaking through the haze of shock, “you can’t stayhere. Not with all the fire and smoke damage. You’re going to have to find somewhere else for now.”
“Where, though?” Sasha’s voice is a whisper, lost amidst the crackling tension.
The four of us huddle together outside in the growing twilight.
“Shit,” Lila mutters. “What do we do now?”
I glance at the faces of my friends, seeing my worry reflected back at me. We’re supposed to be smart and resourceful – we’re the students who ace exams and tackle complex theories – but none of that matters now. We’re just four girls, five, including Crystal, who isn’t even here to survey the damage, suddenly homeless.
“We need a place to crash,” Cass states, breaking the silence that has enveloped us.
“Yeah, well, that’s obvious,” Lila snaps, frustration edging her tone before she sighs, regret softening her features. “Sorry, this is just... fucked up.”
“Understatement of the century,” I mutter.
We fall silent again.
“Let’s just think,” I suggest, even though my brain feels like it’s stuffed with cotton. “There has to be somewhere we can go.”
Lila blurts out, her voice bouncing off the cold brick walls of the building that’s no longer our safe haven. “Someone must have a sofa free or something.”
“Yeah, one sofa. There’s four of us,” Sasha snaps.
“Three,” Cass mutters, her eyes glued to the screen of her phone. A second passes and her expressionmorphs from hope to resignation. “Okay, Mark says I can crash at his. But...” Her voice trails off, and even in the dim light, I see the guilt flit across her face at her boyfriend’s offer.
“But what?” Lila presses, her brow furrowing.
“It’s in his bed,” Cass explains, biting her lip. “So, just me.”
“That’s good. Good,” I sigh, trying to swallow down the bitter taste of envy. At least someone’s got a stroke of luck tonight. We all manage weak smiles, knowing better than to hold it against her. She’s got a port in the storm; the rest of us are still adrift.
“Okay, what now?” Sasha’s voice pulls me back to reality.
“University housing office,” I blurt out, “They have to help, right?”
“Let’s hope so,” Lila adds, her tone not quite matching her optimistic words.
I fish my phone from my pocket and find the number I saved back in fresher’s week—just in case.
“KnightsGate University Housing Office, how can I assist you?” The voice on the other end is crisp, detached. It’s the emergency after-hours staff. I don’t hold out much hope for this, at all.
